48.1% ▲ +7.8%
Higher than 76% of urban centre areas.
- 2011: 44.7%
- 2016: 44.6%
- 2021: 48.1%
Share of people whose highest year of school is Year 12 or equivalent.
Mackay · Urban Centre
Education & Qualifications in Mackay
How far people went at school, the qualifications they hold and what they studied.
Far fewer people in Mackay have finished high school or university compared to the rest of Australia. While 48.1% of residents completed Year 12, this is well below the Queensland figure and far below the national average. The area relies heavily on trade qualifications rather than university degrees.
Schooling
Highest year of school completed.
Year 12 completion has risen to 48.1% since 2011, though this remains much lower than the 58.8% seen across Australia. About a quarter of the population stopped their schooling at Year 10.
Highest year of school
View on map →In Mackay, Year 12 is the majority at 54%; Year 10 is next at 28%.
Qualifications
Post-school qualifications and degrees.
Trade certificates are the most common qualification here, held by 40.2% of adults. Only 14.2% have a bachelor degree or higher, which is far below the national figure and has fallen slightly since 2011.
14.2% ▼ -7.7%
Higher than 65% of urban centre areas.
- 2011: 15.4%
- 2016: 12.4%
- 2021: 14.2%
Share of people aged 15+ whose highest qualification is a bachelor degree or above (incl. graduate and postgraduate).
Highest qualification level
View on map →In Mackay, Certificate III / IV is the majority at 51%; Bachelor degree is next at 22%.
Field of study
What people studied.
Engineering and related fields are the most popular choice for qualifications at 22.2%, followed by management and commerce at 14.3%.
Sources
- Census of Population and Housing — Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 (CC BY 4.0).
More for Mackay
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Education & Qualifications in Mackay [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/ucl/UCL311003/mackay/topic/education