Urban Centre · Area profile
The Palms
12 km²
Separate detached houses make up almost every home in The Palms (L), a rural community where 99.2% of dwellings are standalone. This area is significantly older than the national average, with a typical resident aged 46 and a growing number of seniors. Over the last decade, the population grew by 33% to 1,076 people. It is a place where most people own their homes outright and rely entirely on cars for daily travel.
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The typical resident is 46, which is far older than the national figure of 38. While 18.9% of the population are children, the number of people aged 65 and over rose 11 points since 2011 to nearly 20%.
Most residents were born in Australia, and those born overseas make up 13.7% of the population. This is far below the national figure of 27.7%. English and Australian are the most common ancestries.
English is the main language for 92.1% of people, and only 3.0% use another language at home. This is far below the national average of 22.3%.
About half of the population (49.4%) report having no religion, which is far above the national figure of 38.9%. This is a significant increase from 22.2% in 2011.
Education levels are lower than the state and national averages, with 10.1% of adults holding a bachelor degree or higher. However, the proportion of people who completed Year 12 rose by 9.4 points since 2011.
Typical weekly household income is $1,379, which is well below the national figure of $1,746. Only 6.7% of households earn $3,000 or more per week, a figure far below the national average.
Health needs are higher here, as 9.0% of people need help with daily activities, compared to 5.8% across Australia. Long-term health conditions are also well above the national average at 33.0%.
The area has a high number of former Defence Force members at 5.9%, which is well above the national figure. Conversely, the proportion of volunteers is much lower than in most similar areas.
Families tend to be larger than usual, with an average of 2.6 people per home. Couples with children make up 54.5% of households, while only 20.5% of people live alone.
Home ownership is very strong, with 44.8% of houses owned outright, far above the national figure of 31.0%. Renting is rare, occurring in only 6.0% of homes.
The community is heavily car-dependent; 0.8% of homes have no vehicle, which is well below the national average. No one uses public transport to get to work.
About 34.7% of people moved in the last five years, which is well below the national figure. There were no recent arrivals from overseas in the latest census.
About 53.5% of adults are working or looking for work, which is well below the national figure of 61.1%. Common industries include retail trade, health care, and construction.
This is a car-dependent area with a walkability score of 0.0. There are no schools, parks, or grocery stores within a 15-minute walk for any resident.