Urban Centre · Area profile
Mapoon
15 km²
Very few residents in Mapoon own their own homes, with nearly 90% of the community renting. This small town of 425 people is exceptionally young, with a typical resident aged just 27. A strong Indigenous presence and a high proportion of children make it a family-focused area where homes are often crowded. In recent years, the population has grown by 56%, and the community has become more diverse in the languages it speaks.
Explore Mapoon by topic
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 79.5% of the population, a figure that rose 70 points since 2011. This is a very young community where 31.1% of residents are children under 15, while those aged 65 and over make up just 9.9%.
Most people were born in Australia, and only 1.6% were born overseas, which is far below the national figure of 27.7%.
Language diversity has increased sharply, with 34.4% of people using another language at home, compared to just 2.2% in 2011.
More than half of the community (51.8%) report having no religion, which is far above the national figure of 38.9%.
Education levels are much lower than the state and national averages, with only 21.4% of residents completing Year 12 and 3.0% holding a bachelor degree or higher.
Incomes are among the lowest in the region, with a typical household earning $1,009 a week. No one in the community earns $2,000 or more per week.
Residents report fewer long-term health conditions and mental health issues than most other areas, with 60.7% of people reporting no long-term health conditions at all.
Unpaid childcare is very common here, with 44.0% of people caring for children, though only 10.4% of residents volunteer, which is well below the national figure.
Homes are crowded with an average of 3.6 people per dwelling. One-parent families are very common, making up 34.2% of households, which is far above the national average.
Renting is the norm for 89.2% of households, while only 3.2% own their home outright. Most people live in separate houses, and the typical weekly rent is very low at $120.
About one third of homes have no motor vehicle, which is far above the national figure of 7.4%. Many people walk to work, accounting for 19.6% of commutes.
The community is very stable, as only 22.9% of people moved in the last five years, and there were no recent arrivals from overseas.
Employment is a challenge, with an unemployment rate of 28.3% and only 40.3% of adults working or looking for work. However, those who are employed are often in public administration and safety.
The area is entirely car-dependent, with a walkability score of 0.0 and no shops, schools, or health services within a 15-minute walk.