Perth, WA

Demographics & education

In the 2011 Census, there were 145,064 people in Perth, WA of these 50.5% were male and 49.5% were female. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.5% of the population.

The median age of people in Perth, WA was 36 years. Children aged 0 - 14 years made up 15.0% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 12.9% of the population.

Of people in Perth, WA aged 15 years and over, 42.2% were married and 12.1% were either divorced or separated.

The median age of married people in Perth, WA was 48 years and the median age of people never married was 27 years.

In Perth, WA, of people aged 15 years and over, 42.6% of people were in a registered marriage and 11.5% were in a de facto marriage.

The median age of people in a registered marriage in Perth, WA was 49 years and the median age of people in a de facto marriage was 32 years.

In Perth, WA 28.8% of people were attending an educational institution. Of these, 20.7% were in primary school, 14.9% in secondary school and 28.8% in a tertiary or technical institution.

Cultural & language diversity

The most common ancestries in Perth, WA were English 23.5%, Australian 19.6%, Irish 6.8%, Italian 6.2% and Scottish 5.7%.

In Perth, WA, 55.3% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were England 6.1%, India 2.8%, New Zealand 2.8%, Vietnam 2.1% and Italy 2.0%.

In Perth, WA, 33.8% of people had both parents born in Australia and 52.0% of people had both parents born overseas.

The most common responses for religion in Perth, WA were Catholic 28.1%, No Religion 25.0%, Anglican 13.0%, Buddhism 4.0% and Eastern Orthodox 2.6%.

In Perth, WA 69.1% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Italian 3.2%, Vietnamese 2.5%, Mandarin 1.8%, Cantonese 1.8% and Arabic 0.8%.

Employment

There were 80,222 people who reported being in the labour force in the week before Census night in Perth, WA. Of these 62.7% were employed full time, 26.9% were employed part-time and 4.7% were unemployed.

Of employed people in Perth, WA, 9.8% worked 1 to 15 hours, 9.5% worked 16 to 24 hours and 47.6% worked 40 hours or more.

The median age of people employed full-time in Perth, WA was 38 years and for people who were employed part-time was 38 years.

The most common occupations in Perth, WA included Professionals 25.5%, Clerical and Administrative Workers 15.2%, Technicians and Trades Workers 14.6%, Managers 11.5%, Community and Personal Service Workers 9.7%, Sales Workers 8.3%, Labourers 8.2% and Machinery Operators And Drivers 5.6%.

Of the employed people in Perth, WA, the most common responses for industry of employment included Cafes, Restaurants and Takeaway Food Services 5.2%, School Education 4.1%, Architectural, Engineering and Technical Services 4.0%, Hospitals 3.4% and State Government Administration 2.8%.

The median weekly personal income for people aged 15 years and over in Perth, WA was $698.

In Perth, WA, on the day of the Census, the most common methods of travel to work for employed people included Car, as driver 56.2%, Bus 7.1%, Car, as passenger 5.4%, Walked only 5.1% and Train 3.6%. On the day, 14.1% of employed people used public transport (train, bus, ferry, tram/light rail) as at least one of their methods of travel to work and 61.7% used car (either as driver or as passenger).

In Perth, WA, of people aged 15 years and over, 68.3% did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census. During the two weeks before the Census, 22.9% provided care for children and 8.9% assisted family members or others due to a disability, long term illness or problems related to old age. In the year before the Census, 14.7% of people did voluntary work through an organisation or a group.

Of people who did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census in Perth, WA, 26.0% worked 5 to 14 hours, 9.9% worked 15 to 29 hours and 7.9% worked 30 hours or more.

Family composition

Of the families in Perth, WA, 38.9% were couple families with children, 43.2% were couple families without children and 15.2% were one parent families.

In Perth, WA 17.9% of single parents were male and 82.1% were female.

Weekly incomes

In Perth, WA, for couple families with two incomes, the median income for those with children was $2,493 and those without children was $2,372.

Employment status of couple families

In Perth, WA, of couple families with children, 24.2% had both partners employed full-time, 4.2% had both employed part-time and 20.4% had one employed full-time and the other part-time.

Dwelling structure

Dwelling tables exclude visitor only and other non-classifiable households

In Perth, WA, 90.2% of private dwellings were occupied and 9.8% were unoccupied.

Of occupied private dwellings in Perth, WA, 61.6% were separate houses, 16.5% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses etc, 21.7% were flats, units or apartments and 0.2% were other dwellings.

In Perth, WA, of occupied private dwellings 7.4% had 1 bedroom, 23.8% had 2 bedrooms and 42.7% had 3 bedrooms. The average number of bedrooms per occupied private dwelling was 2.9. The average household size was 2.3 people.

Of occupied private dwellings in Perth, WA, 28.0% were owned outright, 33.1% were owned with a mortgage and 35.9% were rented.

Household composition

In Perth, WA, of all households, 62.6% were family households, 30.8% were single person households and 6.6% were group households.

In Perth, WA, 21.7% of households had a weekly household income of less than $600 and 13.5% of households had a weekly income of more than $3,000.

Mortgage & rent

Proportions are calculated using all tenure types for occupied private dwellings. This excludes visitor only and other non-classifiable households.

Proportions in this table are calculated by taking the number of households whose rent payments were 30% or more of an imputed income measure and expressing this number as a proportion of the total number of households in an area, including those households which are not renting their dwelling (excluding the small proportion of visitor only and other non-classifiable households). The nature of the income imputation means that the reported proportion may significantly overstate the true proportion. Further information on the method to impute income is available in the income fact sheet.

Proportions in this table are calculated by taking the number of households who own their dwelling, and whose mortgage payments were 30% or more of an imputed income measure and expressing this number as a proportion of the total number of households in an area, including those households which were renting their dwelling (excluding the small proportion of visitor only and other non-classifiable households). The nature of the income imputation means that the reported proportion may significantly overstate the true proportion. Further information on the method to impute income is available in the income fact sheet.

Number of motor vehicles

In Perth, WA, 39.9% of occupied private dwellings had one registered motor vehicle garaged or parked at their address, 32.9% had two registered motor vehicles and 13.5% had three or more registered motor vehicles.

People characteristics

In Perth, WA, there were 2,175 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. Of these, 1,033 (or 47.5%) were male and 1,142 (or 52.5%) were female. The median age was 22 years.

Dwelling characteristics

Dwelling tables exclude visitor only and other non-classifiable households. These tables represent occupied private dwellings where at least one Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait islander person was present.

Average number of people per bedroom includes a miscalculation. For more information see the persons per bedroom correction page.

In Perth, WA, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the average household size was 3.1, with 1.2 persons per bedroom. The median household income was $1,073.

In Perth, WA, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the median weekly rent was $270 and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,733.