Cape York

2011 Census Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people QuickStats
Geography type Indigenous Regions
Area code IREG303
Total population 15,421
Total dwellings 5,995
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 8,566
Male 4,207
Female 4,359
Median age 23
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander households 1,910
Average people per household 4.1
Median weekly household income $983
Median monthly mortgage repayments $2,000
Median weekly rent $80

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People

demographics & education | cultural & language diversity | employment

Demographics & education

People Cape York % Cape York Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Aboriginal 5,734 66.9 122,896 78.9 495,757 90.4
Torres Strait Islander 1,204 14.1 20,094 12.9 31,407 5.7
Both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 1,628 19.0 12,834 8.2 21,206 3.9
Total 8,566 -- 155,824 -- 548,370 --
 null  null  null  null  null  null  null
Male 4,207 49.1 76,744 49.3 270,331 49.3
Female 4,359 50.9 79,081 50.7 278,037 50.7

In Cape York, there were 8,566 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. Of these, 4,207 (or 49.1%) were male and 4,359 (or 50.9%) were female.

Age Cape York % Cape York Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
0-4 years 1,045 12.2 20,384 13.1 67,415 12.3
5-14 years 1,837 21.4 38,085 24.4 129,670 23.6
15-24 years 1,589 18.6 29,609 19.0 105,652 19.3
25-54 years 3,248 37.9 53,777 34.5 192,627 35.1
55-64 years 517 6.0 8,641 5.5 32,232 5.9
65 years and over 329 3.8 5,331 3.4 20,772 3.8
 null  null  null  null  null  null  null
Median age 23 -- 20 -- 21 --

In Cape York the median age of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people was 23 years. Of the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 33.6% were children aged 0 to 14 years and 3.8% were people aged 65 years and over.

Registered marital status
People aged 15 years and over
Cape York % Cape York Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Married 755 13.3 20,924 21.5 85,741 24.4
Separated 101 1.8 3,939 4.0 14,925 4.2
Divorced 92 1.6 6,107 6.3 23,126 6.6
Widowed 228 4.0 2,990 3.1 12,142 3.5
Never married 4,504 79.3 63,395 65.1 215,347 61.3

In Cape York 13.3% of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people were married and 3.4% were either divorced or separated.

Median age by registered marital status
People aged 15 years and over
Cape York % Cape York Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Married 48 -- 45 -- 44 --
Separated 54 -- 46 -- 46 --
Divorced 49 -- 51 -- 51 --
Widowed 65 -- 66 -- 65 --
Never married 31 -- 26 -- 26 --

In Cape York for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people the median age of married people was 48 years and the median age of people never married was 31 years.

Social marital status
People aged 15 years and over
Cape York % Cape York Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Registered marriage 552 10.7 18,335 21.4 71,575 23.3
De facto marriage 1,713 33.2 16,111 18.8 48,600 15.8
Not married 2,887 56.0 51,114 59.7 187,097 60.9

In Cape York 10.7% of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people were in a registered marriage and 33.2% were in a de facto marriage.

Median age by social marital status
People aged 15 years and over
Cape York % Cape York Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Registered marriage 47 -- 45 -- 45 --
De facto marriage 36 -- 33 -- 34 --
Not married 30 -- 28 -- 28 --

In Cape York for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people the median age in a registered marriage was 47 years and in a de facto marriage was 36 years.

Education Cape York % Cape York Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Pre-school 236 9.0 2,960 4.9 13,977 6.2
Primary 1,265 48.2 24,202 39.9 81,554 36.4
Secondary 580 22.1 14,331 23.6 50,986 22.8
Technical or further education institution 77 2.9 2,746 4.5 13,211 5.9
University or tertiary institution 36 1.4 2,862 4.7 10,125 4.5
Other 46 1.8 997 1.6 3,662 1.6
Not stated 386 14.7 12,571 20.7 50,410 22.5
Total 2,626 -- 60,669 -- 223,925 --

Of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in Cape York, 30.7% were attending an educational institution. Of these, 48.2% were attending a primary school, 22.1% were attending a secondary school and 4.3% were attending a tertiary or technical institution.

Cultural & language diversity

Australian Indigenous language, top responses Cape York % Cape York Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Wik Mungkan 1,320 15.4 1,350 0.9 1,355 0.2
Yumplatok (Torres Strait Creole) 1,040 12.1 4,917 3.2 5,150 0.9
Guugu Yimidhirr 922 10.8 968 0.6 973 0.2
Cape York Peninsula Languages, nec 207 2.4 234 0.2 244 0.0
Kuuk Thayorre 126 1.5 133 0.1 129 0.0
 null  null  null  null  null  null  null
English only spoken at home 2,634 30.7 133,395 85.6 453,895 82.8

English was the only language spoken at home by 30.7% of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in Cape York. Indigenous languages spoken at home include Wik Mungkan 15.4%, Yumplatok (Torres Strait Creole) 12.1%, Guugu Yimidhirr 10.8%, Cape York Peninsula Languages, nec 2.4% and Kuuk Thayorre 1.5%.

Employment

Employment
People who reported being in the labour force, aged 15 years and over
Cape York % Cape York Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Worked full-time 1,404 52.1 26,187 49.1 86,714 48.7
Worked part-time 622 23.1 13,684 25.6 47,035 26.4
Away from work 189 7.0 3,885 7.3 13,959 7.8
Unemployed 481 17.8 9,603 18.0 30,462 17.1
Total in labour force 2,696 -- 53,359 -- 178,170 --

There were 2,696 people who reported being in the labour force in the week before Census night in Cape York. Of these 52.1% were employed full time, 23.1% were employed part-time and 17.8% were unemployed.

View the labour force fact sheet
Median age by employment status
Labour force, people aged 15 years and over
Cape York % Cape York Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Employed full-time 38 -- 37 -- 37 --
Employed part-time 37 -- 33 -- 34 --

The median age of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in Cape York who were employed full time was 38 years and those employed part time was 37 years.

Median weekly incomes
People aged 15 years and over
Cape York % Cape York Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Personal 289 -- 384 -- 362 --
Household 983 -- 1,066 -- 991 --

The median weekly personal income for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in Cape York was $289 and the median weekly household income was $983.

View the income fact sheet

Dwellings

dwelling characteristics | dwelling structure

Dwelling characteristics

Dwelling tables exclude visitor only and other non-classifiable households

Dwelling characteristics
Occupied private dwellings where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Cape York % Cape York Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Average number of people per household 4.1 -- 3.4 -- 3.3 --
Average number of people per bedroom 1.5 -- 1.3 -- 1.2 --
Average number of registered motor vehicles per dwelling 0.9 -- 1.5 -- 1.5 --

In Cape York, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the average household size was 4.1, with 1.5 persons per bedroom and 0.9 registered motor vehicles per dwelling.

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

Housing costs
Occupied private dwellings where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Cape York % Cape York Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Median weekly rent 80 -- 220 -- 195 --
Median monthly mortgage repayments 2,000 -- 1,733 -- 1,647 --

In Cape York, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the median weekly rent was $80 and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,000.

Dwelling structure

Dwelling structure
Occupied private dwellings where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Cape York % Cape York Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Separate house 1,557 81.5 47,511 81.2 168,749 80.7
Semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc 34 1.8 3,630 6.2 16,437 7.9
Flat, unit or apartment 287 15.0 6,446 11.0 20,640 9.9
Other dwelling 33 1.7 878 1.5 2,949 1.4
Total 1,911 -- 58,517 -- 209,047 --

In Cape York there were 1,911 private dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people: 81.5% were separate houses, 1.8% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses etc, 15.0% were flats, unit or apartments and 1.7% were other dwellings.

Tenure
Occupied private dwellings where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Cape York % Cape York Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Owned outright 40 2.1 5,504 9.4 23,333 11.2
Owned with a mortgage 60 3.1 13,573 23.2 51,761 24.8
Rented 1,766 92.5 37,042 63.3 124,099 59.4
Other tenure type 10 0.5 339 0.6 1,516 0.7
Tenure type not stated 33 1.7 2,062 3.5 8,338 4.0

In Cape York, of dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, 2.1% were owned outright, 3.1% were owned with a mortgage and 92.5% were rented.

Some values may have been adjusted to avoid release of confidential data. This may have a significant impact on the calculated percentages.