West Coast (M)

Demographics & education

In the 2011 Census, there were 4,678 people in West Coast (M) of these 52.3% were male and 47.7% were female. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people made up 6.6% of the population.

The median age of people in West Coast (M) was 39 years. Children aged 0 - 14 years made up 20.6% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 13.8% of the population.

Of people in West Coast (M) aged 15 years and over, 43.2% were married and 13.3% were either divorced or separated.

The median age of married people in West Coast (M) was 53 years and the median age of people never married was 29 years.

In West Coast (M), of people aged 15 years and over, 42.8% of people were in a registered marriage and 17.5% were in a de facto marriage.

The median age of people in a registered marriage in West Coast (M) was 52 years and the median age of people in a de facto marriage was 36 years.

In West Coast (M) 25.6% of people were attending an educational institution. Of these, 32.5% were in primary school, 18.2% in secondary school and 10.7% in a tertiary or technical institution.

Cultural & language diversity

The most common ancestries in West Coast (M) were Australian 35.9%, English 32.4%, Irish 9.2%, Scottish 5.2% and German 3.7%.

In West Coast (M), 85.4% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were England 2.2%, New Zealand 1.5%, India 0.5%, Netherlands 0.4% and Germany 0.4%.

In West Coast (M), 82.0% of people had both parents born in Australia and 10.2% of people had both parents born overseas.

The most common responses for religion in West Coast (M) were No Religion 26.8%, Anglican 25.9%, Catholic 24.4%, Uniting Church 4.1% and Presbyterian and Reformed 2.0%.

In West Coast (M) 92.4% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Dutch 0.2%, Mandarin 0.2%, Hindi 0.2%, Afrikaans 0.1% and German 0.1%.

Employment

There were 2,181 people who reported being in the labour force in the week before Census night in West Coast (M). Of these 59.8% were employed full time, 25.0% were employed part-time and 7.6% were unemployed.

Of employed people in West Coast (M), 11.3% worked 1 to 15 hours, 7.5% worked 16 to 24 hours and 55.4% worked 40 hours or more.

The median age of people employed full-time in West Coast (M) was 41 years and for people who were employed part-time was 44 years.

The most common occupations in West Coast (M) included Machinery Operators And Drivers 21.4%, Technicians and Trades Workers 17.3%, Labourers 16.2%, Community and Personal Service Workers 10.3%, Managers 9.6%, Professionals 9.5%, Clerical and Administrative Workers 8.3% and Sales Workers 5.7%.

Of the employed people in West Coast (M), the most common responses for industry of employment included Metal Ore Mining 22.3%, Accommodation 9.9%, School Education 5.8%, Other Mining Support Services 3.7% and Cafes, Restaurants and Takeaway Food Services 3.2%.

The median weekly personal income for people aged 15 years and over in West Coast (M) was $465.

In West Coast (M), on the day of the Census, the most common methods of travel to work for employed people included Car, as driver 60.1%, Walked only 10.7%, Car, as passenger 7.6%, Other 1.4% and Bus 0.4%. On the day, 0.7% of employed people used public transport (train, bus, ferry, tram/light rail) as at least one of their methods of travel to work and 67.8% used car (either as driver or as passenger).

In West Coast (M), of people aged 15 years and over, 67.1% did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census. During the two weeks before the Census, 26.9% provided care for children and 9.3% assisted family members or others due to a disability, long term illness or problems related to old age. In the year before the Census, 19.3% 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 West Coast (M), 24.6% worked 5 to 14 hours, 12.7% worked 15 to 29 hours and 13.1% worked 30 hours or more.

Family composition

Of the families in West Coast (M), 39.8% were couple families with children, 43.5% were couple families without children and 15.8% were one parent families.

In West Coast (M) 21.1% of single parents were male and 78.9% were female.

Weekly incomes

In West Coast (M), for couple families with two incomes, the median income for those with children was $2,202 and those without children was $1,912.

Employment status of couple families

In West Coast (M), of couple families with children, 15.4% had both partners employed full-time, 3.6% had both employed part-time and 18.7% had one employed full-time and the other part-time.

Dwelling structure

Dwelling tables exclude visitor only and other non-classifiable households

In West Coast (M), 65.0% of private dwellings were occupied and 35.0% were unoccupied.

Of occupied private dwellings in West Coast (M), 94.6% were separate houses, 0.5% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses etc, 3.7% were flats, units or apartments and 1.2% were other dwellings.

In West Coast (M), of occupied private dwellings 4.4% had 1 bedroom, 18.6% had 2 bedrooms and 58.3% had 3 bedrooms. The average number of bedrooms per occupied private dwelling was 2.9. The average household size was 2.2 people.

Of occupied private dwellings in West Coast (M), 42.9% were owned outright, 24.5% were owned with a mortgage and 28.5% were rented.

Household composition

In West Coast (M), of all households, 62.5% were family households, 34.8% were single person households and 2.7% were group households.

In West Coast (M), 33.1% of households had a weekly household income of less than $600 and 4.4% 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 West Coast (M), 40.9% of occupied private dwellings had one registered motor vehicle garaged or parked at their address, 33.1% had two registered motor vehicles and 13.8% had three or more registered motor vehicles.

People characteristics

In West Coast (M), there were 310 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. Of these, 163 (or 52.6%) were male and 147 (or 47.4%) 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 West Coast (M), for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the average household size was 3, with 1.2 persons per bedroom. The median household income was $1,271.

In West Coast (M), for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the median weekly rent was $150 and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $700.