Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural)

Demographics & education

In the 2011 Census, there were 30,405 people in Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural) of these 50.9% were male and 49.1% were female. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people made up 5.5% of the population.

The median age of people in Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural) was 42 years. Children aged 0 - 14 years made up 21.1% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 16.8% of the population.

Of people in Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural) aged 15 years and over, 53.2% were married and 12.4% were either divorced or separated.

The median age of married people in Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural) was 54 years and the median age of people never married was 27 years.

In Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural), of people aged 15 years and over, 54.2% of people were in a registered marriage and 10.8% were in a de facto marriage.

The median age of people in a registered marriage in Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural) was 53 years and the median age of people in a de facto marriage was 37 years.

In Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural) 26.8% of people were attending an educational institution. Of these, 36.1% were in primary school, 17.1% in secondary school and 9.3% in a tertiary or technical institution.

Cultural & language diversity

The most common ancestries in Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural) were Australian 34.3%, English 33.0%, Scottish 6.9%, Irish 6.2% and German 2.5%.

In Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural), 79.3% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were England 5.5%, New Zealand 2.2%, Philippines 0.7%, South Africa 0.6% and Scotland 0.6%.

In Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural), 66.7% of people had both parents born in Australia and 19.9% of people had both parents born overseas.

The most common responses for religion in Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural) were Anglican 26.6%, No Religion 24.4%, Catholic 19.6%, Uniting Church 6.3% and Christian, nfd 2.9%.

In Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural) 90.5% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Afrikaans 0.4%, Tagalog 0.4%, German 0.3%, Italian 0.3% and Filipino 0.3%.

Employment

There were 14,212 people who reported being in the labour force in the week before Census night in Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural). Of these 60.4% were employed full time, 27.6% were employed part-time and 5.1% were unemployed.

Of employed people in Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural), 10.3% worked 1 to 15 hours, 8.9% worked 16 to 24 hours and 52.2% worked 40 hours or more.

The median age of people employed full-time in Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural) was 45 years and for people who were employed part-time was 46 years.

The most common occupations in Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural) included Managers 25.2%, Technicians and Trades Workers 14.4%, Labourers 11.9%, Clerical and Administrative Workers 11.2%, Professionals 11.1%, Machinery Operators And Drivers 9.5%, Community and Personal Service Workers 8.7% and Sales Workers 6.5%.

Of the employed people in Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural), the most common responses for industry of employment included Sheep, Beef Cattle and Grain Farming 18.9%, School Education 7.1%, Local Government Administration 3.6%, Hospitals 3.3% and Supermarket and Grocery Stores 2.8%.

The median weekly personal income for people aged 15 years and over in Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural) was $512.

In Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural), on the day of the Census, the most common methods of travel to work for employed people included Car, as driver 55.0%, Walked only 8.7%, Car, as passenger 5.2%, Other 2.2% and Truck 2.1%. On the day, 1.7% of employed people used public transport (train, bus, ferry, tram/light rail) as at least one of their methods of travel to work and 60.4% used car (either as driver or as passenger).

In Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural), of people aged 15 years and over, 69.3% did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census. During the two weeks before the Census, 27.0% provided care for children and 11.1% assisted family members or others due to a disability, long term illness or problems related to old age. In the year before the Census, 29.0% 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 Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural), 23.5% worked 5 to 14 hours, 13.5% worked 15 to 29 hours and 14.8% worked 30 hours or more.

Family composition

Of the families in Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural), 38.0% were couple families with children, 47.8% were couple families without children and 13.2% were one parent families.

In Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural) 21.5% of single parents were male and 78.5% were female.

Weekly incomes

In Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural), for couple families with two incomes, the median income for those with children was $1,849 and those without children was $1,730.

Employment status of couple families

In Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural), of couple families with children, 19.4% had both partners employed full-time, 3.8% had both employed part-time and 21.2% had one employed full-time and the other part-time.

Dwelling structure

Dwelling tables exclude visitor only and other non-classifiable households

In Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural), 78.7% of private dwellings were occupied and 21.3% were unoccupied.

Of occupied private dwellings in Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural), 93.7% were separate houses, 2.2% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses etc, 2.7% were flats, units or apartments and 1.4% were other dwellings.

In Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural), of occupied private dwellings 3.3% had 1 bedroom, 15.9% had 2 bedrooms and 46.4% had 3 bedrooms. The average number of bedrooms per occupied private dwelling was 3.2. The average household size was 2.4 people.

Of occupied private dwellings in Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural), 41.4% were owned outright, 29.2% were owned with a mortgage and 25.5% were rented.

Household composition

In Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural), of all households, 69.8% were family households, 27.9% were single person households and 2.3% were group households.

In Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural), 31.0% of households had a weekly household income of less than $600 and 5.6% 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 Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural), 30.3% of occupied private dwellings had one registered motor vehicle garaged or parked at their address, 36.1% had two registered motor vehicles and 25.1% had three or more registered motor vehicles.

People characteristics

In Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural), there were 1,674 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. Of these, 788 (or 47.1%) were male and 886 (or 52.9%) were female. The median age was 19 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 Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural), for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the average household size was 3.5, with 1.3 persons per bedroom. The median household income was $812.

In Central Wheatbelt (Agricultural), for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the median weekly rent was $120 and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,083.