Lower Hunter

Demographics & education

People tables are based on a person's place of usual residence on Census night

In the 2016 Census, there were 87,675 people in Lower Hunter. Of these 50.1% were male and 49.9% were female. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people made up 6.6% of the population.

The median age of people in Lower Hunter was 38 years. Children aged 0 - 14 years made up 20.4% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 15.8% of the population.

Of people in Lower Hunter aged 15 years and over, 47.1% were married and 13.3% were either divorced or separated.

In Lower Hunter, of people aged 15 years and over, 47.6% of people were in a registered marriage and 11.8% were in a de facto marriage.

In Lower Hunter 30.4% of people were attending an educational institution. Of these, 29.3% were in primary school, 21.0% in secondary school and 12.3% in a tertiary or technical institution.

Of people aged 15 and over in Lower Hunter, 10.1% reported having completed Year 12 as their highest level of educational attainment, 23.4% had completed a Certificate III or IV and 6.8% had completed an Advanced Diploma or Diploma.

Cultural & language diversity

The most common ancestries in Lower Hunter were Australian 35.0%, English 31.5%, Scottish 8.1%, Irish 7.6% and German 3.2%.

Respondents had the option of reporting up to two ancestries on their Census form, and this is captured by the Ancestry Multi Response (ANCP) variable used in this table. Therefore, the total responses count will not equal the persons count for this area. Calculated percentages represent a proportion of all responses from people in Lower Hunter (including those who did not state an ancestry).

In Lower Hunter, 85.3% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were England 1.8%, New Zealand 1.1%, Philippines 0.4%, Scotland 0.3% and Germany 0.3%.

In Lower Hunter, 74.6% of people had both parents born in Australia and 8.3% of people had both parents born overseas.

In Lower Hunter, the most common countries of birth for male parents were Australia 78.5%, England 3.8%, New Zealand 1.7%, Scotland 1.1% and Germany 0.5%.

In Lower Hunter, the most common countries of birth for female parents were Australia 79.8%, England 3.3%, New Zealand 1.6%, Scotland 0.9% and Philippines 0.6%.

The most common responses for religion in Lower Hunter were Anglican 27.7%, No Religion, so described 24.6%, Catholic 21.2%, Not stated 10.2% and Uniting Church 5.2%. In Lower Hunter, Christianity was the largest religious group reported overall (70.8%) (this figure excludes not stated responses).

In Lower Hunter 90.0% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Afrikaans 0.1%, German 0.1%, Tagalog 0.1%, Thai 0.1% and Mandarin 0.1%.

Employment

There were 39,399 people who reported being in the labour force in the week before Census night in Lower Hunter. Of these 55.6% were employed full time, 31.3% were employed part-time and 7.6% were unemployed.

The ABS Labour Force Survey provides the official estimates of Australia's unemployment rate. More information about Census and labour force status is provided in Understanding the Census and Census Data.

Of employed people in Lower Hunter, 11.7% worked 1 to 15 hours, 11.0% worked 16 to 24 hours and 42.9% worked 40 hours or more.

The most common occupations in Lower Hunter included Technicians and Trades Workers 17.9%, Machinery Operators and Drivers 14.0%, Labourers 12.5%, Professionals 11.9%, Community and Personal Service Workers 11.3%, Clerical and Administrative Workers 11.2%, Managers 10.4% and Sales Workers 9.2%.

Of the employed people in Lower Hunter, the most common responses for industry of employment included Coal Mining 11.9%, Aged Care Residential Services 2.6%, Takeaway Food Services 2.5%, Hospitals (except Psychiatric Hospitals) 2.5% and Supermarket and Grocery Stores 2.3%.

The median weekly personal income for people aged 15 years and over in Lower Hunter was $578.

View the data quality statements for: Total personal income (INCP) Total family income (FINF) Total household income (HIND)

In Lower Hunter, on the day of the Census, the most common methods of travel to work for employed people included Car, as driver 70.5%, Car, as passenger 4.7%, Worked at home 4.6%, Walked only 2.5% and Truck 1.3%. On the day, 0.8% of employed people used public transport (train, bus, ferry, tram/light rail) as at least one of their methods of travel to work and 76.0% used car (either as driver or as passenger).

In Lower Hunter, of people aged 15 years and over, 68.2% did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census. During the two weeks before the Census, 30.8% provided care for children and 12.2% assisted family members or others due to a disability, long term illness or problems related to old age. In the year before the Census, 16.9% of people did voluntary work through an organisation or a group.

View the data quality statements for: Unpaid domestic work (DOMP) Unpaid child care (CHCAREP) Unpaid assistance (UNCAREP) Voluntary work (VOLWP)

Of people who did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census in Lower Hunter, 25.2% worked 5 to 14 hours, 12.7% worked 15 to 29 hours and 12.0% worked 30 hours or more.

Family composition

Of the families in Lower Hunter, 42.6% were couple families with children, 37.3% were couple families without children and 18.7% were one parent families.

In Lower Hunter, 18.7% of single parents were male and 81.3% were female.

Employment status of couple families

In Lower Hunter, of couple families with children, 18.0% had both partners employed full-time, 3.9% had both employed part-time and 22.7% had one employed full-time and the other part-time.

The ABS Labour Force Survey provides the official estimates of Australia's unemployment rate. More information about Census and labour force status is provided in Understanding the Census and Census Data.

Dwelling structure

Dwelling tables exclude visitor only and other non-classifiable households

In Lower Hunter, 89.6% of private dwellings were occupied and 10.4% were unoccupied.

View the data quality statements for: Dwelling type (DWTD) Dwelling Structure (STRD)

Of occupied private dwellings in Lower Hunter, 90.1% were separate houses, 6.8% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses etc, 2.0% were flats or apartments and 0.6% were other dwellings.

In Lower Hunter, of occupied private dwellings 2.9% had 1 bedroom, 15.2% had 2 bedrooms and 45.2% had 3 bedrooms. The average number of bedrooms per occupied private dwelling was 3.2. The average household size was 2.6 people.

View the data quality statements for: Number of bedrooms in a private dwelling (BEDD) Number of persons usually resident in dwelling (NPRD)

Of occupied private dwellings in Lower Hunter, 33.4% were owned outright, 36.2% were owned with a mortgage and 27.0% were rented.

Household composition

In Lower Hunter, of all households, 73.4% were family households, 24.1% were single person households and 2.4% were group households.

In Lower Hunter, 22.2% of households had a weekly household income of less than $650 and 12.3% of households had a weekly income of more than $3000.

Mortgage & rent

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

The number of households where rent payments were 30% or more of an imputed income measure are expressed in this table as a proportion of the total number of households in an area (including those households which were not renting, and 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.

The number of households where mortgage repayments were 30% or more of an imputed income measure are expressed in this table as a proportion of the total number of households in an area (including those households which were renting, and 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.

Number of motor vehicles

In Lower Hunter, 30.8% of occupied private dwellings had one registered motor vehicle garaged or parked at their address, 37.9% had two registered motor vehicles and 22.9% had three or more registered motor vehicles.

Internet connection

In Lower Hunter, 77.5% of households had at least one person access the internet from the dwelling. This could have been through a desktop/laptop computer, mobile or smart phone, tablet, music or video player, gaming console, smart TV or any other device.

People characteristics

In Lower Hunter, 52.5% of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people were male and 47.5% were female. The median age was 22 years.

View the data quality statements for: Place of Usual Residence (PURP) Indigenous status (INGP)

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.

In Lower Hunter, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the average household size was 3.3 persons, with 1 persons per bedroom. The median household income was $1,277.

View the data quality statements for: Number of Bedrooms in Private Dwelling (BEDD) Household composition (HHCD) Indigenous household Indicator (INGDWTD)

In Lower Hunter, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the median weekly rent was $280 and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,700.

View the data quality statements for: Rent weekly payments (RNTD) Mortgage monthly repayments (MRED) Indigenous household Indicator (INGDWTD)