Newcastle and Lake Macquarie

Demographics & education

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

In the 2016 Census, there were 359,106 people in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie. Of these 49.0% were male and 51.0% were female. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.9% of the population.

The median age of people in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie was 40 years. Children aged 0 - 14 years made up 17.7% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 18.6% of the population.

Of people in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie aged 15 years and over, 45.9% were married and 12.8% were either divorced or separated.

In Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, of people aged 15 years and over, 46.3% of people were in a registered marriage and 10.7% were in a de facto marriage.

In Newcastle and Lake Macquarie 29.3% of people were attending an educational institution. Of these, 26.9% were in primary school, 20.5% in secondary school and 25.3% in a tertiary or technical institution.

Of people aged 15 and over in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, 12.4% reported having completed Year 12 as their highest level of educational attainment, 19.7% had completed a Certificate III or IV and 8.8% had completed an Advanced Diploma or Diploma.

Cultural & language diversity

The most common ancestries in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie were English 30.9%, Australian 30.1%, Irish 8.9%, Scottish 8.5% and German 3.1%.

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 Newcastle and Lake Macquarie (including those who did not state an ancestry).

In Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, 83.5% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were England 2.4%, New Zealand 1.1%, China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 0.6%, India 0.5% and Philippines 0.4%.

In Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, 68.7% of people had both parents born in Australia and 14.7% of people had both parents born overseas.

In Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, the most common countries of birth for male parents were Australia 73.6%, England 4.6%, New Zealand 1.6%, Scotland 1.2% and Italy 0.8%.

In Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, the most common countries of birth for female parents were Australia 75.6%, England 4.1%, New Zealand 1.5%, Scotland 1.0% and China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 0.8%.

The most common responses for religion in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie were No Religion, so described 30.6%, Catholic 21.4%, Anglican 19.5%, Not stated 7.6% and Uniting Church 5.1%. In Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, Christianity was the largest religious group reported overall (63.5%) (this figure excludes not stated responses).

In Newcastle and Lake Macquarie 88.5% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 0.7%, Macedonian 0.5%, Italian 0.4%, Greek 0.3% and Cantonese 0.3%.

Employment

There were 172,841 people who reported being in the labour force in the week before Census night in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie. Of these 54.9% were employed full time, 33.0% were employed part-time and 7.2% 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 Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, 12.4% worked 1 to 15 hours, 11.2% worked 16 to 24 hours and 40.1% worked 40 hours or more.

The most common occupations in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie included Professionals 23.3%, Technicians and Trades Workers 14.6%, Clerical and Administrative Workers 13.7%, Community and Personal Service Workers 11.9%, Managers 10.0%, Sales Workers 9.7%, Labourers 9.3% and Machinery Operators and Drivers 6.1%.

Of the employed people in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, the most common responses for industry of employment included Hospitals (except Psychiatric Hospitals) 5.4%, Other Social Assistance Services 2.8%, Aged Care Residential Services 2.4%, Supermarket and Grocery Stores 2.4% and Takeaway Food Services 2.3%.

The median weekly personal income for people aged 15 years and over in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie was $628.

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

In Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, 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 4.5%, Worked at home 3.7%, Walked only 2.6% and Bus 1.5%. On the day, 3.1% of employed people used public transport (train, bus, ferry, tram/light rail) as at least one of their methods of travel to work and 76.2% used car (either as driver or as passenger).

In Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, of people aged 15 years and over, 72.2% did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census. During the two weeks before the Census, 29.4% provided care for children and 13.0% assisted family members or others due to a disability, long term illness or problems related to old age. In the year before the Census, 18.2% 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 Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, 27.6% worked 5 to 14 hours, 12.8% worked 15 to 29 hours and 9.4% worked 30 hours or more.

Family composition

Of the families in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, 41.4% were couple families with children, 39.2% were couple families without children and 17.8% were one parent families.

In Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, 18.8% of single parents were male and 81.2% were female.

Employment status of couple families

In Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, of couple families with children, 18.9% had both partners employed full-time, 3.9% had both employed part-time and 23.5% 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 Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, 90.8% of private dwellings were occupied and 9.2% were unoccupied.

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

Of occupied private dwellings in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, 79.2% were separate houses, 12.1% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses etc, 7.7% were flats or apartments and 0.6% were other dwellings.

In Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, of occupied private dwellings 4.8% had 1 bedroom, 20.6% had 2 bedrooms and 43.9% had 3 bedrooms. The average number of bedrooms per occupied private dwelling was 3. The average household size was 2.5 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 Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, 34.4% were owned outright, 33.7% were owned with a mortgage and 28.5% were rented.

Household composition

In Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, of all households, 69.3% were family households, 26.4% were single person households and 4.4% were group households.

In Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, 21.8% of households had a weekly household income of less than $650 and 13.7% 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 Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, 35.2% of occupied private dwellings had one registered motor vehicle garaged or parked at their address, 36.9% had two registered motor vehicles and 17.2% had three or more registered motor vehicles.

Internet connection

In Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, 81.0% 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 Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, 49.5% of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people were male and 50.5% 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 Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the average household size was 3 persons, with 1 persons per bedroom. The median household income was $1,278.

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

In Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the median weekly rent was $320 and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,733.

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