Wide Bay

Demographics & education

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

In the 2016 Census, there were 144,098 people in Wide Bay. Of these 49.5% were male and 50.5% were female. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people made up 4.1% of the population.

The median age of people in Wide Bay was 47 years. Children aged 0 - 14 years made up 17.4% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 23.2% of the population.

Of people in Wide Bay aged 15 years and over, 49.4% were married and 15.9% were either divorced or separated.

In Wide Bay, of people aged 15 years and over, 49.1% of people were in a registered marriage and 11.2% were in a de facto marriage.

In Wide Bay 27.5% of people were attending an educational institution. Of these, 28.2% were in primary school, 22.9% in secondary school and 11.1% in a tertiary or technical institution.

Of people aged 15 and over in Wide Bay, 13.1% reported having completed Year 12 as their highest level of educational attainment, 20.0% had completed a Certificate III or IV and 8.4% had completed an Advanced Diploma or Diploma.

Cultural & language diversity

The most common ancestries in Wide Bay were English 31.5%, Australian 28.4%, Irish 8.6%, Scottish 8.2% and German 5.7%.

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 Wide Bay (including those who did not state an ancestry).

In Wide Bay, 77.8% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were England 4.8%, New Zealand 2.9%, Germany 0.6%, South Africa 0.5% and Philippines 0.5%.

In Wide Bay, 64.6% of people had both parents born in Australia and 16.4% of people had both parents born overseas.

In Wide Bay, the most common countries of birth for male parents were Australia 69.5%, England 7.1%, New Zealand 3.5%, Scotland 1.1% and Germany 1.0%.

In Wide Bay, the most common countries of birth for female parents were Australia 71.1%, England 6.7%, New Zealand 3.4%, Scotland 1.0% and Germany 1.0%.

The most common responses for religion in Wide Bay were No Religion, so described 31.5%, Anglican 17.6%, Catholic 16.7%, Not stated 10.9% and Uniting Church 6.9%. In Wide Bay, Christianity was the largest religious group reported overall (61.9%) (this figure excludes not stated responses).

In Wide Bay 89.0% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included German 0.5%, French 0.2%, Italian 0.2%, Dutch 0.2% and Spanish 0.1%.

Employment

There were 58,396 people who reported being in the labour force in the week before Census night in Wide Bay. Of these 50.0% were employed full time, 35.6% were employed part-time and 9.1% 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 Wide Bay, 13.4% worked 1 to 15 hours, 10.7% worked 16 to 24 hours and 38.2% worked 40 hours or more.

The most common occupations in Wide Bay included Professionals 15.4%, Technicians and Trades Workers 15.4%, Labourers 13.0%, Community and Personal Service Workers 12.7%, Managers 12.6%, Clerical and Administrative Workers 11.8%, Sales Workers 10.5% and Machinery Operators and Drivers 6.9%.

Of the employed people in Wide Bay, the most common responses for industry of employment included Primary Education 3.1%, Hospitals (except Psychiatric Hospitals) 3.1%, Aged Care Residential Services 3.0%, Cafes and Restaurants 2.9% and Supermarket and Grocery Stores 2.7%.

The median weekly personal income for people aged 15 years and over in Wide Bay was $499.

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

In Wide Bay, on the day of the Census, the most common methods of travel to work for employed people included Car, as driver 64.7%, Worked at home 8.5%, Car, as passenger 5.1%, Walked only 3.5% and Truck 1.4%. On the day, 1.6% of employed people used public transport (train, bus, ferry, tram/light rail) as at least one of their methods of travel to work and 70.6% used car (either as driver or as passenger).

In Wide Bay, of people aged 15 years and over, 69.9% did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census. During the two weeks before the Census, 24.1% provided care for children and 12.8% assisted family members or others due to a disability, long term illness or problems related to old age. In the year before the Census, 20.7% 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 Wide Bay, 25.8% worked 5 to 14 hours, 13.8% worked 15 to 29 hours and 12.1% worked 30 hours or more.

Family composition

Of the families in Wide Bay, 33.9% were couple families with children, 48.0% were couple families without children and 17.0% were one parent families.

In Wide Bay, 19.2% of single parents were male and 80.8% were female.

Employment status of couple families

In Wide Bay, of couple families with children, 14.2% had both partners employed full-time, 5.0% had both employed part-time and 17.1% 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 Wide Bay, 85.4% of private dwellings were occupied and 14.6% were unoccupied.

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

Of occupied private dwellings in Wide Bay, 86.4% were separate houses, 7.2% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses etc, 4.2% were flats or apartments and 1.6% were other dwellings.

In Wide Bay, of occupied private dwellings 4.1% had 1 bedroom, 17.1% had 2 bedrooms and 44.6% had 3 bedrooms. The average number of bedrooms per occupied private dwelling was 3.1. The average household size was 2.4 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 Wide Bay, 39.2% were owned outright, 30.3% were owned with a mortgage and 26.5% were rented.

Household composition

In Wide Bay, of all households, 70.1% were family households, 26.4% were single person households and 3.6% were group households.

In Wide Bay, 27.5% of households had a weekly household income of less than $650 and 7.0% 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 Wide Bay, 35.6% of occupied private dwellings had one registered motor vehicle garaged or parked at their address, 36.0% had two registered motor vehicles and 19.1% had three or more registered motor vehicles.

Internet connection

In Wide Bay, 79.3% 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 Wide Bay, 51.4% of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people were male and 48.6% were female. The median age was 21 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 Wide Bay, 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 $958.

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

In Wide Bay, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the median weekly rent was $230 and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,300.

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