Nelson

Demographics & education

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

In the 2016 Census, there were 12,140 people in Nelson. Of these 64.5% were male and 35.5% were female. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people made up 12.5% of the population.

The median age of people in Nelson was 36 years. Children aged 0 - 14 years made up 14.9% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 6.8% of the population.

Of people in Nelson aged 15 years and over, 43.3% were married and 10.8% were either divorced or separated.

In Nelson, of people aged 15 years and over, 45.4% of people were in a registered marriage and 20.1% were in a de facto marriage.

In Nelson 41.9% of people were attending an educational institution. Of these, 15.5% were in primary school, 11.6% in secondary school and 8.0% in a tertiary or technical institution.

Of people aged 15 and over in Nelson, 11.0% reported having completed Year 12 as their highest level of educational attainment, 23.9% had completed a Certificate III or IV and 6.6% had completed an Advanced Diploma or Diploma.

Cultural & language diversity

The most common ancestries in Nelson were Australian 27.2%, English 22.5%, Irish 7.5%, Scottish 6.1% and German 3.3%.

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 Nelson (including those who did not state an ancestry).

In Nelson, 70.0% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were England 2.9%, New Zealand 1.8%, Philippines 1.1%, Ireland 0.4% and Thailand 0.4%.

In Nelson, 49.4% of people had both parents born in Australia and 15.0% of people had both parents born overseas.

In Nelson, the most common countries of birth for male parents were Australia 54.7%, England 5.0%, New Zealand 2.3%, Philippines 1.0% and Scotland 0.9%.

In Nelson, the most common countries of birth for female parents were Australia 54.9%, England 4.8%, New Zealand 2.3%, Philippines 1.4% and Ireland 0.9%.

The most common responses for religion in Nelson were No Religion, so described 31.1%, Not stated 27.6%, Catholic 16.6%, Anglican 10.5% and Uniting Church 3.9%. In Nelson, Christianity was the largest religious group reported overall (53.7%) (this figure excludes not stated responses).

In Nelson 69.2% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Tagalog 0.4%, Greek 0.4%, Vietnamese 0.4%, Indonesian 0.4% and Thai 0.3%.

Employment

There were 6,088 people who reported being in the labour force in the week before Census night in Nelson. Of these 72.0% were employed full time, 17.5% were employed part-time and 2.8% 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 Nelson, 5.6% worked 1 to 15 hours, 5.1% worked 16 to 24 hours and 58.0% worked 40 hours or more.

The most common occupations in Nelson included Technicians and Trades Workers 26.4%, Clerical and Administrative Workers 13.7%, Community and Personal Service Workers 12.5%, Professionals 11.3%, Managers 11.3%, Labourers 8.9%, Machinery Operators and Drivers 8.6% and Sales Workers 5.1%.

Of the employed people in Nelson, the most common responses for industry of employment included Defence 11.3%, Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction 6.2%, Engineering Design and Engineering Consulting Services 5.3%, State Government Administration 5.2% and Primary Education 2.2%.

The median weekly personal income for people aged 15 years and over in Nelson was $1,182.

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

In Nelson, on the day of the Census, the most common methods of travel to work for employed people included Car, as driver 58.1%, Bus 13.2%, Walked only 5.3%, Car, as passenger 4.3% and Worked at home 3.1%. On the day, 15.4% of employed people used public transport (train, bus, ferry, tram/light rail) as at least one of their methods of travel to work and 64.7% used car (either as driver or as passenger).

In Nelson, of people aged 15 years and over, 51.4% did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census. During the two weeks before the Census, 20.0% provided care for children and 6.2% assisted family members or others due to a disability, long term illness or problems related to old age. In the year before the Census, 14.0% 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 Nelson, 20.7% worked 5 to 14 hours, 8.7% worked 15 to 29 hours and 6.2% worked 30 hours or more.

Family composition

Of the families in Nelson, 48.3% were couple families with children, 39.5% were couple families without children and 11.1% were one parent families.

In Nelson, 28.3% of single parents were male and 71.7% were female.

Employment status of couple families

In Nelson, of couple families with children, 35.2% had both partners employed full-time, 3.7% had both employed part-time and 19.2% 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 Nelson, 92.9% of private dwellings were occupied and 7.1% were unoccupied.

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

Of occupied private dwellings in Nelson, 85.2% were separate houses, 2.5% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses etc, 3.8% were flats or apartments and 7.2% were other dwellings.

In Nelson, of occupied private dwellings 9.4% had 1 bedroom, 15.8% had 2 bedrooms and 34.5% had 3 bedrooms. The average number of bedrooms per occupied private dwelling was 3.1. The average household size was 2.9 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 Nelson, 26.6% were owned outright, 48.3% were owned with a mortgage and 21.1% were rented.

Household composition

In Nelson, of all households, 79.9% were family households, 15.8% were single person households and 4.3% were group households.

In Nelson, 8.9% of households had a weekly household income of less than $650 and 35.5% 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 Nelson, 17.2% of occupied private dwellings had one registered motor vehicle garaged or parked at their address, 37.4% had two registered motor vehicles and 38.3% had three or more registered motor vehicles.

Internet connection

In Nelson, 84.8% 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 Nelson, 73.0% of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people were male and 27.0% were female. The median age was 30 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 Nelson, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the average household size was 3.7 persons, with 1.2 persons per bedroom. The median household income was $2,446.

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

In Nelson, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the median weekly rent was $310 and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,299.

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