Tennant Creek

Demographics & education

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

In the 2016 Census, there were 2,991 people in Tennant Creek. Of these 52.6% were male and 47.4% were female. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people made up 51.3% of the population.

The median age of people in Tennant Creek was 33 years. Children aged 0 - 14 years made up 21.6% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 7.8% of the population.

Of people in Tennant Creek aged 15 years and over, 38.2% were married and 12.3% were either divorced or separated.

In Tennant Creek, of people aged 15 years and over, 31.7% of people were in a registered marriage and 16.8% were in a de facto marriage.

In Tennant Creek 33.4% of people were attending an educational institution. Of these, 26.6% were in primary school, 14.6% in secondary school and 10.4% in a tertiary or technical institution.

Of people aged 15 and over in Tennant Creek, 10.5% reported having completed Year 12 as their highest level of educational attainment, 12.9% had completed a Certificate III or IV and 5.8% had completed an Advanced Diploma or Diploma.

Cultural & language diversity

The most common ancestries in Tennant Creek were Australian 25.8%, Australian Aboriginal 24.2%, English 16.7%, Irish 4.7% and Scottish 3.6%.

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 Tennant Creek (including those who did not state an ancestry).

In Tennant Creek, 74.4% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were Philippines 2.4%, New Zealand 1.9%, England 1.8%, India 1.2% and Fiji 0.7%.

In Tennant Creek, 66.3% of people had both parents born in Australia and 15.4% of people had both parents born overseas.

In Tennant Creek, the most common countries of birth for male parents were Australia 70.3%, England 2.7%, Philippines 2.3%, New Zealand 1.9% and India 1.7%.

In Tennant Creek, the most common countries of birth for female parents were Australia 70.2%, Philippines 2.9%, England 2.7%, New Zealand 2.0% and India 1.6%.

The most common responses for religion in Tennant Creek were No Religion, so described 34.4%, Catholic 15.2%, Not stated 14.0%, Other Protestant 7.9% and Anglican 5.7%. In Tennant Creek, Christianity was the largest religious group reported overall (51.8%) (this figure excludes not stated responses).

In Tennant Creek 53.8% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Warumungu 7.7%, Warlpiri 3.7%, Alyawarr 1.9%, Malayalam 1.1% and Filipino 1.0%.

Employment

There were 1,245 people who reported being in the labour force in the week before Census night in Tennant Creek. Of these 70.1% were employed full time, 15.6% were employed part-time and 7.1% 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 Tennant Creek, 5.6% worked 1 to 15 hours, 4.1% worked 16 to 24 hours and 45.4% worked 40 hours or more.

The most common occupations in Tennant Creek included Professionals 21.1%, Community and Personal Service Workers 20.3%, Clerical and Administrative Workers 13.3%, Managers 12.7%, Technicians and Trades Workers 12.2%, Labourers 8.7%, Sales Workers 5.2% and Machinery Operators and Drivers 3.0%.

Of the employed people in Tennant Creek, the most common responses for industry of employment included State Government Administration 5.9%, Hospitals (except Psychiatric Hospitals) 5.7%, Primary Education 4.4%, Local Government Administration 3.8% and Central Government Administration 3.6%.

The median weekly personal income for people aged 15 years and over in Tennant Creek was $650.

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

In Tennant Creek, on the day of the Census, the most common methods of travel to work for employed people included Car, as driver 55.9%, Walked only 17.5%, Car, as passenger 6.2%, Bicycle 4.0% and Worked at home 1.6%. On the day, 0.9% of employed people used public transport (train, bus, ferry, tram/light rail) as at least one of their methods of travel to work and 62.3% used car (either as driver or as passenger).

In Tennant Creek, of people aged 15 years and over, 57.7% did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census. During the two weeks before the Census, 25.1% provided care for children and 10.2% assisted family members or others due to a disability, long term illness or problems related to old age. In the year before the Census, 16.8% 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 Tennant Creek, 22.0% worked 5 to 14 hours, 8.3% worked 15 to 29 hours and 4.3% worked 30 hours or more.

Family composition

Of the families in Tennant Creek, 37.3% were couple families with children, 37.5% were couple families without children and 21.7% were one parent families.

In Tennant Creek, 16.1% of single parents were male and 83.9% were female.

Employment status of couple families

In Tennant Creek, of couple families with children, 34.9% had both partners employed full-time, 1.7% had both employed part-time and 8.9% 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 Tennant Creek, 70.3% of private dwellings were occupied and 29.7% were unoccupied.

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

Of occupied private dwellings in Tennant Creek, 72.0% were separate houses, 5.1% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses etc, 18.3% were flats or apartments and 4.1% were other dwellings.

In Tennant Creek, of occupied private dwellings 12.3% had 1 bedroom, 18.4% had 2 bedrooms and 50.2% had 3 bedrooms. The average number of bedrooms per occupied private dwelling was 2.7. The average household size was 2.7 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 Tennant Creek, 14.1% were owned outright, 15.6% were owned with a mortgage and 63.7% were rented.

Household composition

In Tennant Creek, of all households, 64.5% were family households, 32.5% were single person households and 3.0% were group households.

In Tennant Creek, 16.8% 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 Tennant Creek, 38.1% of occupied private dwellings had one registered motor vehicle garaged or parked at their address, 22.0% had two registered motor vehicles and 13.4% had three or more registered motor vehicles.

Internet connection

In Tennant Creek, 68.6% 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 Tennant Creek, 52.7% of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people were male and 47.3% were female. The median age was 26 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 Tennant Creek, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the average household size was 3.6 persons, with 1.3 persons per bedroom. The median household income was $1,134.

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

In Tennant Creek, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the median weekly rent was $150 and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,216.

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