Home ownership dropped faster in Sydney and Melbourne than the national average as rising costs and growing competition from investors turned a greater number of people into renters, the latest census figures show.
Total dwelling ownership in Sydney dropped to 62.3 per cent in 2016 from 65.2 per cent five years earlier as both outright and ownership with a mortgage fell.
Nationally, home ownership fell to 65.5 per cent since the last census from 67 per cent.
In Melbourne, total home ownership fell to 66.4 per cent from 69.5 per cent, with outright ownership falling faster than mortgage ownership.
Australia's population is getting older, more diverse, less religious, and more likely to owe their bank money on their homes, according to the results of the latest national census.
By dwelling tenure, the proportion of those owning their own homes outright has declined, falling to 31 per cent in 2016 compared to 41.1 per cent in 1991.
Residents with mortgages now account for 34.5 per cent of the total, up from 27.5 per cent in 1991.
Renters, meanwhile, account for 30.9 per cent, up from 26.9 per cent 25 years ago.
Releasing the results of the 2016 Census on Tuesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said despite the collapse of its online system on census night and elevated concerns around privacy, this year's findings were consistent with previous census and "can be used with confidence".
Australia's highest mortgages - unsurprisingly - are paid by Sydneysiders, whose median repayments are around $2200 per month, and those in Darwin, also around $2200 per month.
Canberra is next with $2100 per month, followed by Perth ($1950) and Brisbane ($1800). Melburnians pay $1750 per cent, while those in Adelaide pay $1500, just head of Hobart with $1450.
Rents are highest in Sydney -- $440 per week - followed by Darwin ($420) and Melbourne ($350)
Sydney remains the most most expensive city for more people than anywhere else in Australia, with 14.2 per cent of residents devoting more than 30 per cent of their incomes on rents.
The nation's median income was $662 per week, led by the ACT with $998 and the Northern Territory ($871) and WA ($724).
NSW residents reported a median income of $664, Victorians slightly less with $644. South Australia and Tasmania were the lowest, with $600 and $575 respectively.
Population jumps
Confirming that the number of residents officially reached 24.4 million people at the end of 2016, the census shows the population has effectively doubled since 1966, with the ACT, Victoria and Western Australia posting the fastest growth over the past five years.
From the previous census in 2011, the population increased by 8.8 per cent.
The census found that NSW is still the nation's most populous state, home to more than 7.48 million people, ahead of Victoria with 5.9 million and Queensland's 4.7 million.
Australia's fastest growing regional was Jarrahdale, 45 kilometres from the Perth CBD - with a population increase of 51 per cent to 27,000.
Among states and territories, the ACT posted the biggest gains over the past five years, rising 11 per cent.
Sydney is still the nation's largest population centre, with 4.8 million residents, through Melbourne is gradually closing the gap, with 4.82 million.
Much of the growth is coming from migration, the census showed, with 86 per cent of new Australians settling in the capital cities over the past quarter-century.
Melbourne and Sydney's migrant populations have grown by around 12 per cent over five years.
The census confirms the nation is aging, with the bureau noting it has developed a "middle-aged spread" after the proportion of people aged 65 years or over rose to 16 per cent from 14 per cent in 2011.
There are now 480,000 people aged 85 and above, while in Tasmania 1/5th of the population is above 65.
Australia was home on census night to 6.1 million families, 44.7 per cent of whom were couples with children. Couples without children accounted for 37.8 per cent, and single parent families made up 15.8 per cent.
There were 46,800 same-sex couples, up 39 per cent since 2011.
Diversity 'tipping point'
Some 2.8 per cent - or 649,171 - Australians identified as aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders, an increase of 18 per cent over five years, and much of it in eastern parts of the nation. Growth in NSW was 25 per cent, followed by Queensland at 20 per cent.
The nation's diversity is also reaching what the bureau described as "a tipping point" - with 49.3 per cent of the population now either born overseas, or born to parents who were born overseas. Some 50.7 per cent described themselves as "third-generation" or more.
While the biggest number of overseas-born Australians still started life in either England or New Zealand, the last decade has seen the largest number of migrants coming from India (accounting for 13.7 per cent); China (13.3 per cent), followed by England (7.9 per cent), NZ (7.7) and The Phillipines (6 per cent).
Around 2 million migrants live in NSW - accounting for 28 per cent of that state's resident population. Another 1.7 million live in Victoria (28 per cent of the total), followed by 1.02 million in Queensland (22 per cent), 797,000 in Western Australia (32 per cent), 384,097 in South Australia (26 per cent) and 61,240 in Tasmania (12 per cent).
Questions on religion show the decline in the proportion of people calling themselves Christian has continued strongly over the past five years.
Some 52.1 per cent nominated Christianity in 2016, down from 74 per cent in 1991 and 88.2 per cent in 1966.
"Other" religions have climbed from 0.7 per cent five decades ago to 8.2 per cent last year.
Those nominating no religion have surged from 0.8 per cent of the population in 1966 to 30.1 per cent.
Australian statistician David Kalisch said an independent panel of experts appointed by the bureau had found the census data could be "used with confidence".
A response rate of 95.1 per cent and a "net undercount" of 1 per cent meant the quality was comparable to the previous censuses as well as those in countries such as New Zealand, Canada and the UK, he said.
