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Census 2016: if Australia were 100 people
The latest census data has been collected and analysed. Here's a snapshot of Australia shown as a group of 100 people.
A yawning income and lifestyle gap has opened between the inner suburbs of Sydney and the rest of the city and the state.
Exclusive Bureau of Statistics analysis of census figures for The Sydney Morning Herald has revealed the median family income in inner Sydney – which includes suburbs within an arc stretching from the airport, northwest to Homebush, then northeast to Palm Beach – has reached $131,248 a year. That is $38,000 more than the rest of Sydney and almost $56,000 more than in regional NSW.
The bureau's special analysis underscores how inner Sydney has opted for a high-density lifestyle in unprecedented numbers. The 2016 census finds 49.2 per cent of the residents in that part of the city now live in a flat or apartment compared with 16.4 per cent in the rest of Sydney and just 6.44 per cent of those living outside of greater Sydney. Nationally, just over 13 per cent live in an apartment or flat.
Only one in three people in inner Sydney now live in a detached house while a further one in seven live in a "semi, terrace or townhouse".
The share of Sydneysiders who own their own home – either outright or with a mortgage – has slumped to 62.3 per cent, more than 3 percentage points lower than the national figure.
And the bureau's special analysis of Sydney suggests soaring housing costs are putting the squeeze on families in greater western Sydney and the Central Coast.
Those with a median personal income for those regions, and paying the median rent, must fork out 62.4 per cent of the earnings to keep a roof over their head. The comparable share in inner Sydney is 53 per cent.
Those paying off a median mortgage in greater western Sydney and the Central Coast, with a median family income, are paying 27 per cent of their income to repayments. That income share is three percentage points higher than an inner Sydney household with a median family income and median mortgage.
The median rent in inner Sydney is $550, more than double the median rent in regional NSW.
The large migrant populations in greater western Sydney means only 20 per cent of people in that part of the city describe themselves as having no religion. That compares with 30 per cent nationally and 34 per cent in inner Sydney.
One indicator that is fairly consistent across the metropolitan area is the share of the population born in Australia – 53 per cent in inner Sydney versus 59 per cent in the rest of the city. However, those proportions are in sharp contrast with the rest of NSW, where 81 per cent were born in Australia. Nationally, 67 per cent are Australian born.
Sydney's median age – 36 years – is also consistent across the city, although it is seven years lower than the median across the rest of NSW.
The inner Sydney region used in the special analysis included suburbs east of an arc stretching from the airport, northwest to Homebush, then northeast to Palm Beach. The population of that region is 1.6 million people. A second Sydney region taking in the west of the city and the central coast had a population of 3.2 million people. The third region in the analysis – regions of NSW outside Sydney – has a population of about 2.6 million.
The census shows families in Sydney are much wealthier than they were at the last census. The median family income across the whole of greater Sydney topped the $100,000 mark for the first time, and is nearly $16,000 higher than at the last count in 2011.