Demographics
At the 2011 Census, there were 72,696 people in the Port Macquarie-Hastings local government area, of these 48.1% were male and 51.9% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.3% of the population, slightly higher than the national average. The median age of people in the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council area was 47 years; some ten years higher than the national median. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 17.8% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 24.7% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 52.4% were married and 14.7% were either divorced or separated.
Population growth in the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council area between the 2001 Census and the 2006 Census was 6.68%; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 Census was 6.23%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in the Port Macquarie-Hastings local government area was generally on par with the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council area was slightly below the national average.
At the 2011 Census, the proportion of residents in the Port Macquarie-Hastings local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon exceeded 83% of all residents (national average was 65.2%). In excess of 64% of all residents in the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council area nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 Census, which was higher than the national average of 50.2%. Meanwhile, as at the Census date, compared to the national average, households in the Port Macquarie-Hastings local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (3.6%) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4%); and a significantly higher proportion (93.7%) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8%).
| Selected historical census data for Port Macquarie-Hastings local government area | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Census year | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 | ||
| Population | Estimated residents on Census night | 64,146 | 68,430 | 72,696 | |
| LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | |||||
| % of New South Wales population | 1.05% | ||||
| % of Australian population | 0.34% | 0.34% | 0.34% | ||
| Cultural and language diversity | |||||
| Ancestry, top responses |
English | 33.4% | |||
| Australian | 32.8% | ||||
| Irish | 9.5% | ||||
| Scottish | 7.7% | ||||
| German | 2.8% | ||||
| Language, top responses (other than English) |
German | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | |
| Italian | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | ||
| Dutch | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | ||
| French | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | ||
| Spanish | n/c | n/c | 0.1% | ||
| Religious affiliation | |||||
| Religious affiliation, top responses |
Anglican | 33.1% | 31.3% | 29.4% | |
| Catholic | 24.2% | 24.2% | 24.7% | ||
| No Religion | 11.5% | 14.5% | 18.1% | ||
| Uniting Church | 8.4% | 7.2% | 6.0% | ||
| Presbyterian and Reformed | 5.6% | 4.9% | 4.5% | ||
| Median weekly incomes | |||||
| Personal income | Median weekly personal income | A$361 | A$447 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 77.5% | 77.5% | |||
| Family income | Median weekly family income | A$679 | A$1,008 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 66.1% | 68.1% | |||
| Household income | Median weekly household income | A$891 | A$837 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 76.1% | 67.8% | |||
Read more about this topic: Port Macquarie-Hastings Council