Census details are published

Statistical information for the Woy Woy Peninsula from last year's Census has recently been published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The data used in this article is the combined statistics for the postcodes of 2256 and 2257, which cover the whole Peninsula.

In the Census, held on August 8, there were 41580 people usually resident in these postcode areas.

This was made up of 19,950 males and 21,630 females.

Of the total population, the percentage of Indigenous persons (2.4 per cent) was only slightly higher than the percentage of Indigenous persons in Australia (2.3 per cent).

Around 17.8 per cent of the population usually resident here were children aged between 0-14 years, 36.4 per cent were persons aged 55 years and over.

The median age of persons was 45 years, compared with 37 years for persons in Australia.

Of persons usually resident here, 85.8 per cent were Australian citizens, 13.5 per cent were born overseas and 0.4 per cent were overseas visitors.

About 77 per cent of persons usually resident in the area stated they were born in Australia.

Other common responses were: England with 4.6 per cent, New Zealand with 1.6 per cent, Scotland with 0.7 per cent and Germany with 0.4 per cent.

English was stated as the only language spoken at home by 87.9 per cent of persons usually resident in the area.

The most common languages other than English spoken at home were: Spanish 0.3 per cent, Italian 0.3 per cent, German 0.3 per cent and Greek 0.2 per cent.

The most common responses for religious affiliation for persons usually resident in the area were Anglican 30.3 per cent, Catholic 25.9 per cent, no religion 14.5 per cent, Uniting Church 4.1 per cent and Presbyterian and Reformed 3.6 per cent.

About 38.3 per cent of persons aged 15 years and over usually resident in the area were married, 22.8 per cent never married, 12.7 per cent separated or divorced and 8.4 per cent widowed.

The median weekly individual income for persons aged 15 years and over who were usual residents was $378 in 2256 and $383 in 2257, compared with $466 in Australia.

The median weekly household income was $709 in 2256 and $724 in 2257, compared with $1027 in Australia.

The median weekly family income was $1025 in 2256 and $1003 in 2257, compared with $1171 in Australia.

There were 10819 families in both postcode areas: 35.5 per cent were couple families with children, 42.7 per cent were couple families without children, 20.2 per cent were one parent families and 1.6 per cent were other families.

There were 21,043 private dwellings. Of those dwellings, only 17,558 were occupied.

About 75.5 per cent were separate houses, 14.5 per cent were semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc, 7.8 per cent were flat, unit or apartment and 2.1 per cent were other dwellings.

In 2256, the median weekly rent was $195 compared to $208 in the 2257 district.

This was compared to $190 in Australia.

The median monthly housing loan repayment was $1495 in 2256 compared to $1470 in 2257 and $1300 in Australia.

The average household size was 2.25 and the average number of persons per bedroom was 1.1.

Of occupied private dwellings, 38.7 per cent were fully owned, 23.3 per cent were being purchased and 27 per cent were rented.

Family households accounted for 60.6 per cent of occupied private dwellings, 29.3 per cent were lone person households and 2.7 per cent were group households.

Of the occupied private dwellings being rented, 65.5 per cent were rented from a real estate agent, 9.4 per cent were rented from a State or Territory housing authority and 22.6 per cent were rented from other landlord type.

In comparison, nationally 50.5 per cent were rented from a real estate agent and 14.9 per cent from a state or territory housing authority.

Lyle Stone, 5 Jul 2007