Canberra, ACT

Demographics & education

In the 2011 Census, there were 168,502 people in Canberra, ACT of these 49.2% were male and 50.8% were female. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.7% of the population.

The median age of people in Canberra, ACT was 37 years. Children aged 0 - 14 years made up 18.7% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 12.1% of the population.

Of people in Canberra, ACT aged 15 years and over, 49.5% were married and 11.3% were either divorced or separated.

The median age of married people in Canberra, ACT was 50 years and the median age of people never married was 25 years.

In Canberra, ACT, of people aged 15 years and over, 49.6% of people were in a registered marriage and 9.8% were in a de facto marriage.

The median age of people in a registered marriage in Canberra, ACT was 50 years and the median age of people in a de facto marriage was 36 years.

In Canberra, ACT 29.8% of people were attending an educational institution. Of these, 26.8% were in primary school, 24.6% in secondary school and 25.9% in a tertiary or technical institution.

Cultural & language diversity

The most common ancestries in Canberra, ACT were Australian 27.6%, English 25.2%, Irish 9.6%, Scottish 7.5% and German 3.3%.

In Canberra, ACT, 74.4% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were England 4.1%, India 1.5%, New Zealand 1.3%, China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 0.8% and Scotland 0.7%.

In Canberra, ACT, 56.1% of people had both parents born in Australia and 29.2% of people had both parents born overseas.

The most common responses for religion in Canberra, ACT were Catholic 28.4%, No Religion 27.2%, Anglican 16.3%, Uniting Church 3.3% and Presbyterian and Reformed 2.6%.

In Canberra, ACT 82.0% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Italian 0.9%, Mandarin 0.8%, Greek 0.7%, Cantonese 0.7% and Spanish 0.7%.

Employment

There were 95,910 people who reported being in the labour force in the week before Census night in Canberra, ACT. Of these 65.2% were employed full time, 25.2% were employed part-time and 3.2% were unemployed.

Of employed people in Canberra, ACT, 9.4% worked 1 to 15 hours, 7.5% worked 16 to 24 hours and 46.1% worked 40 hours or more.

The median age of people employed full-time in Canberra, ACT was 41 years and for people who were employed part-time was 39 years.

The most common occupations in Canberra, ACT included Professionals 28.4%, Clerical and Administrative Workers 19.8%, Managers 15.9%, Technicians and Trades Workers 10.5%, Community and Personal Service Workers 9.1%, Sales Workers 7.0%, Labourers 4.7% and Machinery Operators And Drivers 2.7%.

Of the employed people in Canberra, ACT, the most common responses for industry of employment included Central Government Administration 21.2%, Defence 4.7%, School Education 3.8%, Cafes, Restaurants and Takeaway Food Services 3.5% and Hospitals 3.3%.

The median weekly personal income for people aged 15 years and over in Canberra, ACT was $942.

In Canberra, ACT, on the day of the Census, the most common methods of travel to work for employed people included Car, as driver 65.4%, Car, as passenger 6.9%, Bus 4.7%, Walked only 2.9% and Bicycle 1.5%. On the day, 5.7% of employed people used public transport (train, bus, ferry, tram/light rail) as at least one of their methods of travel to work and 72.6% used car (either as driver or as passenger).

In Canberra, ACT, of people aged 15 years and over, 79.1% did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census. During the two weeks before the Census, 28.9% provided care for children and 11.3% assisted family members or others due to a disability, long term illness or problems related to old age. In the year before the Census, 21.1% of people did voluntary work through an organisation or a group.

Of people who did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census in Canberra, ACT, 31.6% worked 5 to 14 hours, 13.7% worked 15 to 29 hours and 8.1% worked 30 hours or more.

Family composition

Of the families in Canberra, ACT, 46.6% were couple families with children, 36.6% were couple families without children and 15.4% were one parent families.

In Canberra, ACT 20.0% of single parents were male and 80.0% were female.

Weekly incomes

In Canberra, ACT, for couple families with two incomes, the median income for those with children was $3,112 and those without children was $2,715.

Employment status of couple families

In Canberra, ACT, of couple families with children, 30.8% had both partners employed full-time, 3.4% had both employed part-time and 20.9% had one employed full-time and the other part-time.

Dwelling structure

Dwelling tables exclude visitor only and other non-classifiable households

In Canberra, ACT, 92.7% of private dwellings were occupied and 7.3% were unoccupied.

Of occupied private dwellings in Canberra, ACT, 76.6% were separate houses, 11.9% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses etc, 11.2% were flats, units or apartments and 0.3% were other dwellings.

In Canberra, ACT, of occupied private dwellings 4.0% had 1 bedroom, 12.5% had 2 bedrooms and 44.2% had 3 bedrooms. The average number of bedrooms per occupied private dwelling was 3.3. The average household size was 2.6 people.

Of occupied private dwellings in Canberra, ACT, 31.4% were owned outright, 38.9% were owned with a mortgage and 27.6% were rented.

Household composition

In Canberra, ACT, of all households, 72.6% were family households, 23.4% were single person households and 4.0% were group households.

In Canberra, ACT, 12.8% of households had a weekly household income of less than $600 and 24.8% of households had a weekly income of more than $3,000.

Mortgage & rent

Proportions are calculated using all tenure types for occupied private dwellings. This excludes visitor only and other non-classifiable households.

Proportions in this table are calculated by taking the number of households whose rent payments were 30% or more of an imputed income measure and expressing this number as a proportion of the total number of households in an area, including those households which are not renting their dwelling (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. Further information on the method to impute income is available in the income fact sheet.

Proportions in this table are calculated by taking the number of households who own their dwelling, and whose mortgage payments were 30% or more of an imputed income measure and expressing this number as a proportion of the total number of households in an area, including those households which were renting their dwelling (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. Further information on the method to impute income is available in the income fact sheet.

Number of motor vehicles

In Canberra, ACT, 35.1% of occupied private dwellings had one registered motor vehicle garaged or parked at their address, 39.6% had two registered motor vehicles and 17.9% had three or more registered motor vehicles.

People characteristics

In Canberra, ACT, there were 2,876 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. Of these, 1,459 (or 50.7%) were male and 1,417 (or 49.3%) were female. The median age was 22 years.

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.

Average number of people per bedroom includes a miscalculation. For more information see the persons per bedroom correction page.

In Canberra, ACT, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the average household size was 3.1, with 1.2 persons per bedroom. The median household income was $1,684.

In Canberra, ACT, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the median weekly rent was $310 and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,167.