Merton

Demographics & education

In the 2011 Census, there were 302 people in Merton of these 55.6% were male and 44.4% were female. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.0% of the population.

The median age of people in Merton was 52 years. Children aged 0 - 14 years made up 14.2% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 19.8% of the population.

Of people in Merton aged 15 years and over, 60.1% were married and 18.5% were either divorced or separated.

The median age of married people in Merton was 59 years and the median age of people never married was 33 years.

In Merton, of people aged 15 years and over, 58.9% of people were in a registered marriage and 12.3% were in a de facto marriage.

The median age of people in a registered marriage in Merton was 59 years and the median age of people in a de facto marriage was 61 years.

In Merton 19.9% of people were attending an educational institution. Of these, 35.6% were in primary school, 25.4% in secondary school and 10.2% in a tertiary or technical institution.

Cultural & language diversity

The most common ancestries in Merton were English 38.6%, Australian 24.0%, Irish 9.3%, Scottish 9.0% and German 3.7%.

In Merton, 80.0% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were England 5.2%, Germany 3.3%, Netherlands 2.3%, Malta 1.0% and New Zealand 1.0%.

In Merton, 71.8% of people had both parents born in Australia and 18.9% of people had both parents born overseas.

The most common responses for religion in Merton were No Religion 29.0%, Anglican 23.1%, Catholic 20.8%, Uniting Church 6.6% and Christian, nfd 5.3%.

In Merton 92.5% of people only spoke English at home. The only other responses for language spoken at home were German 1.6%, Dutch 1.0% and Czech 1.0%.

Employment

There were 156 people who reported being in the labour force in the week before Census night in Merton. Of these 50.6% were employed full time, 36.5% were employed part-time and 4.5% were unemployed.

Of employed people in Merton, 7.4% worked 1 to 15 hours, 10.1% worked 16 to 24 hours and 47.7% worked 40 hours or more.

The median age of people employed full-time in Merton was 47 years and for people who were employed part-time was 61 years.

The most common occupations in Merton included Managers 34.9%, Professionals 17.8%, Technicians and Trades Workers 15.8%, Labourers 9.6%, Clerical and Administrative Workers 6.8%, Sales Workers 6.2%, Machinery Operators And Drivers 4.8% and Community and Personal Service Workers 4.1%.

Of the employed people in Merton, the most common responses for industry of employment included Sheep, Beef Cattle and Grain Farming 25.2%, Agriculture and Fishing Support Services 4.1%, Local Government Administration 3.4%, Horse and Dog Racing Activities 3.4% and Automotive Repair and Maintenance 3.4%.

The median weekly personal income for people aged 15 years and over in Merton was $491.

In Merton, on the day of the Census, the most common methods of travel to work for employed people included Car, as driver 52.7%, Car, as passenger 3.3%, Walked only 3.3%, Train 2.0% and Tram 2.0%. On the day, 2.0% of employed people used public transport (train, bus, ferry, tram/light rail) as at least one of their methods of travel to work and 56.4% used car (either as driver or as passenger).

In Merton, of people aged 15 years and over, 75.1% did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census. During the two weeks before the Census, 26.4% provided care for children and 14.1% assisted family members or others due to a disability, long term illness or problems related to old age. In the year before the Census, 30.9% 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 Merton, 27.3% worked 5 to 14 hours, 17.2% worked 15 to 29 hours and 15.2% worked 30 hours or more.

Family composition

Of the families in Merton, 28.6% were couple families with children, 66.7% were couple families without children and 4.8% were one parent families.

In Merton 0.0% of single parents were male and 100.0% were female.

Weekly incomes

In Merton, for couple families with two incomes, the median income for those with children was $1,583 and those without children was $1,024.

Employment status of couple families

In Merton, of couple families with children, 13.8% had both partners employed full-time, 6.2% had both employed part-time and 26.2% had one employed full-time and the other part-time.

Dwelling structure

Dwelling tables exclude visitor only and other non-classifiable households

In Merton, 46.2% of private dwellings were occupied and 53.8% were unoccupied.

Of occupied private dwellings in Merton, 100.0% were separate houses, 0.0% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses etc, 0.0% were flats, units or apartments and 0.0% were other dwellings.

In Merton, of occupied private dwellings 2.4% had 1 bedroom, 16.1% had 2 bedrooms and 55.6% had 3 bedrooms. The average number of bedrooms per occupied private dwelling was 3. The average household size was 2.1 people.

Of occupied private dwellings in Merton, 48.4% were owned outright, 38.5% were owned with a mortgage and 13.1% were rented.

Household composition

In Merton, of all households, 68.5% were family households, 29.0% were single person households and 2.4% were group households.

In Merton, 33.6% of households had a weekly household income of less than $600 and 0.0% 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 Merton, 25.8% of occupied private dwellings had one registered motor vehicle garaged or parked at their address, 35.8% had two registered motor vehicles and 33.3% had three or more registered motor vehicles.

People characteristics

In Merton, there were 3 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. Of these, 0 (or 0.0%) were male and 3 (or 100.0%) were female. The median age was 0 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 Merton, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the average household size was 1, with 1 persons per bedroom. The median household income was $350.

In Merton, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the median weekly rent was $0 and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,083.