Gold Coast

Demographics & education

People tables are based on a person's place of usual residence on Census night

In the 2016 Census, there were 569,997 people in Gold Coast. Of these 48.6% were male and 51.4% were female. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.7% of the population.

The median age of people in Gold Coast was 39 years. Children aged 0 - 14 years made up 18.2% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 16.5% of the population.

Of people in Gold Coast aged 15 years and over, 45.6% were married and 14.4% were either divorced or separated.

In Gold Coast, of people aged 15 years and over, 45.5% of people were in a registered marriage and 12.4% were in a de facto marriage.

In Gold Coast 30.5% of people were attending an educational institution. Of these, 25.8% were in primary school, 19.9% in secondary school and 20.9% in a tertiary or technical institution.

Of people aged 15 and over in Gold Coast, 17.4% reported having completed Year 12 as their highest level of educational attainment, 18.6% had completed a Certificate III or IV and 10.3% had completed an Advanced Diploma or Diploma.

Cultural & language diversity

The most common ancestries in Gold Coast were English 29.3%, Australian 22.5%, Irish 8.2%, Scottish 7.5% and German 3.6%.

Respondents had the option of reporting up to two ancestries on their Census form, and this is captured by the Ancestry Multi Response (ANCP) variable used in this table. Therefore, the total responses count will not equal the persons count for this area. Calculated percentages represent a proportion of all responses from people in Gold Coast (including those who did not state an ancestry).

In Gold Coast, 64.0% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were New Zealand 7.9%, England 5.2%, China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 1.2%, South Africa 1.2% and Japan 0.7%.

In Gold Coast, 45.8% of people had both parents born in Australia and 33.2% of people had both parents born overseas.

In Gold Coast, the most common countries of birth for male parents were Australia 51.8%, New Zealand 9.1%, England 7.6%, China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 1.6% and South Africa 1.4%.

In Gold Coast, the most common countries of birth for female parents were Australia 53.2%, New Zealand 9.1%, England 7.2%, China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 1.7% and South Africa 1.4%.

The most common responses for religion in Gold Coast were No Religion, so described 31.8%, Catholic 20.7%, Anglican 16.2%, Not stated 10.4% and Uniting Church 3.9%. In Gold Coast, Christianity was the largest religious group reported overall (59.5%) (this figure excludes not stated responses).

In Gold Coast 80.6% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 1.6%, Japanese 1.0%, Korean 0.6%, Spanish 0.6% and Cantonese 0.5%.

Employment

There were 286,872 people who reported being in the labour force in the week before Census night in Gold Coast. Of these 55.7% were employed full time, 32.8% were employed part-time and 7.0% were unemployed.

The ABS Labour Force Survey provides the official estimates of Australia's unemployment rate. More information about Census and labour force status is provided in Understanding the Census and Census Data.

Of employed people in Gold Coast, 11.7% worked 1 to 15 hours, 10.2% worked 16 to 24 hours and 41.4% worked 40 hours or more.

The most common occupations in Gold Coast included Professionals 18.3%, Technicians and Trades Workers 14.9%, Clerical and Administrative Workers 13.6%, Managers 12.5%, Community and Personal Service Workers 12.1%, Sales Workers 12.0%, Labourers 9.8% and Machinery Operators and Drivers 5.1%.

Of the employed people in Gold Coast, the most common responses for industry of employment included Hospitals (except Psychiatric Hospitals) 4.0%, Cafes and Restaurants 3.1%, Accommodation 2.6%, Supermarket and Grocery Stores 2.4% and Takeaway Food Services 2.1%.

The median weekly personal income for people aged 15 years and over in Gold Coast was $665.

View the data quality statements for: Total personal income (INCP) Total family income (FINF) Total household income (HIND)

In Gold Coast, on the day of the Census, the most common methods of travel to work for employed people included Car, as driver 68.8%, Worked at home 6.0%, Car, as passenger 4.8%, Walked only 2.6% and Bus 1.1%. On the day, 4.2% of employed people used public transport (train, bus, ferry, tram/light rail) as at least one of their methods of travel to work and 75.0% used car (either as driver or as passenger).

In Gold Coast, of people aged 15 years and over, 68.9% did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census. During the two weeks before the Census, 27.5% provided care for children and 9.9% assisted family members or others due to a disability, long term illness or problems related to old age. In the year before the Census, 15.1% of people did voluntary work through an organisation or a group.

View the data quality statements for: Unpaid domestic work (DOMP) Unpaid child care (CHCAREP) Unpaid assistance (UNCAREP) Voluntary work (VOLWP)

Of people who did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census in Gold Coast, 26.3% worked 5 to 14 hours, 11.1% worked 15 to 29 hours and 8.0% worked 30 hours or more.

Family composition

Of the families in Gold Coast, 41.9% were couple families with children, 39.6% were couple families without children and 17.1% were one parent families.

In Gold Coast, 17.4% of single parents were male and 82.6% were female.

Employment status of couple families

In Gold Coast, of couple families with children, 21.8% had both partners employed full-time, 4.9% had both employed part-time and 22.5% had one employed full-time and the other part-time.

The ABS Labour Force Survey provides the official estimates of Australia's unemployment rate. More information about Census and labour force status is provided in Understanding the Census and Census Data.

Dwelling structure

Dwelling tables exclude visitor only and other non-classifiable households

In Gold Coast, 89.5% of private dwellings were occupied and 10.5% were unoccupied.

View the data quality statements for: Dwelling type (DWTD) Dwelling Structure (STRD)

Of occupied private dwellings in Gold Coast, 59.2% were separate houses, 20.2% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses etc, 19.4% were flats or apartments and 0.8% were other dwellings.

In Gold Coast, of occupied private dwellings 5.2% had 1 bedroom, 20.9% had 2 bedrooms and 36.4% had 3 bedrooms. The average number of bedrooms per occupied private dwelling was 3.1. The average household size was 2.6 people.

View the data quality statements for: Number of bedrooms in a private dwelling (BEDD) Number of persons usually resident in dwelling (NPRD)

Of occupied private dwellings in Gold Coast, 26.4% were owned outright, 33.9% were owned with a mortgage and 36.1% were rented.

Household composition

In Gold Coast, of all households, 71.4% were family households, 23.1% were single person households and 5.6% were group households.

In Gold Coast, 18.9% of households had a weekly household income of less than $650 and 13.5% of households had a weekly income of more than $3000.

Mortgage & rent

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

The number of households where rent payments were 30% or more of an imputed income measure are expressed in this table as a proportion of the total number of households in an area (including those households which were not renting, and 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.

The number of households where mortgage repayments were 30% or more of an imputed income measure are expressed in this table as a proportion of the total number of households in an area (including those households which were renting, and 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.

Number of motor vehicles

In Gold Coast, 34.5% of occupied private dwellings had one registered motor vehicle garaged or parked at their address, 38.6% had two registered motor vehicles and 18.5% had three or more registered motor vehicles.

Internet connection

In Gold Coast, 85.8% of households had at least one person access the internet from the dwelling. This could have been through a desktop/laptop computer, mobile or smart phone, tablet, music or video player, gaming console, smart TV or any other device.

People characteristics

In Gold Coast, 48.7% of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people were male and 51.3% were female. The median age was 23 years.

View the data quality statements for: Place of Usual Residence (PURP) Indigenous status (INGP)

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.

In Gold Coast, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the average household size was 3.2 persons, with 1 persons per bedroom. The median household income was $1,486.

View the data quality statements for: Number of Bedrooms in Private Dwelling (BEDD) Household composition (HHCD) Indigenous household Indicator (INGDWTD)

In Gold Coast, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the median weekly rent was $390 and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,000.

View the data quality statements for: Rent weekly payments (RNTD) Mortgage monthly repayments (MRED) Indigenous household Indicator (INGDWTD)