Alice Springs

Demographics & education

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

In the 2016 Census, there were 36,077 people in Alice Springs. Of these 49.6% were male and 50.4% were female. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people made up 36.2% of the population.

The median age of people in Alice Springs was 33 years. Children aged 0 - 14 years made up 21.4% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 7.1% of the population.

Of people in Alice Springs aged 15 years and over, 43.7% were married and 10.7% were either divorced or separated.

In Alice Springs, of people aged 15 years and over, 40.5% of people were in a registered marriage and 13.9% were in a de facto marriage.

In Alice Springs 36.5% of people were attending an educational institution. Of these, 25.4% were in primary school, 15.1% in secondary school and 11.6% in a tertiary or technical institution.

Of people aged 15 and over in Alice Springs, 10.6% reported having completed Year 12 as their highest level of educational attainment, 13.6% had completed a Certificate III or IV and 6.7% had completed an Advanced Diploma or Diploma.

Cultural & language diversity

The most common ancestries in Alice Springs were Australian 20.5%, Australian Aboriginal 18.2%, English 17.8%, Irish 6.2% and Scottish 5.0%.

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 Alice Springs (including those who did not state an ancestry).

In Alice Springs, 71.8% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were New Zealand 2.8%, England 2.0%, India 1.9%, United States of America 1.9% and Philippines 1.4%.

In Alice Springs, 57.4% of people had both parents born in Australia and 20.6% of people had both parents born overseas.

In Alice Springs, the most common countries of birth for male parents were Australia 61.1%, England 3.4%, New Zealand 3.0%, India 2.6% and United States of America 2.1%.

In Alice Springs, the most common countries of birth for female parents were Australia 61.9%, England 3.1%, New Zealand 3.1%, India 2.6% and United States of America 1.9%.

The most common responses for religion in Alice Springs were No Religion, so described 26.1%, Not stated 17.5%, Catholic 16.7%, Lutheran 13.0% and Anglican 5.8%. In Alice Springs, Christianity was the largest religious group reported overall (61.3%) (this figure excludes not stated responses).

In Alice Springs 52.9% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Warlpiri 3.6%, Alyawarr 2.8%, Luritja 2.4%, Pitjantjatjara 2.3% and Arrernte, nec 2.1%.

Employment

There were 16,988 people who reported being in the labour force in the week before Census night in Alice Springs. Of these 65.9% were employed full time, 18.7% were employed part-time and 9.6% 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 Alice Springs, 6.0% worked 1 to 15 hours, 5.7% worked 16 to 24 hours and 47.8% worked 40 hours or more.

The most common occupations in Alice Springs included Professionals 22.9%, Community and Personal Service Workers 17.8%, Clerical and Administrative Workers 13.0%, Managers 12.1%, Technicians and Trades Workers 11.7%, Labourers 9.4%, Sales Workers 6.6% and Machinery Operators and Drivers 4.1%.

Of the employed people in Alice Springs, the most common responses for industry of employment included State Government Administration 5.9%, Hospitals (except Psychiatric Hospitals) 5.4%, Accommodation 5.1%, Local Government Administration 3.7% and Primary Education 3.2%.

The median weekly personal income for people aged 15 years and over in Alice Springs was $788.

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

In Alice Springs, on the day of the Census, the most common methods of travel to work for employed people included Car, as driver 57.7%, Walked only 12.7%, Car, as passenger 7.0%, Bicycle 4.4% and Bus 2.5%. On the day, 2.9% of employed people used public transport (train, bus, ferry, tram/light rail) as at least one of their methods of travel to work and 65.8% used car (either as driver or as passenger).

In Alice Springs, of people aged 15 years and over, 64.1% did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census. During the two weeks before the Census, 30.4% provided care for children and 10.0% assisted family members or others due to a disability, long term illness or problems related to old age. In the year before the Census, 18.5% 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 Alice Springs, 26.7% worked 5 to 14 hours, 10.6% worked 15 to 29 hours and 5.3% worked 30 hours or more.

Family composition

Of the families in Alice Springs, 44.2% were couple families with children, 34.7% were couple families without children and 18.8% were one parent families.

In Alice Springs, 16.7% of single parents were male and 83.3% were female.

Employment status of couple families

In Alice Springs, of couple families with children, 33.2% had both partners employed full-time, 3.1% had both employed part-time and 15.4% 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 Alice Springs, 83.1% of private dwellings were occupied and 16.9% were unoccupied.

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

Of occupied private dwellings in Alice Springs, 64.0% were separate houses, 22.2% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses etc, 6.6% were flats or apartments and 6.2% were other dwellings.

In Alice Springs, of occupied private dwellings 10.7% had 1 bedroom, 20.9% had 2 bedrooms and 42.6% had 3 bedrooms. The average number of bedrooms per occupied private dwelling was 2.8. The average household size was 2.8 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 Alice Springs, 14.0% were owned outright, 27.8% were owned with a mortgage and 52.6% were rented.

Household composition

In Alice Springs, of all households, 68.3% were family households, 26.5% were single person households and 5.2% were group households.

In Alice Springs, 14.3% of households had a weekly household income of less than $650 and 18.8% 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 Alice Springs, 35.4% of occupied private dwellings had one registered motor vehicle garaged or parked at their address, 28.9% had two registered motor vehicles and 15.3% had three or more registered motor vehicles.

Internet connection

In Alice Springs, 72.4% 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 Alice Springs, 48.9% of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people were male and 51.1% were female. The median age was 26 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 Alice Springs, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the average household size was 3.8 persons, with 1.4 persons per bedroom. The median household income was $1,064.

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

In Alice Springs, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the median weekly rent was $75 and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,950.

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