Census reveals a bigger, more diverse Kempsey Shire
Published on 29 June 2022
Kempsey has more people, more diversity, and more houses than five years ago.
The first batch of 2021 Census results published on Tuesday 28 June has revealed that residents in the Kempsey local government area are also earning slightly more but paying higher rents.
The Census provides a valuable snapshot of information about Australians that reflects our community at the time the Census was undertaken. The most recent Census of Population and Housing was conducted on 10 August 2021. For more information see About the 2021 Census.
Population
The big number got bigger this Census, with the population of the shire increasing by almost 2,000 residents.
The population of Kempsey Shire according to the 2016 Census was 28,885.
|
Population
|
30688
|
|
In shire on census night
|
29,289
|
|
Median age of persons
|
48
|
We’ve also gotten older, with the median age rising from 47 to 48.
The population of Kempsey is not that much older than the average for Australia, with 53.4% of shire residents aged 45 or over, compared to 53.2% for the country.
|
0-4 years
|
1,548
|
5.04%
|
|
5-14 years
|
3,528
|
11.50%
|
|
15-19 years
|
1,694
|
5.52%
|
|
20-24 years
|
1,447
|
4.72%
|
|
25-34 years
|
3,062
|
9.98%
|
|
35-44 years
|
3,017
|
9.83%
|
|
45-54 years
|
3,570
|
11.63%
|
|
55-64 years
|
4,773
|
15.55%
|
|
65-74 years
|
4,743
|
15.46%
|
|
75-84 years
|
2,444
|
7.96%
|
|
85 years and over
|
863
|
2.81%
|
That population includes a strong representation of people who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
There has also been an increase in the percentage of Kempsey residents born overseas, but a decrease in the percentage of people who speak a language other than English at home.
|
Aboriginal population
|
3,813
|
12.43%
|
|
Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
|
3,959
|
12.90%
|
|
Born overseas
|
2,404
|
7.83%
|
|
Language spoken at home other than English
|
889
|
2.90%
|
|
Australian citizens
|
26,968
|
87.88%
|
Housing and income
The average income for our local government area has increased as well.
|
INCOME
|
2021
|
2016
|
|
Median total personal income ($/weekly)
|
$ 550.00
|
$474.00
|
|
Median total family income ($/weekly)
|
$ 1,347.00
|
$1107.00
|
|
Median total household income ($/weekly)
|
$ 1,085.00
|
$894.00
|
Mortgage repayments have only gone up by $1 while rents have increased significantly from $230 in 2016.
|
Median mortgage repayment ($/monthly)
|
$ 1,301.00
|
|
Median rent ($/weekly)(a)
|
$ 300.00
|
There are more homes owned outright (4,585 in 2016) and owned with a mortgage (2,878 in 2016). On the other hand, the number of dwellings rented has reduced fractionally from 2,764 in 2016.
|
Dwellings - Own outright
|
5,146
|
|
Dwellings - Own with mortgage
|
3,036
|
|
Dwellings - Renting
|
2,725
|
Household composition
There were 2,476 families living with at least one child under 15 in Kempsey Shire in 2022.
|
Average household size
|
2.4
|
|
Families with children under 15
|
2,476
|
|
Single parent family children under 15
|
891
|
|
Married
|
10,487
|
34.17%
|
|
Separated
|
1,140
|
3.71%
|
|
Divorced
|
2,999
|
9.77%
|
|
Widowed
|
1,893
|
6.17%
|
|
Never married
|
9,096
|
29.64%
|
|
People in family with children under 15
|
9,563
|
31.16%
|
|
People in single parent family with children under 15
|
2,856
|
9.31%
|
Religion
There has also been a significant increase in the percentage of people in Kempsey who describe themselves as having ‘no religion’, up from 25.6% in the previous Census.
|
Christianity
|
14,940
|
48.68%
|
|
No religion
|
11,512
|
37.51%
|
Health and assistance
More than 1 in 3 Kempsey shire residents are living with a long-term health condition.
One in 10 residents described themselves as needing assistance due to a health or age related condition, and nearly 12% of residents are providing that assistance on a voluntary basis.
|
Need for assistance
|
2,920
|
9.52%
|
|
Long term health conditions
|
11,165
|
36.38%
|
|
Providing unpaid health or age related assistance
|
3,640
|
11.86%
|
Other information
While more information about the shire, and particularly labour data, will be available in October, it was notable that 3% of residents are now serving or have served in the defence force.
Additionally 11.5% of residents, both children and adults, are volunteering and 18% are studying.
|
Ever served in defence force
|
912
|
2.97%
|
|
Volunteers
|
3,533
|
11.51%
|
|
At an education institution
|
5,553
|
18.10%
|
About the census
Census data can be accessed using a number of Census data tools.
You can download a full community profile spreadsheet for the Kempsey Shire on the Kempsey 2021 Census Community Profile page.
You can see the data from the previous Census, conducted in 2016, on the Kempsey LGA QuickStats page.
The ABS will release 2021 Census data in a staged approach. There will be three key release phases:
- 28 June 2022 – Most topics will be released for almost all geographic outputs for place of usual residence and for place of enumeration on Census night.
- October 2022 – A smaller number of topics, including employment and location-based variables, will be released.
- Early to mid-2023 – Complex topics that require additional processing, such as distance to work and socio-economic indexes for areas (SEIFA), will be released.