Percentage population change for NSW and the ACT.

The continuing trend in drift of populations from the bush to regional towns and major cities is illustrated in these maps, comparing the total population in each postcode using 2006 populations as the baseline, i.e. 2006 population is 100%.

The postcode captioned in the image – 2652 – illustrates an important difference between the Mapmakers postcode products and any others. 2652 covers a number of regional centres in the Riverina of NSW, nine in total. All have a unique character. While Tim Fischer’s home town of Boree Creek has suffered major population loss (-40%), the town of Rosewood, also postcode 2652, has enjoyed a modest population “boom”, from 142 in 2006 to 208 in 2016 – +46%! In summary, the nine separate 2652 postcode areas range from -40% to + 46%, four with growing populations, five with declines, overall averaging +1.7%. Only MapMakers take the care to tease out the detail in the underlying statistics and make them available to you at postcode level – everyone else writes off communities like good old 2652, as in terminal decline – not us!

The trend is further illustrated by using smaller labels to indicate smaller starting population numbers..

When zoomed in to the greater Sydney region, the rapid population growth of some suburbs already with high populations in 2006 becomes very clear. Greenfield sites such as The Ponds, established in 2007, understandably have seen enormous population growth. Immigration and urban planners can use insights like these to fine-tune policies and plans. All MapMakers Census products – covering the last four Censuses between 2006 and 2021contain a rich array of default demographic data to underpin this kind of research and analysis.

 

(the small blue area indicated is the Concord Repatriation Hospital 2139, hopefully indicating far fewer sick beds over the ten years to 2016!)

Baby Boomers – where they live as a percentage of the overall population by postcode area – Greater Sydney (2011).

Broadly defined as being born between 1946 and 1964, “Boomers” are moving into retirement in growing numbers. Looking for peace and quiet might seem a logical next step if downsizing and no longer needing the daily commute to work, so locating areas already found suitable by this generation seems sensible. But then Jimmy Barnes and ACDC are Boomers too..

We have an updated Boomer Blog post here!

 

 

 

 

Baby Boomers – where they live as a percentage of the overall population by postcode area – Greater Sydney (2016).

As with any cohort, once the end date is reached, no more are made. While Boomers represented a population bubble for much of the second half of the 20th century, natural mortality and a massive increase in immigration rates means the Boomers in reality are a rapidly shrinking proportion of a rapidly growing overall population.

Baby Boomers – where they live as a percentage of the overall population by postcode area – NSW and ACT 2011.

Boomers still represent a significant proportion of the population in rural areas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baby Boomers – where they live as a percentage of the overall population by postcode area – NSW and ACT 2016.

Only a few “retirement hot spot”  postcodes are seeing any increase in Boomer populations

Baby Boomers – where they live as a percentage of the overall population by postcode area – Tasmania 2011.

Boomers represent an even larger proportion of the population in rural Tasmania.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baby Boomers – where they live as a percentage of the overall population by postcode area – Tasmania 2016.

The movement to Cape Barren Island may be related to Crown lands being handed over to the local Aboriginal Association in 2005. While the change looks dramatic, the actual population is few in number, so always wise to check for any underlying factor when something really stands out like this.

Weekly household income change 2006 – 2011 NSW, ACT and greater Sydney.

The change to weekly household income in each postcode during the five years between the last two Censuses is clearly shown.

While most areas have seen a modest increase, some have remained stagnant, while others have actually seen household incomes decline over the period. A more detailed view of greater Sydney is below.

The same data shown for the Greater Sydney region.

 

With an even richer range of data variables than our 2006 product (a number of additional second languages and country of birth categories appear in the 2011 data for the first time for example), it is possible to scrutinise the relationships which may explain the changing fortunes of some postcode areas relative to others; the closure of large employing industries for example, which would be reflected in employment and unemployment figures.

NSW and the ACT gross (before tax) household monthly income for each postcode (not all values shown in order to maintain clarity), minus monthly mortgage payment – disposable income. Is your budget more likely to be in the red, or in the black?

 

These dollar values are for Census night 2006, before the “global financial crisis”. Using your GIS you would be able to factor in interest rate changes, wage growth and other parameters as required.

A zoomed in view of metropolitan Sydney.

This image shows a calculation of the percentage of all dwellings in each postcode which were being purchased under a mortgage agreement on Census night.

By contrast, this is the percentage of all dwellings in each postcode which were fully owned on Census night.

 

The data required to make similar maps for rented and public housing stock are included in the product.

Of the working population in each postcode area, this map presents the percentage actively seeking employment on Census night.

 

If you are a business looking for a site for a new labour intensive factory, analyses presenting labour availability would be a sound investment.

Additional data to refine such a task, including population figures for different age groups of males and females, school levels completed, educational qualifications, skill categories and languages spoken are included in the product.

Number of Internet Connections per dwelling in Postcodes 2011 (right) and 2006 (below).

The increase in Internet access in most households during the five year period between Censuses is clearly shown.

It is of note that the Census questions dealing with Internet connectivity confine themselves to those directly accessible from the dwelling; it is possible that the rise in personal mobile Internet via smart devices during the period may skew this picture somewhat, hence the additional insights yielded when integrating the changes to number of dwellings over the period shown in this map.

For the first time, Census 2006 collected information on the presence and type of Internet connection in homes.

 

This map shows the total number of Internet connections in each postcode area.

The same information zoomed in for metropolitan Sydney.

Another way of looking at the information is to calculate the ratio of Internet connections to number of dwellings.

 

The closer the number is to “1” the more likely it is that dwellings in that postcode will have an Internet connection.

One could use this kind of information to assist in planning roll-out priority for new infrastructure, for example.

The same information for metropolitan Sydney.

Change in the ratio of Internet connections per dwelling 2006 – 2011.

For some areas where the absolute number of connections may have increased, the ratio of connections per dwelling has decreased. It is possible that this reflects areas where fixed Internet connection has been historically unreliable and / or expensive, and a consumer switch to mobile based technologies has occurred. Again an example of how such data may usefully guide the prioritisation of large scale infrastructure planning.

The demographic has been exported for display in Google Earth. The “higher” the postcode above the surface, the greater the population density for the group in that postcode area. The colours are formatted on the actual number of the group in each postcode, red (low) through green (high). Combining the two views illustrates some interesting patterns, where for example absolute numbers are low, but density is high (the red and yellow medium height “skyscrapers” in central Sydney). Click the image to see more examples.

 

Please note, this product is not directly suitable for direct use in Google Earth, owing to very limited data field capacity in that application. This example was processed entirely in a GIS and then exported in the limited format required by GE.

If all the statistics confirming the pressures of modern life are thriving in your postcode and you feel a “sea change” beckons, here’s a peace and quiet map!

 

Population density in other words. This is the number of people per km² in each postcode area.