The Hunter’s population and the cost of rent have grown, mortgage repayments have largely remained stable and the region is lagging when it comes to internet access.
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Those are some of the findings from the 2016 Census, after the results were released on Tuesday.
The data showed that 16.1 per cent of respondents from the federal electorate of Newcastle said no-one from their home accessed the internet – above the state average of 14.7 per cent.
The story was similar in the remainder of the Hunter, outside Newcastle, where 17.8 per cent of people reported no-one used the internet where they lived.
Newcastle local government area’s population increased by 6867 to 155,411 between 2011 and 2016, but the median age remained unchanged at 37.
There were 39,068 families in Newcastle on Census night, last August, with families having an average of 1.8 children each.
The data showed that the Maitland local government area recorded the region’s largest population growth – up by 9827.
Populations also jumped by 8365 in Lake Macquarie, 4749 in Port Stephens and 4720 in Cessnock.
The median weekly household income was $1368 in Newcastle, $1415 in Maitland, $1180 in Port Stephens, $1177 in Cessnock and $1313 in Lake Macquarie.
Median weekly rents increased by $65 in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, $61 in Maitland, $55 in Port Stephens and $50 in Cessnock.
Monthly mortgage repayments remained at a median of $1733 in Maitland and Lake Macquarie, $1517 in Cessnock and increased by $8, to $1733, in Port Stephens.
The monthly median repayment dropped by $9, to $1768, in Newcastle.
Nationwide, the population increased by 8.8 per cent between 2011 and 2016, to 23.4 million.
The median weekly rent, Australia-wide, was $335 at the time of the Census, while the median monthly household mortgage mortgage repayment was $1755.
The national median weekly household income was $1438. The ACT recorded the highest median personal income ($998 per week) and Tasmania registered the lowest ($573 per week).
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Nick Bielby
Nick Bielby is a crime reporter who has worked as a journalist since 2011. Having joined the Newcastle Herald in 2017, he won a Walkley Award in 2019 with Donna Page for their investigation 'Dirty Deeds', which exposed the decades of illegal dumping of toxic material in and around a Hunter waterway.
Nick Bielby is a crime reporter who has worked as a journalist since 2011. Having joined the Newcastle Herald in 2017, he won a Walkley Award in 2019 with Donna Page for their investigation 'Dirty Deeds', which exposed the decades of illegal dumping of toxic material in and around a Hunter waterway.
