Meet the new “typical” Australian – a 38-year-old married mum-of-two whose parents were both born in Australia.
She has English ancestors, finished high school, has a mortgage on a three-bedroom house and does up to 14 hours of housework a week – unlike the new “typical” Aussie bloke who does less than five hours housework a week.
The average Aussie male is 37 years old.
A snapshot of a typical Australian was captured in the 2016 Census and released for the first time today.
The data reveals how much Aussies have changed since the first Census was taken in 1911.
Australians have aged significantly and women now outnumber men but in 1911 the “typical” Australian was a 24-year-old man.
Although the ‘typical’ Australian has both parents born in Australia, in New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia the ‘typical’ Australian has at least one parent who was born overseas.
The data snapshot reveals the average migrant to Australia comes from England – although this differs between states.
New Zealand migrants appear to prefer Queensland, while in Victoria the ‘typical’ migrant was born in India and in NSW they were born in China.
Home ownership has changed over the past decade. In 2006, a typical Aussie owned their home outright.
Now they buying with a mortgage.
Trends differ across the states too; in NSW – where housing affordability is in the spotlight with the median Sydney house price topping $1.1 million – homes are typically owned outright.
In the NT, they’re mostly rented.
The ‘Typical’ Australian
Female
Age 38
Married with two children
Born in Australia
Parents both born in Australia
Speaks English
Owns two cars
Lives in a three-bedroom house
Finished Year 12
Does up to 14 hours of housework a week
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics
HOW THEY COMPARE STATE BY STATE
NSW
Unlike the ‘typical’ Australian, at least one of the typical person in NSW’s parents was born overseas.
This has changed just over the past decade – in the 2006 and 2011 Census data showed the average person in NSW had both parents born in Australia.
But like the national data, the typical Aussie in NSW is a 38-year-old married mum of two.
She lives in a three-bedroom home – that she owns outright, unlike the typical Australian nationally – and does up to 14 hours of housework a week.
Ms NSW has two cars and finished Year 12.
A typical migrant to NSW has changed in the past decade. Ten years ago, the average migrant to the state was a 45-year-old English woman. Now, it is 44-year-old woman from China.
QUEENSLAND
Queenslanders are just as likely to rent as they are to own their own home these days.
Home ownership trends have changed in the state over the past decade – in 2011 most Queenslanders owned their home with a mortgage.
And the age of a typical Queenslander is two years older than it was a decade ago.
Now, a typical Queenslander is a 38-year-old married mum of two who lives in a three-bedroom house. Like typical Australians nationally, she does up to 14 hours of unpaid housework a week. And unlike the typical West Australian, Victorian and New South Welshman, the typical Queenslander parents both come from Australia.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
South Australians have an older population than the rest of Australia but women still outnumber men.
The typical person from SA is a married 40-year-old mum-of-two, who lives in a three-bedroom home that she owns with a mortgage.
Ten years ago, the typical person from SA was aged 38.
Home ownership trends have changed in the state over the past decade; ten years ago the typical South Australian owned their home outright.
Both of the ‘typical’ South Australian’s parents were born in Australia, unlike in Victoria, WA and NSW.
VICTORIA
The southern state has younger population than most of Australia and most of the population has at least one parent born overseas.
The typical Victorian is now a 37-year-old mum-of-two.
She has an English background, is married, lives in a three-bedroom house and has two cars.
Like most states, home ownership trends have changed in Victoria. The typical Victorian now owns their home with a mortgage, compared to 2006 when they owned their home outright.
Victoria’s migrant population has also changed since the start of the decade. Now, a typical migrant was born in India, while in 2011 the typical migrant would have been from England.
TASMANIA
THE ‘south island’ has the oldest population in Australia.
A typical Tasmania is a married 42-year-old mum-of-two of English descent. She lives in a three-bedroom house which she owns outright. The home ownership trend for the typical Tasmanian hasn’t changed in the past decade, unlike most states.
Both of the ‘typical’ Tasmanian’s parents were born in Australia, which is a characteristic shared with the ‘typical’ Australian.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Apart from the Northern Territory, the west coast is the only place in Australia that men outnumber women, according to the 2016 Census data.
A ‘typical’ West Australian is a married 37-year-old man with two kids.
His family has a bigger home than most Australians – four bedrooms, not three – and does between four and 14 hours housework a week.
And like the rest of Australia, the family likely has two cars.
The typical West Australia was born in Australia and has English ancestry but unlike most of the country, at least one of their parents are likely to be born overseas.
West Aussies typically own their homes with a mortgage in a trend that remains unchanged over the past decade.
NORTHERN TERRITORY
The Northern Territory has the youngest population in Australia is more likely to rent than own a home.
Unlike most of Australia, a typical Territorian isn’t married.
And the NT is the only place besides WA where men outnumber women.
The 2016 Census data shows the typical person from the NT is a 34-year-old man who was born in Australia.
He is likely to have a partner and two children, and the family is likely to live in a three-bedroom home with two cars.
Both of the ‘typical’ Territorian’s parents were born in Australia, a characteristic shared with the ‘typical’ Australian.
ACT
A typical person from the nation’s capital is married 35-year-old mum-of-two.
She’s younger than the typical Australian.
But like most places in Australia, a typical person from the ACT lived in a three-bedroom home, has two cars and finished Year 12.
A typical person from the capital had both parents born in Australia and has English ancestry.
They are more likely to own a home with a mortgage, rather than rent.