More visitors, less renters: Census 2021 Kimberley rundown

Every five years, the publication of the national census data spurs self-reflection across Australia’s communities, delivering the answers to a multitude of questions like; who pays more rent? How many babies are born in a year? What is the ratio of Boomers to Gen Zs? Whether these questions were in dire need of answers or not, the facts are there and in some cases, quite surprising. As far as population goes, the Kimberley has seen only a minute increase from 34,364 to 35,092. The split between males and females is pretty even with 474 more females than males — unlike the Pilbara where, in some towns, there are more than three males to every female. There are 14,408 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the Kimberley, counting for about 40 per cent of the total population. Broome holds the highest population in the Kimberley at 14,660, with Kununurra the runner up with 7477 people. Derby is close behind with 7045, then Halls Creek with 3603 and finally Roebuck with 2310. There were 484 babies under the age of one at the time of the census and four people over the age of 100, all of whom were female. While the average age of those living in the Kimberley is 33, there is a distinct dip when residents turn 15 with 5567 five to 14-year-olds and 2175 aged 15 to 19. These numbers increase again to 6066 between 25 to 34 years old. The median personal income is $864 a week for all Kimberley residents — $361 for Indigenous residents and $1292 for non-Indigenous residents. The average people per-household is 2.8, which sees no change from the 2016 census while the median rent has increased by $20 to $200. Kimberley residents are renting less, with the number of rentals dropping by 429 dwellings to 5958. The number of homes owned by residents has barely changed, rising by only 18 in the past five years to 3089. The number of visitors — residents of places outside the region — living in Kimberley households has risen substantially in the past five years, with the new data showing 18,005 visitors last year. This has jumped by more than 3000 since 2016 when there were 14,792. Despite a high percentage of residents identifying as Indigenous, only 325 people follow Australian Aboriginal traditional religions. 13,265 residents said they followed no religion, while a marginally bigger group of 13,542 marked themselves as Christian. The biggest portion of Christians in the Kimberley — 7379 — subscribe to Catholicism. The second instalment of 2021 census data is expected in October and will contain more information on employment and location variables.