MITEZ Region
Mount Isa City
Cloncurry Shire
McKinlay Shire
Richmond Shire
Flinders Shire
Dalrymple Shire
Charters Towers City
Thuringowa City
Townsville City
Thuringowa City Demographic Profile


Thuringowa City Demographic Profile

Indicator

1996

2001

change

Population

44,189

50,966

15.3%

Gender

 

 

 

Males (%)

49.7%

49.6%

-0.1%

Females (%)

50.3%

50.4%

0.1%

Age

 

 

 

Average age (years)

29.3

30.7

1.4 yrs

Aged >15 years (%)

64.3%

64.5%

0.2%

Aged >65 years (%)

1.9%

2.0%

0.1%

Ethnicity

 

 

 

Born in Australia (%)

85.9%

85.2%

-0.7%

Language

 

 

 

Speak English only (%)

94.2%

92.9%

-1.3%

Speak other language (%)

3.2%

3.1%

-0.1%

Marital Status

 

 

 

Married (%)

57.5%

54.2%

-3.3%

Never married (%)

29.2%

31.4%

2.2%

Religious Denomination

 

 

 

Christians (%)

72.4%

70.9%

-1.5%

Weekly Income

 

 

 

Avg weekly income ($)

$384

$474

23.4%

Income greater than $300

52.8%

60.2%

7.4%

Computer / Internet Usage

 

 

 

Use a Computer (%)

n.a.

43.2%

n.a.

Use the Internet (%)

n.a.

34.7%

n.a.

Qualifications

 

 

 

Qualification (%)

n.a.

30.5%

n.a.

Labour Market

 

 

 

Unemployment rate (%)

8.7%

8.0%

-0.7%

Industry employment

 

 

 

Retail trade (%)

16.4%

17.3%

0.9%

Hlth & comm serv (%)

9.0%

9.7%

0.7%

Govt admin & def (%)

9.3%

9.7%

0.4%

Manufacturing (%)

9.3%

9.4%

0.1%

Construction (%)

8.5%

8.6%

0.1%

Source: ABS 1996 and 2001 Censes

Thuringowa recorded average annual population growth of 2.9% between 1996 and 2001, higher than the MITEZ Region and State averages.

The proportion of males in Thuringowa declined marginally from 49.7% to 49.6% between 1996 and 2001.

The average age of Thuringowa residents increased by 1.4 years between 1996 and 2001 to 30.7 years, which is the lowest average age of all MITEZ LGAs. The proportion of persons aged over 50 years has increased since 1996. Thuringowa has one of the highest proportions of persons aged younger than 20 years in Queensland.

In terms of ethnicity, 85.2% of residents were born in Australia. Around 3.1% of the population can speak a language other than English.

Around 54.2% of persons aged over 15 years in Thuringowa were married in 2001, down from 57.5% in 1996, which follows the State trend.

The proportion of persons nominating Christian as their religious denomination fell by 1.5 points to 70.9%.

The average weekly income in Thuringowa grew by 23.4% between 1996 and 2001 to $474.

Retail trade is the dominant employer in Thuringowa, accounting for 17.3% of total employment in 2001. Each of the five main industry employers in Thuringowa has increased its share of total employment.

Overall, the unemployment rate in Thuringowa stood at 8.0% in 2001, down 0.7 points from 1996 but still among the highest in the MITEZ Region. Around 30.5% of the workforce had attained some form of qualification in 2001.