Who is the 'average' Australian? We've run the numbers to find out

Australia celebrates its national day on Monday, but do we really know who we are?

A lot has changed since the very first recorded Census survey in 1911. Source: SBS, Getty

More than 100 years ago, the typical Australian was a 24-year-old male. Today, it's a 38-year-old woman.

That statistic captures just one of the ways the country has changed since the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) began conducting its Census surveys in 1911.

The first survey — which took place more than 100 years after the First Fleet arrived in 1788 — counted 4.4 million people in Australia. That number didn't include Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander communities.

Only "full-blooded Australian Aboriginals" in the employ of white settlers or those living in the vicinity of settlements were recorded, and in 1911, there 19,939 were counted — 11,385 of which, were men.

The 'average' Australia is a 38-year-old woman who was born in Australia and speaks English at home. Source: SBS News

The picture remained largely incomplete until a full count of First Nations people was mandated in the 1967 referendum. The most recent Census in 2021 tells us that 3.2 per cent of Australia's total population of 25 million people identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander — approximately 812,000 residents.

Australia's population has also ballooned since that first Census, and as of June 2024, is now estimated to be 27 million.

So, on the eve of January 26, SBS News wanted to ask: who are we, really?

Let's find out.

We were born in Australia and live in major cities

Almost 70 per cent of residents were born in Australia, according to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) estimates from June 2023.

Tasmania has the highest Australian-born population (79 per cent), while Victoria has the lowest (65 per cent).

The overwhelming majority of Australians live in major cities — making up 73 per cent of the population.

A quarter live in inner regional and outer regional areas, while the remaining 1.9 per cent live in remote and very remote areas.

October 2024 housing in western Sydney, as seen from the air. Source: AAP / Dean Lewins

Three-bedroom homes are the most common form of housing, according to the 2021 Census, with 37 per cent of Australians living in a three-bedroom property. However, those in Western Australia are more likely to live in a four-bedroom home, with 37 per cent doing so.

We're married and have more than one child

A couple with children is still the most common family composition in Australia, representing almost 30 per cent of residents, according to Census data from 2021.

This trend is consistent across most jurisdictions, except South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, where couples with no children are more common.

Most families have at least two or more children in Australia. Source: SBS News

The average number of children per family in Australia is 1.8, and 58 per cent of families have two or more children in the household.

Around a third of Australians are married, and this is the most common marital status response everywhere except the NT, where "not married" is the most common answer (29 per cent).

We earn around $1,436 per week

The median wage for Australians is $1,436 a week ($74,672 a year) before tax, so if you earn more than this, your income is higher than half of all working Australians.

If you're working full-time, the median is higher, rising to $1,887 a week before tax ($98,124 a year), according to the latest ABS employee earnings release published on Friday.

The median for men is even higher — $1,994 a week — which equates to $103,688 a year. For women working full-time, it is $1,758 a week ($91,416 a year).

We're a nation of migrants

Australians are slightly more likely to have at least one parent born overseas (48 per cent), than for both parents to be born in Australia (46 per cent).

But the picture can vary widely depending on which state you live in.

In Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the NT, residents are more likely to have both parents born in Australia.

Almost half of all Australians have at least one parent born overseas.

Notably, 67 per cent of Tasmanians report both parents were born in Australia.

But in other states, you are slightly more likely to have at least one parent born overseas. In Western Australia, 56 per cent of residents had at least one overseas-born parent.

But we mostly speak English at home

Around 72 per cent of residents speak English at home, nationally — this increases to 86 per cent in Tasmania.

The second most common language is Mandarin, with 2.7 per cent speaking it at home. It holds this rank in every jurisdiction except the NT, where Kriol is the second most common language. The NT also has the highest proportion of people who speak a language other than English (32 per cent).

The most common ancestry in Australia is also English (32 per cent), which remains the top response in all jurisdictions, except the NT, where 24 per cent are Australian Aboriginal.

Most Australians speak English at home. Source: Getty / Maskot/Maskot

Migrants are also commonly from England

For those not born in Australia, the most common birthplace is England, with 4 per cent being of English origin.

But this varies widely depending on the state or territory.

In NSW, migrants were most commonly born in China (3 per cent); in Victoria and ACT, India was the most common birthplace (around 4 per cent); in Queensland, New Zealand (4 per cent); and in the NT, it was the Philippines (3 per cent).

We're slaves to our mortgages

The most common housing tenure type — which describes whether a property is owned or rented — in Australia is a home owned with a mortgage. Nearly a third of Australians (30 per cent) are in this situation.

But the picture changes if you live in NSW and the NT, where it's more common to rent (28.5 per cent of people rent in NSW, and 37.5 per cent in the NT).

It's a completely different story in Tasmania, where it's more common for people to own their homes outright, with 32 per cent doing so.

Twenty years ago, it was most common for Australians to own their home outright (that is, without a mortgage), with 30 per cent doing so in 2006. But by 2011, this changed to owning a home with a mortgage (30 per cent ).

In NSW, the shift has been even more stark, with renting now the most common response (29 per cent).

Renting was the most common housing tenure in NSW in 2021, according to ABS Census data, but in 2006 people were more likely to own their home outright. Source: SBS News

We own two cars

The typical Australian owns two cars, with 34 per cent having access to two vehicles.

But in NSW and the NT, it is more common to own just one car (35 per cent in NSW and 32 per cent in NT).

We're getting older, and more of us are female

The median age in Australia is 38, but some jurisdictions skew older or younger. In Tasmania, the median is 42, while in the NT, it's 33.

Australians are getting older. In 2001 the median age was 35.7, and in 1911, the median age was 24.

Tasmania has a higher proportion of older residents, while the Northern Territory has a higher proportion of younger residents, than other areas of Australia. Source: SBS News

We are also slightly more likely to be female, with 51 per cent of the population identifying as such.

This holds true for every state and territory except the NT, where 50.5 per cent are male.

More than half of all men aged 15 and over do some housework each week — 56 per cent perform up to 14 hours of unpaid domestic duties — but 27 per cent did none.

Around 25 per cent of women did no housework, but 46.15 per cent reported completing between five and 29 hours of unpaid domestic duties in one week.

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