Governments just love data and ever since the first census was held by the Babylonian Empire in 3000 BCE, where they counted livestock and quantities of butter, honey, milk, wool, and vegetables, they've been used to help build needed infrastructure, and also to justify not building it.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
For those of us that love crunching a bit of data here are the key points from the 2021 Census.
POPULATION:
Blayney shire's population has grown by 240 people since the last census was taken in 2016.
- Blayney Shire: 7,497
- Blayney town: 3,448
- Millthorpe: 1,347
- Carcoar: 271
Across the entire shire there are 2,044 families with 1.9 children for families with children.
All up there are 3,241 private dwellings with 2.5 being the average number of people per household.
INCOME AND LIVING COSTS:
Although the recent mortgage interest rate increases have undoubtedly changed these numbers, Blayney is still one of the least expensive places to start a family in the central west.
- Median weekly household income - $1,547
- Median monthly mortgage repayment - $1,517
- Median Weekly Rent - $270
- Average number of motor vehicles per dwelling - 2.2
WHO WE ARE:
In the shire 49.6 per cent of the population are male and 50.4 per cent are female.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders number 433 or 5.8 per cent. Non-indigenous is 6,588 or 87.9 per cent with 478 residents or 6.4 per cent not stating their background.
READ ALSO:
The median age is 43 with those in the 60-64 year bracket topping the figures with 572 people. Understandably the figures drop from ages 75 onwards however interestingly it seems our 20-24 year olds tend to be attracted elsewhere for work or university with the number dropping to 314.
RELATIONSHIPS: (Aged 15 and over)
- Married - 2,943 or 49.2%
- Separated - 214 or 3.6%
- Divorced - 600 or 10%
- Widowed - 353 or 5.9%
- Never married - 1,870 or 31.3%
Breaking that data down even further we find:
- Registered marriage - 2,635 or 49.5%
- De facto marriage - 680 or 12.8%
- Not married - 2,006 or 37.7%
EDUCATION:
Blayney has long been a working class town and that's not changing. We're above average in our embrace of public education and below average in university or higher education training.
- Preschool - 181 or 7.9% (National 6.3%)
- Primary - Government - 568 or 24.9% (National 18.5%)
- Primary - Catholic - 90 or 4% (National 5.2%)
- Primary - other non-Government - 40 or 1.8% (National 3.3%)
- Secondary - Government - 318 or 14% (National 12.2%)
- Secondary - Catholic - 101 or 4.4% (National 4.8%)
- Secondary - other non-Government 104 or 4.6% (National 4.2%)
- Tertiary - Vocational education (including TAFE etc) 188 or 8.3% (National 7.8%)
- Tertiary - University or other higher education 153 or 6.7% (National 15.4%)
Mark Logan
Started working in newspapers in the 1990's in the darkroom of the Pastoral Times in Deniliquin before moving to Millthorpe in 2003. Soon after arriving I started as a photographer at the CWD. Now a journalist at the Blayney Chronicle.
Started working in newspapers in the 1990's in the darkroom of the Pastoral Times in Deniliquin before moving to Millthorpe in 2003. Soon after arriving I started as a photographer at the CWD. Now a journalist at the Blayney Chronicle.
