By JOLENE OGLE
WE MAY be in the midst of what some call a messy separation, but new statistics show people living in either the Noosa Council or the Sunshine Coast Council are more alike than you might think.
A new report from the Queensland Government statistician’s office, released on Sunday, compares Noosa and the Sunshine Coast’s demographic data from the 2001 census to the 2011 census, to show we all live and work alike.
According to the report, most of the statistics are within a few percentage points despite the Sunshine Coast region having 80 per cent more people living within its boundaries.
When it comes to what makes up a standard home, houses occupied by just a couple are most common in both shires, with 31.8 per cent of the Noosa population living this way and 30.3 per cent of the Sunshine Coast population.
The remaining living options – a couple with children, one-parent homes, people living with other family, share accommodation and solo living – all share similar statistics.
For both shires, people prefer to live in separate housing with 77.3 per cent of Noosans and 74.1 per cent of Sunshine Coasters living in stand-alone homes, 9.8 per cent of Noosa residents and 9.9 per cent of Sunshine Coast residents live in semi-detached homes and 10.2 per cent of Noosa locals and 12.7 per cent of Sunshine Coasters enjoy the apartment life.
When it comes to owning or renting, we are evenly spread with just about a third of both populations either renting, buying their own home or having already bought their own home.
It turns out we’re all a smart bunch with 46.9 per cent of Noosa locals holding either a certificate, advanced diploma, degree or higher, compared to 41.9 per cent of Sunshine Coast locals.
We also share similar statistics for unemployment; Noosa comes in at 7 per cent and the Sunshine Coast is at 7.1 per cent.
For those working, health care and social assistance is one of the most common profession for both shires, with 2668 workers in Noosa and 15560 workers throughout the Sunshine Coast.
As you might expect in a tourism-based town, most of Noosa’s working population, 5413 people, work in either the retail or tourism industry.
For the full Queensland Regional Profiles report and list of statistics, visit www.qgso.qld.gov.au.
