Library Snapshot

Community Profile

The Ipswich City Council area covers 1,090 square kilometres with a population of approximately 155,000. (Based on Ipswich Population Modeller June Quarter 2008)

The following are characteristics of the Ipswich community as at the 2006 Census. The figures used below are taken from the 2006 Census of Population and Housing, prepared by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Peak Crossing and Harrisville constituted part of the Ipswich Local Government Area at the time of the 2006 Census.

Ethnicity
A wide range of countries and cultures are represented with residents drawn from 137 countries of origin.  Over 113 different languages are spoken, with 6.6% of the population speaking a language other than English at home. The top five languages spoken at home are Samoan (22.6%), Vietnamese (15.6%), Spanish (7.8%), German (3.9%) and Dutch (3.7%). 78.2% of Ipswich residents were born in Australia including Indigenous Australians (3.4% of the city’s population).

Education & Qualifications<br> 43,910 people (31.3% of the total population) attend an educational institution (5.5% - preschool, 32.6% - primary school, 20.7% - secondary school, 6.3% - technical or further education, 7.4% - university or tertiary institution). Of people aged 15 years and over, 13.3% have obtained a bachelor degree since leaving school , 12.3% a diploma, 43.3% a certificate, 1.8% a graduate diploma/certificate and 1.9% a postgraduate degree.

Employment
More than 62% of people aged 15 years and over are in the labour force (66,167 people). The unemployment rate in the region is 5.1%.

Income
Of the population aged 15 years and over, 15.7% recorded an income of between $400 and $599 per week. There were 28,569 (26.8%), low income earners (between $1 and $249 a week) and 14,389 (13.5%) high income earners ($1000 per week or more).

Age Profile
Compared to Queensland figures, Ipswich has a higher proportion of people aged 0-44 years. Young people aged 0 – 14 years comprised 24% of the population, 15-64 years comprised 66.1%, and 65 years and over comprised 9.9%.

Family Structure
Living in a couple household is the most common situation found in Ipswich. Couple families with children comprised 37.8% of all families in occupied private dwellings, while couple families without children comprised 33.1%. One parent families accounted for 19.4%.

Computer and Internet Use
59.6% of households were connected to the internet, of which 65.1% had a broadband connection.