_Focus on | Living in Melbourne

Population

Population has been rising steadily in Melbourne with strong interstate migration into the city. Over the year to 30 June 2017, an increase in the estimated resident population was recorded at 2.7% to 4.9 million. This is well-ahead of the overall Australian population growth of 1.6%. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the Melbourne population is projected to grow annually by a minimum of 1.7%, to 6.4 million persons by 2036.

Age Distribution

Residents are primarily young to middle aged—with 30.6% of Melbourne’s population aged between 20 and 44 years old, compared to the national 34.6% average for this age group.

Multiculturalism

Melbourne is a true multicultural city, with 42.9% of residents being born outside of Australia. The most prominent countries include India (3.6%), China (3.5%), England (3.0%), Vietnam (1.8%) and New Zealand (1.8%). In addition, 46.2% of Melbourne’s residents’ parents were born overseas—compared to the national average of 34.4%.

Religion

The Catholic religion was practiced by 23.4% of Melbourne residents at the time of the Census 2016, this was followed by Anglican at 7.6%, then Eastern Orthodox with 4.3%. No religion was the most common response in Melbourne with 31% of the population.

Language

Other than English, Mandarin (4.1%) was the most common language spoken in a Melbourne household. Other typical languages included Greek (2.4%), Italian (2.3%), Vietnamese (2.3%) and Cantonese (1.7%).

Education

Melbourne is a skilled city. A higher proportion of people were educated at university level (27.5%) compared to the Australian average (22.0%). In Melbourne, 20.4% of the local student population were studying at university in the 2016 Census, compared to the national average of 16.1%.

Work

The most common occupation of Melbourne’s residents were in professional services—at 25% compared to the national 22.2% average.

Clerical and administrative workers (13.9%), managers (13.2%) and technicians and trades workers (12.6%) were the next most common occupations.

Of all the employed people in Melbourne, 3.7% worked in hospitals. Other major industries of employment included cafés and restaurants (2.7%), supermarket and grocery stores (2.2%), computer system design and related services (2.2%) and higher education (1.8%).

Travel to Work

In Melbourne at the time of the Census 2016, the most common methods of travel to work for employed people were by car, as a driver (60.2%) and train (7.2%). Other common responses were worked at home (4.2%), car, as a passenger (3.9%) and walked only (3.0%).

On the day, 15.6% of employed people used public transport (train, bus, ferry, tram/light rail) as at least one of their methods of travel to work and 66.9% used a car (either as driver or as passenger)

Key Employment Hubs

The distribution of employment opportunities are wide across Melbourne, although there are key concentrated areas for office and industrial workers.

Commercial

Melbourne CBD is the largest office market in Melbourne. The CBD extends north of the Yarra River, from Flinders Street Station up to Queen Victoria Markets and Carlton Gardens and bound by Flinders Street, Spring Street, Victoria Street, Dudley Street and Spencer Street; then across to include the suburb of Docklands. Accessible by: train, tram, ferry, bus and car.

Southbank accommodates the next largest office market. Located south of the Yarra River and extends down the Kingsway to adjoin the St Kilda Road precinct and Montague Street to the westand Market Street in South Melbourne. Accessible by: train, tram, ferry, bus and car.

East Melbourne sits to the eastern side of the CBD and is generally bound by the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the south, Hoddle Street to the east and up to North Richmond train station, along Victoria Parade and around to Spring Street. Workers are often seen enjoying Fitzroy Gardens at lunchtime. Accessible by: train, tram, bus and car.

St Kilda Road precinct sweeps along the St Kilda Road boulevard from the Shrine of Remembrance down to the Queens Way (Princes Hwy); also extending partly down Albert Road to Moray Street, near Albert Park Lake. Accessible by: tram, train, bus and car.

Suburban locations include Richmond, Carlton, Port Melbourne, Hawthorn, Camberwell, Kew, Malvern, South Yarra, Box Hill, Mt Waverley, Mulgrave,

Burwood, Cheltenham, Moorabbin, Dandenong, Footscray, Moonee Ponds and Essendon. Most precincts are accessible by train, tram, bus and car.

Industrial

Industrial areas are more spread across the metropolitan area varying from distribution centres, to warehouses, and industrial estates. Most suburbs are accessible via bus, tram, truck and car.

North: Tullamarine, Epping, Somerton.

South East: Mulgrave, Springvale, Dandenong South, Keysborough, Braeside, Pakenham, Lyndhurst.

West: Port Melbourne, Footscray, Altona North, Laverton North, Westmeadows, Truganina, Derrimut.

East: Blackburn, Mt Waverley, Ringwood, Bayswater, Clayton South, Croydon South, Knoxfield, Scoresby.