Parkville Small Area Demographic Profile2013

Contents

Disclaimer

Data sources

Further information

1.Key findings

2.Profile

2.1.History and environment of Parkville

2.2.Geography of Parkville small area

2.3.Demographic profile

2.4.Social profile

2.5.Income profile

2.6.Socio-economic Index for Areas (SEIFA)

2.7.Housing

2.8.Land use and business activity

2.9.Workforce

2.10.Future outlook

Disclaimer

While all due care has been taken to ensure that the content of this report is accurate and current, there may be errors or omissions in it and no legal responsibility is accepted for the information and opinions contained within.

In addition, as the report is based on historic information that is subject to revision and assumptions in preparing forecast figures that are both difficult to predict and liable to change, we do not guarantee the reports currency.

Data sources

Unless otherwise stated, all data in this report are based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2011 Census of Population and Housing.

City of Melbourne’s own Census of Land Use and Employment (CLUE) 2010 database also utilised for various economic, land use and employment related analysis.

Forecast population estimates provided via 2011-2036 Population and Household forecasts, id Consultants, last updated October 2013.

Further information

For further information about this small area, another small area with the City of Melbourne or the municipality overall, see the City Research webpage found via the City of Melbourne homepage:

This link also contains other demographic reports related to various elements of the City of Melbourne and the small areas contained within it, such as: Workers Profile, Students Profile, High rise Dwellers profile, Younger Persons Profile, Older Persons Profile and Key Changes between 2006 & 2011 Censuses.

1.Key findings

The Parkville small area had a mid-range number of residents relative to all the City of Melbourne’s (the ‘municipality’) small areas, with five small areas housing more residents and four housing fewer. The 6193 residents in Parkville represented seven per cent of the municipality’s overall population.

There were 2074 dwellings in Parkville representing around four per cent of the municipality, with the most common dwelling type residential apartments (68 per cent). Houses or townhouses comprised a further 28 per cent of dwelling types, nearing double the municipality’s proportion of 15 per cent.

The proportion of households renting (45 per cent) was slightly lower than the municipality average (49 per cent). The proportion of households with a mortgage or owning their dwelling outright (32 per cent) was slightly higher than the municipality average (27 per cent).

The median age of 24 was the youngest among the municipality’s small area. Residents aged 18 to 29 years represented more than half (54 per cent) of Parkville’s population.

One third (36 per cent) of Parkville’s residents were born overseas with one quarter (27 per cent) speaking a language other than English at home. China was the most common country of birth (6 per cent) and Mandarin was the most common language spoken at home (8 per cent).

The median weekly personal income of $327 was the lowest among the municipality’s small areas and less than half of the municipality median of $711. A significant proportion of 42 per cent earned less than $300 per week, the highest proportion to earn such a low amount across the small areas and well above the proportion earning this level of income in the overall municipality (26 per cent).

Parkville contained the second highest proportion of family households (49 per cent) among all the small areas, well above the municipality average of 41 per cent and second only to Kensington (54 per cent). Lone person households accounted for a further 25 per cent with group households comprising 18 per cent and making Parkville the small area with the highest proportion of group households in the municipality.

Parkville scored slightly higher than the overall municipality for all four SEIFA (Socio-Economic Index for Areas) metrics, but overall was relatively mid-range compared to the municipality’s other small areas. Despite Parkville’s overall SEIFA scores being above the municipality average, the low median income and high propensity to live in group households suggests that there may be evidence of pockets of social disadvantage apparent within Parkville.

Around 21,700 people worked in Parkville with the most common occupation a ‘professional’ (60 per cent). 86 per cent of the workforce lived outside the City of Melbourne but within Greater Melbourne.

Half of Parkville’s workers (52 per cent) drove a car to work, with just over one quarter (28 per cent) using some form of public transport. Walking and riding a bike were the most popular in Parkville compared to all the municipality’s small areas, with 8 per cent respectively travelling to work this way.

Parkville’s population is forecast to remain relatively stable into 2036, following some growth between 2011 and 2016, with around 8000 residents living in around 2400 households in 2036.

2.Profile

2.1.History and environment of Parkville

Parkville is known for its leafy streets, beautiful heritage houses, the University of Melbourne’s bustling campus, and its residential colleges for students. It is also home to major hospital, research and institutional facilities including the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Royal Children’s Hospital and Royal Women’s Hospital

The City of Melbourne’s largest area of open space, Royal Park, can be found here, along with one of Melbourne’s major attractions, the Melbourne Zoo.

Parkville was the site of the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games Village, where athletes and officials were housed during the event. The site, now called Parkville Gardens, has been transformed into an integrated, socially inclusive community with private and social housing. It is designed to be part of a legacy of lasting social benefits left by the Games.

2.2.Geography of Parkville small area

Figure 1: Parkville small area geography within City of Melbourne

The small area of Parkville includes the suburb of Parkville (post code 3052), the University of Melbourne (post code 3010), the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the Royal Women’s Hospital (post code 3050).

2.3.Demographic profile

Figure 2: Key metrics of Parkville residents

Key metrics / Parkville / City of Melbourne
Residential population / 6193
(7 per cent of City of Melbourne) / 93,627
Younger residents (12-25 years) / 48 per cent / 33 per cent
Older residents (60 years and over) / 13 per cent / 10 per cent
Median age / 24 / 28
Residents born overseas / 36 per cent / 48 per cent
Most common language spoken at home (other than English) / Mandarin
(8 per cent) / Mandarin
(10 per cent)
Weekly personal income <$300 / 42 per cent / 26 per cent
Weekly personal income >$1250 / 15 per cent / 23 per cent
Median personal weekly income / $327 / $711
Higher education (university) students / 42 per cent / 21 per cent
Bachelor degree or higher / 35 per cent / 40 per cent

Parkville’s residential population of 6193 represents 7 per cent of the City of Melbourne’s (the ‘municipality’) overall population.

With a median age of 24 years, Parkvillehadthe youngest average age across all the municipality’s small areas and was younger than the overall municipality’s median age of 28 years.

Around half (48 per cent) of Parkville’s residents were aged 12 to 25 years, the highest proportion of residents in this age bracket across all the municipality’s small areas and strongly affecting the relatively young median age.

A relatively high proportion of one in eight (13 per cent) Parkville residents were aged 60 years and over, with two small areas containinga higher proportion than Parkville and seven small areas with a lower proportion of this age. The most common age range of Parkville residents was 18 to 24 years (43 per cent). This positions Parkville as the most bipolar of the municipality’s small areas in terms of resident’s ages, whereby it was home the highest proportion of residents aged 12 to 25 (48 per cent) and also the third highest proportion of residents aged 60 years and over (13 per cent).

Parkville had the highest proportion of residents (42 per cent) earning less than $300 per week and the second lowest proportion, only behind Carlton (14 per cent), of residents earning more than $1250 (15 per cent). An average personal weekly income of $327 positions Parkville with the lowest median income all of the municipality’s small areas.

Just over four in 10 (42 per cent) Parkville residents were higher education students, the highest proportion in the municipality’s small areas. One third (35 per cent) held a bachelor degree qualification or higher, a slightly lower proportion than the municipality average (40 per cent).

Figure 3: Parkville age profile

Years of age / Number of Residents
0-4 years / 157
5-9 years / 107
10-14 years / 123
15-19 years / 1092
20-24 years / 1647
25-29 years / 706
30-34 years / 441
35-39 years / 258
40-44 years / 227
45-49 years / 202
50-54 years / 190
55-59 years / 220
60-64 years / 195
65-69 years / 163
70-74 years / 114
75-79 years / 85
80-84 years / 100
85-89 years / 93
90-94 years / 53
95-99 years / 16
100 years and over / 4

Median Age is 24 years.

As Figure 3depicts, more than half (56 per cent) of Parkville’s residents were aged 15 to 29 years. It should be noted, however, that 15 to 17 year olds only represented 1 per cent of the residential population with 18 to 29 years olds representing 54 per cent as alluded to in commentary for Figure 2.Six per cent were school-aged children (under 15 years), a similar proportion to the municipality average (7 per cent).

2.4.Social profile

2.4.1.Education

Around half (49 per cent) of Parkville’s residents were attending an educational institution, with Carlton recording the nearest proportion (45 per cent) of its residents currently studying. The average for the municipality overall was 30 per cent.

Higher education students comprised 86 per cent of Parkville’s total student population, the highest proportion of all the municipality’s small areas and above the average of 70 per cent.

The proportion of primary and pre-school attendees was equal to the municipality average of three per cent.

Just over one third (35 per cent) of Parkville’s residents held a bachelor degree qualification or higher, which was below the municipality average of 40 per cent and the lowest proportion among all the small areas. This relatively low proportion of holders of bachelor degree qualifications or higher is somewhat understandable, due to the high proportion of residents still undertaking their studies and therefore yet to receive their formal qualifications.

2.4.2.Household and family structure

Family households* accounted for around half (49 per cent) of household types in Parkville, making this the most common household type and with a higher proportion than the municipality average of 41 per cent. Only Kensington was home to a higher proportion of couple families with no children or couple families with children (40 per cent in Parkville c.f. 45 per cent in Kensington).

Lone person households comprised 25 per cent in Parkville, with group households accounting for the highest proportion of all the small areas (18 per cent) and a significant contributing factor in housing students who tend not to be living in family household types unless at their parent’s home.

*Note: a family is defined by the ABS as two or more persons, one of whom is at least 15 years of age, who are related by blood, marriage (registered or de facto), adoption, step or fostering, and who are usually resident in the same household.

2.4.3.Culture and language profile

More than one third (36 per cent) of Parkville’s residents were born overseas. With the high proportion of the municipality’s residents born overseas (48 per cent), however, there were only three small areas with a lower proportion of overseas-born residents than Parkville.

The most common countries of birth other than Australia included: China (6 per cent), Malaysia (5 per cent), England (3 per cent), New Zealand (2 per cent) and Singapore (2 per cent).

One quarter (27 per cent) of Parkville’s residents spoke a language other than English at home, with the most common languages spoken including: Mandarin (8 per cent), Cantonese (4 per cent), Italian (2 per cent) and Malay (1 per cent).

2.4.4.Internet connection at home

Around three quarters (74 per cent) of Parkville’s residents lived in a household with a broadband Internet connection, the second highest proportion across all the municipality’s small areas.

A modest seven per cent of households did not have an Internet connection, which was on par with the municipality average of eight per cent.

Only 2 per cent of households maintained a dial-up Internet connection, 6 per cent accessed the Internet via another* connection type, and 11 per cent of households did not provide an answer to this Census question.

* Note on Internet connection types:

Broadband connection includes: ADSL, Cable, Wireless, Satellite, Fibre and Mobile connections

Dial up connection includes: analogue modem and ISDN connections

Other connection type includes: Internet access through mobile phones, etc.

2.5.Income profile

Figure 4: Parkville income comparisons

Income (weekly) / Parkville / City of Melbourne
Median total personal income / $327 / $711
Median total family income / $1990 / $1962
Median total household income / $1487 / $1352

The median total personal income for Parkville ($327) was the lowest among all the municipality’s small areas and less than half of the municipality median of $711. Four in 10 (42 per cent) Parkville residents earned less than $300 per week.

Parkville’s median family and household incomes were, however, both higher than the overall municipality medians reinforcing the notion that group households are relatively commonplace among the large student cohort in Parkville along with young professional working families which effectively offset the relatively low median personal income.

Figure 5: Parkville personal weekly income profile

Personal Weekly Income / Number of Residents
Negative income / 36
Nil income / 939
$1-$199 / 906
$200-$299 / 690
$300-$399 / 391
$400-$599 / 483
$600-$799) / 324
$800-$999 / 300
$1,000-$1,249 / 353
$1,250-$1,499 / 246
$1,500-$1,999 / 278
$2,000 or more / 403
Not stated / 453
Not applicable / 391

Median personal income is 375 dollars.

2.6.Socio-economic Index for Areas (SEIFA)

SEIFA is a suite of four indexes compiled from data collected in the ABS 2011 Census which rank areas in terms of the socio-economic characteristics of persons and households in that area. SEIFA allows for comparisons of areas whereby the lower the score, the greater the disadvantage relative to other comparable areas.

The Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage (IRSAD) summarises information about the economic and social conditions of people and households within an area, including both relative advantage and disadvantage measures.

The Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage (IRSD) is a general socio-economic index that summarises a range of information about the economic and social conditions of people and households within an area. Unlike the other indexes, this index includes only measures of relative disadvantage.

The Index of Economic Resources (IER) focuses on the financial aspects of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage, by summarising variables related to income and wealth. This index excludes education and occupation variables because they are not direct measures of economic resources. It also misses some assets such as savings or equities which, although relevant, could not be included because this information was not collected in the 2011 Census.

The Index of Education and Occupation (IEO) is designed to reflect the educational and occupational level of communities. The education variables in this index show either the level of qualification achieved or whether further education is being undertaken. The occupation variables classify the workforce into the major groups and skill levels of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) and the unemployed. This index does not include any income variables.

The following diagram represents the continuum that should be considered when interpreting SEIFA scores.

* Note that for the IRSD, a high index score represents “Least Disadvantaged” while a low index score represents “Most Disadvantaged”.

Figure 6: Parkville SEIFA Indexes

SEIFA 2011 Index / Parkville / City of Melbourne
Advantage and Disadvantage / 1078 / 1051
Disadvantage / 1053 / 1026
Economic Resources / 932 / 870
Education and Occupation / 1196 / 1175
Usual Resident Population / 6193 / 93,627

Relative to all of the City of Melbourne’s small areas, Parkville ranked mid-range for SEIFA scores, with Education and Occupation slightly higher resulting in the third highest score across all the municipality’s small areas.

With a relatively low median personal income of $327, as discussed for Figure 4, and a high proportion of group household types contributing to a slightly above average median household income, the moderately above average SEIFA scores suggest that while the overall small area shows few signs of relative disadvantage, there is evidence to suggest that pockets of social disadvantage may be apparent in Parkville.

2.7.Housing

Figure 7: Parkville Housing Statistics

Housing metrics / Parkville / City of Melbourne
Number of dwellings* / 2074 / 58,733
Most prominent housing type* / Residential apartments
(68 per cent) / Residential apartments (67 per cent)
Occupied private dwellings fully owned or being purchased / 32 per cent / 27 per cent
Occupied private dwellings rented / 45 per cent / 49 per cent
Unoccupied private dwellings / 10 per cent / 12 per cent
Median rent per week / $370 / $400
Median mortgage per month / $2100 / $2167

*Note: data sourced from CLUE 2010. All other data sourced from ABS 2011 Census

There were 2074 dwellings in Parkville, representing around 4 per cent of the municipality’s overall dwellings. The most common dwelling type in Parkvillewere residential apartments, comprising two thirds (68 per cent) of all housing types – a consistent proportion with the overall municipality (67 per cent). Houses or townhouses accounted for slightly more than one quarter (28 per cent) of dwelling types, a higher proportion than the municipality overall (15 per cent) and the common choice of housing type for many family households in Parkville.