Census 2022: More people now calling Geraldton, Chapman Valley Shire home

Despite suffering the effects of a global pandemic and a once-in-a-generation cyclone, Geraldton appears to have bucked the trend of shrinking populations across regional WA. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ 2021 census was released for the first time this week, with figures showing there were 39,489 people in the Greater Geraldton area on the night of the survey. This marked a 2.18 per cent increase from the 2016 population of 38,634. Chapman Valley recorded a 9 per cent increase in its population. Shire president Kirrilee Warr said Chapman Valley and its surrounds had attracted the interest of developers for decades, with more people now starting to make the switch to rural living. “The western areas of our shire in particular have had a lot of subdivision and development. With that vacant land coming on to the market in the past 10 years, it probably has seen our shire increase in population as people build and move to that area,” she said. “We are a predominantly rural shire and our slogan is ‘love the rural life’. There is definitely an attraction for people to move to our shire, and in particular those areas within the shire which are on the doorstep of the City of Greater Geraldton.” While many can no longer afford to enter the property market in the metro area, Cr Warr said the lure of cheap housing could also have convinced people to move out of the city. “Some of our smaller towns offer affordable housing options and these areas have seen an increase in population for that reason,” she said. But the population of communities elsewhere in the Mid West have taken a hit, with numbers in Mullewa down 22.66 per cent to 356 people. Walkaway’s population has dropped by 19.51 per cent since 2016 and the Morawa community has shrunk by 12.76 per cent. Mingenew has lost 11.14 per cent of its population since the last census, with Northampton also recording a decrease of 2.81 per cent. City of Greater Geraldton mayor Shane Van Styn said at Tuesday’s council meeting the data presented opportunities to explore how the local government could better support its neighbouring shires. “We need to think about our role as a regional capital, not just to our own selves but to other regional areas as well. Because like it or not, we have seen census data that our surrounding shires that rely on us to exist are all shrinking bar Chapman Valley,” he said. “We need to look at what role we play in helping out everyone beyond our local government area.” More than 3814 Greater Geraldton residents identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, accounting for 9.7 per cent of the population. The proportion of non-religious Geraldton residents has jumped about 10 per cent since 2016, with various denominations of Christianity the dominant religion in the Mid West city. Weekly income has increased from $1348 to $1536 per household, which is still about $250 less than the State average. Of their monthly income, households are setting aside $1519 for mortgage repayments, down from $1733 per month in 2016. More than 3800 people owned their home outright, with about 4140 homeowners having a mortgage. The average resident was paying $260 a week in rent in 2021, with 25.8 per cent of tenants setting aside more than 30 per cent of their household income for rent. Most residents are married with two children, but about 37 per cent of census respondents have never tied the knot. While not as culturally diverse as some other regional centres, Geraldton was home to 3.8 per cent of England-born residents, 1.7 per cent of people from New Zealand, 1.2 per cent from South Africa and the Philippines and 0.6 per cent from India as of August 2021. Most Geraldton residents said they have completed Year 12, with 178 people over the age of 15 saying they did not go to school. Almost 18,000 people do not currently suffer from a long-term health concern but 3128 locals reported having a mental health condition, including depression and anxiety, in 2021. Of those, 121 were under the age of 14, with mental health conditions the most prevalent in local women aged 45-54. The census was conducted online for the first time in 2021, with new questions also added in the hopes of better understanding the health of Australians and ensuring communities have access to the services they need. Census data will continue to be released by the ABS over the next 12 months. BREAKOUT Typical Geraldton resident in 2021