St Helens

Schools in St Helens iICSEA: school advantage index. 1000 = national avg, higher = more advantaged

Demographics

The median age of 57 sits 17 years above the national figure, a gap that reflects decades of sea change migration and relatively few young families settling permanently. The couples-without-children share reaches 46.3% of all families, consistent with this older profile. University qualifications stand at 20.2%, which is 9.9 percentage points below the national rate, and the participation rate of 37.5% is low compared to national averages, because a large portion of residents are retired or not in the labour force (987 people out of a working-age population). Overseas-born residents at 16.0% sit 5.6 points below the national share. Ancestry is predominantly English (1,014), Irish (223) and Scottish (216). Volunteering reaches 22.4% of the adult population, a rate typically higher than national norms and consistent with a community with older retirees who have discretionary time.

Owner-occupiers dominate: 51.3% own outright and 22.8% carry a mortgage, leaving just 25.9% in the rental market. This outright-ownership rate is unusually high and reflects the older resident base, many of whom bought decades ago when prices were far lower. Separate houses are 86.5% of the stock, with apartments at just 7.1%, a profile far more detached-dominant than most suburban markets nationally. Three-bedroom dwellings account for 49.9% and four-plus bedrooms another 14.2%, so the housing stock skews family-sized even as the resident base is mostly couples without children. Prices have compounded at 7.5% per year since 1996, when the median was $65,000, reaching a 2023 peak of $607,500 before easing 5.3% to the current $575,000. Rent-to-income at 27.9% stays below the 30% stress threshold, giving tenants slightly more breathing room than mortgagees.

Community Profile

Economy & Employment

Healthcare is the largest employing industry at 18.5% of local workers (83 people), followed by Hospitality at 13.6% (61 workers), Construction at 12.7% (57) and Retail at 8.9% (40). The Hospitality share reflects the town's role as a tourism and fishing hub on the northeast coast. Community and personal services workers (113) are the largest occupation group, followed closely by Labourers (112) and Managers (110). The unemployment rate is 7.5% and the full-time employment rate is 47.4%, with part-time work (351 workers) slightly outnumbering full-time (316). The SEIFA IRSD decile of 2 and IRSAD decile of 1 indicate levels of disadvantage well below the national median. Personal weekly income of $494 is low compared to national averages, driven partly by the retired population and the part-time nature of tourism and hospitality jobs.

Transport to Work

Transport is almost entirely car-dependent: 79.3% of residents drive to work, and no public transport data is recorded for this postcode, as expected for a remote east coast town. Walking and cycling accounts for a relatively high 11.9%, plausibly linked to the compact town centre and waterfront access. Crime statistics are not available in this dataset. The need-for-assistance rate of 12.8% (259 people) is elevated compared to most suburban markets, consistent with the older median age of 57. No schools are recorded within the suburb boundary in this dataset, so families rely on institutions elsewhere in the Break O'Day local government area. The IRSAD decile of 1 places St Helens in the most disadvantaged category nationally, a signal that access to services, education and economic opportunity lags many comparable coastal markets.

National Ranking iPercentile rank among ~15,000 AU suburbs. 90% = higher than 90% of suburbs

How St Helens compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs

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