Hobart has overtaken Adelaide as the nation’s oldest capital city by median age, edging ahead for the first time since 2020, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data released today.
Tricia Chester, ABS head of demography statistics, said: ’Hobart’s median age of 39.3 years edged ahead of Adelaide’s 39.2 years, swapping positions for the first time since 2020. Darwin still had the youngest median age at 34.8 years.
‘The areas within Australia with the oldest populations tended to be coastal retirement destinations. Tea Gardens – Hawks Nest on the NSW coast had the nation’s oldest median age at 66.5 years.
‘This was more than three times the median age of Acton in the ACT, home to the Australian National University, which had the youngest median age in the country at 21.1 years.’
The ABS figures show Hobart’s median age of 39.3 marginally eclipsed Adelaide’s 39.2, while Perth was 37.5, Sydney 36.8, Melbourne 36.6, Brisbane 36.4 and Canberra 35.7. Across all capital cities combined, the median age was 36.9. The Australian Bureau of Statistics is the source of all data in this story.
Sex ratios varied markedly across the country. Hobart (95.2 males per 100 females) and Adelaide (96.0) not only had the oldest populations but were also the capitals where women outnumbered men the most. ‘Our youngest capital Darwin was the only capital with more men than women,’ Ms Chester said. Darwin’s sex ratio was 105.0.
At the local level, the highest concentration of men was in Wacol, Brisbane, where multiple male correctional centres are based, with 290.1 males per 100 females. Women outnumbered men the most in Woollahra, Sydney, with 80 males for every 100 females.
Elsewhere among the capitals, Perth’s sex ratio was 99.8, Sydney’s 99.1, Brisbane’s 98.3, Melbourne’s 97.9 and Canberra’s 97.1. Across the capitals overall, there were 98.4 males per 100 females, ABS data show.
