Hello,
Civic life runs on data most people never see.
So, this week, we're taking a dive into three pieces of data that will shape Wollongong over the next 20 years.
Today’s newsletter is 627 words, a 3.5 minute read.
First: An ageing community
Wollongong will get older over the next 20 years. While the shift is gradual, the direction is clear.
The stakes: Local services, from childcare to aged care and everything in between, are planned around population age structure. Even modest shifts in the balance between young families, working-age residents, and seniors can affect capacity in schools, healthcare, housing, and transport over time.
Worth knowing: The data shows a community that’s ageing steadily rather than rapidly.
The 85+ age group increases 43%, growing from 2.8% to 4.0%, signalling greater demand for aged care and health services.
The 35 to 49 age bracket remains the largest group over the next two decades, suggesting a stable core of working-age and family households.
The 18 to 24 age group falls from 10.1% in 2026 to 9.8% in 2036 and 9.3% in 2046, a slow but steady decline likely reflecting lower current birth rates and young adults leaving for study, work, or more affordable housing elsewhere.
Next: The jobs powering our local economy
The health care and social assistance industry is by far the largest employer in our community.
The stakes: The occupations people work in shape everything from transport planning to skills training to economic resilience. A workforce concentrated in a few sectors can mean strong local expertise, but it also means that Wollongong is potentially more exposed if those industries face disruption.
Worth knowing: The data shows a workforce anchored by care, education, and construction, with a long tail of smaller sectors.
Health Care and Social Assistance employs 17.3% of the workforce, more than 50% larger than the next biggest sector, reflecting an ageing population and growing demand for care services.
Education and Training follows at 11.2%, and Construction at 9.2%, together pointing to a community investing heavily in people and infrastructure.
Retail Trade (8.5%) and Accommodation and Food Services (7.0%) round out a sizeable services and hospitality base, supporting local everyday spending and tourism.
Finally: Houses and homes
Wollongong's households are almost evenly divided between owning outright, still paying off a mortgage, and renting.
The stakes: Housing tenure shapes financial security, mobility, and residents' exposure to interest rate changes or rent increases. A balanced split like this means policy and services need to serve very different needs at once, from mortgage stress support to renters' rights to ageing-in-place for outright owners.
Worth knowing: A housing market with such an even spread across types of tenure has real-world implications for how Wollongong Council plans and communicates around housing.
The close split between mortgage holders and renters suggests a large share of the population is currently exposed to either interest rate rises or rental market pressures, two equally pressing cost-of-living risks.
A meaningful outright-owner base alongside a strong mortgage and rental presence points to a mix of long-settled residents and a more transient or financially stretched population living side by side.
This kind of even split is often a marker of a maturing or diversifying area, rather than a traditionally homeowner-dominated suburb, and is likely impacted by the student population of the university.
Thanks for your feedback
I loved hearing from so many of you last week about the new look. Hearing that it's easy to read and understand means a lot, because that's exactly what The Civic Report is meant to be.
Do you have questions or feedback about this edition? Just hit reply; I read every one and will do my best to help.
Talk soon,
Liam