Census 2016 reveals City of Melville more culturally diverse than ever

CITY of Melville residents are earning more, praying less and are more culturally diverse than ever before.

Latest census data reveals median weekly household income in Melville has grown from $1188 in 2006 to $1830 last year.

Part of the 54 per cent increase over the past decade can be attributed to the WA mining boom, with the state as a whole recording average household income growth of 47.7 per cent; nearly 10 per cent better than the Australia-wide average over the same time period (39.2 per cent).

Over the past decade the median weekly mortgage payment for City of Melville homeowners has also grown by 54 per cent from $325 in 2006 to $500 last year.

It has been far tougher for Melville renters, with landlords exactly doubling what they charge over the past 10 years from an average of $200 to $400.

Mirroring a national trend, religious belief appears to be on the decline with nearly one in three Melville residents now describing themselves as secular or non-religious; up from 19.8 per cent a decade ago.

One fifth of Melville residents were Anglican in 2006 but that has slumped to 13.7 per cent in 2016.

Despite a dip in followers, Christianity remains by far the most practiced religion in Melville.

Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam have all recorded modest gains but combined still represent fewer than 5 per cent of total residents.

All but three Melville suburbs have recorded population growth over the past decade, led by Alfred Cove which grew from 2048 residents to 2550 (24.5 per cent), Brentwood (19.2 per cent from 1732 to 2064) and Melville (18.1 per cent from 4822 to 5695).

Winthrop and Leeming both contracted, shedding 523 (8.1 per cent) and 818 (7.1 per cent) residents respectively, while Kardinya was the only other Melville suburb to record negative population growth dipping slightly from 8874 to 8730 (1.6 per cent).

Nearly four in 10 Melville residents were born in a country other than Australia, with the vast majority of immigrants originating from the United Kingdom.

Also mirroring a nationwide trend, the number of Indian and Chinese immigrants has grown substantially in the past decade and the now represent the fourth and fifth largest migrant communities in Melville.

Malaysians (second biggest) and New Zealanders (third biggest) round out the top five.

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