Hunter Valley population is booming: Census 2016

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Data from last year's Census has been released and shows that the Hunter's population, excluding Newcastle, is booming.

The Hunter Valley is home to just over 263,000 people and nearly 360,000 people in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie and across both regions, there are more women than men.

We found out just who the average Australian is too - a 38 year old woman who speaks English, is married and lives in a captital city. Our ancestry is predominately Australian with 33 per cent of our residents identifying as Aussie, closely followed by British.

Maitland was identified as a high growth area being the fastest growing outside of the Sydney metropolitan area.

Director of Data Processing Tracey Chester says not only are we growing, but we have the biggest ageing population as well.

"The 2016 Census also found that the population of the Hunter region is older when compared with NSW and Australia so the median age in the Hunter region is 39 years whereas for NSW it was 38 years."

In terms of religion, Tracey says we don't appear to be losing it here in the Hunter compared to the rest of the nation, with a great number of residents following Christian beliefs.

"While nationally around half our population said that they followed a Christian religion, in your area it's actually up at 71 per cent. You're also less likely to report no religion than nationally so 24 per cent of you reported that you didn't have a religion compared with 30 per cent nationally."

Looking at income in the Hunter the median weekly income is around $1280 dollars, but in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie it's around $1330 dollars.

For a full roundup of how we look in the 2016 Census head to  http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/D3310114.nsf/Home/Census

Rural men at higher cancer risk

Hunter men are being encouraged to have their prostate checked after a study from Cancer Council NSW reveled rural men have a higher risk of dying from prostate cancer than their major city counter parts.

The study, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, showed rural while overall survival rates had improved, rural men were 32% more likely to die from prostate cancer then men in major cities.

"There is a couple of reasons [for the disparity] we think that early detection really is a big contributor to these different rates, but also the distance to treatment is quite a barrier," said Shayne Connell, Regional Manager, Cancer Council NSW.

Survival rates increased from 57 to 84 percent but the inequity between rural and city patients was still prominent.

"Across the board we've had about 700 deaths in rural men over a 15 year period," Mr Connell said.

All men, particularly those with a family history of cancer, are encouraged to visit their doctor or call the Cancer Council help line on 13 11 20