The Sydney Hills population is growing 20% faster than the national average (1.9% p.a. compared to 1.6% p.a.) at 169,872 people each year, with average households being significantly larger than the national average (3.1 compared to 2.6 people per household) and home to a higher proportion of students, university educated adults and full time workers than the national and state averages.
The median age of residents is 38 correlating closely with national averages (37). This is due to the high number of families in the area (21% of the population are aged between 0-14) and the high proportion of individuals over the age of 65 (12%).
The Hills Shire is an area highly engaged in education with 32% of residents attending an educational institution. Of these, 30% are in primary school, 26% in secondary school and 24% in a tertiary or technical institution.
Residents of the Hills Shire are highly engaged in the workforce with the full time employment rate higher than the Australian average (62% compared to 60%).
The industries in which residents are most likely to be working are education (primary/secondary), health (hospitals) and hospitality (food services).
*Data obtained from 2011 Census (ABS)
The Hills Business in The National Context
The Hills Shire is a strong business district, holding 1.5% of all 2,100,000 businesses in Australia. The number of businesses in the area increased by 65% to 32,191 between 2013 and 2015. Businesses employing five or more individuals have also increased during this time, by 59% (from 2,051 to 3,456).
Employing and Non-employing businesses
97% of all Australian businesses are small enterprises with less than 20 employees. Comparatively, 98% of Hills Shire businesses are small enterprises.
*Data obtained from 2011 Census (ABS)