Census reveals snapshot of the nation's fastest growing region

The census for Serpentine-Jarrahdale revealed a population increase of 51 per cent to 27,000 people – up from 18,000 people in 2011.

Mandurah also revealed steady population growth, adding 13,442 people between 2011 and 2016, an increase of 16.1 per cent.

Between 2011 and 2016 Mandurah added an additional 3484 families and 6496 houses and units.

Median weekly household incomes increased from $992 to $1169 (17.9 per cent).

The median monthly mortgage dropped between 2011 and 2016 from $1950 to $1826 (6.4 per cent), but median rent jumped from $270 to $350 a week.

Mandurah, for the first time, had more people who said they had no religious affiliation than those reporting they belonged to any one organised religion.

In 2016 there were 31,909 people who said they had no religion, compared to 21,200 in 2011 (an increase of 50.1 per cent).

The Anglican congregation in Mandurah shrank from 22,293 to 21,055 (down 5.6 per cent) while the number of Catholics grew from 16,543 to 17,814 (up 7.7 per cent).

Christians who did not define a denomination showed massive growth in Mandurah from 2295 people in 2011 to 3137 in 2016, an increase of 36.7 per cent.

Across the state, the census counted 2,474,410 residents of WA, an 11 per cent increase from 2011.

People are also heading south, with the Augusta-Margaret River-Busselton region population growing by 21 per cent since 2011, while Bunbury (7.8 per cent) and Albany (6.9 per cent) were also growing.

Christianity was the most commonly reported religion in WA, accounting for half the state’s population – 1.2 million people – while 33 per cent of people reported they had no religion.

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