# Censible

> Censible puts every Census table on the ABS's 2026 boundaries and works out figures for any place: a suburb, a council, a postcode, a circle around a site, or an area you draw yourself.

## Census data is free, but not ready to use

It comes as thousands of tables with codes for column names, split across boundaries that change every five years. Answering a simple question, like who lives within 3 km of a store, means joining tables, carrying old counts onto new boundaries and working out medians by hand.

A retail analyst working out why one store trails the others, or a developer deciding where to build next, needs the figure along with enough of its method to defend it, and building that from the raw tables can take longer than the decision allows.

## How each table is processed

Censible loads every census table, links measures across the 2011, 2016 and 2021 Censuses, and carries them onto today's boundaries. Each figure is built from the census's own counts, so it works for any shape, not just the ABS's regions.

The same figures are available in the web app, through an API, and to AI assistants through an MCP server, so a question asked in any of them gets the same answer.

## 2026 Census results

[2026 Census Hub](https://censible.com.au/2026-census): When will the 2026 Census results be released? ABS dates (June 2027 to 2028), what each release covers, and free Australian census data by suburb.

The ABS will release 2026 Census results in three stages. The first release is in June 2027. The second release is in October 2027. The third release is in early to mid-2028. Census night was Tuesday 11 August 2026. Censible will publish 2026 results for every Australian suburb on release day.

- Census night: Tuesday 11 August 2026 (Households completed the Census online or on paper.)
- First release: June 2027 (exact day to be confirmed by ABS) (Most topics, including the new questions on gender and sexual orientation.)
- Second release: October 2027 (Qualifications, employment, occupation, industry and travel to work.)
- Third release: Early to mid-2028 (SEIFA, distance to work, homelessness estimates and the longitudinal dataset.)

## Censible Index

[Censible Index](https://censible.com.au/censible-index): Australian suburb rankings from ABS Census data.

[Australia's Fastest-Growing Suburbs, 2016 to 2021](https://censible.com.au/censible-index/fastest-growing-suburbs): Mickleham in Victoria was Australia's fastest-growing suburb between the 2016 and 2021 Census, growing 455.4% from 3,142 to 17,452 people. Clyde North, also in Victoria, added the most new residents: an estimated 23,458. The Censible Index ranks suburbs on ABS Census counts and includes every suburb with at least 1,000 people in 2016.

- [New South Wales's Fastest-Growing Suburbs, 2016 to 2021](https://censible.com.au/censible-index/fastest-growing-suburbs/nsw)
- [Victoria's Fastest-Growing Suburbs, 2016 to 2021](https://censible.com.au/censible-index/fastest-growing-suburbs/vic)
- [Queensland's Fastest-Growing Suburbs, 2016 to 2021](https://censible.com.au/censible-index/fastest-growing-suburbs/qld)
- [South Australia's Fastest-Growing Suburbs, 2016 to 2021](https://censible.com.au/censible-index/fastest-growing-suburbs/sa)
- [Western Australia's Fastest-Growing Suburbs, 2016 to 2021](https://censible.com.au/censible-index/fastest-growing-suburbs/wa)
- [Tasmania's Fastest-Growing Suburbs, 2016 to 2021](https://censible.com.au/censible-index/fastest-growing-suburbs/tas)
- [The Northern Territory's Fastest-Growing Suburbs, 2016 to 2021](https://censible.com.au/censible-index/fastest-growing-suburbs/nt)
- [The Australian Capital Territory's Fastest-Growing Suburbs, 2016 to 2021](https://censible.com.au/censible-index/fastest-growing-suburbs/act)
- [Methodology: Fastest-Growing Suburbs](https://censible.com.au/censible-index/methodology/fastest-growing-suburbs): data, boundaries, rules and how to cite
- [CSV: national ranking by growth %](https://censible.com.au/downloads/censible-index/fastest-growing-suburbs-2016-2021-australia-by-growth.csv) and [by new residents](https://censible.com.au/downloads/censible-index/fastest-growing-suburbs-2016-2021-australia-by-new-residents.csv), CC BY 4.0

## Products

- **Datasets**: Every metric, every area, as CSV. Download any of the 649 metrics for any set of places as CSV, with all three censuses on the same boundaries.
- **Reports**: Site, catchment and market reports. Site, catchment and market reports that put the numbers in context and cite each figure to its source.
- **Catchments**: Profiles for any area you draw. Set a radius or a drive or walk time around a site, or draw a boundary, and get a full profile, with counts added up before any median is worked out.
- **MCP server**: Ask about any place from an AI assistant. Connect Claude or another assistant that supports remote MCP servers, sign in with your Censible account, and ask about any place. Answers use the same figures as the API, with their basis and source.
- **API**: Query any figure from your own tools. Search places, pull figures side by side, or rank areas on any metric. Every answer carries its basis and source.

## Geography

Figures are on the ABS's 2026 boundaries, at these levels, plus any radius or polygon you draw:

- STE: State or territory
- GCCSA: Greater capital city
- SA4: Statistical area 4
- SA3: Statistical area 3
- SA2: Statistical area 2
- SA1: Statistical area 1

## Pricing

- **Free**: $0 (No card needed). The same topics as QuickStats, from age and ancestry to income, work and housing; Every suburb, postcode and council, and statistical areas from SA2 to state; 2011, 2016 and 2021 on 2026 boundaries; A free API key and access to the MCP server.
- **Explore**: $199 / month (Or $1,990 a year · 1 user · excl. GST). Everything in Free; All 649 metrics for every area; 2021 Census results on 2026 boundaries; Compare up to 20 places side by side; Rank suburbs, postcodes or councils on any metric; API and MCP access; CSV export of any table or chart; Reports at $99 each.
- **Team**: $750 / month (Or $7,500 a year · unlimited users · excl. GST). Everything in Explore; 2011 and 2016 Census results on the same 2026 boundaries; Catchments by radius, drive time or walk time, and areas you draw; Unlimited users, with single sign-on; The report builder; Annual billing by invoice.
- **Network**: $2,000 / month (Or $20,000 a year · unlimited users · excl. GST). Everything in Team; Your own sites, each with a performance figure; How your best sites differ from the rest; Find places like your best sites; Projections to 2026, 2031, 2036 and 2041, labelled as projections; Bulk export of figures for every area.
- **Enterprise**: Quoted (Annual or multi-year licence, priced on coverage and use). Everything in Network; A service level agreement; Custom data loaded alongside Censible's figures; Multi-year terms; Licence terms to suit your organisation; A named contact on our team.

Prices in Australian dollars, excluding GST. A year costs the same as ten months, and monthly plans can be cancelled at any time.

## Data sources

- [Census of Population and Housing, DataPacks](https://www.abs.gov.au/census/guide-census-data/about-census-tools/datapacks), Australian Bureau of Statistics (2011 · 2016 · 2021; CC BY 4.0)
- [Census Time Series Profile](https://www.abs.gov.au/census/guide-census-data/about-census-tools/datapacks), Australian Bureau of Statistics (2011 · 2016 · 2021; CC BY 4.0)
- [Australian Statistical Geography Standard](https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/standards/australian-statistical-geography-standard-asgs-edition-3/jul2021-jun2026/access-and-downloads), Australian Bureau of Statistics (2011 to 2026; CC BY 4.0)
- [Census correspondences](https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/standards/australian-statistical-geography-standard-asgs-edition-3/jul2021-jun2026/access-and-downloads/correspondences), Australian Bureau of Statistics (2011 to 2026; CC BY 4.0)
- [Regional population by age and sex](https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/regional-population-age-and-sex), Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 to 2025; CC BY 4.0)
- [Population projections by SA2, 2022 base](https://www.ga.gov.au), Geoscience Australia (2025 to 2032; CC BY 4.0)
- [Wage Price Index and Consumer Price Index (rents)](https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/price-indexes-and-inflation), Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 to 2026; CC BY 4.0)
- [G-NAF, Geocoded National Address File](https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/geocoded-national-address-file-g-naf), Geoscape Australia, via data.gov.au (Quarterly; G-NAF End User Licence Agreement)
- [OpenMapTiles and OpenStreetMap](https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright), OpenStreetMap contributors, via OpenFreeMap (Current; ODbL, CC BY 4.0)

## Frequently asked questions

### What does Censible do?

Censible is an Australian Census data platform. It puts every Census since 2011 on the same boundaries the ABS uses for Census 2026, so figures for a suburb, council or postcode line up from one Census to the next. Census 2026 results are added as the ABS releases them, so you can compare 2021 and 2026 for any place in Australia. Every figure shows its ABS source. Use Censible in the web app, in reports, through the API, or in AI assistants through its MCP server.

### Who is it for?

Teams that decide where things go: property developers, retailers, investors, lenders, consultancies and councils.

### Where does the data come from?

The Australian Bureau of Statistics' Census of Population and Housing, plus ABS population estimates, Geoscience Australia population projections and other open government sources, used under their CC BY 4.0 licences. Every figure links back to its source, release and method.

### Which places does it cover?

Every place in Australia on the ABS's 2026 boundaries: states, capital cities, statistical areas down to SA1, councils, suburbs and postcodes. You can also draw your own area or set a radius around a site.

### Can I compare Censuses for my suburb?

Yes. Every Census since 2011 is carried onto the boundaries the ABS uses for Census 2026, so a suburb's figures line up from one Census to the next, even where its boundary changed. Census 2026 joins them as the ABS releases it. Figures moved onto a changed boundary are marked as estimated.

### How up to date is the data?

Censible has every Census since 2011, and adds the 2026 Census as the ABS releases it, from June 2027. Until then, figures are projected to 2026, 2031, 2036 and 2041, with incomes and rents brought forward to 2026 with the ABS wage price index and CPI rents, and each projection is labelled as one rather than as a Census result.

### When will Census 2026 data be added?

The ABS releases Census 2026 data in three stages: the first release in June 2027, the second in October 2027, and the third in 2028. Censible adds each release as it lands, on the same boundaries as the earlier Censuses, for every suburb, council and postcode.

### Can I use the figures in my own tools?

Yes. The API returns any metric for any place with its basis and source attached, datasets can be downloaded as CSV, and AI assistants can query the same figures through Censible's MCP server.

### How is Censible different from ABS QuickStats or TableBuilder?

It's the same ABS Census, arranged differently. QuickStats shows one place at a time and TableBuilder builds custom tables; Censible puts every place on one set of boundaries, ready to compare, rank and profile, including areas you draw.

### Is Censible part of the ABS?

No. Censible is independent and isn't affiliated with the ABS or any government agency. It's built by analysts with over ten years of experience in retail, FMCG and data analytics.

### How much does it cost?

Free costs nothing and needs no card, and gives the figures the ABS publishes in QuickStats for 2011, 2016 and 2021. Explore is $199 a month for one user, with every 2021 figure, and Team is $750 a month for unlimited users, adding 2011 and 2016 and catchments around any site. Network is $2,000 a month and adds your own sites and projections to 2041. Prices exclude GST, a year costs the same as ten months, a single report is $99, and Enterprise licences are quoted on coverage and use.

## API and MCP server

- MCP server (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth sign-in): https://api.censible.com.au/mcp
- REST API base URL: https://api.censible.com.au
- API reference: https://app.censible.com.au/docs
- Signing in: Sign in to Censible and send your access token as Authorization: Bearer <token>. The interactive docs use your web app sign-in, so you can try every endpoint straight away.

### Main API endpoints

- `GET https://api.censible.com.au/v1/regions`: Find places by name, postcode or code
- `GET https://api.censible.com.au/v1/regions/at`: The places that contain a coordinate
- `GET https://api.censible.com.au/v1/metrics`: The 649 curated metrics, searchable by word or topic
- `GET https://api.censible.com.au/v1/metric-values`: Figures for up to 1,000 places, for any metrics and years
- `GET https://api.censible.com.au/v1/map-values`: One figure for every place at a level, for maps
- `POST https://api.censible.com.au/v1/find`: Places like a starting place, or that meet criteria you set
- `GET https://api.censible.com.au/v1/regions/{region_id}/similar`: The 10 places most like this one
- `POST https://api.censible.com.au/v1/areas/preview`: Figures for a group of places or a drawn polygon, without saving it
- `GET https://api.censible.com.au/v1/travel`: The area within 5 to 30 minutes' drive or 5 to 20 minutes' walk of a point, without traffic
- `POST https://api.censible.com.au/v1/areas`: Save an area, to reuse in the app, the API and the MCP server
- `POST https://api.censible.com.au/v1/site-sets`: Upload your own sites and profile each one's catchment

### MCP tools

- `search_places`: Find places by name, postcode or code
- `places_at_point`: The suburb, postcode, council and other places that contain a point
- `search_metrics`: Find figures by word or topic
- `get_place_figures`: Figures for up to 20 places side by side, with every year for the trend
- `rank_places`: The places with the highest or lowest value of a figure
- `find_similar_places`: Places like a starting place, or that meet criteria
- `area_figures`: Figures for pooled places, a polygon, a circle or a drive or walk time around a point
- `save_area`: Save an area to your account, to see in the web app
- `list_saved_areas`: Your saved areas
- `saved_area_figures`: Figures for one of your saved areas
- `list_site_sets`: Your site sets, such as stores, each with a performance figure
- `site_set_figures`: Each site's performance and its catchment's figures
- `site_contrast`: What sets your best-performing sites' catchments apart

## Pages

- [2026 Census Hub](https://censible.com.au/2026-census): When the 2026 Census results are released, what each release covers, and census data by suburb.
- [Platform](https://censible.com.au/platform): Datasets, reports, catchments, an API and an MCP server, all reading from one versioned core of ABS Census figures for every place in Australia.
- [Pricing](https://censible.com.au/pricing): Censible plans: QuickStats figures free, Explore at $199 a month, Team at $750 and Network at $2,000, with single reports at $99 and quoted Enterprise licences.
- [About](https://censible.com.au/about): Censible puts the Australian Census on the ABS's 2026 boundaries and works out figures for any place: a suburb, a council, a postcode or an area you draw.
- [Data and sources](https://censible.com.au/data): Where every Censible figure comes from, how it's processed, how projections work, and the licences behind them.
- [API and MCP server](https://censible.com.au/api): Query Australian Census figures for any place from your own code with the Censible API, or from Claude and other AI assistants with the Censible MCP server.
- [Insights](https://censible.com.au/insights): What the Australian Census says about suburbs, councils and other places: growth, housing, incomes and who lives where, with every figure sourced.
- [Guides](https://censible.com.au/guides): Methods for working with Australian Census data, such as defining a catchment or comparing places across census years, with worked examples and sources.
- [Glossary](https://censible.com.au/glossary): Plain-English definitions of Australian Census and ABS terms: statistical areas, suburbs, councils, medians and how Censible handles boundary changes.
- [Changelog](https://censible.com.au/changelog): What's new in Censible: new features, improvements and fixes, newest first.

## Sectors

- [Childcare centre demand: children and families around any site](https://censible.com.au/sectors/childcare): Children under five, families with young children and projections to 2041 around any childcare site in Australia, for operators, developers and buyers.
- [Franchise territory planning with Census data](https://censible.com.au/sectors/franchising): Profile each franchise territory, compare your strongest and weakest outlets, and find suburbs like your best ones, for fitness, food and service franchises.
- [Patient demographics for clinics and medical centres](https://censible.com.au/sectors/health): Patient demographics for medical centres, clinics and pharmacies: age, languages, long-term conditions and need for help, for any catchment in Australia.
- [Suburb research and demand evidence for developers](https://censible.com.au/sectors/property): Suburb research and population projections for developers: test demand around a site, see how suburbs have changed, and find places like your best projects.
- [Population data and projections for government service planning](https://censible.com.au/sectors/public-sector): Census figures and projections to 2041 for councils, state agencies and health networks, on 2026 boundaries, for any area or service region.
- [Retail site selection and catchment analysis](https://censible.com.au/sectors/retail): Retail site selection and catchment analysis for Australian store networks: who lives around each store, what your best ones share, and where to open next.

## Insights articles

- [Melbourne's highest-income suburbs, 2021: Park Orchards first, five of ten in Banyule, Nillumbik and Manningham](https://censible.com.au/insights/richest-suburbs-melbourne-household-income): Ranked by households earning $4,000 or more a week in 2021, Park Orchards leads Melbourne's suburbs at 40.3%, against 15.1% across Greater Melbourne, and five of the top ten are in Banyule, Nillumbik and Manningham.
- [Sydney's highest-income suburbs, 2021: Longueville first, five of ten in Lane Cove and Willoughby](https://censible.com.au/insights/richest-suburbs-sydney-household-income): Ranked by households earning $4,000 or more a week in 2021, Longueville leads Sydney's suburbs at 61.2%, against 19.6% across Greater Sydney, and five of the top ten are in Lane Cove and Willoughby.
- [Canberra, 2011–2021: the fastest-growing capital, with half its growth in Gungahlin and the Molonglo Valley](https://censible.com.au/insights/canberra-demographics-2011-2021): Canberra grew faster than any other capital between the 2011 and 2021 Censuses, with more than half of its growth in Gungahlin and the Molonglo Valley. Its households had the highest median income of the capitals and its adults the largest share of degrees, though its income lead over Sydney narrowed over the decade.
- [Darwin, 2011–2021: the fastest-growing capital to 2016 and the slowest after it](https://censible.com.au/insights/darwin-demographics-2011-2021): Darwin grew faster than any other capital from 2011 to 2016 and more slowly than any from 2016 to 2021, with half its growth in Palmerston. Its median rent fell by 8% after 2016, it has the largest share of renting households of the capitals, and it's the youngest capital.
- [Hobart, 2011–2021: most of its growth after 2016, and the largest rise in rents of any capital](https://censible.com.au/insights/hobart-demographics-2011-2021): Hobart grew more slowly than any other capital from 2011 to 2016 and then at the third-fastest rate from 2016 to 2021, with its outer edges taking a growing share. Its median rent rose 35% over those five years, and in 2021 a larger share of its renting households paid 30% or more of their income in rent than in any other capital.
- [Perth, 2011–2021: two-thirds of its growth on the outer edge, and the fewest renters of any capital](https://censible.com.au/insights/perth-demographics-2011-2021): Perth grew by 22% between 2011 and 2021, and eight outer areas took almost two-thirds of that growth, mostly in separate houses. It has the lowest shares of apartments and of renting households of any capital, its median rent was lower in 2021 than in 2016, and its median household income went from the highest of the five largest capitals to the third highest.
- [Adelaide, 2011–2021: the slowest-growing capital, with its growth and new arrivals in the north](https://censible.com.au/insights/adelaide-demographics-2011-2021): Adelaide grew more slowly than any other capital between 2011 and 2021, and 40% of its growth went to the north, where Playford and Port Adelaide – East grew by a quarter. With Hobart it has the oldest population of the capitals, and in 2021 it had the lowest rents of any.
- [Brisbane, 2011–2021: houses and townhouses on the fringe, apartments in the inner city](https://censible.com.au/insights/brisbane-demographics-2011-2021): Brisbane grew faster than Sydney, Melbourne and Perth between 2016 and 2021, and more than half of its growth over the decade went to Ipswich, Logan and Moreton Bay, mostly in houses and townhouses. A larger share of its growth was Australian-born than in the other large capitals, a quarter of its houses are rented, and its incomes and housing costs sit below Sydney's and Melbourne's.
- [Sydney, 2011–2021: apartments from the city to Parramatta, family houses on the western edge](https://censible.com.au/insights/sydney-demographics-2011-2021): Sydney grew more slowly than Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth between 2011 and 2021, and it grew in two directions: apartments between the city and Parramatta, and family houses on the western and south-western fringe. Its incomes and housing costs are both the highest of the large capitals.
- [Melbourne, 2011–2021: closing on Sydney, with India now its largest overseas birthplace](https://censible.com.au/insights/melbourne-demographics-2011-2021): Melbourne grew faster than Australia's other large cities between 2011 and 2021, and much of that growth came from migrant families, many born in India, settling on the city's edge. Incomes kept pace with Sydney's while housing stayed cheaper.

## Guides

- [Profiling a store's customers with Census catchment data](https://censible.com.au/guides/customer-profiling-census-data): The Census describes the people who live around a store rather than its customers, so profiling with it means choosing a catchment, the figures that fit what the store sells and a comparison, then reading the result against the store's own sales.
- [What CALD means, and how to measure it with Census data](https://censible.com.au/guides/what-is-cald): CALD has no official definition. The ABS measures cultural and language diversity with standard variables, most of them collected by the Census, and the one to use depends on what the figure is for.
- [2026 Census results: three releases from June 2027](https://censible.com.au/guides/2026-census-results-release-dates): The ABS will release 2026 Census results in three stages: most topics in June 2027, employment in October 2027, and the remainder, including distance to work, in early 2028.

## Glossary

- [Area weighting (apportioning)](https://censible.com.au/glossary/area-weighting): A way to estimate figures for an area that doesn't match published boundaries, by giving it a share of each overlapping area's counts. The share can follow land area, population or dwellings, and each assumes the figure is spread evenly within what it measures.
- [Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS)](https://censible.com.au/glossary/asgs): The ABS's framework of boundaries for publishing statistics, from mesh blocks of a few dozen dwellings up to states and territories, plus the ABS's versions of councils, suburbs and postcodes. It's redrawn every five years; Edition 4, released from July 2026, is the one the 2026 Census will use.
- [Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD)](https://censible.com.au/glossary/cald): CALD stands for culturally and linguistically diverse, an Australian term for people born overseas (in some definitions, only in countries other than the main English-speaking ones), people who use a language other than English, or both. It has no official definition, so a CALD figure depends on which ABS variables it uses, such as country of birth, language used at home or English proficiency.
- [Carried figure](https://censible.com.au/glossary/carried-figure): A count from an earlier Census moved onto newer boundaries with the ABS's population-weighted correspondences, so places can be compared across Censuses on the same map. Where a boundary didn't change, the carried figure is the ABS's own count; where it did, it's an estimate.
- [Catchment (trade area)](https://censible.com.au/glossary/catchment): The area a store, clinic, school or other site draws its customers, patients or users from. A catchment can be drawn as a ring around the site, a drive or walk time, a hand-drawn boundary, or from where existing customers live.
- [Census undercount and the Post Enumeration Survey](https://censible.com.au/glossary/undercount): The Census undercount is the number of people the Census should have counted, less the number it did. The ABS measures it with the Post Enumeration Survey, run straight after each Census. In 2021 the net undercount was 0.7% of Australia's population, the lowest on record.
- [Correspondence (ABS correspondence file)](https://censible.com.au/glossary/correspondence): A table published by the ABS for converting data from one set of geographic areas to another, such as 2021 SA2s to 2026 SA2s. Each row gives the share of a 'from' area that falls in a 'to' area, weighted by where the population lives.
- [Estimated resident population (ERP)](https://censible.com.au/glossary/estimated-resident-population): The ABS's official measure of Australia's population. It starts from the Census count, adds people the Census missed and residents who were overseas, and is updated between Censuses with births, deaths and migration.
- [Geocoded National Address File (G-NAF)](https://censible.com.au/glossary/g-naf): Australia's national index of physical addresses, each with a coordinate called a geocode, produced by Geoscape Australia from government address sources. It is released quarterly, with an open version on data.gov.au, and Geoscape's August 2026 release held about 15.9 million addresses.
- [Greater Capital City Statistical Area (GCCSA)](https://censible.com.au/glossary/gccsa): An ABS region representing the functional extent of a state or territory capital, taking in the towns and rural areas whose residents work, shop or socialise in the city. GCCSAs are built from whole SA4s, and Rest of State regions cover the remainder of each state.
- [Geocoding](https://censible.com.au/glossary/geocoding): Converting an address into map coordinates, so a record can be placed on a map and assigned to areas such as mesh blocks, suburbs or SA2s. Reverse geocoding goes the other way, from a point to its nearest address.
- [Household and family composition](https://censible.com.au/glossary/household-and-family-composition): The ABS's Census classifications of who lives together. Household composition sorts each occupied private dwelling as a family, lone person or group household. Family composition sorts each family as a couple with or without children, a one parent family or another family.
- [Housing stress](https://censible.com.au/glossary/housing-stress): When a household spends more than 30% of its income on rent or mortgage repayments. A stricter definition, the 30/40 rule, only counts households in the bottom 40% of incomes, because higher earners can usually afford to spend more.
- [Local Government Area (LGA)](https://censible.com.au/glossary/lga): LGA stands for Local Government Area: the area a local council looks after. In ABS data, LGAs are the ABS's version of council boundaries, built from small mesh blocks so Census figures can be published for every council in Australia.
- [Median](https://censible.com.au/glossary/median): The middle value when everything is put in order: half the values are above it and half below. Census figures for age, income, rent and mortgage repayments are published as medians because a few very large values would distort an average.
- [Median household income](https://censible.com.au/glossary/median-household-income): The middle value of total household income in an area: half of households receive more and half receive less. At the 2021 Census, Australia's median household income was $1,746 a week before tax, or about $90,800 a year.
- [Median weekly rent](https://censible.com.au/glossary/median-rent): The middle weekly rent paid by households renting their home, from the Census: half pay more and half pay less. It covers renting households in occupied private dwellings, private and public, on existing as well as new leases. At the 2021 Census, Australia's median weekly rent was $375.
- [Mesh block](https://censible.com.au/glossary/mesh-block): The smallest area in the ABS's boundaries, designed where possible to hold 30 to 60 dwellings and tagged with a broad land use. The ABS releases only population and dwelling counts for mesh blocks, and builds every larger area, including councils, suburbs and postcodes, from them.
- [Perturbation (small-cell adjustment)](https://censible.com.au/glossary/perturbation): The small random adjustments the ABS makes to Census counts so that no individual can be identified. The ABS calls it introduced random error. It barely affects large counts, though it can distort very small ones, and it means table totals may not equal the sum of their parts.
- [Place of usual residence and place of enumeration](https://censible.com.au/glossary/place-of-usual-residence): Two ways the ABS counts people in the Census. Place of usual residence counts people where they usually live, generally the address where they have lived or intend to live for six months or more. Place of enumeration counts them where they were on Census night.
- [Postal Area (POA)](https://censible.com.au/glossary/poa): The ABS's version of a postcode, built from mesh blocks so Census figures can be published by postcode. Postal Areas only cover postcodes where people live, so PO box and business-only postcodes aren't included.
- [Population density](https://censible.com.au/glossary/population-density): The number of people living in an area divided by its land area, usually given as people per square kilometre. Australia as a whole has about 3.5 people per square kilometre.
- [Population projection](https://censible.com.au/glossary/projection): An illustration of how a population would change if stated assumptions about births, deaths and migration held. The ABS says its projections are not predictions or forecasts, and they differ from estimates, which measure a population that already exists.
- [Remoteness Area (RA)](https://censible.com.au/glossary/remoteness-area): One of five ABS classes that group every part of Australia by its access to services: Major Cities, Inner Regional, Outer Regional, Remote and Very Remote.
- [Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1)](https://censible.com.au/glossary/sa1): The smallest area the ABS uses to publish most Census data. An SA1 is a neighbourhood block of about 400 people, usually between 200 and 800, and SA1s fit together to form SA2s.
- [Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2)](https://censible.com.au/glossary/sa2): A medium-sized area defined by the ABS to represent a community that interacts socially and economically. Most have between 3,000 and 25,000 residents.
- [Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3)](https://censible.com.au/glossary/sa3): A regional area made up of neighbouring SA2s with similar characteristics, usually home to between 30,000 and 130,000 people. SA3s are used for regional statistics and fit together to form SA4s.
- [Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4)](https://censible.com.au/glossary/sa4): The largest regions below state level in the ABS's main set of boundaries, built from whole SA3s. SA4s are designed to represent labour markets, and most hold between 100,000 and 500,000 people.
- [Suburbs and Localities (SAL)](https://censible.com.au/glossary/sal): The ABS's approximation of officially recognised suburbs and localities, built from mesh blocks. It replaced State Suburbs (SSC) from the 2021 Census.
- [Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA)](https://censible.com.au/glossary/seifa): SEIFA is a set of four ABS indexes that rank areas of Australia by relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage, using Census data. Each area gets a score, a rank and a decile, where decile 1 is the lowest-scoring 10% of areas and decile 10 the highest.

## Compared with other tools

- [.id community profile and Censible compared](https://censible.com.au/compare/id-community-profile): .id's council profiles and forecasts are among Australia's best demographic tools. How Censible differs, and when each fits.
- [ABS QuickStats and Censible compared](https://censible.com.au/compare/abs-quickstats): QuickStats is the ABS's free snapshot of one area. What it does well, how Censible differs, and when each is the better tool.
- [ABS TableBuilder and Censible compared](https://censible.com.au/compare/abs-tablebuilder): TableBuilder is the ABS's free tool for building custom Census tables. What it does well, how Censible differs, and when to use each.
- [AreaSearch and Censible compared](https://censible.com.au/compare/areasearch): AreaSearch's property and child care location data, and Censible's Census figures for every place. How they differ, and when each fits.
- [GapMaps and Censible compared](https://censible.com.au/compare/gapmaps): GapMaps' site selection platform and Censible's Census figures for every place. What each includes, how they differ, and when each fits.
- [REMPLAN and Censible compared](https://censible.com.au/compare/remplan): REMPLAN's economic modelling and council profiles, and Censible's Census figures for every place. How they differ, and when each fits.

## Optional

- [Censible app](https://app.censible.com.au): sign in or start an account
- Email: hello@censible.com.au
- [Citing Censible](https://censible.com.au/citing): How to cite figures from Censible, with the ABS attribution they need and what to state alongside each figure.
- [Coverage](https://censible.com.au/coverage): What Censible covers: 618 figures from the 2011, 2016 and 2021 Censuses, every area level in Australia, projections to 2031, and when each source updates.
- [Privacy policy](https://censible.com.au/privacy): What Censible collects, why, who helps us run it, how long we keep it, and how to have it corrected or deleted.
- [Security and data](https://censible.com.au/security): Where Censible's data is hosted, who can access it, how sign-in and API keys work, and how long each kind of data is kept.
- [Terms of use](https://censible.com.au/terms): The terms for using Censible: accounts, plans and limits, using the figures, your content, accuracy and liability.
- [Press kit](https://censible.com.au/media): Censible logos, fact sheet, Censible Index graphics, product images and company descriptions, plus release-day 2026 Census data.