THE Kempsey region has been shown to have a high population of residents living in economic disadvantage according to figures released by the New South Wales Council of Social Services (NCOSS) last year.
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On average, 19.2 per cent of people in the region are living in poverty, nine per cent of those are youths (aged 15 to 24), 24 per cent are children (under 15), 50 per cent are working-age people (aged 25-64), and 17 per cent were older people (aged 65 and above.)
According to the data, 21.7 per cent of residents in Kempsey are considered to be living in economic disadvantage, 30 per cent of those are children (aged under 15), 12 per cent are youths (aged 15-24), 48 per cent are working-age persons (aged 25-64), and 10 per cent were older people (aged 65 and above).
While in South West Rocks, it has been revealed that 15.7 per cent of people are considered disadvantaged.
Statewide, just under 900 000 people were classed as economically disadvantaged, with one in six of those being children from low-income families.
Overall, regional communities in NSW were shown to have a higher number of people living in poverty compared to our city-dwelling counterparts.
No community is immune to hardship, but rural communities are doing it particularly tough, only 30 per cent of the population live outside the metro areas in NSW, and regional communities are home to more than half of the people living in poverty across the state.
Regardless of where you live, this data makes it clear that a great deal of the state is doing it tough.
The data was estimated based on the Australian Council of Social Service household income adequacy measure, the 2016 ABS Population and Housing Census and 2015/16 ABS Survey of Income and Housing.
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