The Australian Bureau of Statistics classifies various towns and suburbs in the LGA as being part of the Newcastle Statistical District. The City of Lake Macquarie has its own independent local government. The largest commercial centre in the region is Charlestown.
Demographics
The area is a set of contiguous towns that surround a coastal saltwater lake. These towns merge with the suburbs of Newcastle to the north. Some suburbs, such as Adamstown Heights are partly in the City of Newcastle and partly within the City of Lake Macquarie. There are 92 identified settlements ranging from small rural style communities through to larger and higher density areas such as Toronto, Warners Bay, Belmont, Charlestown and Morisset. At the, there were 189,006 people in the Lake Macquarie local government area, of these 48.8% were male and 51.2% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.0% of the population, which was higher than the national and state averages. The median age of people in the City of Lake Macquarie was 41 years, which was significantly higher than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 18.6% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 18.4% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 51.0% were married and 12.2% were either divorced or separated. Population growth in the City of Lake Macquarie between the and the was 3.36%; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 Census, population growth was 3.20%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in Lake Macquarie local government area was approximately half the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the City of Lake Macquarie was marginally below the national average. At the 2011 Census, the proportion of residents in the Lake Macquarie local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Celtic exceeded 81% of all residents. In excess of 58% of all residents in the City of Lake Macquarie nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 census, which was slightly higher than the national average of 50.2%. Meanwhile, as at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the Lake Macquarie local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion where two or more languages are spoken ; and a significantly higher proportion where English only was spoken at home.
Economics
Lake Macquarie has a significant coal mining industry and smaller agriculture and manufacturing industries. Eraring power station, a 1980s-era coal-fired power station, supplies 25% of New South Wales' power. Lake Macquarie has a number of with the council placing an emphasis on the environment.
Council
Current composition and election method
Lake Macquarie City Council is composed of thirteen Councillors, including the mayor, for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is directly elected while the twelve other Councillors are elected proportionally as three separate wards, each electing four Councillors. The most recent election was held on the 10th of September 2016, and the makeup of the Council, including the mayor, is as follows: The current Council, elected in 2016, in order of election by ward, is:
