Skip to content
Search Places
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

How to shade the map by demographic data in Placemaker

Shade the Placemaker map by a Census measure such as income, age or country of birth, then click any area to see the figures behind its colour.

Colour every area on the map by one Census measure to see where the people you plan for live

This guide shows you how to shade the map by a Census measure – such as country of birth, household income or need for assistance – and read the figures for any area you click. Use it when you need to see where a group lives.

Before you begin

Placemaker sets the measure to Count, the year to 2021 and the boundary to SA1. Most of the time you only choose the layer, theme, sub-theme and category, then click 'Apply'. You can change any choice after you apply. SA1 is the smallest area the ABS publishes Census data for – zoom in to a suburb or catchment to read the pattern clearly.

Steps

  1. Open Data layers: On the map, click the 'Data layers' icon in the left sidebar. The panel lists each step in order. Each step ticks off once you've made a choice, and 'Edit' takes you back to it.
    Screenshot showing the Data layers panel on the map in Placemaker.
  2. Choose Demographics in Layer: Select 'Demographics', for census data
  3. Pick a theme: Choose Cultural diversity, Education, Work and income, Health and care, Housing tenure and costs or Households.
  4. Pick a sub-theme, if there is one: Choose the dataset within the theme, such as 'Country of birth' under Cultural diversity.
  5. Pick a category: Choose what to count. Where the list is long – countries or languages – type in the search box and select from the list. Click 'Clear' to start again. For shorter lists, such as Indigenous status or need for assistance, pick one of the options shown.
  6. Change the measure, year or boundary (optional): Measure – Count, % of persons, Change (percentage points) or Change (number). SEIFA and the medians have one measure each, such as 'Index score' or 'Median weekly rent ($)'. Year – choose 'Year range' to show change. Boundary – choose SA2, Suburb and Locality, Local Government Area, SA3, SA4, Greater Capital City Statistical Area or State or Territory to see larger areas.
  7. Apply: A summary of your choices shows above the 'Apply' button – for example 'Country of birth' with 'Count · India · 2021 · LGA' beneath it. Click 'Apply'. The map shades every area and the legend shows what each colour means.

     
  8. Click an area to read its figures: Click any shaded area. A pop-over shows the area type and name, the dataset and year, the count, the share and the total, a trend line across Census years and the source. Click 'Create catchment' to start a catchment from that area.

What to expect

The map shows where the group you chose lives. Darker areas hold a higher count or share. The pop-over gives the exact figures for one area, and the trend line shows whether that area has grown or shrunk across Census years.

Under 'Classify by', 'Visible area' is the default. It fits the colour ranges to the part of the map on screen, so they stay useful as you zoom. 'Whole map' fixes the ranges across the whole map. You can also change the colour scheme and opacity in the legend.

To compare a catchment as a whole against a benchmark, see How to read demographic charts for a catchment in Placemaker.

Troubleshooting

  • Apply is greyed out: A step isn't finished. Look for the step without a tick and make a choice.
  • Some areas are grey: These are marked 'Suppressed (low counts)' in the legend. The count is too small to publish reliably, so Placemaker doesn't show it as a number or as zero.

Related articles