At the 2016 census, there were people in the Richmond Valley local government area, of these 49.5 per cent were male and 50.5 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 6.6 per cent of the population, which was significantly higher than the national and state averages of 2.5 per cent. The median age of people in the Richmond Valley area was 42 years, which was marginally higher than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 20.8 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 19.6 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 47.6 per cent were married and 13.7 per cent were either divorced or separated.