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Nationally, there are nearly 43,000 more women than men between the ages of 30-54. But Western Australia and the Northern Territory are defying this trend with more men than women in this prime age bracket, based on new research of the 2006 census by The Australian.
The surfeit of men in Western Australia totals 6800 and runs from the inner suburbs of Perth to Kalgoorlie. It is most pronounced among men in their 30s, where they outnumber women by 4000.
By contrast, NSW has 8600 fewer men than women in their 30s, while the male deficit in that age group in Victoria is 7400.
This pattern might explain why Western Australia has the lowest proportion of single mothers, at 15.1 per cent of households compared with the national figure of 16 per cent. NSW, by contrast, has an above-average share of single mothers, at 16.3per cent of households.
Project co-ordinator Amber Sutterby, 31, moved to Perth from Melbourne in April last year and found, to her surprise, that the city was a single girl's dream.
"I didn't move to Perth for the men but as a single girl, I go back to Melbourne and say 'I'm glad I'm not single here'," Ms Sutterby said.
She said the stereotypical Perth man was a lot more blokey than the eastern states male. She attributed the extra testosterone to mine-site socialising and a lot of country men moving to the city.
"I find Perth men are not as metrosexual as the men in the eastern states. You don't have to ask if they're gay here, like you do in Melbourne."
However, the data contains some shocks about Sydney. The inner suburbs are the home of 5000 more 30-something men than women, not all of whom would be gay.
However, the man drought is real across the rest of the city. It defies class and racial boundaries and spreads north, west and south from Bankstown, Mosman and the Sutherland shire to the bush and along the coastline.
The most intriguing part of the nation's body clock is that male "droughts" will become a thing of the past over the next decade.
Demographers can't explain why, but Australian families have been having more baby boys than girls over the past 25 years. In every state and territory, and in each age group from 0-4 years up to 20-24 years, males outnumber females.
As the first of this male-heavy group turns 30 in 2013, the tables will turn and thirty-something women will, in theory, have more men to chose from.
Today's female surpluses begin at 25-29 years in Tasmania and the ACT. Nationally, they kick in at 30-34 years, and extend to 50-54 years before the men briefly regain the numerical ascendancy between 55 and 64 years.
Western Australia's pro-male gender split is matched only by the Northern Territory, which has 2600 more men than women aged 30 to 54.
By George Megalogenis and Alana Buckley-Carr
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