Ballarat Central, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Ballarat lies in Victoria's central highlands, about 110 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, and is one of the great cities of the 1850s gold rush. Fortunes pulled from its diggings paid for the grand Victorian streetscapes, gardens and galleries that still define it, while the miners' 1854 uprising at the Eureka Stockade became a defining moment in Australian democratic history. Visitors come for the re-created goldfields township of Sovereign Hill, the Art Gallery of Ballarat and the willow-lined Lake Wendouree. The city stands on Wadawurrung Country; its name is said to come from the Wadawurrung words balla and arat, often translated as 'resting place' or camping ground.
More advantaged than the national average
Ballarat Central is more socio-economically advantaged than about 69% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1020, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Ballarat Central at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 5,378
- Median age
- 41
- Median weekly household income
- $1,454
- SEIFA score
- 1020
- Coordinates
- -37.5605, 143.8507
Ballarat Central demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Ballarat Central using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is young adults (25–44) at 28%, 40% of homes are rented, and 14% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 769 | 14% |
| Youth (15–24) | 659 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,509 | 28% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,434 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,006 | 19% |
Share of the 5,377 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 758 | 32% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 594 | 25% |
| Rented | 940 | 40% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,736 | 74% |
| Townhouses & semis | 302 | 13% |
| Flats & apartments | 273 | 12% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 2,344 occupied private dwellings in Ballarat Central.
- Median weekly rent
- $300
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,600
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,120
- Median weekly personal income
- $821
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 701 (14%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 426 (8%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 61 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 2,819 (63%)
- Labour-force participation
- 61.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.9%
- Employed full-time
- 1,529
- Employed part-time
- 1,025
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Weather and climate in Ballarat Central
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Ballarat Central is January (average daytime high around 25.7°C) and the coolest is July (around 9.8°C). The area receives roughly 691 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25.7°C | 13°C | 49 mm |
| Feb | 24.3°C | 12.3°C | 27 mm |
| Mar | 22°C | 11.4°C | 40 mm |
| Apr | 17.5°C | 9°C | 53 mm |
| May | 13.2°C | 6.7°C | 66 mm |
| Jun | 10.6°C | 4.9°C | 63 mm |
| Jul | 9.8°C | 4.2°C | 59 mm |
| Aug | 10.8°C | 4.2°C | 69 mm |
| Sep | 13.4°C | 5.5°C | 75 mm |
| Oct | 17.1°C | 7.1°C | 75 mm |
| Nov | 19.6°C | 8.8°C | 65 mm |
| Dec | 22.9°C | 10.8°C | 50 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Ballarat Central
Where is Ballarat Central?
Ballarat Central is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Ballarat Central?
At the 2021 Census, Ballarat Central had a population of about 5,378.
Is Ballarat Central an advantaged area?
Ballarat Central has an ABS SEIFA score of 1020, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 69 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 69% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Ballarat Central?
Ballarat Central has average daytime highs of about 17.2°C and overnight lows of about 8.2°C, with roughly 691 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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