Beaufort (Vic.), VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Beaufort is a town in the Pyrenees region of central Victoria, about 164km west of Melbourne and 50km west of Ballarat on the Western Highway. Its name is variously attributed to Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort or to a Welsh village; the Wadawurrung people knew the area by names recorded as 'Peerick' and 'Yarram-yarram'. Thomas Mitchell explored the district in 1836 and the Kirklands run was taken up in 1838. A gold rush along Fiery Creek from 1852 drew thousands, the town was surveyed in 1857, and the post office adopted the name Beaufort in 1864. Gold-era buildings still line the streets of a town that later turned to farming, and Lake Beaufort offers a quiet recreation reserve.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Beaufort (Vic.) is more socio-economically advantaged than about 13% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 905, 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.
Beaufort (Vic.) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,712
- Median age
- 51
- Median weekly household income
- $1,031
- SEIFA score
- 905
- Coordinates
- -37.4404, 143.3374
Beaufort (Vic.) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Beaufort (Vic.) 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 seniors (65+) at 31%, 17% of homes are rented, and 11% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 249 | 15% |
| Youth (15–24) | 167 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 297 | 17% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 473 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 527 | 31% |
Share of the 1,713 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 357 | 50% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 216 | 30% |
| Rented | 124 | 17% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 704 | 97% |
| Townhouses & semis | 14 | 2% |
| Flats & apartments | 3 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 726 occupied private dwellings in Beaufort (Vic.).
- Median weekly rent
- $250
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,160
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,479
- Median weekly personal income
- $575
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 167 (11%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 48 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 34 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 474 (34%)
- Labour-force participation
- 48.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.4%
- Employed full-time
- 360
- Employed part-time
- 236
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.
Common questions about Beaufort (Vic.)
Where is Beaufort (Vic.)?
Beaufort (Vic.) is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Beaufort (Vic.)?
At the 2021 Census, Beaufort (Vic.) had a population of about 1,712.
Is Beaufort (Vic.) an advantaged area?
Beaufort (Vic.) has an ABS SEIFA score of 905, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 13 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 13% of Australian suburbs.
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