Beechworth, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Beechworth is a historic gold town in the ranges of north-east Victoria, about 285 kilometres from Melbourne and high enough — around 560 metres — to feel the cold in winter. Gold was found at Spring Creek in the early 1850s, and for a few rich years from 1852 the town was the administrative centre of the Ovens goldfield. The boom left behind one of Victoria's best-preserved nineteenth-century streetscapes, its honey-coloured granite and sandstone buildings still lining Ford Street. Beechworth also carries a thread of Ned Kelly history — the young bushranger was gaoled here and once fought a famous bare-knuckle bout in a hotel yard. Today it draws visitors for that heritage, its bakery and the granite country around it.
More advantaged than the national average
Beechworth is more socio-economically advantaged than about 60% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1004, 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.
Beechworth at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 4,274
- Median age
- 49
- Median weekly household income
- $1,401
- SEIFA score
- 1004
- Coordinates
- -36.3281, 146.6600
Beechworth demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Beechworth 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 mid-life (45–64) at 30%, 20% of homes are rented, and 13% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 692 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 338 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 839 | 20% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,263 | 30% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,138 | 27% |
Share of the 4,270 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 759 | 45% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 527 | 31% |
| Rented | 346 | 20% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,585 | 94% |
| Townhouses & semis | 65 | 4% |
| Flats & apartments | 15 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,689 occupied private dwellings in Beechworth.
- Median weekly rent
- $300
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,550
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,880
- Median weekly personal income
- $767
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 511 (13%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 185 (5%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 44 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,836 (53%)
- Labour-force participation
- 55.5%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.7%
- Employed full-time
- 995
- Employed part-time
- 761
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 Beechworth
Where is Beechworth?
Beechworth is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Beechworth?
At the 2021 Census, Beechworth had a population of about 4,274.
Is Beechworth an advantaged area?
Beechworth has an ABS SEIFA score of 1004, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 60 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 60% of Australian suburbs.
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