Healesville, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Healesville is a town in Victoria's Yarra Valley, about 64 kilometres north-east of Melbourne on the Watts River. It lies on the ancestral land of the Wurundjeri people, and the Coranderrk Aboriginal reserve was established nearby in 1863. The town was surveyed in 1864 and named after Richard Heales, a former Premier of Victoria. Gold traffic bound for the Gippsland and Woods Point fields spurred its early growth, and from the 1880s it developed as a tourist retreat. Today Healesville is best known for Healesville Sanctuary, a much-loved park showcasing native Australian wildlife, and as a gateway to the Yarra Valley's wineries and forests. Tourism, winemaking, horticulture and timber underpin the local economy.
Around the national middle
Healesville is more socio-economically advantaged than about 48% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 983, 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.
Healesville at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 7,589
- Median age
- 46
- Median weekly household income
- $1,472
- SEIFA score
- 983
- Coordinates
- -37.6666, 145.5590
Healesville demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Healesville 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 28%, 17% of homes are rented, and 16% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,250 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 761 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,650 | 22% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 2,134 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,799 | 24% |
Share of the 7,594 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,161 | 40% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,152 | 40% |
| Rented | 499 | 17% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 2,580 | 89% |
| Townhouses & semis | 288 | 10% |
| Flats & apartments | 11 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 2,887 occupied private dwellings in Healesville.
- Median weekly rent
- $350
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,733
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,911
- Median weekly personal income
- $707
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,136 (16%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 355 (5%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 241 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 2,971 (49%)
- Labour-force participation
- 56.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.5%
- Employed full-time
- 1,825
- Employed part-time
- 1,358
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 Healesville
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Healesville is January (average daytime high around 27.1°C) and the coolest is July (around 12.2°C). The area receives roughly 1111 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27.1°C | 14.2°C | 72 mm |
| Feb | 25.8°C | 13.4°C | 47 mm |
| Mar | 23.6°C | 12.5°C | 68 mm |
| Apr | 19.4°C | 9.8°C | 87 mm |
| May | 15.4°C | 7.9°C | 102 mm |
| Jun | 12.7°C | 5.8°C | 105 mm |
| Jul | 12.2°C | 5.6°C | 95 mm |
| Aug | 13.2°C | 5.7°C | 115 mm |
| Sep | 16.1°C | 6.9°C | 106 mm |
| Oct | 19.4°C | 8.4°C | 117 mm |
| Nov | 21.4°C | 10.1°C | 115 mm |
| Dec | 24.7°C | 11.9°C | 82 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Healesville
Where is Healesville?
Healesville is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Healesville?
At the 2021 Census, Healesville had a population of about 7,589.
Is Healesville an advantaged area?
Healesville has an ABS SEIFA score of 983, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 48 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 48% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Healesville?
Healesville has average daytime highs of about 19.3°C and overnight lows of about 9.4°C, with roughly 1,111 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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