Kerang, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Kerang is a town in north-central Victoria, on the Loddon River about 279 kilometres north-west of Melbourne and roughly 60 kilometres south of Swan Hill. The Wemba-Wemba and Barapa Barapa peoples are recognised as the original owners and first occupants of this country, a district dotted with lakes and lagoons. Its name is believed to come from an Aboriginal word for cockatoo. Thomas Mitchell passed through in 1836, squatters followed in the 1840s, and the town grew after the railway reached it from Bendigo in 1884. Irrigation has made the surrounding farmland productive for livestock, lucerne, grain and horticulture. Kerang is best known for the ibis rookeries nearby, where as many as 200,000 of the birds are said to breed each year, and it has taken the ibis as its emblem.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Kerang is more socio-economically advantaged than about 11% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 895, 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.
Kerang at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 3,960
- Median age
- 51
- Median weekly household income
- $1,006
- SEIFA score
- 895
- Coordinates
- -35.7241, 143.9373
Kerang demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Kerang 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%, 23% of homes are rented, and 6% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 655 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 353 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 727 | 18% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,014 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,228 | 31% |
Share of the 3,977 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 770 | 46% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 426 | 26% |
| Rented | 375 | 23% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,483 | 89% |
| Townhouses & semis | 135 | 8% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,664 occupied private dwellings in Kerang.
- Median weekly rent
- $200
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,000
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,412
- Median weekly personal income
- $573
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 224 (6%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 95 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 153 (4%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 989 (31%)
- Labour-force participation
- 47%
- Unemployment rate
- 5%
- Employed full-time
- 868
- Employed part-time
- 508
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 Kerang
Where is Kerang?
Kerang is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Kerang?
At the 2021 Census, Kerang had a population of about 3,960.
Is Kerang an advantaged area?
Kerang has an ABS SEIFA score of 895, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 11 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 11% of Australian suburbs.
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