Newstead (Vic.), VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Newstead is a small town in central Victoria, on the Loddon River about 142 kilometres north-west of Melbourne and 17 kilometres from Castlemaine, in the Shire of Mount Alexander. It grew up in the 1850s gold rush as a crossing place on the river, where a refreshment tent run by Thomas Jones was among the first businesses. When the Newstead Hotel opened in 1855, the locality took its name from the hotel, and a post office followed in 1857. A levee bank built in 1912 has held back the river's floods. Today the town supports two hotels, a general store, bakery and winery, and it hosts an annual folk music festival over the Australia Day weekend, along with a custom car and hot rod show.
Less advantaged than the national average
Newstead (Vic.) is more socio-economically advantaged than about 37% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 964, 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.
Newstead (Vic.) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 820
- Median age
- 51
- Median weekly household income
- $1,105
- SEIFA score
- 964
- Coordinates
- -37.1078, 144.0510
Newstead (Vic.) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Newstead (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 mid-life (45–64) at 29%, 9% of homes are rented, and 12% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 134 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 64 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 150 | 18% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 239 | 29% |
| Seniors (65+) | 238 | 29% |
Share of the 825 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 162 | 46% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 151 | 43% |
| Rented | 33 | 9% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 345 | 97% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 5 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 354 occupied private dwellings in Newstead (Vic.).
- Median weekly rent
- $300
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,300
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,679
- Median weekly personal income
- $623
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 89 (12%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 18 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 4 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 334 (51%)
- Labour-force participation
- 52%
- Unemployment rate
- 2%
- Employed full-time
- 157
- Employed part-time
- 160
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 Newstead (Vic.)
Where is Newstead (Vic.)?
Newstead (Vic.) is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Newstead (Vic.)?
At the 2021 Census, Newstead (Vic.) had a population of about 820.
Is Newstead (Vic.) an advantaged area?
Newstead (Vic.) has an ABS SEIFA score of 964, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 37 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 37% of Australian suburbs.
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