Port Campbell, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Port Campbell is a small coastal town in south-west Victoria, on the Great Ocean Road about 224 kilometres from Melbourne and 67 kilometres east of Warrnambool. It was settled in the 1870s and named after Captain Alexander Campbell, a whaler and colonist. A post office opened in 1874 and the first wharf was built in 1880. Today the town is best known as the gateway to some of Australia's most famous coastline: it sits beside Port Campbell National Park and lies about 12 kilometres west of the Twelve Apostles, the towering limestone stacks that draw visitors from around the world. A small crayfishing fleet still works from the bay alongside the tourism trade.
More advantaged than the national average
Port Campbell is more socio-economically advantaged than about 66% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1016, 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.
Port Campbell at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 440
- Median age
- 40
- Median weekly household income
- $1,852
- SEIFA score
- 1016
- Coordinates
- -38.6130, 143.0164
Port Campbell demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Port Campbell 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 26%, 22% of homes are rented, and 11% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 80 | 19% |
| Youth (15–24) | 46 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 109 | 25% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 110 | 26% |
| Seniors (65+) | 85 | 20% |
Share of the 430 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 72 | 44% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 46 | 28% |
| Rented | 36 | 22% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 156 | 98% |
| Townhouses & semis | 4 | 3% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 160 occupied private dwellings in Port Campbell.
- Median weekly rent
- $240
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,712
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,446
- Median weekly personal income
- $923
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 46 (11%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 26 (6%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 0 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 187 (55%)
- Labour-force participation
- 69.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 1.2%
- Employed full-time
- 111
- Employed part-time
- 95
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 Port Campbell
Where is Port Campbell?
Port Campbell is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Port Campbell?
At the 2021 Census, Port Campbell had a population of about 440.
Is Port Campbell an advantaged area?
Port Campbell has an ABS SEIFA score of 1016, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 66 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 66% of Australian suburbs.
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