Rushworth, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Rushworth is a former gold town in central Victoria, about 157 kilometres north of Melbourne and some 47 kilometres south-west of Shepparton, in the Shire of Campaspe. It sprang up in 1853 during the Victorian gold rush and was given its name the following year by the poet and goldfields commissioner Richard Henry Horne. The shallow diggings were eventually abandoned as miners struck the underground water table, but the town endured, and its wide main street still carries a remarkable run of nineteenth-century public buildings, among them the Mechanics Institute, court house, churches and post office. A migrant reception camp operated in the district for several years after the Second World War. Today Rushworth is a quiet rural centre that trades heavily on its well-preserved gold-era streetscape.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Rushworth is more socio-economically advantaged than about 7% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 875, 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.
Rushworth at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,411
- Median age
- 56
- Median weekly household income
- $850
- SEIFA score
- 875
- Coordinates
- -36.5862, 145.0040
Rushworth demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Rushworth 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 33%, 13% of homes are rented, and 13% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 183 | 13% |
| Youth (15–24) | 95 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 204 | 14% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 474 | 33% |
| Seniors (65+) | 460 | 32% |
Share of the 1,416 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 314 | 52% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 174 | 29% |
| Rented | 79 | 13% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 568 | 94% |
| Townhouses & semis | 13 | 2% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 603 occupied private dwellings in Rushworth.
- Median weekly rent
- $190
- Median monthly mortgage
- $997
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,177
- Median weekly personal income
- $486
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 157 (13%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 73 (6%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 44 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 339 (28%)
- Labour-force participation
- 40.2%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.1%
- Employed full-time
- 244
- Employed part-time
- 191
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 Rushworth
Where is Rushworth?
Rushworth is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Rushworth?
At the 2021 Census, Rushworth had a population of about 1,411.
Is Rushworth an advantaged area?
Rushworth has an ABS SEIFA score of 875, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 7 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 7% of Australian suburbs.
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