Werribee, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Werribee is a fast-growing suburb on Melbourne's south-western edge, about thirty-two kilometres from the city and the administrative centre of the City of Wyndham. It sits on the Werribee River roughly midway between Melbourne and Geelong, and takes its name from an Aboriginal word of the Wathawurrung and Boonwurrung languages said to mean 'backbone' or 'spine'. Laid out as a farming township in the 1850s, it was first called Wyndham and was renamed Werribee in 1904, by which time the Melbourne-to-Geelong railway had given it a station. The grand pastoral estate of Thomas Chirnside survives as Werribee Park, and the suburb is best known today for that mansion and its gardens, the Victoria State Rose Garden, and the Werribee Open Range Zoo.
Less advantaged than the national average
Werribee is more socio-economically advantaged than about 30% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 951, 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.
Werribee at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 50,027
- Median age
- 35
- Median weekly household income
- $1,645
- SEIFA score
- 951
- Coordinates
- -37.9079, 144.6420
Werribee demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Werribee 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 young adults (25–44) at 32%, 33% of homes are rented, and 37% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 10,247 | 20% |
| Youth (15–24) | 5,946 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 16,187 | 32% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 11,101 | 22% |
| Seniors (65+) | 6,539 | 13% |
Share of the 50,020 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 4,443 | 25% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 6,802 | 39% |
| Rented | 5,860 | 33% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 14,970 | 85% |
| Townhouses & semis | 2,436 | 14% |
| Flats & apartments | 192 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 17,609 occupied private dwellings in Werribee.
- Median weekly rent
- $330
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,733
- Average household size
- 2.7 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,944
- Median weekly personal income
- $760
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 17,315 (37%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 15,995 (34%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 798 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 20,856 (55%)
- Labour-force participation
- 62.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.9%
- Employed full-time
- 14,055
- Employed part-time
- 7,379
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 Werribee
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Werribee is January (average daytime high around 24.9°C) and the coolest is July (around 13.3°C). The area receives roughly 629 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24.9°C | 16°C | 57 mm |
| Feb | 24.2°C | 15.6°C | 29 mm |
| Mar | 22.8°C | 14.8°C | 39 mm |
| Apr | 19.6°C | 12.1°C | 58 mm |
| May | 16.3°C | 9.9°C | 52 mm |
| Jun | 13.7°C | 7.9°C | 55 mm |
| Jul | 13.3°C | 7.4°C | 43 mm |
| Aug | 13.9°C | 7.4°C | 48 mm |
| Sep | 16.2°C | 8.6°C | 55 mm |
| Oct | 18.9°C | 10.1°C | 70 mm |
| Nov | 20.7°C | 12°C | 65 mm |
| Dec | 22.9°C | 13.9°C | 58 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Werribee
Where is Werribee?
Werribee is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Werribee?
At the 2021 Census, Werribee had a population of about 50,027.
Is Werribee an advantaged area?
Werribee has an ABS SEIFA score of 951, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 30 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 30% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Werribee?
Werribee has average daytime highs of about 19°C and overnight lows of about 11.3°C, with roughly 629 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
How big is Werribee?
Werribee is one of the most populous suburbs in Victoria — the 8th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 50,027 usual residents).
Where Werribee ranks
Werribee appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Largest suburbs in Victoria#8 of 25
- Largest suburbs in Australia#9 of 25
Nearby suburbs in Victoria
More suburb guides in Victoria
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.