Ballan
With only 23 residents per square kilometre across 147 square kilometres, Ballan is one of regional Victoria's lower-density towns, yet its 3,392 residents carry household incomes at the 49.7th percentile nationally, almost exactly at the national median. Two identity signals stand out: 93.6% of dwellings are separate houses, and 82.1% of households are either owned outright or mortgaged, pointing to a strongly owner-occupier, detached-housing community. The median age of 43 is 3 years above the national figure, and the overseas-born share at 13.7% sits 7.9 percentage points below national, reflecting a predominantly locally-born population with English, Irish and Scottish as the dominant ancestries.
Population
3,392
Median Age
43.0
Household IncomeiMedian weekly household income (ABS Census)
$1,560/wk
DAs (12 months)iDevelopment Applications lodged in the past year
3
Median House
$638K
October to December 2025
Monthly mortgage repayments average $1,625, producing a mortgage-to-income ratio of 24.1%, comfortably below the 30% stress threshold. Separate houses dominate at 93.6% of stock, with three-bedroom homes accounting for 49.8% and four-plus bedroom homes at 36.5%, meaning buyers have good access to family-sized detached properties. Compared to Melbourne metropolitan medians, Ballan offers meaningful affordability for those willing to commute, with the Ballarat rail line providing access to the city.
For Buyers
Monthly mortgage repayments average $1,625, producing a mortgage-to-income ratio of 24.1%, comfortably below the 30% stress threshold. Separate houses dominate at 93.6% of stock, with three-bedroom homes accounting for 49.8% and four-plus bedroom homes at 36.5%, meaning buyers have good access to family-sized detached properties. Compared to Melbourne metropolitan medians, Ballan offers meaningful affordability for those willing to commute, with the Ballarat rail line providing access to the city.
For Investors
Rental demand in Ballan is limited, with only 17.9% of households renting, well below state and national averages. The vacancy rate of 9.4% is notably elevated, signalling that rental supply exceeds current demand. Development activity is low at 4 applications in the past 12 months, mostly subdivision works on 2-lot parcels, not new dwelling construction. Investors should weigh the high vacancy rate against the town's steady owner-occupier base of 82.1% of households.
Development Activity
Total DAs
17
Last 12 Months
3
YoY ChangeiYear-over-year change in DA lodgements
0.0%
Avg DA CostiAverage estimated cost per DA in the past year
N/A
Monthly DA Lodgements
DA Categories
Schools in Ballan
Open-register school locations for education access. This is not a school-quality ranking.
Ballan Primary School
St Brigid's School
Demographics
The median age of 43 is 3 years above the national figure, placing Ballan on an aging trajectory typical of regional Victorian towns. Overseas-born residents at 13.7% are 7.9 percentage points below national, confirming a predominantly Australian-born community. Ancestry is strongly Anglo-Celtic: English (1,432 residents), Irish (472) and Scottish (418) are the top three groups, with German ancestry fifth at 160. University qualifications reach 23.4%, which is 6.7 percentage points below the national figure, consistent with a manual and trades-oriented local economy. Average household size is 2.4, marginally below the national figure. Volunteering at 17.2% of residents indicates a community with moderate civic engagement compared to most suburbs.
Age Distribution
Bedrooms
Dwelling Structure
93.6%
Houses
5.0%
Townhouse
0.2%
Apartment
Tenure
Ballan's housing profile is overwhelmingly detached: 93.6% of dwellings are separate houses, with apartments at just 0.2% and semi-detached at 5.0%. Three-bedroom homes are the modal type at 49.8%, followed by four-plus bedrooms at 36.5%, reflecting the family and semi-rural character of the town. Tenure is strongly skewed toward ownership: 37.0% own outright and 45.1% hold a mortgage, while renters account for just 17.9%. Mortgage stress is absent, with the mortgage-to-income ratio at 24.1%, and rent-to-income at 21.2% also sits below the 30% stress line, indicating the current housing cost burden is manageable across both tenures.
Mortgage / mo
$1,625
Rent / wkiABS Census 2021 median across all dwelling types. Current market rents are typically higher.
$330
Census 2021
HH Size
2.4
Personal Income / wk
$733
Vacancy Ratei% of dwellings unoccupied on Census night (ABS 2021)
9.4%
Unoccupied
136
Rent / IncomeiMedian rent as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
21.2%
Mortgage / IncomeiMedian mortgage as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
24.1%
Community Profile
Ancestry
Household Composition
40.2%
Couples with children
43.0%
Couples, no children
16.2%
Single parent
955
Total families
Economy & Employment
Healthcare leads local employment at 15.4% of workers (159 people), followed closely by Construction at 14.1% (145) and Education at 12.4% (128), with Public Administration at 12.0% and Manufacturing at 7.3%. By occupation, Professionals (256) are the largest group, followed by Managers (227) and Clerical and Admin workers (217), while Labourers rank fifth at 184, indicating a mixed white-collar and trades workforce. The unemployment rate of 4.4% sits marginally above national norms, and the participation rate of 55.6% is lower than state averages, partly because 970 residents are not in the labour force, consistent with the older median age. Full-time employment accounts for 66.1% of jobs held, which is broadly in line with national patterns.
Unemployment
4.0%
Labour Force
1,670
Unemployed
67
Source: ABS Census 2021
Socio-Economic Indexes (SEIFA)iABS index ranking suburbs from 1 (most disadvantaged) to 10 (most advantaged)
Full-time
60.5%
Part-time
31.1%
Participation
60.4%
Employed
1,603
Full-time and part-time are shares of the employed. Source: ABS Census 2021
Occupations
Top Industries
University
23.4%
Postgraduate
4.7%
Born Overseas
13.7%
Dwellings
1,318
Transport to Work
Car dependency is high: 87.3% of residents drive to work and public transport use is just 2.2%, reflecting the town's rural setting and limited service frequency. Walking and cycling to work account for 3.7%, above what many comparable rural towns record. Crime totals 247 incidents, with a rate of 72.8 per 1,000 residents, where property and deception offences account for the largest share at 120 incidents. No schools are recorded in this dataset for the Ballan postcode boundary. Housing stress is low across both tenures: mortgage repayments at 24.1% of income and rent at 21.2% are both below the 30% stress threshold, making day-to-day cost of living manageable compared to Melbourne metropolitan benchmarks. The need-for-assistance rate of 7.8% is moderate and consistent with the older median age profile.
Drive
68.0%
Public Transport
1.7%
Walk / Cycle
2.9%
Work from Home
22.1%
Safety & Crime
Total Offences
247
Year ending June 2024
Rate per 1,000 People
72.8
Offence Categories
Source: Crime Statistics Agency Victoria / SA Police
National Ranking iPercentile rank among ~15,000 AU suburbs. 90% = higher than 90% of suburbs
How Ballan compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ballan a good suburb to live in?
Ballan suits buyers seeking a detached-housing town with low housing stress. The mortgage-to-income ratio is 24.1% and rent-to-income is 21.2%, both well below the 30% stress line. The median age of 43 is 3 years above national, reflecting a settled, owner-occupier community where 82.1% of households own or are buying their home. Car access is essential as public transport use is just 2.2%.
What schools are in Ballan?
No schools are recorded within the Ballan postcode boundary in this dataset. Families in Ballan typically rely on schools in the surrounding Moorabool Shire or commute to Bacchus Marsh and Ballarat. The local university qualification rate is 23.4%, which is 6.7 percentage points below the national figure.
Is Ballan safe?
Ballan recorded 247 total crime incidents, a rate of 72.8 per 1,000 residents. Property and deception offences were the largest category at 120 incidents, followed by justice procedures offences at 69. Crimes against the person totalled 41. These figures should be compared against VIC regional town benchmarks when assessing relative safety.
How is Ballan's population changing?
Ballan's residential stability is high: 79.8% of residents stayed in the suburb over the previous five years, with a turnover rate of only 20.2%. The population of 3,392 is spread across a large 147 square kilometre area at a density of 23 residents per square kilometre. Development activity is low at just 4 applications in the past 12 months, mostly 2-lot subdivisions rather than new dwellings.
How to read these comparisons
Phrases like "above the national average" reference the unweighted median across Australian suburbs with more than 1,000 residents, not population-weighted national figures. Suburb-level medians are more useful for ranking suburbs against each other; ABS census headlines are population-weighted (so dominated by Sydney and Melbourne) and can read very differently.
Current baseline (refreshed 2026-05-10): median age 40, university-educated 30.1%, born overseas 21.6%, average household size 2.5 people.
Data sources: ABS 2021 Census (demographics, income, tenure), Valuer-General Victoria (house prices), state education open registers (school locations), state Crime Statistics agencies (offences), council DA portals (development applications). Population forecasts use a Hamilton-Perry cohort model calibrated to ABS ERP.
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