Wahgunyah
With a median age of 49, Wahgunyah's population is 9 years older than the national figure, which is the most distinctive demographic signal in this small Murray River town of 1,061 residents. The suburb spans 36.56 square kilometres at a density of just 29 people per square kilometre, firmly rural in character.
Local council: Indigo
Population
1,061
Median Age
49.0
Household IncomeiMedian weekly household income (ABS Census)
$1,280/wk
DAs (12 months)iDevelopment Applications lodged in the past year
2
Median House
$458K
October to December 2025
Only a handful of houses sold here in this period, so this median can jump sharply from one quarter to the next for reasons that have nothing to do with the market. Treat it as a rough guide, not a settled price.
Separate houses account for 90.1% of dwellings, giving buyers strong detached-home options, while semi-detached homes fill the remaining 9.9%. Monthly mortgage repayments average $1,473, and the mortgage-to-income ratio is 26.6%, below the 30% stress threshold. Three-bedroom homes make up 45.6% of stock, with 34.8% having four or more bedrooms, making Wahgunyah skew toward family-sized dwellings compared with the state average.
For Buyers
Separate houses account for 90.1% of dwellings, giving buyers strong detached-home options, while semi-detached homes fill the remaining 9.9%. Monthly mortgage repayments average $1,473, and the mortgage-to-income ratio is 26.6%, below the 30% stress threshold. Three-bedroom homes make up 45.6% of stock, with 34.8% having four or more bedrooms, making Wahgunyah skew toward family-sized dwellings compared with the state average.
For Investors
The rental market in Wahgunyah is small but notable for its vacancy rate of 9.5%, which is elevated compared with typical regional Victoria levels, signalling lower rental demand relative to available stock. Only 16.3% of households rent, well below the national share, because 45.9% own outright and 37.8% carry a mortgage, indicating an owner-occupier dominated market.
Development Activity
Total DAs
3
Last 12 Months
2
YoY ChangeiYear-over-year change in DA lodgements
—
Avg DA CostiAverage estimated cost per DA in the past year
N/A
Monthly DA Lodgements
DA Categories
Schools in Wahgunyah
Open-register school locations for education access. This is not a school-quality ranking.
Wahgunyah Primary School
Demographics
The median age of 49 is 9 years above the national median, the most significant demographic divergence in this suburb. Residents born overseas account for just 7.3%, which is 14.3 percentage points below the national figure, reflecting a predominantly locally born population. Ancestry is strongly Anglo-Celtic: English (466), Irish (135), Scottish (87) and German (65) lead the counts. University qualifications reach only 15.3%, which is 14.8 percentage points below national, a gap that aligns with the manufacturing and labourer-heavy occupational profile. Average household size of 2.3 is slightly below the national figure, and 36.7% of families are couples with no children, consistent with the older resident profile. Volunteering is active at 18.2% of residents, above the typical rural benchmark.
Age Distribution
Bedrooms
Dwelling Structure
90.1%
Houses
9.9%
Townhouse
0.0%
Apartment
Tenure
Wahgunyah is decisively an owner-occupier suburb: 45.9% own outright and 37.8% hold a mortgage, with only 16.3% renting, well below the national average. The stock is 90.1% separate houses, far higher than state averages, and there are no apartments recorded. Three-bedroom homes dominate at 45.6%, with four-plus bedroom homes at 34.8%, giving the suburb a family-sized tenure profile. Monthly repayments of $1,473 produce a mortgage-to-income ratio of 26.6%, below the stress threshold of 30%, and rent-to-income sits at 18.0%, both manageable relative to local incomes at the 29.3rd household income percentile nationally.
Mortgage / mo
$1,473
Rent / wkiABS Census 2021 median across all dwelling types. Current market rents are typically higher.
$230
Census 2021
HH Size
2.3
Personal Income / wk
$696
Vacancy Ratei% of dwellings unoccupied on Census night (ABS 2021)
9.5%
Unoccupied
45
Rent / IncomeiMedian rent as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
18.0%
Mortgage / IncomeiMedian mortgage as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
26.6%
Community Profile
Ancestry
Household Composition
36.2%
Couples with children
48.5%
Couples, no children
12.9%
Single parent
309
Total families
Economy & Employment
Manufacturing is the dominant industry at 21.7% of local workers (61 people), followed by Healthcare at 18.5% (52 workers), Construction at 10.7% (30 workers), Retail at 8.9% (25 workers) and Education at 7.8% (22 workers). The wine-growing context of the Rutherglen wine region explains the manufacturing concentration, which is above typical rural suburb levels. By occupation, Labourers lead at 78 workers, followed by Managers (62), Professionals (60), Community and Personal Service (43) and Sales (43). The unemployment rate is low at 3.0%, and full-time employment among those working reaches 64.5%. Participation rate is 49.3%, lower than the national average, partly because 354 residents are not in the labour force, which aligns with the older median age of 49. Weekly personal income averages $696, below state and national benchmarks.
Unemployment
2.7%
Labour Force
481
Unemployed
13
Source: ABS Census 2021
Socio-Economic Indexes (SEIFA)iABS index ranking suburbs from 1 (most disadvantaged) to 10 (most advantaged)
Full-time
58.5%
Part-time
32.3%
Participation
54.2%
Employed
468
Full-time and part-time are shares of the employed. Source: ABS Census 2021
Occupations
Top Industries
University
15.3%
Postgraduate
1.0%
Born Overseas
7.3%
Dwellings
426
Transport to Work
Car dependency is high at 92.6% of workers driving, reflecting the rural character and limited public transport options, compared with metropolitan areas where car use commonly falls below 70%. Walking or cycling accounts for 2.5% of commutes. Safety data shows 45 recorded offences in the most recent period, giving a crime rate of 42.4 per 1,000 residents. The top categories are justice procedures offences (18 incidents), property and deception offences (17) and crimes against the person (8). No schools are recorded within the Wahgunyah suburb boundary in this dataset, so families draw on facilities in neighbouring Corowa or Rutherglen. Rent-to-income is 18.0%, below the stress threshold, keeping housing costs manageable for the 16.3% of residents who rent. The 9.5% vacancy rate is an outlier for the rental segment.
Drive
84.9%
Public Transport
N/A
Walk / Cycle
2.3%
Work from Home
8.3%
Growth Outlook
The resident mobility rate is low, with 87.8% of residents remaining in the area, meaning turnover is only 12.2% annually, well below the national suburban average. Development activity is minimal at 1 application in 12 months, pointing to a stable, supply-constrained market. The older resident base and below-average income growth nationally suggest future price gains will depend more on regional lifestyle demand than income-driven affordability.
Population trend: Indigo council area
Wahgunyah sits in the Indigo council area. These are the council area's residents, not Wahgunyah's.
Residents 2025
17,758
Growth, 5 yr average
+0.7%/yr
2020 to 2025
Growth, last year
+0.8%
2024 to 2025
ABS Estimated Resident Population by LGA, 30 June each year; council area, not this suburb
Safety & Crime
Total Offences
45
Year ending June 2024
Rate per 1,000 People
42.4
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 Wahgunyah compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wahgunyah a good suburb to live in?
Wahgunyah suits owner-occupiers seeking affordable rural living, with 45.9% of residents owning outright and mortgage-to-income at 26.6%, below the 30% stress threshold. The median age of 49 and 87.8% resident retention rate reflect a settled, long-term community. Car dependency is high at 92.6% and university qualifications are 14.8 points below national average.
What schools are in Wahgunyah?
No schools are recorded within the Wahgunyah suburb boundary in this dataset. Families typically access schools in nearby Corowa or Rutherglen, both within short driving distance. About 15.3% of Wahgunyah residents hold university qualifications, which is 14.8 percentage points below the national figure.
Is Wahgunyah safe?
Wahgunyah recorded 45 offences in the latest period, a rate of 42.4 per 1,000 residents. The main categories are justice procedures offences (18), property and deception offences (17) and crimes against the person (8). The small population of 1,061 means individual incidents can move the per-1,000 rate significantly.
Is Wahgunyah good for property investment?
Only 16.3% of households rent, limiting the tenant pool for investors.
How is Wahgunyah's population changing?
The current population is 1,061, with a resident retention rate of 87.8%, meaning only 12.2% of residents move in or out annually, well below typical suburban turnover. The median age of 49 is 9 years above national, and the aging profile suggests gradual natural decline without in-migration to offset it.
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).
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