Apollo Bay (Vic.), VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Apollo Bay curves along the Great Ocean Road on Victoria's south-west coast, sheltered beneath the green slopes of the Otway Ranges about 190 kilometres from Melbourne. It lies on the traditional lands of the Gadubanud, the King Parrot people of the Cape Otway coast. The bay is said to have been named in 1845 after the Apollo, a schooner that sheltered here from a storm, and the settlement that grew on the shore was known by other names before Apollo Bay stuck in 1898. Sealers, whalers and timber-cutters worked the coast before the Great Ocean Road, finished in 1932, turned the town into a fishing port and holiday destination, and a gateway to the Otway forests and waterfalls.
Less advantaged than the national average
Apollo Bay (Vic.) is more socio-economically advantaged than about 34% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 959, 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.
Is Apollo Bay (Vic.) a good place to live?
There’s no single answer — it depends on what matters to you. So instead of one mystery number, we break it down: a transparent score on each part of life we can back with public data, and an honest “not yet” on the parts we can’t.
Below the national middle on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Apollo Bay (Vic.) from public data. It sits alongside — and reconciles with — the socio-economic Suburb Score above; it is a transparent read, not a complete verdict.
Socio-economic advantage
34/100Less advantaged than the national average
Less advantaged than the national average — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (34/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
47/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $300 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 47% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- Green spaceNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap green-space mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- TransportNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap public-transport mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- SchoolsNot scored yet — school performance (ACARA / ICSEA) needs a data-reuse licence cleared before we can publish it.
- SafetyNot scored yet — Australia has no single open crime dataset and safety data carries defamation and legal care, so it is gated pending a go/no-go and will be data-only when added.
- CommunityNot scored yet — we won't reduce community to a number from a proxy. We'd rather leave it open than publish an invented value judgement.
A transparent read on public data, not a verdict — and not a measure of any person or community. See our methodology for how each component is worked out and why some aren’t scored yet.
Apollo Bay (Vic.) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,790
- Median age
- 52
- Median weekly household income
- $1,144
- SEIFA score
- 959
- Local government area
- Colac Otway
- Coordinates
- -38.7312, 143.6460
Map of Apollo Bay (Vic.)
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Apollo Bay (Vic.)
What it costs to live in Apollo Bay (Vic.) and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $300
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,700
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 69%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 28%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Apollo Bay (Vic.) demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Apollo Bay (Vic.) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Apollo Bay (Vic.) 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 31% and 20% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 243 | 14% |
| Youth (15–24) | 118 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 358 | 20% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 547 | 31% |
| Seniors (65+) | 516 | 29% |
Share of the 1,782 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 326 | 46% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 162 | 23% |
| Rented | 200 | 28% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 596 | 83% |
| Townhouses & semis | 72 | 10% |
| Flats & apartments | 31 | 4% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 718 occupied private dwellings in Apollo Bay (Vic.).
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,504
- Median weekly personal income
- $695
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 311 (20%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 165 (10%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 23 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 749 (50%)
- Labour-force participation
- 52.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.1%
- Employed full-time
- 330
- Employed part-time
- 360
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.
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Common questions about Apollo Bay (Vic.)
Is Apollo Bay (Vic.) a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, Apollo Bay (Vic.) rates 38/100 overall (Below the national middle on the data we score). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Apollo Bay (Vic.)?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Apollo Bay (Vic.) was $300, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,700. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Apollo Bay (Vic.)?
Apollo Bay (Vic.) is a suburb of Victoria, Australia, in the Colac Otway local government area.
What is the population of Apollo Bay (Vic.)?
At the 2021 Census, Apollo Bay (Vic.) had a population of about 1,790.
Is Apollo Bay (Vic.) an advantaged area?
Apollo Bay (Vic.) has an ABS SEIFA score of 959, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 34 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 34% of Australian suburbs.
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