Ararat, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Ararat sits on the Western Highway in the Central Highlands of Victoria, about 198 kilometres west of Melbourne and on the eastern approaches to the Grampians. The Djab Wurrung people are the traditional owners of the surrounding country. The district is generally said to take its name from nearby Mount Ararat, which the pastoralist Horatio Wills named in 1841 with a biblical allusion to the resting of the Ark. Alluvial gold was found in 1854, and a major rush followed in 1857 when Chinese miners opened the rich Canton Lead, a heritage the town marks at its Gum San centre and which leads Ararat to be described as the only Australian town founded by Chinese gold seekers. Wool, beef, wine and tourism sustain it today.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Ararat is more socio-economically advantaged than about 13% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 904, 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 Ararat 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.
Lower on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Ararat 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
13/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (13/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
63/100More affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $250 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 63% 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.
Ararat at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 8,500
- Median age
- 45
- Median weekly household income
- $1,216
- SEIFA score
- 904
- Local government area
- Ararat
- Coordinates
- -37.2658, 142.9833
Map of Ararat
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Ararat
What it costs to live in Ararat and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $250
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,083
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 69%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 26%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Ararat demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Ararat demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Ararat 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 26% and 13% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,225 | 14% |
| Youth (15–24) | 865 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 2,123 | 25% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 2,227 | 26% |
| Seniors (65+) | 2,060 | 24% |
Share of the 8,500 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,304 | 40% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 944 | 29% |
| Rented | 847 | 26% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 2,885 | 90% |
| Townhouses & semis | 293 | 9% |
| Flats & apartments | 13 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 3,221 occupied private dwellings in Ararat.
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,608
- Median weekly personal income
- $681
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,033 (13%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 530 (7%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 181 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 2,502 (36%)
- Labour-force participation
- 48.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 4%
- Employed full-time
- 1,943
- Employed part-time
- 1,173
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 Ararat
Is Ararat 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, Ararat rates 30/100 overall (Lower 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 Ararat?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Ararat was $250, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,083. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Ararat?
Ararat is a suburb of Victoria, Australia, in the Ararat local government area.
What is the population of Ararat?
At the 2021 Census, Ararat had a population of about 8,500.
Is Ararat an advantaged area?
Ararat has an ABS SEIFA score of 904, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 13 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 13% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Victoria
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