Castlemaine, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Castlemaine grew out of one of the richest alluvial goldfields of the 1851 Victorian gold rush, when the Mount Alexander diggings drew tens of thousands of hopefuls almost overnight. The district is the country of the Dja Dja Wurrung, or Jaara, people. The town is said to have been named after Viscount Castlemaine by an early goldfields commissioner, and its sudden wealth left a legacy of handsome public buildings, including the Theatre Royal and the old Market Hall. Today Castlemaine is known as an arts town, home to the biennial State Festival, the historic Buda house and garden, and a lively scene of galleries, makers and cafes set among its goldfields-era streetscapes.
Around the national middle
Castlemaine is more socio-economically advantaged than about 46% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 980, 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 Castlemaine 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 Castlemaine 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
46/100Around the national middle
Around the national middle — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (46/100) 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.
Castlemaine at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 7,506
- Median age
- 52
- Median weekly household income
- $1,106
- SEIFA score
- 980
- Local government area
- Mount Alexander
- Coordinates
- -37.0601, 144.2165
Map of Castlemaine
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Castlemaine
What it costs to live in Castlemaine and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $300
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,362
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 74%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 23%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Castlemaine demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Castlemaine demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Castlemaine 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 seniors (65+) at 32% and 16% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 949 | 13% |
| Youth (15–24) | 511 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,615 | 22% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 2,018 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 2,417 | 32% |
Share of the 7,510 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,545 | 49% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 779 | 25% |
| Rented | 739 | 23% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 2,928 | 92% |
| Townhouses & semis | 213 | 7% |
| Flats & apartments | 8 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 3,168 occupied private dwellings in Castlemaine.
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,633
- Median weekly personal income
- $668
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,081 (16%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 300 (5%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 110 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 3,333 (52%)
- Labour-force participation
- 44.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.9%
- Employed full-time
- 1,277
- Employed part-time
- 1,338
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 Castlemaine
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Castlemaine is January (average daytime high around 29.9°C) and the coolest is July (around 12.6°C). The area receives roughly 637 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29.9°C | 16.6°C | 41 mm |
| Feb | 28.5°C | 15.7°C | 20 mm |
| Mar | 25.8°C | 14.6°C | 40 mm |
| Apr | 20.9°C | 11.6°C | 55 mm |
| May | 16.1°C | 8.9°C | 62 mm |
| Jun | 13.3°C | 7°C | 64 mm |
| Jul | 12.6°C | 6.2°C | 59 mm |
| Aug | 13.6°C | 6.2°C | 63 mm |
| Sep | 16.5°C | 7.7°C | 59 mm |
| Oct | 20.6°C | 9.7°C | 72 mm |
| Nov | 23.5°C | 11.8°C | 56 mm |
| Dec | 27.1°C | 14.2°C | 46 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Castlemaine
Is Castlemaine 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, Castlemaine rates 46/100 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 Castlemaine?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Castlemaine was $300, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,362. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Castlemaine?
Castlemaine is a suburb of Victoria, Australia, in the Mount Alexander local government area.
What is the population of Castlemaine?
At the 2021 Census, Castlemaine had a population of about 7,506.
Is Castlemaine an advantaged area?
Castlemaine has an ABS SEIFA score of 980, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 46 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 46% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Castlemaine?
Castlemaine has average daytime highs of about 20.7°C and overnight lows of about 10.9°C, with roughly 637 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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