Clunes (Vic.), VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Clunes lies in the central Victorian goldfields, about 36 kilometres north of Ballarat and roughly 140 kilometres from Melbourne. The Dja Dja Wurrung people, part of the Kulin nation, were the first inhabitants of the country around the town. A Scottish overlander, Donald Cameron, took up a pastoral run here in 1839 and named the place after Clunes in the Scottish Highlands. In 1850 gold was found on his station, Victoria's first registered gold discovery, and a strike the following year helped set off the colony's great gold rush. The town swelled past six thousand people before mining wound down in the 1890s. Today its remarkably intact streetscape draws filmmakers and book lovers, the latter for the annual Clunes Booktown Festival.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Clunes (Vic.) is more socio-economically advantaged than about 14% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 907, 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 Clunes (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.
Lower on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Clunes (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
14/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (14/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
71/100More affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $220 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 71% 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.
Clunes (Vic.) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,844
- Median age
- 51
- Median weekly household income
- $1,037
- SEIFA score
- 907
- Local government area
- Hepburn
- Coordinates
- -37.2877, 143.7803
Map of Clunes (Vic.)
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Clunes (Vic.)
What it costs to live in Clunes (Vic.) and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $220
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,127
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 82%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 13%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Clunes (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.
Clunes (Vic.) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Clunes (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 32% and 15% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 261 | 14% |
| Youth (15–24) | 150 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 344 | 19% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 588 | 32% |
| Seniors (65+) | 501 | 27% |
Share of the 1,844 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 382 | 48% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 272 | 34% |
| Rented | 107 | 13% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 759 | 95% |
| Townhouses & semis | 10 | 1% |
| Flats & apartments | 3 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 795 occupied private dwellings in Clunes (Vic.).
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,339
- Median weekly personal income
- $503
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 262 (15%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 60 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 47 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 679 (44%)
- Labour-force participation
- 47.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 7.4%
- Employed full-time
- 346
- Employed part-time
- 273
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 Clunes (Vic.)
Is Clunes (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, Clunes (Vic.) rates 33/100 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 Clunes (Vic.)?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Clunes (Vic.) was $220, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,127. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Clunes (Vic.)?
Clunes (Vic.) is a suburb of Victoria, Australia, in the Hepburn local government area.
What is the population of Clunes (Vic.)?
At the 2021 Census, Clunes (Vic.) had a population of about 1,844.
Is Clunes (Vic.) an advantaged area?
Clunes (Vic.) has an ABS SEIFA score of 907, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 14 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 14% of Australian suburbs.
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