Daylesford, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Daylesford lies in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range about 115 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, on Dja Dja Wurrung country. With its neighbour Hepburn Springs, it sits among the greatest concentration of mineral springs in Australia, and the two towns have grown into one of the country's best-known spa retreats. The district was opened up by the gold rush — alluvial gold was found at Wombat Creek in 1851 and the town, first called Wombat, was surveyed in 1854 — and later drew Swiss and Italian settlers who planted vineyards in the hills. Today Daylesford trades on its springs, its lake, its guesthouses and restaurants, a weekend escape for Melburnians drawn to the spa waters and cool-climate country.
Around the national middle
Daylesford is more socio-economically advantaged than about 53% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 992, 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.
Daylesford at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,781
- Median age
- 55
- Median weekly household income
- $1,185
- SEIFA score
- 992
- Coordinates
- -37.3477, 144.1589
Daylesford demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Daylesford 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 33%, 26% of homes are rented, and 21% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 315 | 11% |
| Youth (15–24) | 156 | 6% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 522 | 19% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 920 | 33% |
| Seniors (65+) | 867 | 31% |
Share of the 2,780 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 572 | 45% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 304 | 24% |
| Rented | 324 | 26% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,128 | 89% |
| Townhouses & semis | 122 | 10% |
| Flats & apartments | 4 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,267 occupied private dwellings in Daylesford.
- Median weekly rent
- $331
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,532
- Average household size
- 1.9 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,724
- Median weekly personal income
- $715
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 529 (21%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 248 (10%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 19 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,365 (57%)
- Labour-force participation
- 49.5%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.1%
- Employed full-time
- 554
- Employed part-time
- 542
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.
Common questions about Daylesford
Where is Daylesford?
Daylesford is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Daylesford?
At the 2021 Census, Daylesford had a population of about 2,781.
Is Daylesford an advantaged area?
Daylesford has an ABS SEIFA score of 992, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 53 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 53% of Australian suburbs.
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