Geelong, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Geelong spreads around Corio Bay and the Barwon River roughly 75 kilometres south-west of Melbourne, making it Victoria's second-largest city. It lies on the country of the Wadawurrung people of the Kulin nation, and its name is thought to come from a local word recorded as Djilang in 1827, often translated as land, cliffs, or a tongue of land. Once built on wool and the Ford motor works, the modern city has pivoted toward health, education, and services. The revitalised waterfront, dotted with its painted Baywalk Bollards, the AFL's Geelong Cats, and easy access to the Bellarine Peninsula and Great Ocean Road all anchor its identity today.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Geelong is more socio-economically advantaged than about 82% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1047, 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 Geelong 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.
Around the national middle
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Geelong 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
82/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (82/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
25/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $370 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 25% 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.
Geelong at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 5,811
- Median age
- 40
- Median weekly household income
- $1,670
- SEIFA score
- 1047
- Local government area
- Greater Geelong
- Coordinates
- -38.1481, 144.3635
Map of Geelong
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Geelong
What it costs to live in Geelong and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $370
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $2,000
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 53%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 44%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Geelong demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Geelong demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Geelong 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 young adults (25–44) at 30% and 24% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 592 | 10% |
| Youth (15–24) | 808 | 14% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,722 | 30% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,474 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,216 | 21% |
Share of the 5,812 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 831 | 33% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 507 | 20% |
| Rented | 1,097 | 44% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,293 | 52% |
| Townhouses & semis | 536 | 22% |
| Flats & apartments | 632 | 25% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 2,492 occupied private dwellings in Geelong.
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,362
- Median weekly personal income
- $865
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,320 (24%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 957 (17%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 44 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 3,342 (66%)
- Labour-force participation
- 63.5%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.2%
- Employed full-time
- 1,711
- Employed part-time
- 1,212
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 Geelong
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Geelong is January (average daytime high around 23.8°C) and the coolest is July (around 12.8°C). The area receives roughly 567 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 23.8°C | 14.8°C | 46 mm |
| Feb | 23.2°C | 14.6°C | 31 mm |
| Mar | 21.9°C | 13.9°C | 36 mm |
| Apr | 19.1°C | 11.5°C | 47 mm |
| May | 15.9°C | 9.3°C | 47 mm |
| Jun | 13.4°C | 7.5°C | 45 mm |
| Jul | 12.8°C | 6.8°C | 40 mm |
| Aug | 13.4°C | 6.9°C | 45 mm |
| Sep | 15.6°C | 7.9°C | 58 mm |
| Oct | 18.1°C | 9.3°C | 67 mm |
| Nov | 19.7°C | 10.9°C | 53 mm |
| Dec | 21.9°C | 12.7°C | 52 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Share your local knowledge of Geelong
Lived here or spent time in Geelong? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Geelong
Is Geelong 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, Geelong rates 63/100 overall (Around the national middle). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Geelong?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Geelong was $370, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,000. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Geelong?
Geelong is a suburb of Victoria, Australia, in the Greater Geelong local government area.
What is the population of Geelong?
At the 2021 Census, Geelong had a population of about 5,811.
Is Geelong an advantaged area?
Geelong has an ABS SEIFA score of 1047, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 82 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 82% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Geelong?
Geelong has average daytime highs of about 18.2°C and overnight lows of about 10.5°C, with roughly 567 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
Nearby suburbs in Victoria
More suburb guides in Victoria
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.