Heyfield, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Heyfield sits in the West Gippsland region of Victoria, in the Shire of Wellington roughly 200 kilometres east of Melbourne, near the irrigation waters of Lake Glenmaggie. Early settler James McFarlane is said to have called the district 'Hayfield' in 1841, likening the waving grass to a field of corn; the spelling had drifted to 'Heyfield' by the 1860s, though exactly when and why is unclear. The surrounding country supported pastoral runs — pastoralist James Tyson, often described as Australia's first self-made millionaire, took up land here in 1866 — and timber later became central to the town, home to one of the largest hardwood mills in the southern hemisphere. Author Mary Grant Bruce wrote part of her Billabong series here.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Heyfield is more socio-economically advantaged than about 9% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 885, 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 Heyfield 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 Heyfield 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
9/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (9/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
73/100More affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $210 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 73% 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.
Heyfield at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,050
- Median age
- 47
- Median weekly household income
- $1,007
- SEIFA score
- 885
- Local government area
- Wellington
- Coordinates
- -37.9719, 146.7661
Map of Heyfield
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Heyfield
What it costs to live in Heyfield and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $210
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,088
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 77%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 18%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Heyfield demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Heyfield demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Heyfield 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 28% and 9% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 328 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 224 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 412 | 20% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 522 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 572 | 28% |
Share of the 2,058 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 343 | 44% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 259 | 33% |
| Rented | 144 | 18% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 743 | 94% |
| Townhouses & semis | 3 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 41 | 5% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 791 occupied private dwellings in Heyfield.
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,390
- Median weekly personal income
- $530
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 158 (9%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 50 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 46 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 459 (28%)
- Labour-force participation
- 46.5%
- Unemployment rate
- 4%
- Employed full-time
- 432
- Employed part-time
- 270
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.
Share your local knowledge of Heyfield
Lived here or spent time in Heyfield? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Heyfield
Is Heyfield 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, Heyfield 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 Heyfield?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Heyfield was $210, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,088. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Heyfield?
Heyfield is a suburb of Victoria, Australia, in the Wellington local government area.
What is the population of Heyfield?
At the 2021 Census, Heyfield had a population of about 2,050.
Is Heyfield an advantaged area?
Heyfield has an ABS SEIFA score of 885, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 9 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 9% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Victoria
More suburb guides in Victoria
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.