Lakes Entrance, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Lakes Entrance sits at the eastern edge of the Gippsland Lakes in Victoria, where an artificial channel cut in the nineteenth century links the lakes to Bass Strait and gives the town its name. The settlement was first called Cunninghame, a name it carried until 1915. A narrow footbridge crosses the channel to Ninety Mile Beach, a long ribbon of dune and surf that is the town's best-known feature. Lakes Entrance grew around fishing, and it still keeps one of the larger commercial fishing fleets in the state, its wharves lined with trawlers and seafood outlets. Holidaymakers come for the boating, the beaches and the surrounding national parks of East Gippsland.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Lakes Entrance is more socio-economically advantaged than about 9% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 887, 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.
Lakes Entrance at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 5,145
- Median age
- 55
- Median weekly household income
- $866
- SEIFA score
- 887
- Coordinates
- -37.8531, 148.0019
Lakes Entrance demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Lakes Entrance 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 36%, 27% of homes are rented, and 15% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 757 | 15% |
| Youth (15–24) | 383 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 887 | 17% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,268 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,847 | 36% |
Share of the 5,142 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,051 | 49% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 408 | 19% |
| Rented | 594 | 27% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,755 | 82% |
| Townhouses & semis | 276 | 13% |
| Flats & apartments | 39 | 2% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 2,152 occupied private dwellings in Lakes Entrance.
- Median weekly rent
- $252
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,227
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,202
- Median weekly personal income
- $514
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 686 (15%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 265 (6%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 218 (4%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,369 (32%)
- Labour-force participation
- 37.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.4%
- Employed full-time
- 708
- Employed part-time
- 700
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 Lakes Entrance
Where is Lakes Entrance?
Lakes Entrance is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Lakes Entrance?
At the 2021 Census, Lakes Entrance had a population of about 5,145.
Is Lakes Entrance an advantaged area?
Lakes Entrance has an ABS SEIFA score of 887, 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.
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