Omeo, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Omeo is a historic town in the Victorian high country, in the Shire of East Gippsland, set among the mountains on the Great Alpine Road east of Mount Hotham and roughly 400 kilometres from Melbourne. Its name comes from an Aboriginal word said to mean 'mountains' or 'hills'. Gold was discovered at Livingstone Creek in 1845, and at the height of the rush the town swelled to some 9,400 people — many times its present size. Earthquakes in the 1880s and 1890s and the Black Friday bushfires of 1939 each took their toll, yet handsome gold-era buildings survive. Today Omeo is a quiet service centre for the surrounding alpine district, home to around 400 residents.
Less advantaged than the national average
Omeo is more socio-economically advantaged than about 34% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 960, 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.
Omeo at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 411
- Median age
- 54
- Median weekly household income
- $1,131
- SEIFA score
- 960
- Coordinates
- -37.0746, 147.5943
Omeo demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Omeo 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 34%, 17% of homes are rented, and 9% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 44 | 11% |
| Youth (15–24) | 27 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 74 | 18% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 138 | 34% |
| Seniors (65+) | 118 | 29% |
Share of the 401 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 81 | 52% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 38 | 24% |
| Rented | 26 | 17% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 159 | 100% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 159 occupied private dwellings in Omeo.
- Median weekly rent
- $225
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,117
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,562
- Median weekly personal income
- $674
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 30 (9%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 8 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 0 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 143 (40%)
- Labour-force participation
- 49.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 1.6%
- Employed full-time
- 88
- Employed part-time
- 79
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 Omeo
Where is Omeo?
Omeo is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Omeo?
At the 2021 Census, Omeo had a population of about 411.
Is Omeo an advantaged area?
Omeo has an ABS SEIFA score of 960, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 34 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 34% of Australian suburbs.
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