Orbost, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Orbost is a town in East Gippsland, Victoria, set on the Snowy River where it is crossed by the Princes Highway, about 375 kilometres east of Melbourne. Settled by farming families from the 1870s, it grew into the commercial centre for the surrounding river flats, with beef and dairy cattle and timber-milling its mainstays. The river is spanned nearby by a long timber rail trestle bridge, now heritage-listed, a reminder of the branch railway that once reached the town. Today Orbost serves as a gateway to the national parks and wilderness coast of far East Gippsland, drawing visitors for fishing, canoeing and bushwalking along the lower Snowy.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Orbost is more socio-economically advantaged than about 5% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 861, 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.
Orbost at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,264
- Median age
- 53
- Median weekly household income
- $785
- SEIFA score
- 861
- Coordinates
- -37.6447, 148.5088
Orbost demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Orbost 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 32%, 21% of homes are rented, and 10% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 357 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 178 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 374 | 17% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 630 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 718 | 32% |
Share of the 2,257 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 507 | 52% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 203 | 21% |
| Rented | 207 | 21% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 902 | 94% |
| Townhouses & semis | 37 | 4% |
| Flats & apartments | 22 | 2% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 964 occupied private dwellings in Orbost.
- Median weekly rent
- $190
- Median monthly mortgage
- $867
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,129
- Median weekly personal income
- $489
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 199 (10%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 69 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 156 (7%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 549 (30%)
- Labour-force participation
- 40.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 6%
- Employed full-time
- 338
- Employed part-time
- 335
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 Orbost
Where is Orbost?
Orbost is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Orbost?
At the 2021 Census, Orbost had a population of about 2,264.
Is Orbost an advantaged area?
Orbost has an ABS SEIFA score of 861, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 5 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 5% of Australian suburbs.
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