Skipton, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Skipton is a small town on Mount Emu Creek in Victoria's Western District, about 52km south-west of Ballarat and 166km west of Melbourne. The European settlers named it after Skipton in Yorkshire, England; the locality's earlier Aboriginal name is recorded as 'Woran'. A pastoral run was taken up in the district in 1839, the township was surveyed in 1852 and the post office opened in 1858. Long associated with fine-wool growing on the surrounding volcanic plains, Skipton today is a quiet rural service centre. It marks one end of the Ballarat-Skipton Rail Trail, a walking and cycling path that follows a former railway line through farmland and old timber trestle bridges.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Skipton is more socio-economically advantaged than about 10% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 892, 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.
Skipton at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 609
- Median age
- 53
- Median weekly household income
- $894
- SEIFA score
- 892
- Coordinates
- -37.6888, 143.3395
Skipton demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Skipton 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 31%, 12% of homes are rented, and 8% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 87 | 14% |
| Youth (15–24) | 55 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 112 | 18% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 190 | 31% |
| Seniors (65+) | 165 | 27% |
Share of the 609 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 126 | 48% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 81 | 31% |
| Rented | 31 | 12% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 255 | 100% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 255 occupied private dwellings in Skipton.
- Median weekly rent
- $194
- Median monthly mortgage
- $867
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,302
- Median weekly personal income
- $493
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 46 (8%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 8 (1%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 12 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 170 (34%)
- Labour-force participation
- 43.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.3%
- Employed full-time
- 121
- Employed part-time
- 75
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 Skipton
Where is Skipton?
Skipton is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Skipton?
At the 2021 Census, Skipton had a population of about 609.
Is Skipton an advantaged area?
Skipton has an ABS SEIFA score of 892, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 10 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 10% of Australian suburbs.
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