St Arnaud, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
St Arnaud lies in the Wimmera, in north-central Victoria, about 244 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, within the recognised country of the Dja Dja Wurrung people. Like a number of Australian places named in the Crimean War era, it honours the French marshal Jacques Leroy de Saint Arnaud. The town grew as a gold-mining settlement from the mid-1850s, its post office opening in 1856. Much of that early prosperity is still legible in the streetscape: Napier Street keeps a fine run of well-preserved nineteenth-century buildings and hotels, and the 1878 railway station has been restored as a public gallery and arts hub. The town's Pioneer Park is believed to be the only surviving public park designed by the celebrated landscape gardener Edna Walling.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
St Arnaud 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.
St Arnaud at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,318
- Median age
- 52
- Median weekly household income
- $920
- SEIFA score
- 892
- Coordinates
- -36.6200, 143.2409
St Arnaud demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile St Arnaud 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%, 20% of homes are rented, and 7% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 317 | 14% |
| Youth (15–24) | 215 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 420 | 18% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 617 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 745 | 32% |
Share of the 2,314 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 511 | 49% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 285 | 27% |
| Rented | 207 | 20% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 980 | 94% |
| Townhouses & semis | 49 | 5% |
| Flats & apartments | 3 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,038 occupied private dwellings in St Arnaud.
- Median weekly rent
- $188
- Median monthly mortgage
- $867
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,325
- Median weekly personal income
- $560
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 147 (7%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 59 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 54 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 619 (32%)
- Labour-force participation
- 47.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.1%
- Employed full-time
- 495
- Employed part-time
- 354
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 St Arnaud
Where is St Arnaud?
St Arnaud is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of St Arnaud?
At the 2021 Census, St Arnaud had a population of about 2,318.
Is St Arnaud an advantaged area?
St Arnaud 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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