Ballarat Population 2024

Ballarat population

Ballarat is a city of Victoria with a population of over 130,000. It is the third largest city in Victoria after Melbourne and Geelong. The city is approximately 105 kilometres west-north-west of Melbourne (Victoria’s state capital city). The city is most famous for the gold rush era which transformed Ballarat from a small sheep station to a major settlement.

Based on our research Ballarat population will reach 130,515 by the end of June of 2024. We use end of June each year due to Australia Bureau Statistics always follow Australia financial year when pushed the data. The calculation is based on the average growth rate of 3.37% over last 12 years since 2011. We believe using the recent years’ figures (see the table in next section) will make the estimation more accurate.

Population Growth of Ballarat

Looking back last twelve years of Ballarat’s population, the grow rate is very consistent and strong ranging from 1.25% to 6.99%, adding around 1,065 to 6,521 people each year to the overall population. Lot of workers was moving to Ballarat to take advantage of employment opportunities in tourism industry, which contributes to the population growth. Cheaper housing price compared with Melbourne also make people live here. On the other hand, Ballarat is a popular city for oversea students.

Year Population Growth rate
2011 84,935  n/a
2012 86,000  1.25%
2013 88,400  2.79%
2014 93,320 5.57%
2015 99,841 7%
2016 104,355 4.52%
2017 106,762 2.31%
2018 110,030 3.06%
2019 114,193 3.78%
2020 117,010 2.47%
2021 120,226 2.75%
2022 123,150 2.43%
2023 126,260 2.53%

 

Demographics of Ballarat

According to Australia census, the top five country of birth for people in Ballarat are: Australia, England, India, New Zealand and China. The top five languages spoken in Ballarat are: English, Cantonese, Italian, Mandarin and Punjabi.

The religious makeup of Ballarat is 29.9% Catholic, 29.8% No religion, 11.7% Anglican, 8.7% Religious affiliation not stated, 7.0% Uniting Church, 2.5% Presbyterian and Reformed, 2.0% Christian, 1.4% Other religious affiliation , 1.0% Churches of Christ, 0.9% Other Religious Groups.

Population Density of Ballarat

Ballarat’s population density is 290 people per square kilometer. It is one of the most populated cities in Victoria.

Occupations and Industries

The main occupations of people living in Ballarat are 30.4% Professionals, 12.2% Technicians & trades workers, 11.8% Managers, 11.5% Community & personal service workers, 10.9% Clerical & administrative workers, 10.9% Sales workers, 6.8% Labourers, 3.6% Machinery operators & drivers.

The main industries people from Ballarat Central work in are 19.4% Health care and social assistance, 11.8% Education and training, 11.3% Retail trade, 8.9% Accommodation and food services, 7.5% Public administration and safety, 7.3% Manufacturing, 6.5% Professional, scientific and technical services, 6.4% Construction, 2.9% Other services.

Facts About Ballarat

  1. Ballarat became a major settlement because of the Victorian gold rush. Actually it was only a small sheep station.
  2. On 18 August 1851, the gold was discovered at Poverty Point. The news spread around Australia. Therefore, more than 2,000 people were rushed to reach the city to find the gold.
  3. Ballarat has been called as a city in Australia since 1871. It was one of the prosperous cities due to the gold extraction.
  4. Before the European settlement of Australia, the Ballarat locale was populated by the Wathaurong individuals, an Indigenous people from Australia.
  5. The Avenue of Honour is a grand boulevard in Ballarat which commemorates local soldiers who fought in the First World War.
  6. An important asset to Ballarat is Lake Wendouree, a man-made lake covering 200 hectares, located a couple of kilometres west of the town centre.
  7. Ballarat is one of Australia’s fastest growing cities, more than 2,000 people move to Ballarat each year.
  8. Gold mining made Ballarat a rich town, and it was made a city in 1871.

References

The following links provide data for this topic: