3617, VIC

The community is far older than the state and national figures, with a typical age of 46 and a growing number of seniors. Children under 15 make up only 13.0%, which is well below the national average of 18.2%.

Most residents were born in Australia, and those with overseas heritage are far fewer than in other areas. English and Australian are the most common ancestries, and only 7.5% of people were born overseas.

English is the dominant language here, used by 89.4% of the community. Very few people use another language at home, a figure that has fallen since 2011, and no one reported speaking little or no English.

Over half the population identifies as Christian, while 37.3% of people report no religion. The number of people with no religion has risen by 17 percentage points since 2011.

Educational qualifications are far below state and national figures, with only 8.0% of adults holding a bachelor degree or higher. There are no schools within 3 km of the area.

Typical weekly household income is $1,174, which is well below the national figure of $1,746. While most people earn under $1,500 a week, the number of households earning $3,000 or more rose since 2011.

A slightly higher than average 6.2% of people need help with daily activities. Mental health conditions are reported much less often here than in most other areas.

More people provide unpaid care here than in most areas, at 15.2%. Volunteering is also well above the national average, though the rate of volunteers has fallen since 2011.

Homes are generally large, with 2.7 people per home and a high number of couples with children. Very few people live alone compared to the rest of the state.

The area is almost entirely made up of separate houses, with 87.9% having three or more bedrooms. Renting is very rare here, occurring in only 5.2% of households.

Car ownership is universal, as every single home has at least one motor vehicle. Because of this, and a 126-minute drive time to the city, no one uses public transport to commute.

The population is very stable, with far fewer people moving in the last five years compared to the state average. Recent arrivals from overseas make up 10.7% of the community.

Agriculture, forestry and fishing is the biggest employer, taking up 31.6% of jobs. Full-time employment is a little above the state average, though the unemployment rate is also higher at 6.3%.

The area has a moderate level of advantage, ranking higher than about 60% of similar areas. This is supported by a relatively strong score for education and job skills.

This is a car-dependent area with a very low walkability score of 0.6. Most residents cannot walk to a park, school, or health service within 15 minutes.