Rutherglen

The community is far older than most areas, with seniors aged 65 and over making up 26.3% of the population. This has risen 7.6 percentage points since 2011, while the proportion of children under 15 has fallen over the same period.

Most residents were born in Australia, with 88.1% born here. Only 6.7% of people were born overseas, which is far below the national figure of 27.7%.

English is the dominant language, spoken by 93.4% of residents. Only 1.7% of people use another language at home, a figure far below the state and national averages.

About half the population identifies as Christian, while 41.9% report having no religion. The proportion of people with no religion has risen by 20 percentage points since 2011.

Education levels are lower than most areas, with only 40.3% of residents completing Year 12. Those with a bachelor degree or higher make up 15.0% of adults, which is far below the national average of 26.3%.

Household incomes are generally lower than the state average, with a typical weekly household income of $1,344. Only 12.0% of households earn $3,000 or more a week, though this has risen since 2011.

Health challenges are more common here than in most areas, with 35.3% of people reporting a long-term health condition. This is well above the national figure, and 7.1% of residents need help with daily activities.

Rutherglen has a strong culture of service, with 21.2% of people volunteering, which is well above the national average. Unpaid care is also common, as 14.6% of residents provide unpaid care.

There are 90 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the area. The unemployment rate for First Nations people is 0.0%, which is far below the national figure of 12.3%.

About 29.2% of people live alone, which is well above the national average. Most homes house two people, and typical household sizes are slightly smaller than the state average.

Housing is dominated by separate houses, which make up 91.7% of dwellings. A large number of residents own their homes outright (44.0%), and typical weekly rents of $243 are well below the national average.

The area is very dependent on cars, with 66.8% of people driving to work. Public transport use is almost nonexistent at 0.2%, partly because it is a long walk to the nearest stop for many.

The population is relatively stable, as only 31.7% of people moved in the last five years. This is well below the national average of 40.7%.

Manufacturing is the largest industry, employing 20.2% of the workforce. The unemployment rate is 2.8%, which is a little below the national average of 5.1%.

The area's overall advantage score is 954, which is slightly below the national average. There are 465 businesses operating in the region.

Rutherglen experiences an average annual rainfall of 654mm, which is well above the Victorian average. Summer days are also a little warmer than the state average.

While the area has more walkable amenities per 1,000 residents than most of the state, overall walkability is just average. Only 53% of homes are within a 10-minute walk of public transport.