East Bairnsdale

The community is noticeably older than the national average, with a typical resident aged 45 and 23.9% of the population aged 65 or over. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 7% of the population, which is well above the state figure of 1%.

Most residents were born in Australia (75.3%), and the area has far fewer overseas-born residents (9.2%) than the national average of 27.7%. English and Australian are the most common ancestries, together making up over 76% of the population.

English is the primary language for 81.4% of the community. While a small number of people use another language at home (5.1%), this is still higher than in most similar areas, though far below the Victorian average.

Nearly half of the population (48.8%) report having no religion, a figure that is well above both the state and national averages. Christianity is the next most common affiliation at 34.2%.

Education levels are much lower than the national average, with only 32% of residents completing Year 12. Only 9.5% of adults hold a bachelor degree or higher, which is far below the national figure of 26.3%.

Typical incomes are far below the national average, with the typical weekly household earning $967 compared to $1,746 across Australia. Only 5.8% of households earn $3,000 or more per week, which is much lower than most other areas.

Health challenges are common here, as 34.8% of people have a long-term health condition. This is well above the national figure, and 12.9% of residents live with a mental health condition.

While 15% of people provide unpaid care—a rate higher than the national average—far fewer people (18.3%) care for children unpaid compared to the rest of the state.

First Nations people in the area face significant hardship, with an unemployment rate of 28.6%, which is far above the national figure. Typical personal income is also lower, at $474 per week.

Single-person households are common at 31.9%, but the area also has a very high rate of one-parent families (28%), which is far above the national average of 14.1%.

The landscape is dominated by separate houses, with 93% of homes being detached. While 36.6% of households rent, typical weekly rents are well below the national figure at $250.

The area is heavily reliant on cars, with 0% of people commuting by public transport. Around 9.2% of homes have no motor vehicle, which is a little above the state average.

The population is relatively stable, as the 30.8% of people who moved in the last five years is well below the national average of 40.7%.

Only 45.7% of adults are working or looking for work, which is far below the national average. The unemployment rate of 8.9% is well above the national figure of 5.1%.

The area is mostly car-dependent with a low walkability score of 3.2. Most residents live far from basic services, and only 0.1% are within a 15-minute walk of health services.