State Electorate · Area profile
Buninyong (Western Victoria)
3,099 km²
A population growth of 14% since 2016 has seen Buninyong expand into a larger community of over 67,000 people. It is a family-oriented area where the typical resident is 39 and nearly one in five people are children. The community is overwhelmingly Australian-born and English-speaking, with a high proportion of separate houses and large family homes. This creates a residential character that is much less diverse and more car-dependent than the state average.
Families are well catered for: 36 schools serve Buninyong (Western Victoria).
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The area is home to many families, with 19.2% of the population being children under 15. De facto relationships are much more common here than in most areas, and the number of people aged 65 and over rose to 17.9% since 2016.
The community is very traditional in its roots, with 82.9% born in Australia. Only 11.3% of residents were born overseas, which is far below the national figure of 27.7%.
English is the dominant language, spoken by 88.7% of residents. Those who use another language at home make up only 5.8% of the population, far below the 22.3% national average.
A striking 49.1% of residents report having no religion, a figure far above the Australian average of 38.9%. This represents a significant increase of 11 percentage points since 2016.
Education levels are lower than in most areas, with only 49.5% of residents completing Year 12. However, the proportion of adults with a bachelor degree or higher rose to 20.2% since 2016.
Typical weekly household incomes are a little below the national figure at $1,487. While incomes have risen since 2016, the proportion of households earning $3,000 or more per week remains lower than in most areas.
Health challenges are more common here than in most areas, with 33.8% of people living with a long-term health condition. Mental health conditions are particularly prevalent at 12.4%, among the highest levels for its type.
Residents are more likely to be unpaid carers than most other areas, with 14.5% providing such care. Volunteering is also higher than the national average, although the rate fell 7.0 percentage points since 2016.
Families with children make up the majority of households at 56.2%. One-parent families are slightly more common here than in the rest of the state.
The area is dominated by separate houses, which make up 89.7% of dwellings. These homes are typically large, with 81.6% having three or more bedrooms, and rent is much lower than the national average at $290 a week.
Car use is essential as only 0.9% of people commute by public transport. Most homes have at least one vehicle, and the number of people working from home rose significantly to 16.7% since 2016.
About 38.4% of the population moved house in the last five years, which is around the middle for similar areas. Recent arrivals from overseas make up 11.7% of the community.
About 61.1% of adults are working or looking for work, with the unemployment rate at 4.6%. The most common industries for local workers are health care, construction, and education.
The area is only somewhat walkable, with a score of 4.1, well below the state average. Many homes are far from essential services, with only 44.2% within a 15-minute walk of groceries.