Urban Centre · Area profile
Wangaratta
40 km²
A walk to the local shops or a nearby park is common for most residents in Wangaratta. The town has grown by 16% since 2016, though it is becoming noticeably older than the state and national averages. This shift is seen in the high number of seniors and a growing need for health support. Despite these changes, it remains a large regional hub where most people live in separate houses and rely on cars to get around.
Explore Wangaratta by topic
The community is ageing, with the typical resident now 44 and nearly a quarter of the population aged 65 or over. This is well above the national figure, and the number of seniors rose by 10 points since 2016.
Most residents were born in Australia, and those born overseas make up 9.8% of the population, which is far below the state and national figures.
English is the main language for 88.4% of the area, though 6.1% of people use another language at home, a figure that is much higher than in similar areas.
About 49.1% of people identify as Christian, while 41.4% have no religion, which is a little above the national figure.
A higher proportion of adults hold a bachelor degree or higher compared to similar areas, though this figure fell 13 points since 2016.
Typical weekly household income is $1,236, which is well below the state and national figures. Incomes have generally fallen since 2016 across typical family and personal earnings.
Health needs are high here, with 37.2% of people living with a long-term health condition and 8.7% needing help with daily activities, which is much higher than most areas.
More people provide unpaid care here than in most other areas. However, the proportion of volunteers fell 9.1 points since 2016.
Living alone is common for 34.6% of the population, and one-parent families are well above the state average at 18.3%.
Separate houses are very common at 85.7%, far above the national average. Renting is more frequent than in similar areas, but the typical weekly rent of $260 is well below the national figure.
Cars are the primary way to get around, and only 0.2% of people commute by public transport. Working from home is also far less common here than across Victoria.
The area has seen a fair amount of movement, with 37.1% of people moving in the last five years and recent overseas arrivals making up 14.4% of the population.
The unemployment rate is 3.5%, which is a little below the state and national figures. Many residents work in health care and social assistance, the town's largest industry.
The town is very walkable, with 83.1% of homes within a 15-minute walk of groceries, though only 46.2% can reach health services in that time.