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California Gully

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California Gully, Victoria
ABS Census 2021 Bendigo Regional VIC

About

California Gully (VIC 3556): population 4,476, median age 39, median household income $1,054/week, SEIFA IRSD decile 1. Victorian suburb guide with housing, jobs and community insights.

California Gully is a suburb in Greater Bendigo, Victoria (postcode 3556), located in the Bendigo region. At the ABS Census 2021 it had a population of 4,476 people.

At a glance

Population (2021)
4,476
Median age
39
Household income
$1,054/wk
Weekly rent
$251
Unemployment
6.2%
SEIFA IRSD decile
1 / 10

Age distribution

0-4
5.2%
5-14
13.5%
15-19
6.7%
20-24
6.6%
25-34
13.0%
35-44
11.4%
45-54
11.4%
55-64
12.6%
65-74
10.9%
75-84
6.0%
85+
2.9%

Housing tenure

Owned
30.6%
Mortgage
32.4%
Rented
33.9%
Other
0.8%

Key statistics

IndicatorValue
Postcode3556
Population (2021)4,476
Males2,083 (46.5%)
Females2,394 (53.5%)
Median age39 years
Average household size2.3
Median weekly household income$1,054
Median weekly family income$1,366
Median weekly rent$251
Median monthly mortgage$1,200
Labour force1,865
Unemployment rate6.2%
Participation rate55.6%
Born overseas9.1%
Separate houses90.4%
Worked at home7.8%
SEIFA IRSD decile1 of 10
Bachelor degree or higher24.3%
Completed Year 12 or equivalent39.5%
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander residents4.7%
Residents needing assistance with core activities11.1%
Households with 2+ vehicles51.4%
Distance from Melbourne CBD135.7 km (straight line)

Age profile

Median age: 39 years. Residents under 15: 18.7%. Residents aged 65 and over: 19.8%.

Age groupPeopleShare of population
0-42335.2%
5-1460313.5%
15-192986.7%
20-242946.6%
25-3458113.0%
35-4451211.4%
45-5450911.4%
55-6456312.6%
65-7448710.9%
75-842706.0%
85 and over1312.9%

Households and families

Household typeCountShare of households
Total households1,771
Average household size2.3
One person61034.4%
Two persons58833.2%
Three persons24613.9%
Four persons18510.4%
Five persons824.6%
Six or more persons623.5%
Family typeCountShare of families
Total families1,145
Couples with children262.3%
Couples without children41636.3%
One-parent families34229.9%
Other families393.4%

Children ever born

MeasureValue
Average children per woman aged 15+1.94
Women with no children29.4%
Women with three or more children35.8%

Of the 349 couple families with children in California Gully, 19.2% are step or blended families.

Marital status

Marital status of residents aged 15 and over in California Gully.

StatusShare of adults
Married (registered marriage)34.0%
Married (de facto)12.1%
Not married53.9%

Housing

DwellingsCountShare of dwellings
Total dwellings1,870
Occupied1,77194.7%
Unoccupied945.0%
Dwelling structureCountShare of dwellings
Separate house1,69090.4%
Semi-detached or townhouse633.4%
Flat or apartment150.8%
Other dwelling30.2%
TenureCountShare of households
Owned outright54230.6%
Owned with a mortgage57432.4%
Rented60133.9%
Other tenure140.8%

Weekly rent

Rent bandShare of renting households
Under $350 per week87.7%
$350 to $549 per week12.3%
$550 or more per week0.0%

29.8% of renting households rent through a state or community housing provider.

Monthly mortgage repayments

Repayment bandShare of mortgaged households
Under $1,00032.4%
$1,000 to $1,79954.5%
$1,800 to $2,99910.1%
$3,000 or more3.0%

Bedrooms per dwelling

BedroomsShare of dwellings
None or one bedroom2.1%
Two bedrooms17.8%
Three bedrooms61.3%
Four or more bedrooms18.8%

Employment

Labour force statusCountShare
Labour force1,865
Employed1,75394.0%
Unemployed1156.2%
Not in the labour force1,490
Unemployment rate6.2%
Participation rate55.6%

40.1% of employed residents work part time, fewer than 35 hours per week.

Household income

Household incomes in California Gully are distributed across the following weekly bands.

Weekly household incomeShare of households
Under $65026.3%
$650 to $1,49940.9%
$1,500 to $2,99926.0%
$3,000 or more6.8%

For residents aged 15 and over, personal weekly income is distributed as follows.

Weekly personal incomeShare of residents 15+
Under $50043.6%
$500 to $99932.1%
$1,000 to $1,99920.9%
$2,000 or more3.4%

Travel to work

MethodCountShare of workers
Car driver1,22069.6%
Car passenger1076.1%
Train00.0%
Bus160.9%
Tram00.0%
Bicycle80.5%
Walked only231.3%
Worked at home1367.8%

Religious affiliation

ReligionCountShare of residents
Christianity1,75839.3%
No religion2,12947.6%
Islam200.4%
Hinduism160.4%
Buddhism781.7%
Judaism00.0%
Other or not stated47510.6%

Socio-economic profile (SEIFA 2021)

SEIFA deciles run from 1 (most disadvantaged) to 10 (least disadvantaged) nationally.

IndexScoreDecilePercentile
IRSD (disadvantage)85015
IRSAD (advantage and disadvantage)8391
IER (economic resources)8911
IEO (education and occupation)8611

Where residents were born

90.0% of residents were born in Australia and 10.0% were born overseas. The most common overseas birthplaces in California Gully are listed below.

Country of birthPeopleShare of residents
Thailand882.1%
Myanmar862.1%
England501.2%
New Zealand360.9%
Philippines220.5%
India100.2%

When overseas-born residents arrived

Year of arrivalShare of overseas-born residents
2016 to 202123.4%
2011 to 201513.6%
2001 to 201025.5%
Before 200137.4%

Languages spoken at home

91.8% of residents speak only English at home. The most common other languages in California Gully are listed below. Across all households, 2.4% of residents speak English not well or not at all.

LanguagePeopleShare of residents
Southeast Asian Austronesian languages: Tagalog110.3%
Australian Indigenous Languages100.2%
Vietnamese80.2%
Indo-Aryan: Nepali80.2%
Italian50.1%
Southeast Asian Austronesian languages: Other40.1%

Ancestry

Residents of California Gully most commonly report the following ancestries.

AncestryResponsesShare of responses
English1,81731.6%
Australian1,81131.5%
Irish5269.2%
Scottish4588.0%
German2103.7%
Australian Aboriginal1763.1%

Work and industry

The largest employment sectors for California Gully residents are listed below.

Industry of employmentWorkersShare of workers
Health Care and Social Assistance35421.2%
Manufacturing19911.9%
Construction19511.7%
Retail Trade18110.8%
Accommodation and Food Services1217.2%
Education and Training1177.0%

The most common occupations among California Gully residents are listed below.

OccupationWorkersShare of workers
Labourers31918.6%
Community and Personal Service Workers31518.4%
Technicians and Trades Workers27916.3%
Professionals22613.2%
Sales Workers1699.8%
Clerical and Administrative Workers1528.9%

Education

Of residents attending an education institution in California Gully, 8.3% are at university or higher education, 11.5% are at TAFE or vocational education, and 75.3% are at school.

39.5% of residents aged 15 and over have completed Year 12 or equivalent.

The most common fields of study among California Gully residents with qualifications are listed below.

Field of studyPeopleShare
Society and Culture31521.9%
Engineering and Related Technologies24216.8%
Health19713.7%
Management and Commerce18713.0%
Education1339.2%
Architecture and Building1248.6%

Long-term health conditions

38.4% of residents report no long-term health condition. The most commonly reported conditions in California Gully are listed below.

Health conditionPeopleShare of residents
Mental health condition (including depression or anxiety)68712.6%
Arthritis63311.7%
Asthma58810.8%
Diabetes (excluding gestational diabetes)3005.5%
Heart disease (including heart attack or angina)2374.4%
Lung condition (including COPD or emphysema)1502.8%
Cancer (including remission)1432.6%
Stroke711.3%
Kidney disease681.3%
Dementia (including Alzheimer's)360.7%

26.5% of residents report one condition, 10.2% report two, and 7.2% report three or more.

Community and care

How residents of California Gully contribute to their community (share of residents aged 15 and over).

Community activityShare
Volunteers for an organisation or group10.4%
Provides unpaid assistance to a person with a disability or health condition15.4%
Provides unpaid child care48.7%
Does 15 or more hours of unpaid domestic work19.0%
Has served or is serving in the Australian Defence Force2.2%

Moving and stability

MobilityShare of residents
Same address 1 year ago88.2%
Moved within Victoria in the last year8.9%
Moved interstate in the last year0.4%
Moved from overseas in the last year0.3%
Same address 5 years ago63.5%
Moved within Victoria in the last 5 years25.8%
Moved interstate in the last 5 years1.9%
Moved from overseas in the last 5 years2.2%

Photo: California Gully, Victoria. Credit: Mattinbgn / CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Crime and safety

Victoria Police recorded 580 offences in California Gully in the 12 months to March 2026.

Offence divisionRecorded offences
A Crimes against the person170
B Property and deception offences149
C Drug offences35
D Public order and security offences70
E Justice procedures offences155
F Other offences1

That is a calculated rate of 129.6 recorded offences per 1,000 residents, based on the ABS Census 2021 population. This rate was calculated by My Victoria AU and is not a Crime Statistics Agency figure.

For context, the Greater Bendigo local government area recorded 9,898 offences per 100,000 residents in the same period. That figure is the official Crime Statistics Agency rate for the LGA.

Five-year trend

2022
451
2023
495
2024
454
2025
564
2026
580

Recorded offences count crimes reported to Victoria Police in this locality, not crimes committed by or against its residents. Areas with shopping centres, transport hubs, hospitals or entertainment precincts record more offences regardless of how safe they are for people who live there. Counts are revised as investigations progress.

Source: Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, Data tables - Recorded offences, Year ending March 2026. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Rates per 1,000 residents are calculations by My Victoria AU using ABS Census 2021 population and are not CSA figures. View the source dataset.

Location

<iframe src="https://www.openstreetmap.org/export/embed.html?bbox=144.2480%2C-36.7376%2C144.2720%2C-36.7196&layer=mapnik&marker=-36.728600%2C144.260043" width="100%" height="320" style="border:0;border-radius:12px;max-width:100%;" loading="lazy" title="Map of California Gully, Victoria"></iframe>

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby suburbs

Browse more suburbs in Greater Bendigo, or explore the wider Bendigo region of Victoria.

Data disclaimer: The statistics on this page are sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Census of Population and Housing 2021 and SEIFA 2021 (ASGS Edition 3), and are used under the ABS CC BY 4.0 licence. This directory is an independent community resource and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the ABS.

Population 4476
Median Age 39
Average Household Size 2.3
Median Weekly Household Income $1054
Median Weekly Rent $251
Median Monthly Mortgage $1200
Unemployment Rate 6.2%
Participation Rate 55.6%
Born Overseas 9.1%
Separate House 90.4%
Worked at Home 7.8%
SEIFA IRSD Decile 1
SEIFA IRSD Percentile 5
SEIFA IRSAD Decile 1
Median Weekly Family Income $1366
Postcode 3556

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California Gully, Victoria 3556, Australia
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