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Waurn Ponds

Geelong & Bellarine Greater Geelong
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Waurn Ponds, Victoria
ABS Census 2021 Geelong & Bellarine Regional VIC

About

Waurn Ponds (VIC 3216): population 4,956, median age 27, median household income $2,286/week, SEIFA IRSD decile 9. Victorian suburb guide with housing, jobs and community insights.

Waurn Ponds is a suburb in Greater Geelong, Victoria (postcode 3216), located in the Geelong & Bellarine region. At the ABS Census 2021 it had a population of 4,956 people.

At a glance

Population (2021)
4,956
Median age
27
Household income
$2,286/wk
Weekly rent
$430
Unemployment
6.1%
SEIFA IRSD decile
9 / 10

Age distribution

0-4
3.9%
5-14
12.2%
15-19
13.0%
20-24
16.5%
25-34
12.1%
35-44
10.5%
45-54
13.4%
55-64
8.5%
65-74
6.1%
75-84
3.1%
85+
0.5%

Housing tenure

Owned
34.3%
Mortgage
43.5%
Rented
21.1%
Other
0.5%

Key statistics

IndicatorValue
Postcode3216
Population (2021)4,956
Males2,433 (49.1%)
Females2,519 (50.8%)
Median age27 years
Average household size3
Median weekly household income$2,286
Median weekly family income$2,483
Median weekly rent$430
Median monthly mortgage$1,755
Labour force2,871
Unemployment rate6.1%
Participation rate72.3%
Born overseas18.0%
Separate houses92.5%
Worked at home16.2%
SEIFA IRSD decile9 of 10
Bachelor degree or higher48.2%
Completed Year 12 or equivalent74.4%
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander residents0.9%
Residents needing assistance with core activities3.8%
Households with 2+ vehicles75.6%
Distance from Melbourne CBD73.6 km (straight line)

Age profile

Median age: 27 years. Residents under 15: 16.2%. Residents aged 65 and over: 9.8%.

Age groupPeopleShare of population
0-41953.9%
5-1460612.2%
15-1964213.0%
20-2481616.5%
25-3460112.1%
35-4452210.5%
45-5466213.4%
55-644228.5%
65-743046.1%
75-841543.1%
85 and over270.5%

Households and families

Household typeCountShare of households
Total households1,292
Average household size3
One person18814.6%
Two persons37529.0%
Three persons22417.3%
Four persons32325.0%
Five persons13710.6%
Six or more persons483.7%
Family typeCountShare of families
Total families1,068
Couples with children777.2%
Couples without children33931.7%
One-parent families12311.5%
Other families111.0%

Children ever born

MeasureValue
Average children per woman aged 15+1.26
Women with no children47.5%
Women with three or more children20.5%

Of the 597 couple families with children in Waurn Ponds, 8.2% are step or blended families.

Marital status

Marital status of residents aged 15 and over in Waurn Ponds.

StatusShare of adults
Married (registered marriage)51.7%
Married (de facto)9.0%
Not married39.3%

Housing

DwellingsCountShare of dwellings
Total dwellings1,363
Occupied1,29294.8%
Unoccupied715.2%
Dwelling structureCountShare of dwellings
Separate house1,26192.5%
Semi-detached or townhouse312.3%
Flat or apartment00.0%
Other dwelling00.0%
TenureCountShare of households
Owned outright44334.3%
Owned with a mortgage56243.5%
Rented27221.1%
Other tenure70.5%

Weekly rent

Rent bandShare of renting households
Under $350 per week20.6%
$350 to $549 per week67.5%
$550 or more per week11.9%

6.0% of renting households rent through a state or community housing provider.

Monthly mortgage repayments

Repayment bandShare of mortgaged households
Under $1,00017.0%
$1,000 to $1,79933.7%
$1,800 to $2,99935.9%
$3,000 or more13.3%

Bedrooms per dwelling

BedroomsShare of dwellings
None or one bedroom0.5%
Two bedrooms5.2%
Three bedrooms38.1%
Four or more bedrooms56.2%

Employment

Labour force statusCountShare
Labour force2,871
Employed2,68693.6%
Unemployed1766.1%
Not in the labour force1,102
Unemployment rate6.1%
Participation rate72.3%

49.4% of employed residents work part time, fewer than 35 hours per week.

Household income

Household incomes in Waurn Ponds are distributed across the following weekly bands.

Weekly household incomeShare of households
Under $6509.0%
$650 to $1,49922.9%
$1,500 to $2,99934.2%
$3,000 or more33.9%

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

Weekly personal incomeShare of residents 15+
Under $50042.5%
$500 to $99922.2%
$1,000 to $1,99924.7%
$2,000 or more10.6%

Travel to work

MethodCountShare of workers
Car driver1,55357.8%
Car passenger1074.0%
Train210.8%
Bus451.7%
Tram00.0%
Bicycle80.3%
Walked only321.2%
Worked at home43516.2%

Religious affiliation

ReligionCountShare of residents
Christianity2,11042.6%
No religion2,15543.5%
Islam561.1%
Hinduism1573.2%
Buddhism831.7%
Judaism50.1%
Other or not stated3907.9%

Socio-economic profile (SEIFA 2021)

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

IndexScoreDecilePercentile
IRSD (disadvantage)1063981
IRSAD (advantage and disadvantage)10449
IER (economic resources)10658
IEO (education and occupation)10459

Where residents were born

81.3% of residents were born in Australia and 18.7% were born overseas. The most common overseas birthplaces in Waurn Ponds are listed below.

Country of birthPeopleShare of residents
India1974.1%
England1463.1%
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)671.4%
Sri Lanka671.4%
New Zealand400.8%
Philippines340.7%

When overseas-born residents arrived

Year of arrivalShare of overseas-born residents
2016 to 202132.6%
2011 to 201511.2%
2001 to 201024.7%
Before 200131.5%

Languages spoken at home

86.1% of residents speak only English at home. The most common other languages in Waurn Ponds are listed below. Across all households, 0.8% of residents speak English not well or not at all.

LanguagePeopleShare of residents
Chinese: Mandarin1032.2%
Indo-Aryan: Sinhalese581.2%
Indo-Aryan: Hindi541.1%
Indo-Aryan: Punjabi360.8%
Malayalam320.7%
Tamil270.6%

Ancestry

Residents of Waurn Ponds most commonly report the following ancestries.

AncestryResponsesShare of responses
English1,88828.0%
Australian1,88227.9%
Scottish5718.5%
Irish5578.3%
German2093.1%
Indian2073.1%

Work and industry

The largest employment sectors for Waurn Ponds residents are listed below.

Industry of employmentWorkersShare of workers
Health Care and Social Assistance44116.9%
Retail Trade37814.5%
Accommodation and Food Services30411.7%
Education and Training29711.4%
Construction2469.4%
Manufacturing1596.1%

The most common occupations among Waurn Ponds residents are listed below.

OccupationWorkersShare of workers
Professionals59722.5%
Community and Personal Service Workers42816.1%
Technicians and Trades Workers35813.5%
Sales Workers34212.9%
Clerical and Administrative Workers27410.3%
Managers26510.0%

Education

Of residents attending an education institution in Waurn Ponds, 50.8% are at university or higher education, 4.4% are at TAFE or vocational education, and 42.7% are at school.

74.4% of residents aged 15 and over have completed Year 12 or equivalent.

The most common fields of study among Waurn Ponds residents with qualifications are listed below.

Field of studyPeopleShare
Engineering and Related Technologies39617.9%
Management and Commerce37416.9%
Health34115.4%
Society and Culture24311.0%
Education23010.4%
Architecture and Building1778.0%

Long-term health conditions

61.3% of residents report no long-term health condition. The most commonly reported conditions in Waurn Ponds are listed below.

Health conditionPeopleShare of residents
Asthma4638.9%
Mental health condition (including depression or anxiety)4468.6%
Arthritis2645.1%
Diabetes (excluding gestational diabetes)1272.4%
Heart disease (including heart attack or angina)1272.4%
Cancer (including remission)1052.0%
Lung condition (including COPD or emphysema)460.9%
Kidney disease340.7%
Stroke260.5%
Dementia (including Alzheimer's)100.2%

19.7% of residents report one condition, 5.1% report two, and 1.8% report three or more.

Community and care

How residents of Waurn Ponds contribute to their community (share of residents aged 15 and over).

Community activityShare
Volunteers for an organisation or group17.5%
Provides unpaid assistance to a person with a disability or health condition12.3%
Provides unpaid child care50.8%
Does 15 or more hours of unpaid domestic work18.3%
Has served or is serving in the Australian Defence Force1.8%

Moving and stability

MobilityShare of residents
Same address 1 year ago76.9%
Moved within Victoria in the last year16.8%
Moved interstate in the last year2.5%
Moved from overseas in the last year0.5%
Same address 5 years ago53.4%
Moved within Victoria in the last 5 years29.9%
Moved interstate in the last 5 years4.6%
Moved from overseas in the last 5 years6.7%

Photo: Waurn Ponds, Victoria. Credit: Marcus Wong Wongm / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Crime and safety

Victoria Police recorded 269 offences in Waurn Ponds in the 12 months to March 2026.

Offence divisionRecorded offences
A Crimes against the person39
B Property and deception offences174
C Drug offences11
D Public order and security offences20
E Justice procedures offences25
F Other offences0

That is a calculated rate of 54.3 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 Geelong local government area recorded 8,631 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
271
2023
324
2024
207
2025
282
2026
269

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=144.2672%2C-38.2071%2C144.2912%2C-38.1891&layer=mapnik&marker=-38.198128%2C144.279236" width="100%" height="320" style="border:0;border-radius:12px;max-width:100%;" loading="lazy" title="Map of Waurn Ponds, Victoria"></iframe>

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby suburbs

Browse more suburbs in Greater Geelong, or explore the wider Geelong & Bellarine 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 4956
Median Age 27
Average Household Size 3
Median Weekly Household Income $2286
Median Weekly Rent $430
Median Monthly Mortgage $1755
Unemployment Rate 6.1%
Participation Rate 72.3%
Born Overseas 18%
Separate House 92.5%
Worked at Home 16.2%
SEIFA IRSD Decile 9
SEIFA IRSD Percentile 81
SEIFA IRSAD Decile 9
Median Weekly Family Income $2483
Postcode 3216

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Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia
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