Suburb Snapshot: Ballarat Central

The size of Ballarat Central is approximately 3.8 square kilometres and has four parks covering nearly 3.1 per cent of total area.

The population of Ballarat Central in 2011 was 5464 people and by the 2016 Census down to 5333, or a decline of 2.4 per cent.

Ballarat Central is commonly referred to as the central business area by the City of Ballarat and is warmly considered to be the heart of greater Ballarat by many.

It’s the third most populous urban area in the city and the administrative headquarters for the municipality as well as Ballarat Health Services along with being home to major religious institutions, commercial locations and residential areas.

Ballarat Central is the third oldest settlement in the city after the gold rush settlements of Ballarat East and Golden Point. Planned as a permanent settlement shortly following the initial gold rush, it was formerly known as Ballarat West or the new township of Ballarat.

The area is important historically to the development of the city as well as for its Victorian era architecture and much of its area is covered by Heritage Overlays.

CoreLogic data indicates that the predominant age group in Ballarat Central is 20-29 years with households primarily childless couples and are likely to be repaying $1000 – $1399 per month on mortgage repayments, and in general, people in Ballarat Central work in a professional occupation.

In 2011, 56.8 per cent of the homes in Ballarat Central were owner-occupied compared with 56.9 per cent in 2016.

Source: Ballarat Times News Group