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What it costs to live in Ballarat, VIC
Ballarat council area, Victoria. About 122,661 people lived here in 2025. Here's what rent, power, the pokies and crime look like, and how each one sits against the rest of Victoria.
Rent
Victoria doesn't publish new-lease rents by council in a form we can use yet.
Pokies losses
$696
Lost for every adult in a year. That's 1.2 times the VIC average.
See pokies losses in BallaratElectricity
$1,633
A year on the default offer in the Powercor network area, for 4,000 kWh. That's the most a standing offer can cost. A typical plan here costs $1,518.
See electricity pricesCrime police recorded
Crimes against the person, 2025–26
Police recorded 1,872 of these in Ballarat. That's 1,494 for every 100,000 people, or 1.4 times the VIC average. Five years before, in 2020–21, it was 1,081, so it has gone up 38%.
See each year
| Year | Recorded | Per 100,000 | VIC per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 | 1,872 | 1,494 | 1,040 |
| 2024–25 | 1,800 | 1,467 | 1,067 |
| 2023–24 | 1,631 | 1,353 | 998 |
| 2022–23 | 1,122 | 953 | 974 |
| 2021–22 | 1,121 | 968 | 968 |
| 2020–21 | 1,227 | 1,081 | 987 |
| 2019–20 | 1,129 | 1,011 | 976 |
| 2018–19 | 1,307 | 1,191 | 965 |
| 2017–18 | 1,412 | 1,312 | 951 |
| 2016–17 | 1,347 | 1,276 | 956 |
Property and deception offences, 2025–26
Police recorded 7,599 of these in Ballarat. That's 6,063 for every 100,000 people, or 1.5 times the VIC average. Five years before, in 2020–21, it was 3,541, so it has gone up 71%.
See each year
| Year | Recorded | Per 100,000 | VIC per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 | 7,599 | 6,063 | 4,071 |
| 2024–25 | 6,610 | 5,389 | 4,459 |
| 2023–24 | 5,834 | 4,839 | 3,612 |
| 2022–23 | 5,233 | 4,443 | 3,148 |
| 2021–22 | 4,626 | 3,996 | 2,776 |
| 2020–21 | 4,019 | 3,541 | 2,929 |
| 2019–20 | 5,468 | 4,898 | 3,677 |
| 2018–19 | 5,133 | 4,676 | 3,547 |
| 2017–18 | 5,521 | 5,131 | 3,625 |
| 2016–17 | 6,102 | 5,781 | 4,065 |
This is crime that police recorded in the area over a year, July to June. Lots of crime is never reported, and a rise can mean police are looking harder, not just that more crime happened. Each state counts crime its own way, so only compare a council with its own state. Victoria rounds very small numbers of homicide and sexual offences.
Suburbs in Ballarat
Who lives in each one, their homes and how they get around.
- Addington
- Alfredton
- Ascot (Ballarat - Vic.)
- Bakery Hill
- Bald Hills
- Ballarat Central
- Ballarat East
- Ballarat North
- Black Hill
- Blowhard
- Bo Peep
- Bonshaw
- Brown Hill
- Buninyong
- Bunkers Hill
- Burrumbeet (part)
- Canadian
- Cardigan
- Cardigan Village
- Chapel Flat
- Coghills Creek
- Creswick (part)
- Delacombe
- Durham Lead (part)
- Ercildoune (part)
- Eureka
- Glen Park (part)
- Glendaruel
- Glendonald
- Golden Point (Ballarat - Vic.)
- Gong Gong
- Invermay
- Invermay Park
- Lake Gardens
- Lake Wendouree
- Learmonth
- Lucas
- Magpie
- Miners Rest
- Mitchell Park
- Mount Bolton
- Mount Clear
- Mount Helen
- Mount Pleasant
- Mount Rowan
- Nerrina
- Newington
- Redan
- Scotchmans Lead
- Scotsburn (part)
- Sebastopol
- Smythes Creek (part)
- Soldiers Hill
- Sulky (part)
- Tourello
- Warrenheip (part)
- Wattle Flat (part)
- Waubra (part)
- Weatherboard
- Wendouree
- Windermere
- Winter Valley
Look further
- Rents across Australia: what tenants really pay by suburb and postcode.
- Pokies losses by council: where the most is lost, in four states.
- Fuel prices: the price cycle and the cheapest day to fill up.
- Compare Ballarat with another area, side by side.
- Look up another area.
Sources: recorded crime, Crime Statistics Agency, CC BY 4.0. Population: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Regional population, CC BY 4.0. Pokies losses: the state's gambling regulator (see the pokies page for its credit). Electricity: Victorian Default Offer 2026–27: Essential Services Commission, CC BY 4.0; retailers' plans under the Consumer Data Right.