Bonshaw vs Sebastopol

Bonshaw is the younger of the two, with a median age of 28 against 39 in Sebastopol. In both, most households own their home and most homes are detached houses. In Bonshaw, about half of households are couple families. In Sebastopol, about half of households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Bonshaw: a median of $562,000, against $488,000 in Sebastopol, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Bonshaw tends to suit young adults, families with children, and couples, while Sebastopol suits people living alone and older residents.

Which one suits you?

There is no overall winner — the suburb that suits a family with school-age kids is routinely the wrong one for someone commuting into the city. So each of these answers its own question, against a checklist you can see, using the same figures in the tables below.

Families with school-age kids

Sebastopol

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more childcare (12 vs 1)
  • has more schools inside the suburb (6 vs 0)
  • has more parks and reserves (9 vs 3)
  • But Bonshaw is already more of a family suburb (67% vs 44%)

Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.

First-home buyers

They split

one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here

  • Bonshaw leaves households under less mortgage stress (19% vs 26%)
  • Sebastopol has cheaper houses ($488,000 vs $562,500)

Weighs house prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Sebastopol

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has cheaper rent ($270/wk vs $398/wk)
  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (42% vs 30%)
  • But Bonshaw leaves renters under less rental stress (22% vs 27%)

Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.

Commuting to the city

Sebastopol

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is more walkable (82/100 vs 21/100)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Sebastopol

ahead on 4 of the 5 things we measure here

  • has more GPs (4 vs 0)
  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (27% vs 6%)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (22% vs 5%)

Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.

Investors

Bonshaw

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (351.9% vs 1.6%)

Weighs house yield and population growth.

Where they sit

Bonshaw and Sebastopol drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.

Bonshaw Sebastopol
Hides rows where both suburbs match

Bars start at zero. Scores, risks and rankings are drawn against their full 0–100 range; other rows are drawn in proportion to the larger of the two.

Side by side, out of 100

Risks are inverted — shown as safety and low exposure — so a longer bar always means better.

Bonshaw Sebastopol
Walkability 21 / 82
Bonshaw — Walkability: 21/100 Sebastopol — Walkability: 82/100
Safety 8 / 13
Bonshaw — Safety: 8/100 Sebastopol — Safety: 13/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Bonshaw — Low fire risk: 100/100 Sebastopol — Low fire risk: 100/100
Low flood risk 100 / 100
Bonshaw — Low flood risk: 100/100 Sebastopol — Low flood risk: 100/100

Demographics

Sebastopol has more residents (10,194 vs 949); Bonshaw has higher household incomes ($96,408 vs $52,676).

Bonshaw Sebastopol
Population 949 10,194
+974% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +351.9% +1.6%
Median age 28 39
Median household income $96,408/yr
+45% vs other
 $52,676/yr
Median weekly rent $398/wk
+32% vs other
 $270/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Bonshaw Sebastopol
0-4 8.4% / 5.6%
Bonshaw — 0-4: 8.4% Sebastopol — 0-4: 5.6%
5-14 15.1% / 11.3%
Bonshaw — 5-14: 15.1% Sebastopol — 5-14: 11.3%
15-19 3.8% / 5.2%
Bonshaw — 15-19: 3.8% Sebastopol — 15-19: 5.2%
20-24 10.5% / 7.1%
Bonshaw — 20-24: 10.5% Sebastopol — 20-24: 7.1%
25-34 25.4% / 15.1%
Bonshaw — 25-34: 25.4% Sebastopol — 25-34: 15.1%
35-44 13.0% / 11.4%
Bonshaw — 35-44: 13.0% Sebastopol — 35-44: 11.4%
45-54 9.2% / 10.8%
Bonshaw — 45-54: 9.2% Sebastopol — 45-54: 10.8%
55-64 8.5% / 11.7%
Bonshaw — 55-64: 8.5% Sebastopol — 55-64: 11.7%
65-74 3.1% / 11.4%
Bonshaw — 65-74: 3.1% Sebastopol — 65-74: 11.4%
75-84 1.8% / 7.3%
Bonshaw — 75-84: 1.8% Sebastopol — 75-84: 7.3%
85+ 0.4% / 3.0%
Bonshaw — 85+: 0.4% Sebastopol — 85+: 3.0%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (25.4%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Bonshaw 23.9% lone person
Bonshaw — Lone Person: 23.9% Bonshaw — Couple Families: 45.4% Bonshaw — One Parent Families: 21.5% Bonshaw — Group Household: 6.8% Bonshaw — Other Families: 2.4%
Sebastopol 49.0% lone person
Sebastopol — Lone Person: 49.0% Sebastopol — Couple Families: 22.6% Sebastopol — One Parent Families: 21.9% Sebastopol — Group Household: 5.1% Sebastopol — Other Families: 1.5%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Bonshaw 29.7% renting
Bonshaw — Owned Outright: 16.9% Bonshaw — Mortgage: 53.4% Bonshaw — Renting: 29.7%
Sebastopol 42.0% renting
Sebastopol — Owned Outright: 29.7% Sebastopol — Mortgage: 28.4% Sebastopol — Renting: 42.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.

Bonshaw Sebastopol
Certificate III & IV 17.3% / 17.0%
Bonshaw — Certificate III & IV: 17.3% Sebastopol — Certificate III & IV: 17.0%
Bachelor Degree 13.9% / 6.6%
Bonshaw — Bachelor Degree: 13.9% Sebastopol — Bachelor Degree: 6.6%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.3% / 6.2%
Bonshaw — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.3% Sebastopol — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.2%
Postgraduate Degree 4.5% / 1.5%
Bonshaw — Postgraduate Degree: 4.5% Sebastopol — Postgraduate Degree: 1.5%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.3% / 1.2%
Bonshaw — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.3% Sebastopol — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.3%).

Where residents were born

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents, 2021 Census. A dash means that country is not among the suburb's own eight largest.

Bonshaw Sebastopol
India 9.4% / 1.3%
Bonshaw — India: 9.4% Sebastopol — India: 1.3%
England 1.1% / 1.8%
Bonshaw — England: 1.1% Sebastopol — England: 1.8%
Philippines 1.2% / 0.7%
Bonshaw — Philippines: 1.2% Sebastopol — Philippines: 0.7%
Nepal 1.8% / —
Bonshaw — Nepal: 1.8% Sebastopol — Nepal: not among its largest
New Zealand 0.7% / 0.9%
Bonshaw — New Zealand: 0.7% Sebastopol — New Zealand: 0.9%
Netherlands — / 0.8%
Bonshaw — Netherlands: not among its largest Sebastopol — Netherlands: 0.8%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (9.4%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Bonshaw 93.6% houses
Bonshaw — Houses: 93.6% Bonshaw — Townhouses: 5.2% Bonshaw — Flats / Apartments: 1.2%
Sebastopol 72.8% houses
Sebastopol — Houses: 72.8% Sebastopol — Townhouses: 27.0% Sebastopol — Flats / Apartments: 0.2%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Bonshaw Sebastopol
Median house price $562,500 $488,000
Median unit price — $390,000
Median land price $265,000 $294,500
Typical days to sell (houses) 36 days
from 47 sales
 27 days
from 106 sales

House price by bedroom count

Only bed counts both suburbs published enough sales for. Sale counts are shown because the buckets differ in depth.

Bonshaw Sebastopol
3 bed $550K / $480K
Bonshaw — 3 bed: $550K (17 sales) Sebastopol — 3 bed: $480K (217 sales)

17 vs 217 sales

4 bed $586K / $560K
Bonshaw — 4 bed: $586K (122 sales) Sebastopol — 4 bed: $560K (67 sales)

122 vs 67 sales

Zoning mix

Bonshaw Sebastopol
Residential 99% 73%
Parks and recreation 0% 11%
Infrastructure and transport 0% 8%
Industrial 0% 3%
Rural and farming 1% 3%
Commercial 0% 2%
Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the suburb around it. Zones as at 2026-09.

Development activity

Bonshaw Sebastopol
New dwellings approved 1,451
across Ballarat
same for both
Approvals change year on year +42%
same for both

Gross rental yield

Gross — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. From median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.

Bonshaw Sebastopol
Houses 3.8%
$480/wk on $655K
 4.2%
$440/wk on $550K
Units — 5.1%
$390/wk on $400K

Ranking within VIC

Bonshaw Sebastopol
House price Higher than 23% of VIC Higher than 12% of VIC
Income Higher than 67% of VIC Higher than 11% of VIC
Schools — Higher than 25% of VIC
Walkability Higher than 80% of VIC Higher than 94% of VIC
Affordability Higher than 92% of VIC Higher than 52% of VIC
EV adoption Higher than 38% of VIC Higher than 34% of VIC
NBN connectivity Higher than 98% of VIC Higher than 79% of VIC
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 55% of VIC Higher than 77% of VIC
Rental yield (units) — Higher than 66% of VIC

Liveability

Sebastopol is more walkable (82 vs 21); Bonshaw scores higher overall (54 vs 41).

Bonshaw Sebastopol
Grade B C
Score 54/100 41/100
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 6/10
 high-need area
decile 1/10

Risk profile

Bonshaw Sebastopol
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime High
92/100
 High
87/100
Flood None
0/100
same for both
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 4
within 5 km
 8
within 5 km

Schools

Bonshaw Sebastopol
Inside the suburb 0 6
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0 2
Rated below peers 0 2
Universities within 10 km 1
Federation University Ballarat, 5.6 km
 1
Federation University Ballarat, 4.4 km
Full-time students aged 15–24 2.1% 1.1%

Schools in Bonshaw

No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.

Schools in Sebastopol

  • Ballarat Christian College Independent · Combined at peers
  • St James' School Catholic · Primary at peers
  • Phoenix P-12 Community College Government · Combined below peers
  • Sebastopol Primary School Government · Primary below peers
  • Phoenix P-12 Community College-Redan Campus Government · Combined
  • Berry Street School - Ballarat Campus Independent · Secondary · Special school

Amenities in the suburb

Bonshaw Sebastopol
Supermarkets 0 4
Cafes & restaurants 0 2
Parks & reserves 3 9
Childcare 1 12
GPs 0 4
Pharmacies 0 2
Fuel stations 0 4
EV chargers 0 1
Waterways 4 5

Mobility

Bonshaw Sebastopol
Walkability score 21/100 82/100
Distance to Melbourne 121.7 km
+2% vs other
 119.8 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 96 min 93 min
Electric vehicle share 0.4%
postcode 3352
 0.4%
postcode 3356
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 51
postcode 3352
 31
postcode 3356

How people get to work

Method of travel on census day 2021 — which fell during COVID restrictions, so working from home is inflated and every travel mode understated.

Bonshaw Sebastopol
Car (driver) 79.7% / 79.7%
Bonshaw — Car (driver): 79.7% Sebastopol — Car (driver): 79.7%
Worked from Home 14.4% / 10.2%
Bonshaw — Worked from Home: 14.4% Sebastopol — Worked from Home: 10.2%
Car (passenger) 4.8% / 6.6%
Bonshaw — Car (passenger): 4.8% Sebastopol — Car (passenger): 6.6%
Walked Only 1.1% / 1.7%
Bonshaw — Walked Only: 1.1% Sebastopol — Walked Only: 1.7%
Bus — / 1.1%
Bonshaw — Bus: not among its largest Sebastopol — Bus: 1.1%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (79.7%).

Setting

Bonshaw Sebastopol
Elevation 411 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 421 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Bonshaw Sebastopol
Connectivity score 96/100 69/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises Fibre to the node
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 94%
943 premises
 45%
5,983 premises

Climate

Bonshaw Sebastopol
Annual rainfall 605 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 25.7°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 3.5°C
same for both

Council rates

Bonshaw Sebastopol
Average residential rate $2,086/yr
same for both
Council Ballarat
same for both

Federal electorate

Bonshaw Sebastopol
Division Ballarat
same for both
Member Catherine King
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Bonshaw Sebastopol
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Bonshaw

Acreage Affordable Family River

Sebastopol

Affordable Parks Regional Centre Townhouses

More comparisons

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Other comparisons with Sebastopol

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Full data on Bonshaw Full data on Sebastopol
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Information shown is provided as-is from Australian government and commercial data sources.
Always verify with the relevant authority before making property decisions.
See Data Sources and How We Calculate for details.

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