Colac vs Colac West

Colac West is the younger of the two, with a median age of 30 against 44 in Colac. In both, the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Colac, most households own their home and about half of households are people living alone. In Colac West, about half of households rent and about half of households are couple families. On these figures, Colac tends to suit people living alone and older residents, while Colac West suits renters, share households, and families with children.

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

Colac

ahead on 4 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more parks and reserves (20 vs 0)
  • has more childcare (10 vs 0)
  • has more schools inside the suburb (9 vs 0)
  • But Colac West is already more of a family suburb (50% vs 41%)

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

First-home buyers

Too close to call

Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Colac West

ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (52% vs 31%)
  • leaves renters under less rental stress (16% vs 24%)
  • has cheaper rent ($230/wk vs $260/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Colac

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • sits closer to the CBD (151.9 km vs 155.2 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Colac

ahead on 3 of the 5 things we measure here

  • has more GPs (5 vs 0)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (26% vs 11%)
  • carries lower crime risk (83/100 vs 93/100)

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

Investors

Colac West

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (9.9% vs 2.2%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Colac Colac West
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.

Colac Colac West
Walkability 4 / 11
Colac — Walkability: 4/100 Colac West — Walkability: 11/100
Safety 17 / 7
Colac — Safety: 17/100 Colac West — Safety: 7/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Colac — Low fire risk: 100/100 Colac West — Low fire risk: 100/100
Low flood risk 1 / 40
Colac — Low flood risk: 1/100 Colac West — Low flood risk: 40/100

Demographics

Colac has more residents (9,243 vs 89); Colac skews older (44 vs 30).

Colac Colac West
Population 9,243
+99% vs other
 89
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +2.2% +9.9%
Median age 44 30
Median household income $57,616/yr $76,648/yr
+33% vs other
Median weekly rent $260/wk
+12% vs other
 $230/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Colac Colac West
0-4 5.4% / 9.0%
Colac — 0-4: 5.4% Colac West — 0-4: 9.0%
5-14 10.7% / 22.5%
Colac — 5-14: 10.7% Colac West — 5-14: 22.5%
15-19 5.0% / 4.5%
Colac — 15-19: 5.0% Colac West — 15-19: 4.5%
20-24 5.4% / 5.6%
Colac — 20-24: 5.4% Colac West — 20-24: 5.6%
25-34 13.8% / 20.2%
Colac — 25-34: 13.8% Colac West — 25-34: 20.2%
35-44 10.6% / 18.0%
Colac — 35-44: 10.6% Colac West — 35-44: 18.0%
45-54 11.2% / 10.1%
Colac — 45-54: 11.2% Colac West — 45-54: 10.1%
55-64 11.8% / 5.6%
Colac — 55-64: 11.8% Colac West — 55-64: 5.6%
65-74 12.6% / 5.6%
Colac — 65-74: 12.6% Colac West — 65-74: 5.6%
75-84 9.0% / 5.6%
Colac — 75-84: 9.0% Colac West — 75-84: 5.6%
85+ 4.8% / —
Colac — 85+: 4.8% Colac West — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.5%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Colac 51.2% lone person
Colac — Lone Person: 51.2% Colac — Couple Families: 25.5% Colac — Group Household: 5.8% Colac — One Parent Families: 15.5% Colac — Other Families: 2.0%
Colac West 27.8% lone person
Colac West — Lone Person: 27.8% Colac West — Couple Families: 50.0% Colac West — Group Household: 22.2% Colac West — One Parent Families: 0.0% Colac West — Other Families: 0.0%
Lone Person Couple Families Group Household One Parent Families Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Colac 31.3% renting
Colac — Owned Outright: 39.8% Colac — Mortgage: 28.8% Colac — Renting: 31.3%
Colac West 51.9% renting
Colac West — Owned Outright: 22.2% Colac West — Mortgage: 25.9% Colac West — Renting: 51.9%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Colac 85.9% houses
Colac — Houses: 85.9% Colac — Flats / Apartments: 1.5% Colac — Townhouses: 12.6%
Colac West 78.1% houses
Colac West — Houses: 78.1% Colac West — Flats / Apartments: 21.9% Colac West — Townhouses: 0.0%
Houses Flats / Apartments Townhouses

Qualifications

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

Colac Colac West
Certificate III & IV 17.1% / 30.3%
Colac — Certificate III & IV: 17.1% Colac West — Certificate III & IV: 30.3%
Bachelor Degree 6.4% / 5.6%
Colac — Bachelor Degree: 6.4% Colac West — Bachelor Degree: 5.6%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 5.8% / —
Colac — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.8% Colac West — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: not among its largest
Postgraduate Degree 1.4% / —
Colac — Postgraduate Degree: 1.4% Colac West — Postgraduate Degree: not among its largest
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 0.9% / —
Colac — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 0.9% Colac West — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (30.3%).

Property market

Colac Colac West
Median house price $500,000 —
Median unit price $415,000 —
Median land price $260,000 —
Typical days to sell (houses) 36 days
from 112 sales
 —

Zoning mix

Colac West has more rural and farming land (86% vs 2%).

Colac Colac West
Rural and farming 2% 86%
Parks and recreation 78% 2%
Residential 16% 0%
Commercial 1% 7%
Industrial 1% 4%
Infrastructure and transport 2% 1%
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

Colac Colac West
New dwellings approved 226
across Colac Otway
same for both
Approvals change year on year +64%
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.

Colac Colac West
Houses 5.7%
$575/wk on $525K
 —
Units 4.6%
$405/wk on $455K
 —

Ranking within VIC

Colac Colac West
House price Higher than 11% of VIC —
Income Higher than 16% of VIC Higher than 44% of VIC
Schools Higher than 65% of VIC —
Walkability Higher than 65% of VIC Higher than 74% of VIC
Affordability Higher than 69% of VIC —
EV adoption Higher than 28% of VIC
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 77% of VIC Higher than 73% of VIC
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 100% of VIC —
Rental yield (units) Higher than 40% of VIC —

Liveability

Colac Colac West
Grade D —
Score 27/100 —
Socio-economic band high-need area
decile 1/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 4/10

Risk profile

Colac carries more flood risk (99 vs 60); Colac West carries more crime risk (93 vs 83).

Colac Colac West
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime High
83/100
 High
93/100
Flood High
99/100
 Moderate
60/100
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 6
within 5 km
 1
within 5 km

Schools

Colac Colac West
Inside the suburb 9 0
Rated above peers 3 0
Rated at peers 1 0
Rated below peers 2 0

Schools in Colac

  • Colac Secondary College Government · Secondary above peers
  • St Mary's School Catholic · Primary above peers
  • Trinity College Colac Catholic · Secondary above peers
  • Colac Primary School Government · Primary at peers
  • Colac South West Primary School Government · Primary below peers
  • Colac West Primary School Government · Primary below peers

Schools in Colac West

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

Amenities in the suburb

Colac Colac West
Supermarkets 4 0
Cafes & restaurants 13 0
Parks & reserves 20 0
Childcare 10 0
GPs 5 0
Pharmacies 2 0
Hospitals 1 0
Police stations 1 0
Banks & Bank@Post 7 0
Fuel stations 4 2
EV chargers 1 0
Waterways 1
same for both

Mobility

Colac West sits further from the CBD (155.2 km vs 151.9 km).

Colac Colac West
Walkability score 4/100 11/100
Distance to Melbourne 151.9 km 155.2 km
+2% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 115 min
same for both
Electric vehicle share 0.3%
postcode 3250
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 29
postcode 3250
same for both

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.

Colac Colac West
Car (driver) 78.1% / 70.3%
Colac — Car (driver): 78.1% Colac West — Car (driver): 70.3%
Walked Only 6.0% / 21.6%
Colac — Walked Only: 6.0% Colac West — Walked Only: 21.6%
Worked from Home 6.5% / 8.1%
Colac — Worked from Home: 6.5% Colac West — Worked from Home: 8.1%
Car (passenger) 8.3% / —
Colac — Car (passenger): 8.3% Colac West — Car (passenger): not among its largest
Bicycle 0.9% / —
Colac — Bicycle: 0.9% Colac West — Bicycle: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (78.1%).

Setting

Colac Colac West
Elevation 115 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 134 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 41.6 km 44.0 km

NBN connectivity

Colac Colac West
Connectivity score 67/100 49/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 40%
5,207 premises
 21%
73 premises

Climate

Colac Colac West
Annual rainfall 607 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Council rates

Colac Colac West
Average residential rate $2,023/yr
same for both
Council Colac Otway
same for both

Federal electorate

Colac Colac West
Division Wannon
same for both
Member Dan Tehan
same for both
Party Liberal
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Colac Colac West
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Colac

Affordable Regional Centre Retirees

Colac West

Family Rural Young Families

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Colac

Colac vs Elliminyt Colac vs Irrewarra Colac vs Cororooke Colac vs Colac East Colac vs Ondit Colac vs Balintore

Other comparisons with Colac West

Colac West vs Elliminyt Colac West vs Cororooke Colac West vs Larpent
Full data on Colac Full data on Colac West
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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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