Colac West vs Cororooke
Colac West is the younger of the two, with a median age of 30 against 33 in Cororooke. In both, the large majority of homes are detached houses and about half of households are couple families. In Colac West, about half of households rent. In Cororooke, the large majority of households own their home. On these figures, Colac West tends to suit renters and families with children, while Cororooke suits people living alone.
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
Cororooke
ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here
- carries lower crime risk (15/100 vs 93/100)
- is already more of a family suburb (63% vs 50%)
- has more separate houses rather than flats (98% vs 78%)
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 the one thing that separates them
- has a bigger rental market to choose from (52% vs 12%)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Colac West
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (11/100 vs 0/100)
- has a shorter drive in (115 min vs 120 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (155.2 km vs 160.5 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Colac West
ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here
- is more walkable (11/100 vs 0/100)
- has more units and townhouses to downsize into (22% vs 2%)
- But Cororooke carries lower crime risk (15/100 vs 93/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Cororooke
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (15.5% vs 9.9%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Colac West and Cororooke drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.
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.
Demographics
Cororooke has more residents (358 vs 89); Cororooke skews older (33 vs 30).
| Colac West | Cororooke | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 89 | 358 +302% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +9.9% | +15.5% |
| Median age | 30 | 33 |
| Median household income | $76,648/yr | $77,220/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $230/wk same for both | |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.5%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (30.3%).
Property market
| Colac West | Cororooke | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | — | $581,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
Zoning mix
Cororooke has more rural and farming land (97% vs 86%).
| Colac West | Cororooke | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 86% | 97% |
| Commercial | 7% | 0% |
| Industrial | 4% | 0% |
| Parks and recreation | 2% | 1% |
| Residential | 0% | 1% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 1% same for both | |
| 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 West | Cororooke | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 226 across Colac Otway same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +64% same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Colac West | Cororooke | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 44% of VIC same for both | |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 74% of VIC | Higher than 3% of VIC |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 28% of VIC | — |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 73% of VIC | Higher than 49% of VIC |
Liveability
Colac West is more walkable (11 vs 0).
| Colac West | Cororooke | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | mid-range socio-economic decile 4/10 | below-average income decile 3/10 |
Risk profile
Colac West carries more crime risk (93 vs 15); Colac West carries more flood risk (60 vs 33).
| Colac West | Cororooke | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | High 93/100 | Low 15/100 |
| Flood | Moderate 60/100 | Low 33/100 |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 1 within 5 km | 0 within 5 km |
Schools
| Colac West | Cororooke | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 same for both | |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Amenities in the suburb
| Colac West | Cororooke | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 0 | 1 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 0 | 1 |
| Fuel stations | 2 | 0 |
| Waterways | 1 | 0 |
Mobility
Cororooke sits further from the CBD (160.5 km vs 155.2 km).
| Colac West | Cororooke | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 11/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Melbourne | 155.2 km | 160.5 km +3% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 115 min | 120 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.3% postcode 3250 | 0.0% postcode 3254 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 29 postcode 3250 | 55 postcode 3254 |
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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (83.1%).
Setting
| Colac West | Cororooke | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 134 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 125 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 44.0 km | 47.3 km |
NBN connectivity
| Colac West | Cororooke | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 49/100 | 30/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 21% 73 premises | 0% 147 premises |
Climate
| Colac West | Cororooke | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 607 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Colac West | Cororooke | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $2,023/yr same for both | |
| Council | Colac Otway same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Colac West | Cororooke | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Wannon same for both | |
| Member | Dan Tehan same for both | |
| Party | Liberal same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Colac West | Cororooke | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Colac West
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Colac West
Other comparisons with Cororooke
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.