Colac West vs Elliminyt
Colac West is the younger of the two, with a median age of 30 against 41 in Elliminyt. In both, the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Colac West, about half of households rent and about half of households are couple families. In Elliminyt, the large majority of households own their home and most households are couple families. On these figures, Colac West tends to suit renters, young adults, and share households.
Elliminyt is a substantially larger community with 3260 residents compared to Colac West's 89, and offers notably higher median household income at $94,380 versus $76,648. Elliminyt also has a walkability score of 37 against Colac West's 8, making it more pedestrian-friendly, though both are relatively car-dependent areas. Colac West has a significantly lower crime risk score of 95 compared to Elliminyt's 23. Both suburbs are equidistant from the CBD at around 155 km and share zero bushfire risk, so your choice may depend on whether you prioritise a more established, walkable community with higher incomes or a quieter, smaller settlement.
Written by an AI language model from the figures below. Every number in it is checked against those figures before it is published.
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
Elliminyt
ahead on 6 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more parks and reserves (3 vs 0)
- has more childcare (3 vs 0)
- carries lower crime risk (25/100 vs 93/100)
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 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a bigger rental market to choose from (52% vs 10%)
- has cheaper rent ($230/wk vs $290/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Elliminyt
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is more walkable (40/100 vs 11/100)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Elliminyt
ahead on 3 of the 5 things we measure here
- carries lower crime risk (25/100 vs 93/100)
- is more walkable (40/100 vs 11/100)
- has more residents already 65 and over (18% vs 11%)
- But Colac West has more units and townhouses to downsize into (22% vs 4%)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Too close to call
Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Colac West and Elliminyt 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
Elliminyt has more residents (3,260 vs 89); Elliminyt skews older (41 vs 30).
| Colac West | Elliminyt | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 89 | 3,260 +3563% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +9.9% | +12.4% |
| Median age | 30 | 41 |
| Median household income | $76,648/yr | $94,380/yr +23% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $230/wk | $290/wk +26% vs other |
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 | Elliminyt | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | — | $650,000 |
| Median unit price | — | $420,000 |
| Median land price | — | $285,000 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | — | 54 days from 42 sales |
Zoning mix
Colac West has more rural and farming land (86% vs 76%).
| Colac West | Elliminyt | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 86% | 76% |
| Residential | 0% | 14% |
| Commercial | 7% | 0% |
| Parks and recreation | 2% | 4% |
| Industrial | 4% | 3% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 1% | 3% |
| 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 | Elliminyt | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 226 across Colac Otway same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +64% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Colac West | Elliminyt | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | — | 4.5% $625/wk on $725K |
| Units | — same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Colac West | Elliminyt | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — | Higher than 21% of VIC |
| Income | Higher than 44% of VIC | Higher than 65% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 74% of VIC | Higher than 85% of VIC |
| Affordability | — | Higher than 93% of VIC |
| EV adoption | Higher than 28% of VIC same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 73% of VIC | Higher than 76% of VIC |
| Rental yield (houses) | — | Higher than 90% of VIC |
Liveability
Elliminyt is more walkable (40 vs 11).
| Colac West | Elliminyt | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — | B |
| Score | — | 53/100 |
| Socio-economic band | mid-range socio-economic decile 4/10 | mid-range socio-economic decile 5/10 |
Risk profile
Colac West carries more crime risk (93 vs 25).
| Colac West | Elliminyt | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | High 93/100 | Low 25/100 |
| Flood | Moderate 60/100 | Moderate 65/100 |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 1 within 5 km | 4 within 5 km |
Schools
| Colac West | Elliminyt | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 | 2 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 | 2 |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Schools in Colac West
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Schools in Elliminyt
- Elliminyt Primary School Government · Primary at peers
- Sacred Heart School Catholic · Primary at peers
Amenities in the suburb
| Colac West | Elliminyt | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 0 | 3 |
| Childcare | 0 | 3 |
| Fuel stations | 2 | 0 |
| Waterways | 1 | 4 |
Mobility
| Colac West | Elliminyt | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 11/100 | 40/100 |
| Distance to Melbourne | 155.2 km | 155.3 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 115 min | 117 min |
| 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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (82.3%).
Setting
| Colac West | Elliminyt | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 134 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 194 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 44.0 km | 38.7 km |
NBN connectivity
| Colac West | Elliminyt | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 49/100 | 64/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless | Fibre to the premises |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 21% 73 premises | 41% 1,434 premises |
Climate
| Colac West | Elliminyt | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 607 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Colac West | Elliminyt | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $2,023/yr same for both | |
| Council | Colac Otway same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Colac West | Elliminyt | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Wannon same for both | |
| Member | Dan Tehan same for both | |
| Party | Liberal same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Colac West | Elliminyt | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Colac West
Elliminyt
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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.