Creswick vs Bald Hills

Bald Hills is the younger of the two, with a median age of 40 against 50 in Creswick. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Creswick, about half of households are people living alone. In Bald Hills, about half of households are couple families. On these figures, Creswick tends to suit people living alone and older residents, while Bald Hills suits families with children and couples.

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

Creswick

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more parks and reserves (13 vs 0)
  • has more childcare (4 vs 0)
  • has more schools inside the suburb (3 vs 0)
  • But Bald Hills is already more of a family suburb (61% vs 47%)

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

First-home buyers

Creswick

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (26% vs 35%)

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Bald Hills

ahead on 2 of the 2 things we measure here

  • leaves renters under less rental stress (14% vs 24%)
  • has cheaper rent ($230/wk vs $275/wk)

Weighs rent and rental stress.

Commuting to the city

Creswick

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (79/100 vs 0/100)
  • sits closer to the CBD (121.3 km vs 127.4 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Creswick

ahead on 3 of the 4 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (79/100 vs 0/100)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (29% vs 10%)
  • has more GPs (2 vs 0)
  • But Bald Hills carries lower crime risk (67/100 vs 78/100)

Weighs 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

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

Creswick Bald Hills
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.

Creswick Bald Hills
Walkability 79 / 0
Creswick — Walkability: 79/100 Bald Hills — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 22 / 33
Creswick — Safety: 22/100 Bald Hills — Safety: 33/100
Low fire risk 32 / 67
Creswick — Low fire risk: 32/100 Bald Hills — Low fire risk: 67/100
Low flood risk 73 / 100
Creswick — Low flood risk: 73/100 Bald Hills — Low flood risk: 100/100

Demographics

Creswick has more residents (3,279 vs 114); Bald Hills has higher household incomes ($86,632 vs $59,488).

Creswick Bald Hills
Population 3,279
+97% vs other
 114
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +3.4% +6.5%
Median age 50 40
Median household income $59,488/yr $86,632/yr
+46% vs other
Median weekly rent $275/wk
+16% vs other
 $230/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Creswick Bald Hills
0-4 5.1% / 6.1%
Creswick — 0-4: 5.1% Bald Hills — 0-4: 6.1%
5-14 10.4% / 16.7%
Creswick — 5-14: 10.4% Bald Hills — 5-14: 16.7%
15-19 4.7% / 5.3%
Creswick — 15-19: 4.7% Bald Hills — 15-19: 5.3%
20-24 3.5% / 4.4%
Creswick — 20-24: 3.5% Bald Hills — 20-24: 4.4%
25-34 8.8% / 10.5%
Creswick — 25-34: 8.8% Bald Hills — 25-34: 10.5%
35-44 10.1% / 5.3%
Creswick — 35-44: 10.1% Bald Hills — 35-44: 5.3%
45-54 13.4% / 18.4%
Creswick — 45-54: 13.4% Bald Hills — 45-54: 18.4%
55-64 15.0% / 12.3%
Creswick — 55-64: 15.0% Bald Hills — 55-64: 12.3%
65-74 15.7% / 5.3%
Creswick — 65-74: 15.7% Bald Hills — 65-74: 5.3%
75-84 9.2% / 4.4%
Creswick — 75-84: 9.2% Bald Hills — 75-84: 4.4%
85+ 4.3% / —
Creswick — 85+: 4.3% Bald Hills — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.4%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Creswick 49.3% lone person
Creswick — Lone Person: 49.3% Creswick — Couple Families: 32.0% Creswick — One Parent Families: 15.0% Creswick — Group Household: 3.3% Creswick — Other Families: 0.5%
Bald Hills 39.3% lone person
Bald Hills — Lone Person: 39.3% Bald Hills — Couple Families: 50.0% Bald Hills — One Parent Families: 10.7% Bald Hills — Group Household: 0.0% Bald Hills — Other Families: 0.0%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Creswick 19.0% renting
Creswick — Owned Outright: 44.9% Creswick — Mortgage: 36.1% Creswick — Renting: 19.0%
Bald Hills 0.0% renting
Bald Hills — Owned Outright: 69.4% Bald Hills — Mortgage: 30.6% Bald Hills — Renting: 0.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Creswick 90.2% houses
Creswick — Houses: 90.2% Creswick — Flats / Apartments: 9.0% Creswick — Townhouses: 0.8%
Bald Hills 100.0% houses
Bald Hills — Houses: 100.0% Bald Hills — Flats / Apartments: 0.0% Bald Hills — Townhouses: 0.0%
Houses Flats / Apartments Townhouses

Qualifications

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

Creswick Bald Hills
Certificate III & IV 17.4% / 11.4%
Creswick — Certificate III & IV: 17.4% Bald Hills — Certificate III & IV: 11.4%
Bachelor Degree 8.1% / 9.6%
Creswick — Bachelor Degree: 8.1% Bald Hills — Bachelor Degree: 9.6%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.9% / 3.5%
Creswick — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.9% Bald Hills — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 3.5%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.1% / 4.4%
Creswick — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.1% Bald Hills — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 4.4%
Postgraduate Degree 3.2% / 2.6%
Creswick — Postgraduate Degree: 3.2% Bald Hills — Postgraduate Degree: 2.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.4%).

Property market

Creswick Bald Hills
Median house price $575,000 —
Median unit price $326,250 —
Median land price $225,000 —
Typical days to sell (houses) 82 days
from 48 sales
 —

Zoning mix

Bald Hills has more rural and farming land (99% vs 46%).

Creswick Bald Hills
Rural and farming 46% 99%
Parks and recreation 31% 0%
Infrastructure and transport 8% 1%
Residential 8% 0%
Environmental 4% 0%
Other and special use 1% 0%
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

Creswick Bald Hills
New dwellings approved 104
across Hepburn
 1,451
across Ballarat
Approvals change year on year -6% +42%

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.

Creswick Bald Hills
Houses 3.0%
$410/wk on $720K
 —
Units —
same for both

Ranking within VIC

Creswick Bald Hills
House price Higher than 17% of VIC —
Income Higher than 20% of VIC Higher than 56% of VIC
Schools Higher than 92% of VIC —
Walkability Higher than 93% of VIC Higher than 10% of VIC
Affordability Higher than 56% of VIC —
EV adoption Higher than 57% of VIC Higher than 51% of VIC
NBN connectivity Higher than 97% of VIC Higher than 52% of VIC
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 12% of VIC —

Liveability

Creswick is more walkable (79 vs 0).

Creswick Bald Hills
Grade C —
Score 47/100 —
Socio-economic band below-average income
decile 3/10
 advantaged area
decile 7/10

Risk profile

Creswick carries more flood risk (27 vs 0); Creswick carries more bushfire risk (68 vs 33).

Creswick Bald Hills
Bushfire Moderate
68/100
 Low
33/100
Crime High
78/100
 Moderate
67/100
Flood Low
27/100
 None
0/100
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 0
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Creswick Bald Hills
Inside the suburb 3 0
Rated above peers 2 0
Rated at peers 1 0
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Creswick

  • Creswick North Primary School Government · Primary above peers
  • St Augustine's School Catholic · Primary above peers
  • Creswick Primary School Government · Primary at peers

Schools in Bald Hills

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

Amenities in the suburb

Creswick Bald Hills
Supermarkets 1 0
Cafes & restaurants 5 0
Parks & reserves 13 0
Childcare 4 0
GPs 2 0
Pharmacies 1 0
Hospitals 1 0
Police stations 1 0
Banks & Bank@Post 2 0
Fuel stations 1 0
EV chargers 1 0
Waterways 52 0

Mobility

Bald Hills sits further from the CBD (127.4 km vs 121.3 km).

Creswick Bald Hills
Walkability score 79/100 0/100
Distance to Melbourne 121.3 km 127.4 km
+5% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 90 min
same for both
Electric vehicle share 0.6%
postcode 3363
 0.5%
postcode 3364
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 51
postcode 3363
 53
postcode 3364

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.

Creswick Bald Hills
Car (driver) 74.6% / 66.7%
Creswick — Car (driver): 74.6% Bald Hills — Car (driver): 66.7%
Worked from Home 16.0% / 14.8%
Creswick — Worked from Home: 16.0% Bald Hills — Worked from Home: 14.8%
Car (passenger) 4.4% / 11.1%
Creswick — Car (passenger): 4.4% Bald Hills — Car (passenger): 11.1%
Walked Only 3.5% / 7.4%
Creswick — Walked Only: 3.5% Bald Hills — Walked Only: 7.4%
Bus 0.8% / —
Creswick — Bus: 0.8% Bald Hills — Bus: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (74.6%).

Setting

Creswick Bald Hills
Elevation 428 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 436 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Creswick Bald Hills
Connectivity score 92/100 30/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 86%
1,853 premises
 0%
46 premises

Climate

Creswick Bald Hills
Annual rainfall 714 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Council rates

Creswick Bald Hills
Average residential rate $1,748/yr $2,086/yr
Council Hepburn Ballarat

Federal electorate

Creswick Bald Hills
Division Ballarat
same for both
Member Catherine King
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Creswick Bald Hills
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Creswick

Acreage Affordable Parks Retirees River

Bald Hills

Family Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Creswick

Creswick vs Sulky Creswick vs Broomfield Creswick vs Springmount Creswick vs Newlyn Creswick vs Dean Creswick vs Wattle Flat

Other comparisons with Bald Hills

Bald Hills vs Miners Rest Bald Hills vs Sulky Bald Hills vs Ascot Bald Hills vs Blowhard
Full data on Creswick Full data on Bald Hills
Unlock full address-level data — $29/month

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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