Apollo Bay is a town in Victoria, 208 km from Melbourne CBD, around 3 hours 10 minutes by car. Population is 1,790; the median age is 52 and the median household income is $59,488 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the lower-middle tier nationally. Population grew 12.0% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $300 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,700. The area shows high crime risk and high coastal erosion risk. 1 school sits within the town boundary, and walkability is low.
Is Apollo Bay a good town?
Apollo Bay scores a D (24/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — weaker on transit and prices.
Mixed results
1 school
Car-dependent
Walkability 4/100 · 207.6 km · 192 min drive to Melbourne
Above the state median
Median $780K · Less affordable than 84% of VIC
Moderate bushfire risk
Fire 63/100 · Crime 67/100 · Flood 35/100
Below-average income
SEIFA decile 4/10 · median age 52 · 1,790 residents
Liveability Rating
24 / 100 · Ranked #787 in VICEach bar is Apollo Bay's rank among VIC suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better). Scored on 4 of 5 factors: no school data, so the other factors carry its weight.
How do you rate the liveability in Apollo Bay?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
24 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataApollo Bay's house market is moving lower: the median sale price reached $780,000, about 7% below where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$780,000
Based on 58 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 62 days — median across 23 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 11 sales $725K
- 3 bed 33 sales $775K
- 4 bed 8 sales $960K
Land
$407,500
Based on 18 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 165 days — median across 7 sales that recorded a listing period
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Apollo Bay are currently listed at around $1.05 million on average. Based on 79 houses listed in the past six months.
Houses
$1.05M
79 houses listed in the last 6 months.
Units
$795K
10 units listed in the last 6 months.
89 of the suburb's 720 dwellings (12.4%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Apollo Bay rent for around $598 a week on average, based on 16 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
Houses
$598/wk
16 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Units
$550/wk
3 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
19 rentals advertised against an estimated 210 rented homes (9.0%) in the last 6 months.
Rental affordability
June quarter 202598 Unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 31% of its income on the median rent in postcode 3233.
SGS Rental Affordability Index: a score of 100 means rent takes 30% of income, the usual housing-stress line; lower scores are less affordable. "Region" is the capital city or the rest of the state.
Gross rental yield
Indicative$598/week ($31,000 a year) on a $1.05 million median
$550/week ($29,000 a year) on a $795,000 median
Based on a small sample (3 listings) — indicative only.
Gross yield — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. Calculated from median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.
Short-Stay Rentals
393 active Airbnb listings: 340 whole homes and 53 rooms. Whole homes are about 20.6% of the town's homes.
Airbnb only, as at Jun 2026; other platforms are not included. Active means reviewed in the past 12 months. The share is against private dwellings at the 2021 Census.
Is Apollo Bay safe? Crime statistics
2026Crime in Apollo Bay sits in the moderate band, with 95 incidents recorded in 2026 — up roughly 111% on the prior year.
95 offences
111.1% since 2025Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20256 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital, 1 of them fatal
Crashes are counted where they happened, so a main road through the town carries people passing through; this is not a measure of risk to residents. Roads are listed with 3 or more serious crashes.
Coastal Erosion
Shoreline Change Summary
1988–2025Nearest Eroding Coastline
- Distance
- 3.4 km
- Rate
- -0.61 m/yr
- Net Movement
- -21.9 m
- Certainty
- good
Data Quality
Schools
One school serve Apollo Bay, and performance is broadly on par with peer-suburb schools.
- • 340 students in one school (avg 340)
Combined
Walkability
Apollo Bay is very car-dependent on foot — at 4/100, nearly all errands require a car. Within the town there are 3 supermarkets, 8 parks and 15 cafes to anchor that walking radius.
We hold no public transport timetable data for this area, so public transport is not rated here and the score is spread across the remaining components. It is not counted as zero.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Apollo Bay.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 2.5 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 1.8 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 0.5 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 3 min
- Span of service
- 14.9 hours
Scheduled service only, based on the 21 October 2026 timetable. Reliability (delays, cancellations) not measured.
NBN connectivity
The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Apollo Bay.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 13%
- Premises covered
- 2,189
NBN Co fixed-line and fixed-wireless premises, as at 30 December 2025. Higher-quality technologies (full fibre) score above copper, wireless, and satellite. Actual speeds depend on your plan.
Amenities
Colac Otway: council population
The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this town alone — this town's own population is in the census section above.
Socio-economic profile
The ABS scores 6 small areas inside this town and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 4 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this town rank well above the average and parts well below it.
Apollo Bay is home to about 1,800 residents, with a median age of 52 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $59,000 a year, with unemployment at 3.2%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
1,790
Median Age
52
Median Household Income
$59,488/yr
Census Median Rent
$300/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,700/mo
Avg Household Size
2.0
Median Personal Income
$36,140/yr
Unemployment Rate
3.2%
Unoccupied Dwellings
128.8%
Total Dwellings
720
Owner-Occupier Rate
70.9%
Houses
82.8%
Rental Stress
26.2%
Mortgage Stress
34.3%
Work From Home
20.4%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
0 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 10 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 200 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 71.3%
- English Spoken at Home
- 80.3%
- Employment Rate
- 51%
- Completed Year 12
- 42.0%
Occupations
Religion
Country of Birth (overseas)
Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.
When They Arrived
Share of all residents by the year they arrived in Australia. Periods cover different numbers of years, so compare the shape rather than the bar widths.
58 residents (3.2%) arrived since 2016. Australia’s borders were closed to most arrivals from March 2020, so the last two years of that period are much smaller than the ones before them — nationally 260,799 people arrived in 2019 against 28,521 in 2021.
Where New Residents Came From
Where residents aged five and over lived five years before the 2021 Census, for those who lived somewhere else.
12.7% of residents (218) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Melbourne (205).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 1,716 residents aged five and over. Areas are ABS statistical regions. Small counts are approximate: the ABS adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
Languages Spoken at Home
Top languages other than English, as a share of all residents.
Age Distribution
Family & Household Composition
Commute to Work
4% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (29 of 793).
City centre: the ABS area around each capital's CBD, such as Sydney Inner City or Perth City (which takes in Subiaco and Leederville). 2021 Census place of work.
Local Jobs
People who work in this town against employed people who live here, 2021 Census.
About 781 people work here; 793 employed residents live here.
Roughly as many jobs as working residents (1.0 per resident).
Counts are by place of work and place of usual residence. The ABS counts jobs in zones; where a zone spans several places, its jobs are shared out by land use. The ABS also adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $2,023 a year through Colac Otway based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Environmental 58%
- Parks and recreation 35%
- Rural and farming 3%
- Residential 2%
- Zones under 1% 1%
Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the town around it — the property page shows the zone for one address.
Building Approvals: Colac Otway
In the year to August 2026, 226 new dwellings were approved across Colac Otway. That mix is 200 houses and 26 units. Approvals are up 64.5% on the same period a year earlier.
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage
The Registered Aboriginal Party for this area is Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation (appointed 2013).
Registered Aboriginal Parties are appointed by the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 as the primary guardians, keepers and knowledge holders of Aboriginal cultural heritage for their area. They are the body to contact about cultural heritage here.
Climate & Setting
from Apollo Bay, 4.5 kmHigh rainfall.
- Elevation
- 278 m
- above sea level, at the town centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 3.4 km
- Annual rainfall
- 1,070 mm
- 140 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- —
- Winter min (Jul)
- —
Elevation is the ground at the town centre, from Geoscience Australia's National Digital Elevation Model. Approximate — it reads high in dense built-up areas. It is a measure of height above sea level and not an indicator of flood risk, which depends on height above nearby waterways.
Industrial Emissions Nearby
1 facility within 5 km- 3.0 km
EV adoption
In postcode 3233, 20 of 2,288 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 2.2% (51 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 3.1%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 3233, 604 rooftop-solar systems totalling 4.2 MW have been installed since 2001, against 2,315 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 32 went up in the last year.
Counts every system certified since 2001, so a roof re-fitted with a newer system is counted twice, and small commercial systems are included alongside houses — useful for comparing postcodes, not an estimate of how many homes have working panels today.
2026 covers part of the year only, to 2026-07.
First Home Owner Grant
FY2026-27$10,000 for new homes priced up to $750,000.
The separate First Home Buyer Duty Reduction (stamp-duty concession) runs alongside this grant.
0 first-home grants were paid in postcode 3233 in 2025-26. The most was 16, in 2001-02.
Grants on new and established homes; established homes stopped qualifying in mid-2013.
Mortgage repayments
1 mortgage broker is registered in this town.
Land transfer duty at the owner-occupier rate, and it excludes first home buyer concessions — those can cut it substantially or remove it entirely. Excludes legal, inspection and lender fees. Check with State Revenue Office Victoria
The First Home Owner Grant applies to newly built homes only, so it isn't available on an established purchase. A first home buyer building or buying new under $750,000 may qualify for $10,000 — see what qualifies with State Revenue Office Victoria.
At $780,000 this is $30,000 above the $750,000 First Home Owner Grant cap. A first home buyer may qualify for $10,000 on a newly built home — check eligibility with State Revenue Office Victoria.
A deposit under 20% usually attracts Lenders Mortgage Insurance, which this doesn't include.
Principal and interest over 30 years, fixed rate. Excludes fees, offset, redraw and LMI. Default rate is the median comparison rate across 1788 advertised products as at 2026-10-27 — indicative only, and not an offer. Your rate depends on the lender, your deposit and your circumstances. Not financial advice.
Federal Electorate
Currently held by Dan Tehan Liberal
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Dan Tehan | 39.1% | 60.9% | -2.3 |
| 2022 | Dan Tehan | 40.9% | 59.1% | -1.1 |
| 2019 | Dan Tehan | 39.6% | 60.4% | +1.2 |
Results are per division — federal electoral boundaries are redrawn periodically, so the history reflects this division's past, not necessarily the exact town's voters across time.
State Electorate
Currently held by Richard Riordan Liberal
Next state election: 28 November 2026.
| Year | Winner | Won with | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Richard Riordan LP | 51.8% | 48.2% | 51.8% |
| 2018 | Richard Riordan LP | 51.1% | 44.6% | 55.4% |
| 2014 | Terry Mulder LP | 55.4% | 39.4% | 60.6% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2021, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this town's voters. Results: Victorian Electoral Commission, CC BY 4.0.
Looking at a specific address in Apollo Bay?
Every figure above is a town average, and an average smooths over the difference between a street of family homes and a block of flats. Look up one address and you get the census for the few hundred people around it, its own nearest schools and stops, and what the state has mapped for that block.
- The census for a few hundred neighbours, not all 1,790 residents
- Nearest and zoned schools, with the walk from that door
- Flood, bushfire and noise mapping, where the state publishes it
Free to look up. Subscribers see every section in full — $29/month.
Nearby suburbs
Compare Apollo Bay to another suburb
Side-by-side stats for any other VIC suburb — type a name and pick one.
Or jump straight to a nearby comparison:
Common questions about Apollo Bay
Is Apollo Bay a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Apollo Bay is moderate (67/100, ranked against other VIC suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Apollo Bay?
Apollo Bay has a moderate recorded bushfire history (63/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). Flood overlays cover a low share of it (35/100). These are town-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Apollo Bay a good place to live?
Apollo Bay has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (24/100), ranked against other VIC suburbs on school quality (25%), safety (25%), SEIFA socio-economic advantage (25%), walkability (15%) and CBD access (10%). Whether it suits you depends on what you weigh — each of those is on this page.
What is the population of Apollo Bay?
Apollo Bay, VIC had a population of 1,790 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Apollo Bay, VIC?
The postcode for Apollo Bay, VIC is 3233.
How far is Apollo Bay from Melbourne?
Apollo Bay is 208 km from Melbourne CBD by road, about 192 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Apollo Bay?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Apollo Bay was $59,488 a year. It is the most recent suburb-level income figure until 2026 Census results are released in 2027.
What is the median weekly rent in Apollo Bay?
The median advertised rent in Apollo Bay is $598 a week for houses (16 listings) and $550 a week for units (3 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Apollo Bay?
The median age of residents in Apollo Bay was 52 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Apollo Bay at risk of bushfire?
Apollo Bay has a moderate recorded bushfire history (63/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the town relative to its size, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history. It records where fire has burned, not a bushfire-prone land designation, which your council's planning scheme sets.
How are the schools in Apollo Bay?
There is 1 school inside the Apollo Bay boundary: 1 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Apollo Bay walkable?
Apollo Bay scores 4/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it very car-dependent. The score is a weighted average of public transport, schools, parks, supermarkets, GPs, pharmacies, childcare, and hospitals within walking distance.
What is the weather like in Apollo Bay?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Apollo Bay, Apollo Bay (4.5 km away), 1,070 mm of rain a year over 140 rainy days over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Apollo Bay?
First-home buyers in VIC may be eligible for $10,000 towards new homes with a purchase price up to $750,000. The grant is administered by State Revenue Office Victoria; confirm current eligibility before signing a contract — state rules and amounts can change.
What council does Apollo Bay belong to?
Apollo Bay sits within the Colac Otway local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Apollo Bay?
The average residential rates bill through Colac Otway is $2,023 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Apollo Bay?
Across Colac Otway, 226 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 64.5% on the same period a year earlier. These are LGA-level totals — every suburb in the council shares the same figure.
Which federal electorate is Apollo Bay in?
Apollo Bay sits within the federal Division of Wannon, currently held by Dan Tehan (Liberal).
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Data freshness
- Census · 2021
- Median sale prices · Oct 2026
- For-sale & rental market · Oct 2026
- Council rates · FY 2024–25
- Building approvals · Aug 2026
- Schools · 2025
- Public transport · Oct 2026
- NBN connectivity · Dec 2025
- Crime · 2026
- Road crashes · 2021–2025
- Climate · 2006–2026
- Socio-economic (SEIFA) · 2021
- EV adoption · Jan 2025
- First Home Owner Grant · Sep 2026
- Federal electorate · 2025
- Short-stay rentals · Jun 2026
- State electorate · 2022
- Amenities · Sep 2026
- Health & emergency facilities · Sep 2026
- Industrial emissions (NPI) · 2024/2025
- Coastal erosion · 1988–2025
- Aircraft noise · 2024
Vintages show when each source's data is from. See all data sources.
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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.