Colac property market: the official numbers
Colac, VIC, in official numbers: the people, the rents, the repayments, and the pay cheques behind them. Every figure below is ABS Census 2021 data, linked at the bottom so you can check it yourself.
The straight answer
At the last census, Colac's median rent was $260/wk — 31% below the national median. Repayments ($1,300/mo) ran ahead of rent ($1,127/mo), but not brutally.
The key numbers
The typical repayment ran at about 24% of the median household income. Point-in-time medians, August 2021. Repayments have risen a long way since the 2022–24 rate rises, so use these to compare places, not to price anything today.
The rent-or-buy gap
At the census, the typical monthly rent worked out to $1,127 against a typical mortgage repayment of $1,300:
How to read the rent-repayment gap
The mortgage figure reflects loans and rates as at August 2021, before the 2022–24 rate rises — today's repayment on a new loan would be higher. The rent figure is what tenants were actually paying, not today's asking rents. The useful signal is the shape: where rent and repayments sit close together, buying has historically competed well with renting here; where repayments tower over rent, the market prices in growth. Run your own numbers with the mortgage vs invest tool or what can I afford?
Who owns, who rents
Renters are 25.8% of Colac households. If you're buying to let, that's the depth of your market — about the national norm.
Who lives here
How to read an age profile
A heavy 25–44 band usually means family housing demand (and pressure on 3–4 bedroom stock); a heavy 65+ band signals downsizer and retiree demand (units, single-level living, proximity to health care). Colac's median age of 42 sits above the national median of 38.
What keeps Colac employed
manufacturing employs 19.8% of Colac's 5,923 workers (Census 2021). Local housing demand rises and falls with it.
The upfront costs in VIC
Current sale prices live behind licensed feeds we won't republish. The costs of buying don't — they're public and exact:
- Stamp duty in Victoria — exact duty and first-home-buyer concessions.
- What can I afford? — borrowing power, price range and all-in upfront cash.
- The official VIC price trend — ABS state-level values since 2011, interactive.
Questions people ask
What is the median rent in Colac?
At the 2021 Census the median rent in Colac was $260 a week — 31% below the national median ($375/wk). Rents have moved since 2021; check current listings for today's asking rents.
How many people live in Colac?
12,756 people at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 42 (national median: 38). Colac is one of Victoria's significant urban areas as defined by the ABS.
What do people in Colac do for work?
The biggest employing industry is manufacturing, followed by health care & social assistance (ABS Census 2021). The industry mix shapes how resilient local housing demand is.
Who this market suits
Your call
Neither a cashflow bargain nor a pure scarcity play: rent covered about 87% of the typical repayment at the census. That middle ground tends to suit owner-occupiers better than spreadsheet investors. Size is the catch — at 12,756 people, exits are slow here. Count on months, not weeks, if you ever need to sell.
Everything above is August 2021 — before you act, pull current asking rents, vacancy and listing volumes for Colac. Then run your own numbers: what can I afford? for borrowing power and upfront cash, and the Victoria stamp duty calculator for the tax bill.
Other VIC markets
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General information only — not financial or property advice. All figures are ABS Census 2021 ( official QuickStats for Colac, CC-BY 4.0), which predates the 2022–24 rate rises; conditions have moved since. Last reviewed 10 July 2026.