21,018

People

est. as @ 17 Jul 2026

2021 Census | 18,534 people

34.31 km²

Land area

612.6 /km²

Density

1.3%

Unemployment

188 /yr

Resi approvals

Located 79 kilometers southwest of the Melbourne CBD, the suburb of Torquay (Vic.) is highly regarded for its picturesque coastal views and diverse natural landscapes. This popular seaside town features beautiful beaches suitable for swimming and surfing, attracting beachgoers and water sports enthusiasts. The local community provides access to nature reserves, parks, and scenic coastal walks that highlight unique regional flora and fauna. The town is also known for a vibrant culture, hosting a variety of shops, cafes, and restaurants, alongside outdoor pursuits such as cycling and golfing. As of May 2026, the population of the suburb of Torquay (Vic.) is estimated at 21,018, representing an increase of 2,484 people (13.4%) since the 2021 Census when the population stood at 18,534. This updated population figure is derived from annual SA2-level Estimated Resident Population (ERP) counts and quarterly national address file updates. Key market drivers in the suburb of Torquay (Vic.) include strong educational qualifications, very low unemployment, above-average population growth since the Census, high population growth forecasts, and standout school performance. The community contains a high proportion of middle-aged residents who are exceptionally well educated, representing one of the strongest population growth profiles in the country, with taxpayers earning an average income of $84,320.

Estimated residents are up from 18,534 at the 2021 Census — a change of 2,484 people, or 13.4%.

Districts View

Data to 17 Jul 2026

Metrici

Torquay (Vic.)

Latest FY Approvals

185,138

888

Current FY-to-Date Approvals

151

184,871

1,034

–Detached House Approvals

106/83.7%

89,436/61.9%

1,014/87.9%

–Attached/Other Approvals

21/16.3%

55,043/38.1%

139/12.1%

Average Annual Approvals

188

188,882

1,604

Total 5-Year Approvals

941

944,410

8,020

Approvals per 1,000 People (2yr)

6.5

Approvals per 1,000 People (5yr)

10.2

7.2

Pop Growth per Approval (2yr)

5.1

2.8

2.1

Pop Growth per Approval (5yr)

3.6

2.1

1.9

Persons per Approval

256

158

Residential Value per Unit

891

342

352

Commercial Development Value

39,464

105,080,908

178,813

Development Drivers Ranking

100

Address	Price	Sold	Type	Beds	Baths	Cars	Land	$/m² land
59 highlander st, torquay, VIC, 3228	—	22 Aug 2025	House	4	2	2	663m²	—
49A sands blvd, torquay, VIC, 3228	$715K	23 July 2025	Townhouse	2	2	2	122m²	$5,861
22 cottage cres, torquay, VIC, 3228	—	30 June 2025	House	4	2	2	521m²	—
12 eton rd, torquay, VIC, 3228	$850K	23 June 2025	Land	0	0	0	732m²	$1,161
2B felix cres, torquay, VIC, 3228	$1.29M	21 May 2025	Unit	3	2	1	326m²	$3,942
300 cape otway rd, torquay, VIC, 3228	—	16 May 2025	Rural Property	4	2	6	—	—
68 beach rd, torquay, VIC, 3228	$1.15M	13 May 2025	House	4	3	2	613m²	$1,876
8 sunnymead ave, torquay, VIC, 3228	—	16 Apr 2025	House	3	2	2	—	—
54 54a bristol rd, torquay, VIC, 3228	$2.1M	24 Mar 2025	House	6	4	2	—	—
4A spring st, torquay, VIC, 3228	—	4 Mar 2025	House	4	3	2	551m²	—
38 pintail dr, torquay, VIC, 3228	$1.15M	26 Feb 2025	House	4	2	2	549m²	$2,086
44 darian rd, torquay, VIC, 3228	$1.23M	28 Jan 2025	House	4	2	2	538m²	$2,277
21 wentworth ct, torquay, VIC, 3228	$2M	8 Jan 2025	House	4	2	2	406m²	$4,926

Metrici	Torquay (Vic.)	Comparison areaRest of Vic.	Comparison areaAustralia
Latest Population Est.	21,018	1,643,738	27,798,796
Growth Since Census	13.4%	4.3%	9.3%
Population 2021 Census	18,534	1,576,613	25,422,788
Natural Increase	21.0%	15.0%	20.0%
Overseas Migration	26.0%	47.0%	80.0%
Interstate Migration	53.0%	38.0%	0.0%
Population Forecast Growth (2041)	25.9%	8.2%	19.8%
Persons per Square Kilometer	612	7	3

Metrici	Torquay (Vic.)	Comparison areaAustralia	Comparison areaSA3
Total Employment	11,481	14,651,372	51,693
–Health Care & Social Assistance	14.8%	15.2%	16.5%
–Construction	12.9%	9.3%	12.6%
–Education & Training	11.9%	9.2%	10.9%
Labour Force	11,636	15,298,546	53,005
Participation Rate	71.0%	67.2%	61.7%
Working from Home	32.6%	23.9%	28.6%
Unemployment	1.3%	4.2%	2.5%
1Yr Emp. Growth	0.1%	1.5%	-0.7%
5Yr Emp. Growth Forecast	6.7%	6.5%	6.8%
Employment Drivers Ranking	93	100	65

Metrici	Torquay (Vic.)	Comparison areaAustralia	Comparison areaSA3
Median Annual Income Est.	65,646	62,634	60,495
Average Annual Income Est.	92,432	80,499	83,111
ATO Median Taxable Income	59,885	57,137	55,186
ATO Average Taxable Income	84,320	73,435	75,817
Median Household Income	2,295	1,746	1,770
–$0 to 399	289 (4.0%)	638,312 (6.3%)	2,074 (5.3%)
–$400 to 799	846 (11.7%)	1,671,771 (16.5%)	6,612 (16.9%)
–$800 to 1,499	1,229 (17.0%)	2,158,104 (21.3%)	8,490 (21.7%)
–$1,500 to 2,999	2,298 (31.8%)	3,201,695 (31.6%)	12,090 (30.9%)
–$3,000 to 3,999	1,164 (16.1%)	1,114,514 (11.0%)	4,695 (12.0%)
–$4,000+	1,402 (19.4%)	1,357,681 (13.4%)	5,165 (13.2%)
Median Family Income	2,627	2,120	2,176
–$0 to 399	118 (2.1%)	236,192 (3.3%)	779 (2.7%)
–$400 to 799	364 (6.5%)	758,676 (10.6%)	2,856 (9.9%)
–$800 to 1,499	885 (15.8%)	1,474,408 (20.6%)	6,173 (21.4%)
–$1,500 to 2,999	1,939 (34.6%)	2,562,321 (35.8%)	10,183 (35.3%)
–$3,000 to 3,999	1,065 (19.0%)	973,396 (13.6%)	4,298 (14.9%)
–$4,000+	1,238 (22.1%)	1,145,171 (16.0%)	4,586 (15.9%)
Median Personal Income	1,018	805	833
–$0 to 399	4,514 (21.5%)	7,303,780 (26.3%)	24,812 (23.7%)
–$400 to 799	4,263 (20.3%)	6,526,191 (23.5%)	26,068 (24.9%)
–$800 to 1,499	5,060 (24.1%)	7,137,153 (25.7%)	25,963 (24.8%)
–$1,500 to 2,999	5,543 (26.4%)	5,359,808 (19.3%)	21,566 (20.6%)
–$3,000 to 3,499	609 (2.9%)	527,649 (1.9%)	2,198 (2.1%)
–$3,500+	1,029 (4.9%)	944,215 (3.4%)	4,083 (3.9%)
–Low Income (<$800/wk)	15.7%	22.8%	22.2%
–High Income (>$3,000/wk)	35.5%	24.4%	25.2%
Largest Income Group	$1,500 - 2,999	$1,500 - 2,999	$1,500 - 2,999
Household Disposable Income	8,513	6,376	6,606
SEIFA Score	8.5	5.6	6.9

Metrici	Torquay (Vic.)	Comparison areaAustralia	Comparison areaSA3
Total Dwellings (Census)	6,373	9,275,218	34,920
–Owned Outright	34.0%	32.1%	43.2%
–Owned with Mortgage	44.1%	36.2%	36.4%
–Rented	22.0%	31.7%	20.3%
–Detached Houses	90.8%	72.5%	93.0%
–Semi-Detached	8.4%	12.6%	6.0%
–Apartments	0.6%	14.3%	0.7%
–Other Dwellings	0.1%	0.6%	0.3%
–Median Monthly Mortgage	2,167	1,863	1,950
–Median Weekly Rent	500	375	402
–$0-149/wk	2.0%	7.3%	3.0%
–$150-349/wk	10.7%	33.4%	23.7%
–$350-649/wk	75.5%	50.9%	68.3%
–$650-949/wk	11.2%	6.6%	4.3%
–>$950/wk	0.7%	1.8%	0.6%
–Aggregate Housing Cost	1,432	1,189	1,063
–Mortgage / Income	21.8%	24.6%	25.4%
–Rent / Income	21.8%	21.5%	22.7%
–Persons per Bedroom	0.8	0.8	0.7

Torquay (Vic.)

Should you spend time looking in Torquay?

Why look here

What could hold it back

Property sales trends in Torquay (Vic.)

Housing development & building approvals in Torquay (Vic.)

Development applications

Infrastructure & major projects in Torquay (Vic.)

1.Summerset Torquay Retirement Village

2.Wurdi Baierr Aquatic and Recreation Centre - Stage Two

3.Haven Torquay

4.Briody Drive Upgrade

5.Messmate Road Growth Area and Torquay North Residential Precinct

For sale in Torquay (Vic.)

Recent sales in Torquay (Vic.)

Indexed properties

Surrounding suburbs in Torquay (Vic.)

Population growth in Torquay (Vic.)

Jobs and industry in Torquay (Vic.)

Household income in Torquay (Vic.)

Housing & dwellings in Torquay (Vic.)

Household composition in Torquay (Vic.)

Schools & education in Torquay (Vic.)

Services and amenities in Torquay (Vic.)

Transport & commuting in Torquay (Vic.)

Health services in Torquay (Vic.)

Cultural diversity in Torquay (Vic.)

Age profile in Torquay (Vic.)

Child care in Torquay (Vic.)

Dwelling mix

How homes are held

Ancestry

Suburb	Distance	People	Median	Growth	Sales
Torquay	—	21,018	—	—	—
Jan Juc	4.1 km	4,804	—	—	—
Bellbrae	6.7 km	1,601	—	—	—
Armstrong Creek (Vic.)	9.2 km	16,489	—	—	—
Mount Duneed	9.9 km	9,457	—	—	—
Charlemont	12.1 km	5,251	—	—	—
Waurn Ponds	12.1 km	4,824	—	—	—
Grovedale	12.5 km	15,344	—	—	—
Marshall	13.7 km	2,370	—	—	—
Barwon Heads	15.1 km	4,732	—	—	—
Belmont (Vic.)	15.2 km	15,293	—	—	—
St Albans Park	15.4 km	4,822	—	—	—
Wandana Heights	15.6 km	2,172	—	—	—
Highton	16.0 km	22,529	—	—	—
Whittington	16.4 km	3,908	—	—	—
Anglesea	16.7 km	3,462	—	—	—
Thomson (Greater Geelong - Vic.)	17.0 km	1,595	—	—	—
Newcomb	17.7 km	4,665	—	—	—
Moolap	17.8 km	1,831	—	—	—
East Geelong	18.0 km	3,986	—	—	—
Newtown (Greater Geelong - Vic.)	18.0 km	10,443	—	—	—
Geelong	18.7 km	5,801	—	—	—
Leopold	18.7 km	14,399	—	—	—

Metrici	Torquay (Vic.)	Comparison areaAustralia	Comparison areaSA3
Current Household Est.	7,228	10,142,077	39,126
Median Household Size	2.7	2.5	2.5
Total Households (Census)	6,374	9,275,217	34,913
–Lone Person Households	19.2%	25.6%	23.6%
–Group Households	3.2%	3.9%	2.6%
–Other Households	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
–Family Households	77.6%	70.5%	73.8%
–Couple with Children	39.0%	31.4%	30.3%
–Couple No Children	29.7%	26.8%	33.9%
–One Parent Family	8.3%	11.1%	8.8%
–Avg Children per Family	1.7	1.6	1.8
Currently Married	54.3%	46.5%	53.6%
Never Married	32.0%	36.5%	29.4%

Metrici	Torquay (Vic.)	Comparison areaAustralia	Comparison areaSA3
University Qualifications	38.3%	30.4%	33.2%
–Bachelor Degree	25.7%	20.0%	22.0%
–Postgraduate Degree	7.5%	7.6%	6.7%
–Advanced Diploma	13.4%	10.8%	13.3%
–Certificate	20.3%	22.0%	22.4%
No Tertiary Qualifications	28.0%	36.8%	31.1%
Number of Schools	5	11,054	31
Total School Attendance	2,892	4,176,099	12,992
ICSEA Score	1,094	1,001	1,067
Education Drivers Ranking	97	100	81

#	School name	Type	Places	ICSEA	Distance (km)
1	Surf Coast Secondary College	Secondary	899	1058	1.28
2	Torquay P-6 College	Primary	687	1092	1.31
3	St Therese School	Primary	313	1115	1.31
4	Lisieux Catholic Primary School	Primary	337	1108	1.61
5	Torquay Coast Primary School	Primary	656	1098	1.87

Metrici	Torquay (Vic.)	Comparison areaAustralia	Comparison areaSA3
Transport Stops	64	171,981	440
Routes	14	12,966	33
Weekly Trips	1,024	1,140,068	3,385
Avg Dist. Between Stops (m)	105	235	107
Avg Dist. to Local Pop. (m)	324	7,586	372
Population per Stop	315	161	240
Population per Trip	19.7	24.3	31.2
Population per Route	1,442	2,136	3,205
Public Transport Access Ranking	31	100	31
Vehicles per Dwelling	1.7	1.4	1.6
Work from Home	32.6%	23.9%	28.6%
Single Mode Commute	66.4%	73.8%	70.4%
Two Mode	0.8%	1.9%	0.8%
Three+ Mode	0.2%	0.3%	0.1%
–Car	92.4%	84.1%	92.7%
–Train	1.5%	4.9%	1.2%
–Bus	0.4%	3.6%	0.8%
–Walk	3.7%	3.7%	3.2%
–Cycle	1.1%	1.0%	0.9%
–Ferry	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%
–Tram/Light Rail	0.1%	0.5%	0.1%
–Other	0.7%	1.1%	0.7%

Metrici	Torquay (Vic.)	Comparison areaAustralia	Comparison areaSA3
Private Health Cover Rate	60.1%	55.7%	57.1%
Need for Assistance	3.4%	5.8%	4.9%
Zero L/T Health Conditions	73.1%	69.8%	66.8%
One Long Term Condition	20.1%	20.5%	22.8%
Two Long Term Conditions	4.8%	6.4%	7.1%
3+ Long Term Conditions	2.0%	3.3%	3.3%
–Arthritis	6.5%	7.7%	9.0%
–Asthma	7.8%	7.4%	8.1%
–Cancer	2.6%	2.6%	3.5%
–Dementia / Alzheimers	0.7%	0.7%	0.8%
–Diabetes	2.5%	4.3%	3.5%
–Heart Disease	3.0%	3.6%	4.2%
–Kidney Disease	0.6%	0.8%	0.8%
–Lung Condition	0.9%	1.6%	1.5%
–Mental Health Issue	7.2%	8.0%	8.3%
–Stroke	0.7%	0.8%	0.9%
–Other Condition	6.7%	7.3%	7.2%

Metrici	Torquay (Vic.)	Comparison areaAustralia	Comparison areaSA3
Born Overseas	13.9%	29.3%	14.1%
Born in Australia	86.1%	70.7%	85.9%
Australian Citizens	91.1%	83.8%	91.1%
Speak English Only	95.1%	76.4%	94.9%
Speak Other Language	4.9%	23.6%	5.1%
Indigenous Population	0.5%	2.2%	0.6%
Largest Ethnic Group	English	English	English
Main Religion	Christianity	Christianity	Christianity
–Buddhism	0.8%	2.6%	0.7%
–Christianity	42.7%	47.5%	45.3%
–Hinduism	0.1%	2.9%	0.4%
–Islam	0.2%	3.5%	0.2%
–Judaism	0.1%	0.4%	0.1%
–Other	0.3%	1.4%	0.4%
–No Religion	55.8%	41.6%	52.9%

Metrici	Torquay (Vic.)	Comparison areaAustralia	Comparison areaSA3
Median Age	39	38	45
Largest Age Group	35 to 44	25 to 34	65 to 74
Children (0-14)	21.5%	17.5%	17.6%
Working Age (15-64)	61.8%	64.7%	57.7%
Seniors (65+)	16.9%	17.8%	24.7%
Age Distribution Variance	20.0%	16.0%	13.0%
Dependency Ratio	62.0%	55.0%	73.0%
Fastest Growing Age Group	85+	85+	85+