City profile
Ararat Rural City Council covers about 4,200 km² on the eastern side of the Grampians in western Victoria. The council puts Ararat 198 km west of Melbourne on the Western Highway, at its junction with the Pyrenees Highway, and describes the city as a regional service centre supported by smaller townships — among them Lake Bolac, Willaura, Moyston, Pomonal, Buangor, Elmhurst, Streatham and Tatyoon. It lists advanced manufacturing, agriculture, food and wine production, construction, healthcare and tourism as the base of the local economy.
New to these terms? Read them in plain English
- Local Government Area (LGA)
- The official area a council governs.
- Estimated Resident Population (ERP)
- The official population count for an area.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
- The national statistics agency behind population figures.
The area at a glance
- Population (ERP, 30 June 2025)
- 11,732ABS Estimated Resident Population (preliminary). The council says 'over 11,000'.
- Area
- 4,211 km²ABS (4,211.1 km²).
- Population density
- About 2.8 people per km²ABS population ÷ ABS area (our calculation). Most residents live in Ararat, so density varies widely.
- Wards
- None — 7 councillors elected across the whole municipality
- Council group (LGPRF)
- Small Shire
- Rateable properties
- 7,505 assessments (2026–27 budget)
- Traditional Owners
- Eastern Maar, Barengi Gadjin (Wotjobaluk Nations) and Wadawurrung peoplesIn the council's words: 'Ararat Rural City Council acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we live and work, the Eastern Maar, Barengi Gadjin (the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia, and Jupagulk peoples of the Wotjobaluk Nations), and Wadawurrung peoples, and recognise their connection to the land and waterways.'
- Council office
- Municipal Office, 59 Vincent Street, Ararat
Suburbs & postcodes
- Ararat3377
- Armstrong3377
- Ballyrogan3375
- Bayindeen3375
- Black Range (part)3381
- Bornes Hill3379
- Buangor (part)3375
- Carranballac (part)3361
- Cathcart3377
- Chatsworth (part)3379
- Crowlands (part)3377
- Denicull Creek3377
- Dobie3377
- Dunneworthy (part)3377
- Elmhurst (part)3469
- Eversley (part)3377
- Glenlogie (part)3469
- Glenthompson (part)3293
- Great Western (part)3374
- Halls Gap (part)3381
- Lake Bolac3351
- Langi Logan3377
- Mafeking3379
- Maroona3377
- Middle Creek (part)3375
- Mininera3351
- Mount Cole3377
- Mount Cole Creek3377
- Moyston3377
- Narrapumelap South3293
- Nerrin Nerrin (part)3351
- Norval3377
- Pomonal (part)3381
- Pura Pura (part)3271
- Rhymney3377
- Rocky Point3377
- Rossbridge3377
- Stavely3379
- Stoneleigh (part)3373
- Streatham (part)3351
- Tatyoon3378
- Warrak3377
- Westmere3351
- Wickliffe3379
- Willaura3379
- Willaura North3379
- Woorndoo (part)3272
- Yalla-Y-Poora3378
On the map
The shaded area is the official Local Government Area boundary.
The council doesn't publish a full list of localities, so we built this one from the official Vicmap locality boundaries and the ABS council boundary: a locality is listed when at least 5% of its area is inside the council, and marked '(part)' when less than 95% is. Shared localities include Buangor (about 77% inside), Pomonal (75%), Streatham (72%), Eversley (72%), Elmhurst (41%), Great Western (27%), Glenthompson (15%), Carranballac (10%), Halls Gap (7%) and Stoneleigh (6%) — for Halls Gap only a small part of the locality lies inside the council. The council's rural bin-day list also names Bellellen and Dunkeld, of which less than 5% lies inside the boundary, so they aren't listed here. Postcodes come from the CSA's suburb-and-postcode table (Table 03), which agrees with the Vicmap postcode boundaries. If you live in a split locality, your rates notice shows which council you pay. The shaded area on the map is the ABS council boundary (ASGS 2025); area and density figures use the ABS area.
Sources — check it yourself
- ABS — Regional population 2024–25, data cube 32180DS0002 Table 2 (Victoria; LGA 20260) · ERP 30 Jun 2025
- ABS — Regional population, latest release · Released Mar 2026
- Victorian Electoral Commission — Ararat Rural City Council (unsubdivided, 7 councillors) · Sep 2026
- Ararat Rural City Council — About Ararat (location, economy) · Sep 2026
- Ararat Rural City Council — Traditional Acknowledgement · Sep 2026
- Ararat Rural City Council — Budget 2026/2027, section 4.1.1(d) assessments (PDF) · 2026–27
- Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) — LGA Recorded Offences, Table 03 (suburb and postcode by LGA) · Jul 2025 to Jun 2026
- DataVic — Vicmap Admin locality polygons · Sep 2026
- Local Government Victoria — LGPRF 2020–2025 Full Council Data Set (council group: Small Shire) · 2024–25
Figures are current as at the dates shown and may change — always confirm with the linked source. See the notice at the bottom of the page for full details and how to report a correction.