City profile
Greater Geelong is the council for Geelong and its surrounds, about 75 km south-west of Melbourne on Corio Bay. It takes in central Geelong and its suburbs, Lara and Corio to the north, the growth area around Armstrong Creek to the south, and most of the Bellarine Peninsula, including Leopold, Drysdale, Portarlington, Ocean Grove and Barwon Heads. The council describes itself as Victoria's largest provincial city.
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)
- 295,052ABS Estimated Resident Population (preliminary). The council's 'About' page still gives 'over 276,000 (2022)'.
- Area
- 1,248 km²ABS. The council's page gives 1,247 km².
- Population density
- About 236 people per km²ABS population ÷ ABS area (our calculation). Much of the area is rural, so density varies widely.
- Wards
- 11, with one councillor each
- Council group (LGPRF)
- Regional City
- Rateable properties
- 148,319 assessments (2026–27 budget)Including 132,568 residential assessments.
- Traditional Owners
- The Wadawurrung PeopleAs acknowledged by the council.
- Neighbouring councils
- Moorabool, Wyndham, Queenscliffe, Surf Coast and Golden PlainsAs listed by the council. Several localities on the edges are split with these councils; they are marked '(part)' below.
Suburbs & postcodes
- Anakie (part)3213
- Armstrong Creek3217
- Avalon3212
- Balliang (part)3340
- Barwon Heads3227
- Batesford (part)3213
- Bell Park3215
- Bell Post Hill3215
- Bellarine3223
- Belmont3216
- Breakwater3219
- Breamlea (part)3227
- Ceres3221
- Charlemont3217
- Clifton Springs3222
- Connewarre (part)3227
- Corio3214
- Curlewis3222
- Drumcondra3215
- Drysdale3222
- East Geelong3219
- Fyansford3218
- Geelong3220
- Geelong West3218
- Grovedale3216
- Hamlyn Heights3215
- Herne Hill3218
- Highton3216
- Indented Head3223
- Lara3212
- Leopold3224
- Little River (part)3211
- Lovely Banks3213
- Manifold Heights3218
- Mannerim3222
- Marcus Hill3222
- Marshall3216
- Moolap3224
- Moorabool3213
- Mount Duneed (part)3217
- Newcomb3219
- Newtown3220
- Norlane3214
- North Geelong3215
- North Shore3214
- Ocean Grove3226
- Point Lonsdale (part)3225
- Point Wilson3212
- Portarlington3223
- Rippleside3215
- South Geelong3220
- St Albans Park3219
- St Leonards3223
- Swan Bay3225
- Thomson3219
- Wallington3222
- Wandana Heights3216
- Waurn Ponds3216
- Whittington3219
On the map
The shaded area is the official Local Government Area boundary.
Localities and postcodes come from the CSA's suburb-and-postcode table for Greater Geelong. We checked each against the official Vicmap locality and council boundaries: Anakie and Batesford are shared with Golden Plains, Balliang with Moorabool, Breamlea, Connewarre and Mount Duneed with Surf Coast, Little River with Wyndham, and Point Lonsdale with the Borough of Queenscliffe. Vicmap also places the small rural locality of Staughton Vale inside Greater Geelong; it has no row in the CSA table, so we don't list a postcode for it. 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), which leaves out water; area and density figures use the ABS area.
Sources — check it yourself
- ABS — Regional population 2024–25, data cube 32180DS0002 Table 2 (Victoria; LGA 22750) · ERP 30 Jun 2025
- ABS — Regional population, latest release · Released Mar 2026
- City of Greater Geelong — About the Greater Geelong municipality · Sep 2026
- Victorian Electoral Commission — Greater Geelong City Council (11 single-councillor wards) · Sep 2026
- City of Greater Geelong — Budget 2026–27, section 4.1.1(d) number of 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: Regional City) · 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.