Despite predictions of a post-pandemic slowing of the shift to regional Victoria, Ballarat has continued to grow at one of the fastest rates for an inland city.
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ABS statistics from its Estimated Resident Population series show that up to the end of June 2022, Ballarat grew by 2.1 percent or added 2365 people to its population in the 12 months.
This brings the total population for the Local Government Area to 115,847 and continues the trend highlighted in the 2021 census.
The percentage growth is also a jump from the ten year average of 1.7 percent growth per year where the Regional Population Estimate shows Ballarat has added 17,277 people over the last decade.
The latest growth estimates mean Ballarat has outstripped by percentage Geelong, Bendigo and is only slightly behind the ever popular Surf-Coast which grew by 2.6 percent.
Greater Bendigo which includes country towns such as Heathcote and Axedale is still a larger population with 122,551 people but it only grew by 1330 people or 1.1 percent over the 12 months.
Geelong grew at 2.0 percent while other cities like Shepparton and Mildura showed much more modest growth of 0.5 and 0.3 percent respectively.
The wider Ballarat region also saw some some growth with Moorabool Shire growing by 1.6 percent and Golden Plains growing by 1.7 percent in 2021/22 but these numbers are most likely to be concentrated in Bacchus Marsh and in the Bannockburn urban areas.
Hepburn grew by a modest 79 people or 0.5 percent over the year.
Ballarat's growth is also bucking a trend for population statistics further west where other LGA's including Ararat, Horsham and the Southern and Northern Grampians showed small drops according to the ABS.
Other Wimmera shires, like Yarriambiack, Hindmarsh and West Wimmera continued to show population declines of around 1.0 percent.
The largest growth across Victoria was in all the peri-urban LGA's including a staggering 6.4 percent growth in Melton, 4.2 percent growth in Wyndham around Melbourne's west and 3.8 percent growth in Mitchell to the north of Melbourne.
The case for infrastructure investment, particularly in public transport and the electrification of the line to Melton has gained even more weight with the latest release of where numbers
Census data released last year showed the City of Ballarat local government area had jumped 113,763 people, an increase of 11.9 per cent in the five years since the previous 2016 census.
However the 2021 Census was conducted in the midst of the second year of COVID lockdowns and while these had encouraged some shifts to the less affected regional areas in Victoria, international travel restrictions meant incoming migration from overseas had plummeted.
Two thirds of the growth in the latest ABS data for the Ballarat LGA consists of internal migration or residents moving from other LGA's.
A further 20 percent or 471 people added to the Ballarat population in 2021/22 were from overseas, accounting for the seven month period after international travel restrictions were lifted in November 2021.
The density of the population has also increased, rising from 140 people per square kilometre in 2016 to 156 in 2022.
Last year the Commonwealth Bank Australia and the Regional Australia Institute's Regional Movers Index report, that compiles data from CBA customers, found a slowing of the shift to regional areas.
Overall, the report for the June 2022 quarter found less people are moving to the regions compared to increased movement during COVID-19 lockdown years.
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