CENSUS data released on Tuesday proves Warrnambool “seems to be in the forgotten part of the state”, according to city councillor Peter Hulin.
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The statistics show the city’s population increased by 5 per cent from 32,029 in 2011 to 33,655 in 2016.
Cr Hulin said compared to other areas, this was an alarming figure.
“When you look at the growth of other major areas in our state, it’s alarming,” he said.
Cr Hulin said state and federal governments were investing heavily in places like Ballarat and Bendigo and it was resulting in population spikes.
He said the south-west’s roads and rail network were in desperate need of funding to help attract more people to the city.
“I think it’s critical we get the roads up to a standard the rest of the state have,” Cr Hulin said.
“When is it going to be the south-west’s time?”
Cr Hulin said Warrnambool was a great place to live, with “magnificent assets”, but there was investment needed in much-needed infrastructure.
Bendigo and Ballarat did have population increases, of 9.7 per cent and 8.5 per cent, respectively.
However, there were population declines in other shires in the south-west.
The number of people living in the Southern Grampians Shire decreased by two per cent from 2011 to 2016, with 15,994 people now calling the area home.
Glenelg Shire had a very marginal decrease, with 19,575 residents in 2011 and 19,557 in 2016, while there was a 1.8 per cent decrease in Corangamite Shire – which is now home to 16,051 people.
The number of people living in Colac Otway Shire increased from 20,354 in 2011 to 20,972 in 2016 – an increase of three per cent.
The data also revealed the median age of Warrnambool residents is 40.
In Glenelg Shire, that age rises to 47 and similarly is higher in both Southern Grampians and Corangamite shires – at 46. It also reveals almost half of all residents aged 15 and over in Warrnambool are married.
The median personal income for a resident in Warrnambool was $618, while a family’s was an average of $1503. The median cost of rent in the city was $250 and almost half of all dwellings – 38 per cent – had two motor vehicles, while 15.8 per cent had three or more.