Ballarat economy reaches $10.2 billion GRP with population at 122,661

Ballarat recorded a gross regional product of $10.2 billion for the 2025 financial year, the latest local economic indicators show.

These figures arrive at a time when regional cities track population shifts closely because they shape demand for housing, transport and local services. Growth in one area can ease pressure on others or stretch existing resources, and Ballarat residents watch the numbers for signs of stability or change in daily costs and job prospects.

Central Victoria communities often link these trends to practical decisions such as whether to expand a small enterprise or apply for local training places. The data covers the whole local government area and gives a single snapshot rather than suburb-level detail.

Population and labour market movements

The estimated resident population stood at 122,661 in 2025, an increase of 2,102 people or 1.74 per cent over the previous year. Unemployment reached 4.5 per cent in the March 2026 quarter, up from 3.5 per cent twelve months earlier, while regional Victoria sat at 4 per cent and the state at 4.7 per cent in the same period. These labour-market readings come from the standard quarterly release and are reported alongside the broader economic accounts.

Building activity and business count

Building approvals totalled $723 million in the 2025-26 financial year to date as of May, down from $765.4 million in the prior comparable period and representing 1.3 per cent of the Victorian total. At June 2025 the city counted 10,151 registered businesses, 24 more than a year earlier, of which 37.9 per cent were employing businesses compared with a state benchmark of 33.1 per cent. The source material also notes modelled output of $19.1 billion and 67,917 jobs within the active public economic model.

City residents looking at these numbers can review the full set of indicators on the City Compass site for Ballarat to see how the headline measures sit alongside industry breakdowns and further detail on output and employment. Local advisers at the council level sometimes point people to the same public tables when discussing business support or workforce planning.