Ballarat Gross Regional Product Reaches $10.2 Billion

Ballarat posted a gross regional product of $10.2 billion for the 2025 financial year according to City Compass figures.

The update arrives as regional Victoria tracks broader state economic trends and local planners weigh infrastructure and service needs. Growth in resident numbers and business registrations offers one measure of how the city is faring against neighbouring areas that recorded slightly lower unemployment in the same quarter.

Population and labour market

Estimated resident population stood at 122,661 in 2025, up 2,102 people or 1.74 per cent over the year. The unemployment rate reached 4.5 per cent in March 2026, above the 4 per cent recorded across regional Victoria but below the 4.7 per cent for the state overall. The rate had been 3.5 per cent a year earlier.

Building activity and business count

Building approvals totalled $723 million for the 2025-26 financial year to May, representing 1.3 per cent of the Victorian total and down from $765.4 million in the prior corresponding period. Registered businesses numbered 10,151 as of June 2025, an increase of 24 over the year, with 37.9 per cent classified as employing businesses compared with a state benchmark of 33.1 per cent.

City Compass compiles these indicators from public regional accounts, Australian Bureau of Statistics releases and labour-market datasets to support local planning. The modelled figures cover gross regional product, output, employment and related measures while protected input-output details stay within its workspace tools.

Residents and businesses can track the same headline measures on the City Compass site for Ballarat to compare quarterly updates on population, unemployment and approvals as new data becomes available.