Areas / Ararat / Ararat

This page covers the Ararat suburb only. For all of Ararat, see the Ararat council map by suburb →

Ararat flood map & planning overlays

Ararat tops its shire on people (8,500), heritage (131) and bus stops (64).

Free map preview, then PDF reports from $9 - about the price of an iced latte on a public holiday.

A planning-constraint profile of Ararat (Ararat, VIC) - 161.18 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 24 October 2026.

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Ararat's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Magenta is where aircraft were observed in the sampled period, brightest below 3,000 ft.

Nearby suburbs, nearest first

Aircraft noise and flight paths over Ararat

The ANEF contour is a published planning forecast and observed overflight is what a sampled tracking feed recorded - neither describes any individual property.

Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 24 Oct 2026

Under observed aircraft
17%
of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft
Below 3,000 ft
0%
of the suburb's area
Lowest measured
2,000 ft
averaging 6,500 ft
How often
not established
aircraft were seen, but not often enough to put a rate on

Night movements: observed, lowest 1,500 ft - night is sampled as often as day, but night traffic is light, so this is a floor and no rate can be put on it.

How this is measured

Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously, so every figure is a floor: aircraft not captured between samples are not represented. Rates are per 500 m square - the busiest square in the suburb, not a count of flights over the suburb - and a square is only rated where enough traffic was seen to measure it. Altitudes are above mean sea level. Flight paths change with runway use, weather, season and airspace design. This is a record of observed traffic; it is not a noise contour and not a planning control.

Ararat at a glance

Parcels 6,660 Median lot 925 m² Mapped easements 893 Train Ararat Station Bus stops 64

How Ararat is zoned

Farming Zone (FZ) 69%
Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ) 13%
General Residential Zone (GRZ1) 4%
Public Park and Recreation Zone (PPRZ) 4%
Rural Living Zone (RLZ) 4%
Transport Zone (TRZ2) 1%

Selling in Ararat? The zoning and planning overlays on this page are the controls a Section 32 vendor statement discloses.

Across its 161.18 km², Ararat is highly constrained by planning overlays. Flood mapping covers the suburb and none of it falls within a mapped flood overlay, and 97% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 131 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Farming Zone (FZ). The median lot measures about 925 m² across 6,660 parcels.

Who lives in Ararat

Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Ararat suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.

Population
8,500
usual residents, 2021
Median age
45
years
Median household income
$1,216
per week, Ararat suburb typical $1,370
Median rent
$250
per week, Ararat suburb typical $147
Median mortgage
$1,083
per month
Household size
2.2
people, average

Socio-economic standing

ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.

Advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD) Decile 2
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 904, and decile 1 within Victoria. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 2
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Ararat's 8,500 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 5.0%
5-14 9.5%
15-19 4.9%
20-24 5.3%
25-34 13.8%
35-44 11.1%
45-54 12.4%
55-64 13.8%
65-74 12.9%
75-84 7.8%
85+ 3.6%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

Estimated resident population of Ararat, the wider ABS statistical area containing Ararat. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Ararat itself.

8,150 in 2001 to 8,399 in 2025, up 3%.

Source: ABS Census 2021 and SEIFA 2021 (Suburbs and Localities), Regional Population (SA2), CC BY 4.0. Small counts are randomly adjusted by the ABS.

Ararat data sources and coverage

“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.

DatasetCoveragePublisher
Flood mappingMappedVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services
Bushfire-prone mappingMappedVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services
ZoningMappedVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services
Heritage and environmentMapped where publishedVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services
Aircraft noise contours (ANEF)Not heldVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services, Defence
Observed flight pathsObservedadsb.lol, under the Open Database License
DemographicsAvailableAustralian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA)

Profile last materially updated 24 October 2026. See the methodology and full source list. Source data changes over time and critical decisions should be checked with the responsible authority.

Check a specific Ararat address

See exactly which overlays touch a single property - the interactive map is free. Need it on paper? A full planning PDF is just $9.

See what's in the $9 report →

The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.

Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and the indicative soil reactivity range to expect for a Ararat lot.

Ararat planning - frequently asked

Is Ararat flood-prone?

Flood mapping covers Ararat and none of the suburb falls within a mapped flood overlay (the council-wide suburb average is 5%).

Is Ararat bushfire-prone?

Around 97% of Ararat is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Ararat average of 100%.

Is Ararat under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed over about 17% of Ararat in the period sampled, but only above 3,000 ft - the lowest measured was 2,000 ft. Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously and flight paths change with runway use, weather and season; the ANEF contour is the planning instrument.

What is the zoning in Ararat?

The dominant planning zone in Ararat is Farming Zone (FZ), though the suburb also includes Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ) and General Residential Zone (GRZ1).

Does Ararat have heritage-listed places?

Ararat has 131 heritage-listed places on record.

What is the typical lot size in Ararat?

Across 6,660 surveyed parcels in Ararat, the median lot size is about 925 m². There are also 893 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Ararat have a train station?

Yes - Ararat has 1 train station: Ararat Station. It is also served by 64 bus stops.

What is the population of Ararat?

At the 2021 Census Ararat had 8,500 usual residents, with a median age of 45 and an average household size of 2.2 people. The wider Ararat statistical area, which contains Ararat, went from 8,150 people in 2001 to 8,399 in 2025, up 3%.

Is Ararat an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Ararat scores 904 and sits in decile 2 of 10 nationally and decile 1 within Victoria (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Ararat?

Median household income in Ararat was $1,216 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,370 for the typical suburb in Ararat. Median rent was $250 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,083 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Dobie 8.5 km Not mapped 100%
Dunneworthy 8.5 km 5% 100%
Denicull Creek 9.7 km Not mapped 100%
Cathcart 10.4 km Not mapped 100%
Armstrong 10.7 km <1% 100%
Norval 11.2 km Not mapped 100%
Warrak 11.7 km 6% 100%
Mount Cole Creek 13.3 km 13% 100%
Rocky Point 14.1 km Not mapped 100%
Great Western
Northern Grampians		 14.4 km 7% 100%

See all Ararat suburb profiles →