Editing Ballarat (section)

==Demographics==
[[File:Ballarat St Peters Anglican Church.JPG|thumb|right|St Peter's Anglican Church, which represents the second most common religious affiliation in Ballarat]]
Ballarat is the 4th largest inland city in Australia, and the 3rd largest Victorian city behind Melbourne and Geelong. According to the [[2021 Australian census|2021 census]], there were 111,973 people in Ballarat,<ref name="Age The Courier 2007-05-02"/> a moderate increase from 105,471 in June 2018.<ref name="ABSSUA">{{cite web|date=27 March 2019|title=3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2020–21: Population Estimates by Significant Urban Area, 2008 to 2018|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/3218.02017-18|access-date=25 October 2019|publisher=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]]}} Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.</ref> This follows annual growth of 1.78% since June 2013 (slightly faster than the national rate of 1.56% during the same period).<ref name="ABSSUA" />

The recently accelerated growth rate has been attributed by demographers to increased commuter activity arising from surging house and land prices in Melbourne coupled with public transport improvements between Ballarat and Melbourne.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}

Most of the city's population can trace their ancestry to Anglo-Celtic descent, and 16.3% of the population are born overseas.<ref name="Age The Courier 2007-05-02">{{Cite web|title=2021 Ballarat, Census All persons QuickStats {{!}} Australian Bureau of Statistics|url=https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/2003|access-date=2023-05-27|publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics}}</ref> These include people from England (2.1%), India (1.6%), New Zealand (0.9%), China (0.6%), and the Philippines (0.6%).<ref name="Age The Courier 2007-05-02"/> 8.2% speak a language other than English.<ref name="Age The Courier 2007-05-02"/> 18.8% of the population is over the age of 65.<ref name="Age The Courier 2007-05-02"/> The median age in Ballarat is 38 years.<ref name="Age The Courier 2007-05-02"/>

Ballarat's ethnic make up is partly the result of the mid 19th Century gold rush, where people of Celtic, Anglo-Saxon and East Asian descent emigrated here in the hope of landing a fortune.

The median income of the local government area of Ballarat in 2019-2010 was $A50,767.<ref name="Income The Courier 2010-09-14">{{Cite web|date=2022-12-19|title=Personal Income in Australia, 2015–16 to 2019–20 {{!}} Australian Bureau of Statistics|url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/earnings-and-working-conditions/personal-income-australia/latest-release|access-date=2023-05-27|publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics|language=en}}</ref> According to the 2021 Census, Ballarat's working population include Professionals (22.8%), Community and Personal Service Workers (13.8%), Technicians and Trades Workers (13.8%), Clerical and Administrative Workers (12.3%), and Managers (11.2%).<ref name="Age The Courier 2007-05-02"/> The unemployment rate in 2021 was 4.8%.<ref name="Age The Courier 2007-05-02"/>

21.9% of the population have completed further education after high school.<ref name="Age The Courier 2007-05-02"/>

According to the 2017 Victorian Population Health Survey, Ballarat is home to the fifth largest community of LGBTIQA+ people by LGA in the State.<ref>{{Cite web|year=2021|title=The health and wellbeing of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer population in Victoria|url=https://vahi.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-12/The-health-and-wellbeing-of-the-LGBTIQ-population-in-Victoria.pdf}}</ref>

===Religion===
Christianity is the most common religion in Ballarat. Catholics (21.3%), [[Anglicans]] (7.9%) and the [[Uniting Church]] (4.7%) were the largest Christian denominations. 47.6% stated they had no religion and a further 5.9% did not answer the question.<ref name="Age The Courier 2007-05-02"/>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:Ballarat Masonic Complex.JPG|Ballarat Masonic Complex
File:Ballarat Synagogue 001.JPG|Ballarat Synagogue
File:Ballarat Anglican Cathedral 001.JPG|Christ the King Anglican cathedral
File:Ballarat Pleasant St Uniting Church.JPG|Pleasant St Uniting Church
File:Ballarat East Roman Catholic Church 002.JPG|St Alipius Roman Catholic church
File:Ballarat Former Baptist Church.jpg|Baptist Church 
</gallery>