Bendigo Economy Snapshot: Key Decisions Ahead on Service Transition

Greater Bendigo recorded a gross regional product of $10.5 billion in 2024, placing it as Victoria's third-largest economy behind only Melbourne and Geelong. Manufacturing contributed $3.1 billion or 18.3 percent of that output, while health care and social assistance employed 10,700 people as the largest single employer.

Current Economic Foundations

The $10.5 billion figure rests on established manufacturing strength alongside health care. These two pillars account for a substantial share of activity, with manufacturing delivering the highest dollar value and health care providing the most jobs. Eight thousand one hundred sixty-five local businesses operate across the region, many of them small operations that have seen a 2.3 percent rise in micro-business numbers over two years.

Employment and Population Trends

As of August 2025, around 82,000 people held jobs in the Bendigo region. Five sectors-health care and social assistance, retail trade, construction, manufacturing, and education and training-made up 57 percent of total employment. The City of Greater Bendigo counted roughly 121,000 residents in 2024, while the wider area including Echuca surrounds reached 253,248 by 2025. Median income stood at $49,246, with house prices in the high $400,000s to just over $600,000.

Decisions Ahead

Regional leaders face choices on how to manage the documented shift toward a service-based economy while preserving manufacturing output. Options include measures to maintain the 2.3 percent micro-business uplift and to accommodate the forecast rise in population to 200,000 by 2050 within the city boundary. Workforce participation remains high, with over 90 percent of local workers living in the area, which supports retention of the existing 8,165 businesses. Continued attention to these patterns will shape whether the current $10.5 billion economy expands in line with population growth or holds steady.