The Hume is an economic rural region located in the north-eastern part of Victoria, Australia. Comprising an area in excess of 40,000 square kilometres (15,000 sq mi) with a population that has grown from 263,000 (in 2011) to 309,684 (in 2021), the Hume region includes the local government areas of Alpine Shire, Rural City of Benalla, City of Wodonga, City of Greater Shepparton, Shire of Indigo, Shire of Mansfield, Shire of Strathbogie, Shire of Towong and the Rural City of Wangaratta, and also includes five unincorporated areas encompassing the alpine ski resorts in the region.

The Hume region is located along the two major interstate transport corridors – the Hume corridor and the Goulburn Valley corridor. The region comprises four distinct and inter-connected sub-regions or districts: Upper Hume, Central Hume, Goulburn Valley, and Lower Hume. The regional cities and centres of Wodonga, Shepparton and Wangaratta (supported by Benalla) function as a network of regional hubs that service their own distinct sub-regions. The region is bounded by the Victorian Alps in the south and east, the New South Wales border defined by the Murray River in the north, the Loddon Mallee region in the west and the Greater Melbourne northern, western, and eastern metropolitan and Gippsland regions to the south.

Administration

Political representation

For the purposes of Australian federal elections for the House of Representatives, the Hume region is contained within all or part of the electoral divisions of Bendigo, Indi, McEwen, and Nicholls.

For the purposes of Victorian elections for the Legislative Assembly, the Hume region is contained within all or part of the electoral districts of Benambra, Eildon, Euroa, Ovens Valley, and Shepparton.

Local government areas

The region contains twelve local government areas and five unincorporated areas of Victoria, which are:

Hume region LGA populations

Local government area	Area		Population (2016 census)	Source(s)	Population (2021 census)	Source(s)
	km	sq mi
Alpine Shire	4,787	1,848	12,337		13,235
Rural City of Benalla	2,345	905	13,861		14,528
Shire of Indigo	2,044	789	15,952		17,368
Shire of Mansfield	3,843	1,484	8,584		10,178
Shire of Mitchell	2,864	1,106	40,918		49,460
Shire of Moira	4,045	1,562	29,112		30,522
Shire of Murrindindi	3,889	1,502	13,732		15,197
City of Greater Shepparton	2,422	935	63,837		68,409
Shire of Strathbogie	3,302	1,275	10,274		11,455
Shire of Towong	6,673	2,576	5,985		6,223
Rural City of Wangaratta	3,639	1,405	28,310		29,808
City of Wodonga	433	167	39,351		43,253
Totals	40,286	15,555	282,253		309,363

Hume region unincorporated areas populations

Unincorporated area	Area		Population (2021 census)	Source(s)
	km	sq mi
Falls Creek Alpine Resort	15.5	6.0	321
Lake Mountain Alpine Resort	unknown		Nil
Mount Buller Alpine Resort	22.6	8.7	Nil
Hotham Alpine Resort	29.1	11.2	Nil
Mount Stirling Alpine Resort	28.2	10.9	Nil
Totals	95.4	36.8	321

Hume region total populations

LGAs and Unincorporated areas	Area		Population (2021 census)
	km	sq mi
Total local government areas	40,286	15,555	309,363
Total unincorporated areas	95.4	36.8	321
Totals	40,381	15,591	309,684

Environmental protection

The Hume region contains many protected areas such as Barmah, Burrowa-Pine Mountain and Chiltern-Mt Pilot national parks; and the Winton Wetlands restoration site.

See also

• Geography of Victoria
• Regions of Victoria