That's according to the latest report into the economic performance of Australia's cities and regions.

The 72-page document by SGS Economics and Planning identifies above-average growth in Bendigo in the past financial year.

It bucks the trend for regional Victoria, which saw a "large decline" in gross domestic product in the past financial year.

Gross domestic product in Ballarat and Geelong either suffered or stagnated.

Meanwhile, Bendigo's GDP swelled to $5239 million, an increase of 1.9 per cent in 12 months. Five yearly growth was up by 1.4 per cent.

Even with zero annual growth and "weaknesses across a range of industries", Ballarat's GDP was $660m higher than Bendigo's.

Ballarat's five yearly growth was 0.9 per cent - the same as Geelong's.

Geelong recorded a GDP of $11,540m last financial year, with 0.8 per cent annual growth. The report said the growth was in line with recent years, but was held back by weakness in transport and storage.

In her capacity as Regional Cities Victoria chair, Bendigo mayor Margaret O'Rourke called on the state government to invest in regional economies.

Specifically, the state's 10 largest regional cities sought a $400m boost to the Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund over four years, coupled with $100m for the Connecting Regional Communities Program.

"These investments will help deliver important infrastructure projects that improve regional liveability and support local businesses and communities," Cr O'Rourke said.

She said more support was needed to attract business investment and skilled workers to the regions, and more investment in key growth sectors such as health, renewable energy and waste management.

"While regional unemployment is at an all-time low, regional cities continue to experience chronic skills and labour shortages across a range of sectors - and this is having an impact on local economies," Cr O'Rourke said.