Epsom
At a median age of 32, Epsom runs 8.0 years below the national figure, and that youth shapes the rest of the picture. The median house price of $587,000 keeps entry costs low for a detached-house market, where 95.5% of dwellings are separate houses and apartments barely register at 0.2%. Half of all households (49.6%) carry a mortgage, well above the renting share of 24.3%, marking this as a buying market for young families rather than renters or outright owners. Household income sits at the 60.2nd percentile nationally, modest but enough to make repayments comfortable, since the mortgage-to-income ratio holds at 19.8%, far below the 30% stress line.
Population
5,014
Median Age
32.0
Household IncomeiMedian weekly household income (ABS Census)
$1,714/wk
DAs (12 months)iDevelopment Applications lodged in the past year
27
Median House
$587K
Apr-Jun 2024
Epsom suits first and second home buyers because the $587,000 median buys a detached house, not an apartment, in a market where 95.5% of stock is separate dwellings. Prices have eased 3.8% from the 2023 peak of $610,000, giving buyers a softer entry than at the top of the cycle, while still sitting 82.0% above the 2013 level of $322,500. The bedroom mix favours families: 50.6% of homes have three bedrooms and 43.6% have four or more, so larger households are well served. Monthly mortgage repayments average $1,473, which against local incomes produces a mortgage-to-income ratio of just 19.8%, comfortably below the 30% stress threshold. With 49.6% of households already paying off a loan, the suburb is built around owner-occupier buyers rather than investors.
For Buyers
Epsom suits first and second home buyers because the $587,000 median buys a detached house, not an apartment, in a market where 95.5% of stock is separate dwellings. Prices have eased 3.8% from the 2023 peak of $610,000, giving buyers a softer entry than at the top of the cycle, while still sitting 82.0% above the 2013 level of $322,500. The bedroom mix favours families: 50.6% of homes have three bedrooms and 43.6% have four or more, so larger households are well served. Monthly mortgage repayments average $1,473, which against local incomes produces a mortgage-to-income ratio of just 19.8%, comfortably below the 30% stress threshold. With 49.6% of households already paying off a loan, the suburb is built around owner-occupier buyers rather than investors.
For Investors
The investment case for Epsom rests on tenant scarcity rather than yield depth. Only 24.3% of households rent, a thin pool compared with the 49.6% on a mortgage, and the 4.6% vacancy rate is loose enough to give tenants choice. Weekly rent of $340 against the $587,000 median implies a gross yield near 3.0%, modest but ahead of premium metro suburbs. Rent-to-income at 19.8% leaves room for rises without pushing tenants into stress. Development is steady but not transformative at 26 applications in 12 months, including a 17-lot subdivision, so new supply is trickling in rather than flooding. With prices down 3.8% from peak yet up 4.4% a year compounded over 14 years, the play is long-hold capital growth and a regional rental shortage more than short-term yield.
Development Activity
Total DAs
34
Last 12 Months
27
YoY ChangeiYear-over-year change in DA lodgements
+1250.0%
Avg DA CostiAverage estimated cost per DA in the past year
N/A
Monthly DA Lodgements
DA Categories
Schools in Epsom iICSEA: school advantage index. 1000 = national avg, higher = more advantaged
Epsom Primary School
Prep-6 · 425 students
Demographics
Epsom skews young and Australian-born. The median age of 32 is 8.0 years below the national figure, and overseas-born residents make up just 12.0%, which is 9.6 points below national, marking this as an Anglo-leaning population. Ancestry confirms it: English (2,010), Irish (611) and Scottish (480) dominate, while the largest non-English languages are Malayalam (62) and Punjabi (16), small in absolute terms. University qualifications reach 25.8%, running 4.3 points below national, consistent with a workforce weighted toward healthcare and trades rather than knowledge sectors. Average household size is 2.7, 0.2 above national, reflecting the family profile where couples with children (2,071 families) outnumber couples without (954).
Age Distribution
Bedrooms
Dwelling Structure
95.5%
Houses
3.1%
Townhouse
0.2%
Apartment
Tenure
Tenure tilts heavily toward buyers paying down debt: 49.6% of households hold a mortgage, against 26.1% who own outright and 24.3% who rent. That mortgage majority, the highest of the three groups, marks Epsom as a working-buyer market rather than one of established wealth or renters. The stock is overwhelmingly detached at 95.5% separate houses, with apartments at 0.2% and semi-detached at 3.1%, so density is low at 561.4 residents per km2. Family-sized homes prevail, with 50.6% three-bedroom and 43.6% four-bedroom-plus dwellings. The median price rose from $322,500 in 2013 to $587,000 in 2024, an 82.0% climb at 4.4% a year, though it has slipped 3.8% from the 2023 peak of $610,000. Mortgage-to-income at 19.8% stays well below the 30% stress line.
Median House Price Trend
Source: State Valuer-General
Mortgage / mo
$1,473
Rent / wk
$340
HH Size
2.7
Personal Income / wk
$816
Vacancy Ratei% of dwellings unoccupied on Census night (ABS 2021)
4.6%
Unoccupied
85
Rent / IncomeiMedian rent as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
19.8%
Mortgage / IncomeiMedian mortgage as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
19.8%
Community Profile
Languages Spoken at Home
Ancestry
Household Composition
22.7%
Couples, no children
4,210
Total families
Economy & Employment
Healthcare anchors the local economy, employing 25.9% of workers (420 people), more than double the next sector, Construction at 10.4% (169). Manufacturing (9.6%), Education (9.4%) and Public Administration (6.3%) round out the top five, a mix that leans toward services and trades rather than finance or professional firms. By occupation, Professionals lead at 490, followed by Community and Personal Service workers at 334 and Labourers at 319, a spread consistent with the below-national university rate of 25.8%. The labour market is healthy: unemployment is 3.7% and the full-time employment rate is 63.8%, with a participation rate of 63.6%. The healthcare concentration gives the suburb a stable employment base because that demand holds through economic cycles.
Socio-Economic Indexes (SEIFA)iABS index ranking suburbs from 1 (most disadvantaged) to 10 (most advantaged)
Full-time
63.8%
Part-time
32.5%
Participation
63.6%
Employed
2,315
Occupations
Top Industries
University
25.8%
Postgraduate
4.5%
Born Overseas
12.0%
Dwellings
1,767
Transport to Work
Epsom is built for cars, not commuters: 90.7% of residents drive to work while just 1.0% use public transport and 1.6% walk or cycle, a reliance that reflects the low-density, detached layout at 561.4 residents per km2. Crime totals 387 incidents, a rate of 77.2 per 1,000 residents, and the mix is weighted toward property and deception offences (236) rather than crimes against the person (42), so the risk profile leans toward theft over violence. Housing costs stay manageable, with both mortgage-to-income and rent-to-income at 19.8%, well below the 30% stress threshold, which keeps household budgets comfortable. No schools sit inside the suburb boundary in this dataset, so families rely on nearby Bendigo institutions, a practical trade-off for the open, affordable setting.
Drive
90.7%
Public Transport
1.0%
Walk / Cycle
1.6%
Work from Home
N/A
Safety & Crime
Total Offences
387
Year ending June 2024
Rate per 1,000 People
77.2
Offence Categories
Source: Crime Statistics Agency Victoria / SA Police
National Ranking iPercentile rank among ~15,000 AU suburbs. 90% = higher than 90% of suburbs
How Epsom compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Epsom a good suburb to live in?
Epsom suits young families: the median age of 32 is 8.0 years below national, and 95.5% of dwellings are detached houses. Housing costs are comfortable, with mortgage-to-income at 19.8%, well below the 30% stress line. The main trade-off is car dependence, with 90.7% driving and only 1.0% using public transport.
What is the median house price in Epsom?
The median house price is $587,000 as of the Apr-Jun 2024 quarter, down 3.8% from the 2023 peak of $610,000 but up 82.0% from $322,500 in 2013. Weekly rent averages $340 and monthly mortgage repayments run about $1,473, giving a mortgage-to-income ratio of 19.8%.
What schools are in Epsom?
No schools are recorded inside the Epsom boundary in this dataset, so families rely on schools in neighbouring Bendigo suburbs. The local population skews young, with a median age of 32, which is 8.0 years below the national figure, and an average household size of 2.7.
Is Epsom safe?
Epsom recorded 387 crime incidents, a rate of 77.2 per 1,000 residents. The mix leans toward property and deception offences at 236 incidents, well above the 42 crimes against the person, so the risk is more about theft than violence. Drug offences were low at 16.
Is Epsom good for property investment?
Rent of $340 a week against the $587,000 median gives a gross yield near 3.0%, ahead of premium metro suburbs. The renter pool is thin at 24.3% versus 49.6% on mortgages, and vacancy sits at 4.6%. Prices compounded 4.4% a year over 14 years, so the case favours long-hold capital growth.
How is Epsom's population changing?
Epsom holds 5,014 residents at a median age of 32, which is 8.0 years below national. The family base renews itself, with couples-with-children making up 2,071 of 4,210 families. Residential turnover is 22.8%, meaning 77.2% of residents stayed, pointing to steady rather than rapid change.
How much development is happening in Epsom?
There were 26 development applications lodged in the past 12 months, including a 17-lot subdivision and a 3-lot certification, plus a swimming-school recreation facility. The activity reflects gradual greenfield expansion rather than high-density redevelopment, consistent with the 95.5% detached-house stock.
How to read these comparisons
Phrases like "above the national average" reference the unweighted median across Australian suburbs with more than 1,000 residents, not population-weighted national figures. Suburb-level medians are more useful for ranking suburbs against each other; ABS census headlines are population-weighted (so dominated by Sydney and Melbourne) and can read very differently.
Current baseline (refreshed 2026-05-10): median age 40, university-educated 30.1%, born overseas 21.6%, average household size 2.5 people.
Data sources: ABS 2021 Census (demographics, income, tenure), state Valuer-General (house prices), Department of Jobs SALM (unemployment), ACARA (school ICSEA), state Crime Statistics agencies (offences), council DA portals (development applications). Population forecasts use a Hamilton-Perry cohort model calibrated to ABS ERP.
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