Essendon
With 21,240 residents and a median age of 39, Essendon combines a premium property market with an unusually educated, higher-income profile. University attainment is 53.5%, which is 23.4 percentage points above the national comparison, while household income sits at the 81.4th percentile. Its compact 6.16 square kilometre area supports a density of 3,448.6 people per square kilometre, while established professional and family demand helps sustain prices.
Population
21,240
Median Age
39.0
Household IncomeiMedian weekly household income (ABS Census)
$2,132/wk
DAs (12 months)iDevelopment Applications lodged in the past year
100
Median House
$1.9M
October to December 2025
Essendon suits buyers prioritising established housing, schools and access to Melbourne over entry-level affordability. Separate houses make up 47.2% of homes, while apartments account for 33.0% and semi-detached dwellings 19.6%, giving buyers more choice than a purely detached market. A typical mortgage payment is $2,275 monthly, equal to 24.6% of household income, below the level generally associated with mortgage stress. The trade-off is that prices are higher than in many nearby alternatives, so apartments and smaller two or three-bedroom homes provide the more accessible path.
For Buyers
Essendon suits buyers prioritising established housing, schools and access to Melbourne over entry-level affordability. Separate houses make up 47.2% of homes, while apartments account for 33.0% and semi-detached dwellings 19.6%, giving buyers more choice than a purely detached market. A typical mortgage payment is $2,275 monthly, equal to 24.6% of household income, below the level generally associated with mortgage stress. The trade-off is that prices are higher than in many nearby alternatives, so apartments and smaller two or three-bedroom homes provide the more accessible path.
For Investors
Essendon has a large tenant base, with 36.0% of occupied dwellings rented compared with 32.7% owned outright, creating a meaningful rental market. Weekly rent is $380 and the vacancy rate is 12.1%, which is higher than a tightly supplied market and may limit short-term rental growth despite strong demand. Development activity is substantial, with 92 applications recorded over 12 months, increasing the risk of competing new supply in some pockets. Rents have grown 31.8% across the wider forecast area, while overseas migration is the primary growth driver.
Development Activity
Total DAs
124
Last 12 Months
100
YoY ChangeiYear-over-year change in DA lodgements
+455.6%
Avg DA CostiAverage estimated cost per DA in the past year
N/A
Monthly DA Lodgements
DA Categories
Schools in Essendon
Open-register school locations for education access. This is not a school-quality ranking.
Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School
Essendon Primary School
St Therese's School
Buckley Park College
St Bernard's College
Demographics
Essendon has an older profile than some inner-urban districts but remains highly educated and professionally oriented. The median age of 39 is 1.0 year below the national comparison, while 53.5% of residents hold university qualifications, 23.4 percentage points above the national figure. Average household size is 2.4 people, 0.1 below the national comparison, consistent with a substantial couples-without-children share of 37.5%. English ancestry is recorded for 5,649 residents and Italian ancestry for 3,464, with Italian the most common listed non-English language at 408 speakers. Overseas-born residents account for 25.5%, 3.9 percentage points above the national comparison, helping explain the suburb's established cultural links and overseas migration-led growth.
Age Distribution
Bedrooms
Dwelling Structure
47.2%
Houses
19.6%
Townhouse
33.0%
Apartment
Tenure
That is a 115.2% increase across 19 years, equivalent to a 4.1% compound annual growth rate, and the latest figure is also the recorded peak. Tenure is relatively balanced: 32.7% of homes are owned outright, 29.9% have a mortgage and 36.0% are rented. The dwelling mix is more varied than in detached-house suburbs, with 47.2% separate houses, 33.0% apartments and 19.6% semi-detached homes. Three-bedroom dwellings account for 31.7%, while four-bedroom homes represent 25.4%, giving Essendon a broader mix than nearby premium areas dominated by large houses.
Mortgage / mo
$2,275
Rent / wkiMedian weekly rent for new bonds (year ending Sep 2025), Homes Victoria bond data (year-ending median). Census 2021 median: $380.
$550
Bond data year ending Sep 2025 · houses $650 · units $510
HH Size
2.4
Personal Income / wk
$1,067
Vacancy Ratei% of dwellings unoccupied on Census night (ABS 2021)
12.1%
Unoccupied
1,172
Rent / IncomeiMedian rent as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
17.8%
Mortgage / IncomeiMedian mortgage as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
24.6%
Community Profile
Languages Spoken at Home
Ancestry
Household Composition
48.6%
Couples with children
37.5%
Couples, no children
11.9%
Single parent
5,486
Total families
Economy & Employment
Essendon's economic base is led by healthcare at 15.9% of employment, followed by professional and technical services at 13.3%, education at 11.8%, construction at 8.3% and public administration at 8.3%. This aligns with 3,912 professionals and 2,025 managers, while clerical and administrative workers add 1,767. Labour force participation is 68.9%, unemployment is 4.2% and 61.7% of workers are full-time, supporting relatively resilient household demand. Household income ranks at the 81.4th percentile. Socioeconomic measures are above the national midpoint, with IRSAD and IRSD both in decile 9, although the IER education and employment decile is 6, a lower result that may reflect differences between resident qualifications, employment conditions and broader advantage.
Unemployment
4.2%
Labour Force
12,454
Unemployed
520
Source: ABS Census 2021
Socio-Economic Indexes (SEIFA)iABS index ranking suburbs from 1 (most disadvantaged) to 10 (most advantaged)
Full-time
61.7%
Part-time
32.1%
Participation
68.9%
Employed
11,934
Full-time and part-time are shares of the employed. Source: ABS Census 2021
Occupations
Top Industries
University
53.5%
Postgraduate
14.5%
Born Overseas
25.5%
Dwellings
8,518
Transport to Work
Essendon provides practical access to six named schools across primary, secondary and combined primary-secondary education, including 3 Catholic, 2 government and 1 independent school. Exact enrolment zones should be checked against the address because they can cross suburb boundaries. Car driving is the main recorded commute mode at 46.9%, while 5.8% use public transport and 41.4% work from home, so daily convenience varies by household and workplace. Recorded crime is 58.2 incidents per 1,000 residents, including 1,237 total offences, with property and deception offences the largest category at 775 and crimes against the person at 203. An IRSAD decile of 9 places Essendon above the national midpoint for socioeconomic advantage, supporting strong services and amenity demand, although the crime rate warrants normal attention to property security.
Drive
46.9%
Public Transport
5.8%
Walk / Cycle
2.8%
Work from Home
41.4%
Population Forecast
+1.18%/yr
(+95 people/yr)
EstablishedEssendon's forecast points to steady but mixed expansion rather than a single-direction transformation. The annual growth trend is 1.18%, with overseas migration identified as the primary driver, while population change across the wider area is forecast at 19.0% over ten years, above a no-growth baseline. The shift trajectory is labelled Mixed, reflecting rent growth of 31.8%, a 1.5 percentage point increase in the working-age share and a 1.2 percentage point decline in the young share. Gentrification signals are also conflicted: the shift model records a score of 45 and Active stage, while the separate gentrification measure records a score of 8 and Not gentrifying. This suggests ongoing price and demographic change without a clear wholesale replacement of the established population.
Historical + Forecast
Hamilton-Perry + Holt smoothing on ERP 2001-2025
Age Cohort Forecast
Primary Driver
Overseas Migration
Net Overseas / yr
+95
Net Internal / yr
-16
Gentrification Signal
Not gentrifying
Population +24% since 2011
Safety & Crime
Total Offences
1,237
Year ending June 2024
Rate per 1,000 People
58.2
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 Essendon compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs
Frequently Asked Questions
What schools are in Essendon?
Essendon has 6 named schools spanning primary, secondary and combined primary-secondary education. The mix includes 3 Catholic schools, 2 government schools and 1 independent school. Families should confirm the exact enrolment zone and entry requirements for each address because school boundaries can differ from suburb boundaries.
Is Essendon safe?
Essendon recorded 1,237 offences, equivalent to 58.2 incidents per 1,000 residents. Property and deception offences accounted for 775 cases, compared with 203 crimes against the person and 133 justice procedures offences. These figures support normal precautions around vehicles, homes and valuables rather than treating safety as uniform across every street.
How is Essendon's population changing?
Essendon has 21,240 residents today, while the wider forecast area records a 1.18% annual growth trend and 19.0% population change over ten years. Overseas migration is the primary driver. The trajectory is labelled Mixed because the young share fell 1.2 percentage points while the working share rose 1.5 percentage points.
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), Valuer-General Victoria (house prices), state education open registers (school locations), 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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