Melbourne
Calling Melbourne 3000 a residential suburb misreads what 54,941 people actually do here. Of the dwellings counted, 99.7% are apartments and only 0.1% are separate houses, the most extreme apartment ratio of any SAL in Victoria. Median age is 29, compared with a national median around 38, and 70.6% of residents were born overseas (49 percentage points above the national 21.6%). Chinese ancestry leads with 16,763 people and 62.3% hold a university qualification, more than double the national 30.1%. Population has grown roughly 1,995% over 10 years from a tiny base; this is a student-and-young-professional precinct shaped by overseas migration and apartment tower delivery, not a traditional neighbourhood with families and yards.
Population
54,941
Median Age
29.0
Household IncomeiMedian weekly household income (ABS Census)
$1,448/wk
DAs (12 months)iDevelopment Applications lodged in the past year
1,270
Owner-occupier buyers are a minority here: only 13.1% own outright and 13.6% hold a mortgage, while 73.3% rent, almost double the national renter share of around 31%. The brief contains no median house price because separate houses make up just 0.1% of stock; what you're buying is a one or two-bedroom apartment, with 36.1% of dwellings at 0-1 bedrooms and 53.9% at 2 bedrooms versus a tiny 0.5% with 4+ bedrooms. Median monthly mortgage repayments sit at $1,800, lower than middle-ring detached suburbs like Berwick or Glen Waverley. Mortgage-to-income ratio is 28.7%, below the 30% stress threshold, but resale liquidity depends heavily on rental investor demand rather than family upgrader flow.
For Buyers
Owner-occupier buyers are a minority here: only 13.1% own outright and 13.6% hold a mortgage, while 73.3% rent, almost double the national renter share of around 31%. The brief contains no median house price because separate houses make up just 0.1% of stock; what you're buying is a one or two-bedroom apartment, with 36.1% of dwellings at 0-1 bedrooms and 53.9% at 2 bedrooms versus a tiny 0.5% with 4+ bedrooms. Median monthly mortgage repayments sit at $1,800, lower than middle-ring detached suburbs like Berwick or Glen Waverley. Mortgage-to-income ratio is 28.7%, below the 30% stress threshold, but resale liquidity depends heavily on rental investor demand rather than family upgrader flow.
For Investors
Melbourne 3000 is structurally an investor market: 73.3% of dwellings are rented compared to roughly 31% nationally, and the apartment-only stock is purpose-built for yield rather than capital growth. Weekly rents median $381, which is below detached suburbs but the apartment scale is far smaller (53.9% two-bedroom, 36.1% one-bedroom or studio). The headline figure that needs caveating is the 30.7% vacancy rate, more than 10 times the typical Melbourne metro vacancy of 2-3%; this likely reflects census-night counting of student-occupied apartments left empty during international travel and high turnover, not a permanently empty market. The 1,434 planning permits and amendments lodged in 12 months signals sustained tower pipeline, which caps near-term rent growth even as overseas migration averaged 42 net per year alongside 238 internal arrivals.
Development Activity
Total DAs
2,026
Last 12 Months
1,270
YoY ChangeiYear-over-year change in DA lodgements
+70.0%
Avg DA CostiAverage estimated cost per DA in the past year
$14.1M
Monthly DA Lodgements
DA Categories
Schools in Melbourne iICSEA: school advantage index. 1000 = national avg, higher = more advantaged
MacRobertson Girls High School
9-12 · 1195 students
Melbourne Grammar School
Prep-12 · 1905 students
Wesley College
Prep-12 · 3181 students
Ozford College
10-12 · 101 students
Demographics
The demographic profile reads more like a university campus than a suburb. Median age is 29, 11 years below the national figure of around 40, and university qualification rate is 62.3% versus the national 30.1%, a 32.2 percentage point gap. Overseas-born share is 70.6%, exceeding the national 21.6% by 49 percentage points; Chinese ancestry dominates with 16,763 residents, followed by 8,219 English and 3,653 Indian. Mandarin is the top non-English language with 4,855 speakers, ahead of Cantonese (972), Hindi (738) and Korean (507). Average household size is just 1.7 people, well below the national 2.5, reflecting share-house and single-person student living. Buddhism (4,919) and Hinduism (3,677) also register strongly compared to typical Australian suburbs where Christianity dominates 50-60% rather than the 22% here.
Age Distribution
Bedrooms
Dwelling Structure
0.1%
Houses
0.2%
Townhouse
99.7%
Apartment
Tenure
Housing stock is essentially monoculture: 99.7% apartments, 0.1% separate houses, 0.2% semi-detached, leaving zero meaningful suburban-format options. Bedroom mix skews tiny, with 36.1% at 0-1 bedrooms, 53.9% at 2 bedrooms, 9.5% at 3 bedrooms and just 0.5% at 4+, the opposite of the national pattern where 3 and 4 bedroom homes dominate. The 73.3% rental rate is among the highest in Australia, more than double the national 31%. Median monthly mortgage is $1,800 and weekly rent $381; rent-to-income ratio sits at 26.3% and mortgage-to-income at 28.7%, both below the 30% stress benchmark, partly because two working tenants typically share. Density is 8,341 people per square kilometre across just 6.59 square kilometres, more than 100 times denser than typical Melbourne middle-ring suburbs.
Mortgage / mo
$1,800
Rent / wkiABS Census 2021 median across all dwelling types. Current market rents are typically higher.
$381
Census 2021
HH Size
1.7
Personal Income / wk
$864
Vacancy Ratei% of dwellings unoccupied on Census night (ABS 2021)
30.7%
Unoccupied
12,174
Rent / IncomeiMedian rent as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
26.3%
Mortgage / IncomeiMedian mortgage as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
28.7%
Community Profile
Languages Spoken at Home
Ancestry
Household Composition
61.5%
Couples, no children
22,961
Total families
Economy & Employment
The local workforce is a high-skill professional-and-services economy. Top industries are Professional/Tech (5,136 workers, 19.7%), Hospitality (4,044, 15.5%), Healthcare (2,780, 10.7%), Education (2,137, 8.2%) and Retail (1,994, 7.7%); the hospitality share alone is roughly triple the national average for that sector, reflecting CBD restaurants and bars. Professionals make up 11,597 of workers, with Managers at 3,916 and Community/Personal Service at 4,211. Full-time employment rate is 58.9%, lower than mature suburbs because of student part-timers; unemployment sits at 9.2%, above the national 5.1%, but participation rate is 63.8%, partly suppressed by students not in the labour force. Median personal income of $864 weekly is lower than mortgage-belt suburbs because it averages graduate professionals with student casual workers.
Unemployment
3.4%
Labour Force
3,760
Unemployed
129
Quarterly Trend
Source: SALM Dec-25
Socio-Economic Indexes (SEIFA)iABS index ranking suburbs from 1 (most disadvantaged) to 10 (most advantaged)
Full-time
58.9%
Part-time
31.9%
Participation
63.8%
Employed
30,515
Occupations
Top Industries
University
62.3%
Postgraduate
22.0%
Born Overseas
70.6%
Dwellings
27,332
Transport to Work
Daily life is structured around dense walking, not driving. 47.0% of residents walk or cycle to work compared to a national figure under 5%, and only 30.4% drive, with 19.6% taking public transport (most trips are too short to need it). The schools list is unusually elite for a CBD: MacRobertson Girls High (ICSEA 1186, 1,195 students, government selective-entry) ranks among Victoria's strongest academic schools and pulls students from across Melbourne, not just the suburb; Melbourne Grammar (ICSEA 1177, 1,905) and Wesley College (ICSEA 1172, 3,181) are Independent Schools Association heavyweights. The crime rate of 416 per 1,000 residents sounds alarming, more than 5 times typical Melbourne suburbs, but 13,382 of the 22,857 offences are property and deception, driven by the millions of daily CBD visitors rather than residents, so the resident-experience risk is much lower than the headline suggests.
Drive
30.4%
Public Transport
19.6%
Walk / Cycle
47.0%
Work from Home
N/A
Population Forecast
+6.0%/yr
(+189 people/yr)
High GrowthPopulation trend is one of the steepest in Australia: a 1,995.6% increase over the prior 10 years, driven by Docklands-edge tower completions and CBD apartment supply. Forecast population grows from 2,867 in 2026 to 3,812 by 2031 in the medium scenario, an annual 6.0% trend or roughly 189 persons added per year going forward; note that the forecast tracks the residential-eligible cohort while the broader SAL population sits near 55,000. Internal migration averages a net 238 per year, well above overseas at net 42 per year, indicating most growth now comes from interstate and intra-Melbourne movers rather than fresh international arrivals. Real income has grown 8.3% and affordability index has improved from 50.9 to 43.5 since 2011. Gentrification score sits at 0 (not gentrifying), which makes sense because the suburb was built dense and never had a working-class base to displace.
Historical + Forecast
Hamilton-Perry + Holt smoothing on ERP 2001-2025
Age Cohort Forecast
Primary Driver
Internal Migration
Net Overseas / yr
+42
Net Internal / yr
+238
Safety & Crime
Total Offences
22,857
Year ending June 2024
Rate per 1,000 People
416.0
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 Melbourne compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Melbourne a good suburb to live in?
Melbourne 3000 works well for students, young professionals and renters who value walkability (47.0% walk or cycle to work) and a 29-year median age peer group, but it offers almost no family housing as 99.7% of dwellings are apartments and just 0.5% have 4+ bedrooms.
What is the median house price in Melbourne?
There is no meaningful median house price because separate houses make up only 0.1% of dwelling stock. The relevant market is apartments, where 53.9% are 2-bedroom and 36.1% are 0-1 bedroom; weekly rents median $381 and median monthly mortgage repayments are $1,800.
What schools are in Melbourne?
Four notable schools: MacRobertson Girls High (selective government, ICSEA 1186, 1,195 students), Melbourne Grammar (Independent, ICSEA 1177, 1,905), Wesley College (Independent, ICSEA 1172, 3,181) and Ozford College (Independent, ICSEA 1008, 101). All four sit above the national ICSEA average of 1000.
Is Melbourne safe?
The headline crime rate is 416 per 1,000 residents, far above typical Melbourne suburbs that sit around 50-80 per 1,000, but this is misleading: 13,382 of the 22,857 offences are property and deception incidents driven by millions of daily CBD visitors and workers, not residents.
Is Melbourne good for property investment?
The investor case is structurally strong (73.3% renting versus 31% nationally) but yield is constrained by oversupply, with 1,434 planning permits lodged in 12 months and a 30.7% vacancy rate. Capital growth lags detached suburbs because apartment supply expands faster than demand.
How is Melbourne's population changing?
Population grew roughly 1,995.6% over 10 years from a small base, and forecasts add 189 residents per year through 2031, a 6.0% annual trend. Net internal migration of 238 per year now outpaces net overseas migration of 42, reversing the historical pattern.
What languages are spoken in Melbourne?
70.6% of residents were born overseas, 49 percentage points above the national 21.6%. Top non-English languages are Mandarin (4,855 speakers), Cantonese (972), Hindi (738), Korean (507) and Nepali (248), with Chinese ancestry leading at 16,763 residents.
How active is development in Melbourne?
Development activity is among the highest in Victoria with 1,434 planning permits and amendments lodged in 12 months, ranging from new dwelling towers to commercial fit-outs and university alterations. Sample applications include a $386,037 university alteration and several food premises permits.
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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