Roleystone
Spread across 38.52 km2 at just 177.8 residents per km2, Roleystone reads as semi-rural even though household income sits in the 82.9th percentile nationally. The housing is overwhelmingly detached, 98.2% separate houses, and unusually large, with 64.9% of dwellings holding four or more bedrooms. That space comes with a median age of 44, four years above national, and an aging trajectory in which the senior share rose 7.8 points while the working share fell 4.4 points over the decade. A $478,000 median house price keeps it affordable for an income at this percentile, and the suburb scores decile 10 on the IER index of economic resources, the top tier nationally.
Population
6,848
Median Age
44.0
Household IncomeiMedian weekly household income (ABS Census)
$2,178/wk
DAs (12 months)iDevelopment Applications lodged in the past year
0
Median House
$478K
Estimated from rent (2025)
At a $478,000 median, Roleystone is affordable relative to its 82.9nd-percentile household income, and the monthly mortgage of $2,058 produces a mortgage-to-income ratio of 21.8%, comfortably below the 30% stress threshold. Buyers come for size: 64.9% of dwellings have four or more bedrooms and 28.6% have three, while two-bedroom homes are just 5.1%, so the market is built for families rather than downsizers. The stock is 98.2% separate houses with only 0.2% apartments, meaning almost every purchase is a standalone home on a large block. Mortgage holders dominate tenure at 54.9%, well above the 38.6% who own outright, which signals a working population still paying down family homes rather than an established debt-free base.
For Buyers
At a $478,000 median, Roleystone is affordable relative to its 82.9nd-percentile household income, and the monthly mortgage of $2,058 produces a mortgage-to-income ratio of 21.8%, comfortably below the 30% stress threshold. Buyers come for size: 64.9% of dwellings have four or more bedrooms and 28.6% have three, while two-bedroom homes are just 5.1%, so the market is built for families rather than downsizers. The stock is 98.2% separate houses with only 0.2% apartments, meaning almost every purchase is a standalone home on a large block. Mortgage holders dominate tenure at 54.9%, well above the 38.6% who own outright, which signals a working population still paying down family homes rather than an established debt-free base.
For Investors
Only 6.5% of Roleystone households rent, one of the smallest tenant pools you will find, which limits the rental market before yield even enters the picture. Weekly rent of $350 against the $478,000 median implies a gross yield near 3.8%, higher than premium inner-city suburbs but on a thin transaction base. The vacancy rate is 4.9%, and with no development applications recorded in the past 12 months, new supply is effectively zero. Demand support is modest: net overseas migration adds 48 residents a year and internal migration just 4, a balanced but slow driver. With annual population growth of 0.74% and rent growth of 11.1% over the period, the case rests on steady owner-occupier demand for large blocks rather than landlord-scale rental activity.
Schools in Roleystone iICSEA: school advantage index. 1000 = national avg, higher = more advantaged
Roleystone Community College
K-10 · 640 students
Demographics
The median age of 44 runs 4.0 years above national, and the trajectory is clearly aging: the senior share climbed 7.8 points while the working-age share fell 4.4 points over the decade. Overseas-born residents reach 30.0%, which is 8.4 points above national, yet ancestry stays strongly Anglo-Celtic, led by English (3,616), Scottish (762) and Irish (684), with Italian (387) the largest non-Anglo group. University qualifications sit at 30.0%, almost exactly the national figure at 0.1 points below, an unusually average education profile for a high-income area. Average household size is 2.7, which is 0.2 above national, consistent with the family base where couples with children (2,323) outnumber couples without (1,841). Top non-English languages are Italian (23), Afrikaans (19) and German (18), small counts for a 30% overseas-born suburb.
Age Distribution
Bedrooms
Dwelling Structure
98.2%
Houses
1.6%
Townhouse
0.2%
Apartment
Tenure
Tenure leans heavily toward mortgage holders at 54.9%, with 38.6% owning outright and only 6.5% renting, a profile of working families buying and holding rather than a churn of tenants. The stock is almost entirely detached at 98.2% separate houses, with apartments at 0.2% and semi-detached at 1.6%, so density stays low across the 38.52 km2 footprint. Dwellings skew large: 64.9% have four or more bedrooms and 28.6% three, while two-bedroom homes are just 5.1%. The $478,000 median against the 82.9th-percentile household income keeps affordability strong, and rent-to-income at 16.1% with mortgage-to-income at 21.8% both sit well below the 30% stress line, a rare combination of space and headroom compared to most metro markets.
Mortgage / mo
$2,058
Rent / wk
$350
HH Size
2.7
Personal Income / wk
$871
Vacancy Ratei% of dwellings unoccupied on Census night (ABS 2021)
4.9%
Unoccupied
127
Rent / IncomeiMedian rent as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
16.1%
Mortgage / IncomeiMedian mortgage as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
21.8%
Community Profile
Languages Spoken at Home
Ancestry
Household Composition
31.2%
Couples, no children
5,898
Total families
Economy & Employment
The workforce spreads across human-services and trades rather than concentrating in one knowledge sector: Healthcare leads at 13.1% (317 workers), Education follows at 12.8% (310), Construction at 10.8% (260), Professional/Tech at 8.8% (212) and Mining at 8.5% (206). By occupation, Professionals (755) and Managers (528) head the list, ahead of Clerical/Admin (454). Unemployment is low at 4.4% and the full-time rate is 63.4%, while participation reads 62.5%, held down because the aging profile leaves 1,729 residents not in the labour force. The SEIFA picture is mixed: IER (economic resources) hits decile 10 and IRSD decile 9, both near the top, but IEO sits at decile 6, because the merely average 30.0% university rate caps the education and occupation index even as household wealth ranks high.
Unemployment
2.8%
Labour Force
4,476
Unemployed
126
Quarterly Trend
Source: SALM Dec-25
Socio-Economic Indexes (SEIFA)iABS index ranking suburbs from 1 (most disadvantaged) to 10 (most advantaged)
Full-time
63.4%
Part-time
32.2%
Participation
62.5%
Employed
3,365
Occupations
Top Industries
University
30.0%
Postgraduate
6.0%
Born Overseas
30.0%
Dwellings
2,450
Transport to Work
Roleystone is car-dependent by design: 90.5% of commuters drive, while only 2.9% use public transport and 1.9% walk or cycle, a reliance on cars well above the national average that follows from the low 177.8 residents per km2 density. The suburb scores decile 9 on the IRSD index of relative disadvantage, near the top tier, meaning very few residents face deprivation, and decile 10 on the IER index of economic resources. Volunteering runs at 19.9% and only 4.0% (262 people) need daily assistance despite the older median age of 44. Households are stable, with 83.9% of residents staying put and a turnover rate of just 16.1%, and rent-to-income at 16.1% keeps the small tenant base comfortable compared to stretched metro markets.
Drive
90.5%
Public Transport
2.9%
Walk / Cycle
1.9%
Work from Home
N/A
Population Forecast
+0.74%/yr
(+58 people/yr)
EstablishedRoleystone is a slow, steady expander rather than a boom suburb: annual population growth runs 0.74%, about 58 people a year, and the 10-year change is 6.9%, classifying it as an established area. The population rose from 7,623 in 2023 to 7,831 in 2025, and the medium forecast carries it to 8,112 by 2031, modest continuation of trend. Growth is balanced across drivers, with net overseas migration of 48 a year just ahead of net internal migration of 4. The gentrification stage reads not gentrifying with a score of 16, fitting a suburb whose real income grew only 0.8% over the decade. Affordability still improved from 44.9% in 2011 to 40.2% in 2021, so the suburb is getting easier to buy into even as it slowly grows.
Historical + Forecast
Hamilton-Perry + Holt smoothing on ERP 2001-2025
Age Cohort Forecast
Primary Driver
Balanced
Net Overseas / yr
+48
Net Internal / yr
+4
Gentrification Signal
Not gentrifying
National Ranking iPercentile rank among ~15,000 AU suburbs. 90% = higher than 90% of suburbs
How Roleystone compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Roleystone a good suburb to live in?
Roleystone scores decile 10 on the IER economic resources index and decile 9 on IRSD, both near the top tier, with household income in the 82.9th percentile. It suits families wanting space, since 98.2% of homes are detached and 64.9% have four or more bedrooms, though at 90.5% car commuting it is car-dependent.
What is the median house price in Roleystone?
The median house price is $478,000, affordable relative to the 82.9th-percentile household income. Monthly mortgage repayments average $2,058 and weekly rent runs about $350, giving a mortgage-to-income ratio of 21.8%, well below the 30% stress threshold.
What schools are in Roleystone?
No schools are recorded inside the 38.52 km2 Roleystone boundary in this dataset, so families rely on schools in neighbouring suburbs. The resident profile is family-oriented, with couples with children numbering 2,323 and an average household size of 2.7, which is 0.2 above national.
Is Roleystone safe?
Detailed crime statistics are not available for Roleystone in this dataset. As an indirect indicator, the suburb scores decile 9 on the IRSD index of relative disadvantage, near the highest tier, and only 4.0% of its residents (262 people) need daily assistance, both consistent with a low-disadvantage area.
Is Roleystone good for property investment?
Rent of $350 a week against a $478,000 median gives a gross yield near 3.8%, higher than premium inner-city suburbs. The catch is that only 6.5% of households rent and the vacancy rate is 4.9%, so the tenant pool is small and demand grows slowly at 0.74% population growth a year.
How is Roleystone's population changing?
Population growth is 0.74% annually, about 58 people a year, with a 6.9% rise over 10 years. The population grew from 7,623 in 2023 to 7,831 in 2025 and is forecast to reach 8,112 by 2031. The profile is aging, with the senior share up 7.8 points over the decade.
What languages are spoken in Roleystone?
About 30.0% of residents were born overseas, 8.4 points above the national figure, yet English dominates day to day. The most common non-English languages are Italian (23 speakers), Afrikaans (19), German (18) and French (15), small counts that reflect a long-settled Anglo-Celtic base.
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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