Selby

Development Activity

Schools in Selby iICSEA: school advantage index. 1000 = national avg, higher = more advantaged

Demographics

The median age of 40 matches the national figure exactly, though the suburb is on an aging trajectory: the senior share rose 6.4 points over the decade and the working-age share fell 1.9 points. University qualifications reach 37.0%, which is 6.9 percentage points above the national average, consistent with the professional and managerial occupations that dominate local employment. Overseas-born residents account for 15.7%, which is 5.9 points below the national figure, and ancestry leans Anglo-Celtic, led by English (697), Irish (224) and Scottish (201). Volunteering sits at 20.1% and 86.8% of residents stayed at the same address over five years, a sign of a settled, low-turnover community rather than a transit population.

Every dwelling in Selby is a separate house, a distinction that sets it apart from mixed-stock suburbs across Victoria. Tenure splits 32.3% owned outright, 60.9% with a mortgage and just 6.8% renting, the last figure far lower than state and national averages. Large homes dominate: 49.3% have 4 or more bedrooms and 41.2% have 3, leaving only 9.5% with 2 bedrooms or fewer. The price journey shows a rise from $420,000 in 2013 to a peak of $932,000 in Apr-Jun 2023 before correcting to $657,000 by Apr-Jun 2024, a 29.5% fall from peak. Rent-to-income sits at 17.5% and mortgage-to-income at 20.1%, both below stress thresholds, indicating residents are not financially stretched by housing costs.

Community Profile

Economy & Employment

Education is the largest employment sector at 17.9% of workers (117 people), followed by Healthcare at 14.0% (92) and Construction at 13.6% (89), with Professional/Tech and Public Admin each at 8.9% (58). The occupation mix leans toward Professionals (237) and Managers (124), which aligns with the suburb's IEO decile 8 score for education and occupation advantage. Unemployment is 3.7% and the full-time employment rate is 61.1%, with a participation rate of 63.6%. Personal weekly income averages $898. Family weekly income of $2,524 places the suburb well above median, and household income at the 87.6th percentile nationally reflects the concentration of skilled, degree-qualified workers in stable public and knowledge-sector roles.

Transport to Work

Selby is almost entirely car-dependent: 90.7% of residents drive to work and only 3.1% use public transport, lower than most comparable VIC suburbs. The low public transport share reflects the Ranges location and limited rail access. Crime is low at 16.0 incidents per 1,000 residents, with property and deception offences (12 incidents) the most common category. The IRSAD decile 8 and IRSD decile 9 scores place Selby in the upper advantage band nationally. No schools are recorded within the suburb boundary in the dataset, so families rely on institutions in neighbouring areas. The need-for-assistance rate is 3.8% (59 residents), broadly consistent with the age profile of 40 years median.

Population Forecast

The population trend for the broader SA2 area is a slow decline of approximately 0.4% per year, with medium forecasts pointing to around 9,730 residents by 2031 compared to 9,964 in 2025. Internal migration is the primary drag, with a net outflow of 158 residents annually, partly offset by 61 overseas arrivals per year. The 10-year population change was minus 0.6%. Affordability remained broadly stable between 2011 (44.4%) and 2021 (44.1%), suggesting the suburb's price relative to income has not worsened. Rent grew 42.9% over the period and real income rose 16.9%. The gentrification score of 24 indicates early signals, though the net internal outflow limits the transformation pace seen in more accessible fringe suburbs.

Safety & Crime

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 Selby compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs

Frequently Asked Questions