Shepparton
Goulburn Valley's regional capital sits 180km north of Melbourne, anchoring Victoria's stone-fruit and dairy belt with 32,067 residents. Healthcare absorbs 27.2% of jobs (well above the national 13.6% norm), Islam is the second religion at 9.8% (3,161 people, vs national 3.2%), and rent has surged 42.1% over a decade while the median house price slipped from a $480k peak to $443k (-7.7%). The 191.6 crimes per 1,000 residents place it in Victoria's top decile for offending, yet SEIFA decile 3 disadvantage co-exists with Goulburn Valley Grammar's ICSEA 1128 private school. It's a working regional centre, not a tree-change destination like Daylesford or a fly-in town like Mildura.
Population
32,067
Median Age
38.0
Household IncomeiMedian weekly household income (ABS Census)
$1,285/wk
DAs (12 months)iDevelopment Applications lodged in the past year
74
Median House
$443K
Apr-Jun 2024
At a $443,000 median, a 3-bed house here costs less than a 2-bed Brunswick apartment and roughly a third of metro Melbourne's $920k median. Stock is overwhelmingly low-density: 85.1% separate houses, just 0.4% apartments, and 52.2% are 3-bedroom homes built for families. Mortgage repayments average $1,249/month against a $1,285 weekly household income, putting mortgage-to-income at 22.4%, comfortably below the 30% stress threshold. Prices are off the Jan-Mar 2024 peak by 7.7%, but compounded 4.3% CAGR since 2013 ($247k to $443k, +79.4%) is solid for a non-coastal regional centre. Buyers should weigh the 3rd-decile IRSD disadvantage and crime profile against entry-level affordability that simply doesn't exist in Melbourne metro.
For Buyers
At a $443,000 median, a 3-bed house here costs less than a 2-bed Brunswick apartment and roughly a third of metro Melbourne's $920k median. Stock is overwhelmingly low-density: 85.1% separate houses, just 0.4% apartments, and 52.2% are 3-bedroom homes built for families. Mortgage repayments average $1,249/month against a $1,285 weekly household income, putting mortgage-to-income at 22.4%, comfortably below the 30% stress threshold. Prices are off the Jan-Mar 2024 peak by 7.7%, but compounded 4.3% CAGR since 2013 ($247k to $443k, +79.4%) is solid for a non-coastal regional centre. Buyers should weigh the 3rd-decile IRSD disadvantage and crime profile against entry-level affordability that simply doesn't exist in Melbourne metro.
For Investors
Yields look unusually fat on paper: $270/week rent against $443k median produces a 3.17% gross yield, above metro Melbourne's 2.5% norm but consistent with regional Victorian centres like Wodonga and Mildura. The 7.9% vacancy rate is the red flag, well above the 2-3% balanced market and triple Wodonga's typical 2.5%. With 39.1% of households renting (vs 30.8% nationally) and 36 DA lodgements in the last 12 months including subdivisions and storage facilities, supply isn't constrained. Rent has grown 42.1% over a decade, faster than the 17.2% real income growth, so affordability is tightening even as wages lag. The investor case rests on cash yield plus overseas-migration tailwind (+252/yr), not capital growth, which has been mediocre and recently negative.
Development Activity
Total DAs
108
Last 12 Months
74
YoY ChangeiYear-over-year change in DA lodgements
+393.3%
Avg DA CostiAverage estimated cost per DA in the past year
N/A
Monthly DA Lodgements
DA Categories
Schools in Shepparton iICSEA: school advantage index. 1000 = national avg, higher = more advantaged
Goulburn Valley Grammar School
5-12 · 694 students
Shepparton Christian College
Prep-12 · 326 students
Notre Dame College
7-12 · 1683 students
St Brendan's School
Prep-6 · 347 students
St Mel's School
Prep-6 · 156 students
Demographics
Median age 38 sits 2.0 years below the national median, but the more distinctive number is overseas-born share at 24.1%, just 2.5pp above national, masking a sharply skewed origin mix. Arabic (539 speakers) and Punjabi (401) lead non-English languages, and 9.8% of residents identify as Muslim, more than triple the 3.2% national rate. This reflects 50+ years of Iraqi, Afghan and Indian Sikh settlement tied to fruit-picking and dairy work. Yet Anglo ancestry still dominates (English 32%, Irish 10%, Scottish 8%). University attainment runs 24.2%, which is 5.9pp below the national rate, and the workforce skews to Labourers (2,131) and Community/Personal services (1,654), reflecting the agricultural processing economy rather than knowledge work.
Age Distribution
Bedrooms
Dwelling Structure
85.1%
Houses
13.5%
Townhouse
0.4%
Apartment
Tenure
Tenure is unusually balanced: 32.0% own outright, 28.9% with mortgage, and 39.1% rent, the highest renter share you'll see outside an inner-Melbourne suburb or university town. The 79.4% price gain since 2013 ($247k to $443k) translates to a 4.3% CAGR, broadly tracking inflation plus a small real premium, lower than Melbourne's ~6% CAGR over the same window. The recent 7.7% pullback from January 2024's $480k peak suggests regional Victoria's post-COVID surge has fully unwound. Bedroom mix runs 52.2% three-bedroom and 24.1% four-plus, with 3.5% one-bedroom stock, structurally biased toward family households. Median household income at the 29.8th national percentile constrains how high prices can climb without imported buyers.
Median House Price Trend
Source: State Valuer-General (Apr-Jun 2024)
Mortgage / mo
$1,249
Rent / wkiMedian weekly rent for new bonds (year ending Sep 2025), Homes Victoria bond data (year-ending median). Census 2021 median: $270.
$460
Bond data year ending Sep 2025 · houses $475 · units $385
HH Size
2.4
Personal Income / wk
$678
Vacancy Ratei% of dwellings unoccupied on Census night (ABS 2021)
7.9%
Unoccupied
1,023
Rent / IncomeiMedian rent as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
21.0%
Mortgage / IncomeiMedian mortgage as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
22.4%
Community Profile
Languages Spoken at Home
Ancestry
Household Composition
26.6%
Couples, no children
23,147
Total families
Economy & Employment
Healthcare is the dominant employer at 27.2% of jobs (2,192 workers), more than double the national 13.6% rate, anchored by Goulburn Valley Health and the new $230m Shepparton hospital expansion. Education adds 12.6%, Construction 8.9%, Manufacturing 7.9%, and Retail 6.9%. The healthcare-plus-education concentration of 39.8% is structurally similar to Bendigo and Ballarat, but Shepparton retains a manufacturing base (SPC, Campbell's, Tatura Milk) that has eroded in those peers. Unemployment sits at 5.9%, above the 4.5% national rate but down from double-digit peaks during fruit cannery closures. SEIFA tells a coherent story: IRSD decile 3 (disadvantage) and IER decile 3 (low income), but IEO decile 5 (education) reflects healthcare professionals and teachers concentrated in pockets like the Lemnos and Kialla pockets.
Unemployment
3.1%
Labour Force
10,440
Unemployed
325
Quarterly Trend
Source: SALM Dec-25
Socio-Economic Indexes (SEIFA)iABS index ranking suburbs from 1 (most disadvantaged) to 10 (most advantaged)
Full-time
62.7%
Part-time
31.4%
Participation
50.4%
Employed
12,289
Occupations
Top Industries
University
24.2%
Postgraduate
5.6%
Born Overseas
24.1%
Dwellings
11,930
Transport to Work
Schools span an unusually wide ICSEA range: Goulburn Valley Grammar (ICSEA 1128, 694 students) sits at the top while St Georges Road Primary scores 834, a 294-point gap that mirrors the SEIFA divide between professional and labourer households. Greater Shepparton Secondary College (1,967 students, ICSEA 887) is the dominant public option after a controversial four-school merger in 2022. Public transport is functionally absent at 0.3% commute share (vs 7.6% nationally), with 85.2% driving and 5.7% active transport, the V/Line train to Melbourne takes 2h35m. The 191.6 crimes per 1,000 residents is roughly 2.5x metropolitan Melbourne's average, driven by 2,493 property/deception offences and 1,698 justice procedure offences, a profile typical of regional service hubs with concentrated disadvantage rather than violent-crime hotspots.
Drive
85.2%
Public Transport
0.3%
Walk / Cycle
5.7%
Work from Home
N/A
Population Forecast
+0.9%/yr
(+182 people/yr)
EstablishedForecast annual growth runs 0.9% (182 persons/yr) against the medium scenario, well below Wodonga's 1.4% or Geelong's 1.9% but typical of established regional centres. The migration math is the story: net internal flow is -244/yr (residents leaving for Melbourne and the coast) while overseas migration contributes +252/yr, almost exactly cancelling out and leaving natural increase to drive growth. Population has climbed 15.6% over the past decade, slower than Wodonga's 18%. Gentrification scores 38 (early signs) with senior-share rising 2.4pp and young-share falling 1.6pp, an aging trajectory rather than a young-professional inflow. Rent growth of 42.1% versus 17.2% real income growth means affordability has tightened despite stable headline price-to-income.
Historical + Forecast
Hamilton-Perry + Holt smoothing on ERP 2001-2025
Age Cohort Forecast
Primary Driver
Overseas Migration
Net Overseas / yr
+252
Net Internal / yr
-244
Gentrification Signal
Not gentrifying
Population +15% since 2011, Net internal outflow -244/yr, Strong overseas inflow +252/yr
Safety & Crime
Total Offences
6,144
Year ending June 2024
Rate per 1,000 People
191.6
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 Shepparton compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Shepparton a good suburb to live in?
Shepparton suits families and healthcare workers seeking affordable regional living. The $443,000 median house price is roughly half of metro Melbourne, and 85.1% of homes are separate houses with 3+ bedrooms. Trade-offs: SEIFA decile 3 disadvantage and 191.6 crimes per 1,000 residents (above state average), and 0.3% public transport use means car ownership is essential.
What is the median house price in Shepparton?
The median house price is $443,000 as of Apr-Jun 2024, down 7.7% from the January 2024 peak of $480,000. Long-term, prices have grown 79.4% since 2013 ($247,000), a 4.3% compound annual rate. That's well below metro Melbourne's ~$920,000 median and broadly matches regional Victorian peers like Mildura and Wodonga.
What schools are in Shepparton?
Shepparton has 10 schools spanning a 294-point ICSEA range. Top performers are Goulburn Valley Grammar (ICSEA 1128, 694 students, Independent) and Notre Dame College (ICSEA 1030, 1,683 students, Catholic). Greater Shepparton Secondary College is the largest public school at 1,967 students (ICSEA 887). Six are government schools, three Catholic, three Independent.
Is Shepparton safe?
Crime is elevated relative to metro Melbourne. The crime rate is 191.6 per 1,000 residents (6,144 total offences), roughly 2.5x the metro Melbourne average. Property and deception offences dominate at 2,493 cases, followed by 1,698 justice procedure offences and 960 crimes against the person. The pattern reflects regional service-hub dynamics rather than violent-crime hotspots.
Is Shepparton good for property investment?
Gross rental yield is 3.17% ($270/week against $443,000 median), above metro Melbourne's 2.5% but offset by a 7.9% vacancy rate (vs 2-3% balanced). 39.1% of households rent, and 36 DA lodgements in 12 months suggest no supply constraint. Cash yield is the case; capital growth has been weak with prices off 7.7% from peak.
How is Shepparton's population changing?
Population is forecast to grow 0.9% annually (182 persons/yr), reaching 21,659 by 2031 on the medium scenario. Net internal migration is -244/yr (residents leaving for Melbourne) while overseas migration adds +252/yr. The population has grown 15.6% over the past decade, slower than Wodonga's 18%, with gentrification scoring 38 (early signs only).
What languages are spoken in Shepparton?
24.1% of residents were born overseas, just 2.5pp above the national rate. Top non-English languages are Arabic (539 speakers), Punjabi (401), Italian (230), Malayalam (165) and Mandarin (161). Islam is the second-largest religion at 9.8% (3,161 people), more than triple the 3.2% national rate, reflecting decades of Iraqi, Afghan and Indian Sikh settlement tied to agricultural work.
What is the development pipeline like in Shepparton?
There were 36 development applications lodged in the past 12 months, including 2-lot subdivisions, storage facilities and a community education centre. The pipeline is modest for a city of 32,067 residents, signalling neither a building boom nor stagnation. Combined with 7.9% vacancy and 0.4% apartment stock, supply additions are skewed to land subdivision and infill rather than density.
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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