Toorak
A $5.56M house median, household income at the 92.7th percentile, and 49.8% of all dwellings classified as apartments: Toorak is the ultra-luxury anchor of Melbourne's affluence ladder, but the dwelling mix and SEIFA fingerprint complicate the leafy-mansion stereotype. Across 4.27 square kilometres of Stonnington riverbend the median age sits at 47, a full 7 years above the national figure, and 63.3% of adults hold university qualifications, 33.2 percentage points above the national 30.1%. The peculiar SEIFA tell is IER decile 7 against IRSAD, IRSD, and IEO all at decile 10, a gap that reads as asset-rich old-money paying itself less in wage income than dual-professional Glen Iris (IER 9). Prices are down 21.7% from the Oct-Dec 2023 peak of $7.1M, the deepest correction in any Melbourne top-decile suburb, yet the 14-year CAGR still runs at 4.8%.
Population
12,817
Median Age
47.0
Household IncomeiMedian weekly household income (ABS Census)
$2,533/wk
DAs (12 months)iDevelopment Applications lodged in the past year
204
Median House
$5.6M
Apr-Jun 2024
Toorak is bifurcated, not uniform. The $5.56M median masks two parallel markets: the trophy detached stock on St Georges Road and Orrong Road that trades well above $10M, and the 49.8% of dwellings classified as apartments where entry pricing starts below $1M and pulls the headline figure down. With family income at $3,909 weekly (top 4% nationally) and mortgage-to-income at 28.7%, buyers technically clear the 30% stress threshold, but the price-to-income ratio of roughly 42 times household income is the tightest in metropolitan Melbourne, far above Glen Iris at 19x and Mosman at 15x. Peak-to-latest has corrected 21.7% from $7.1M (Oct-Dec 2023) to $5.56M (Apr-Jun 2024), the steepest pullback in any Melbourne top-decile suburb and a rare entry window. With 30.4% separate houses against 49.8% apartments and 19.8% semi-detached, family upgraders trading up from Glen Iris ($2.43M) or Hawthorn pay roughly 2.3x for the postcode premium.
For Buyers
Toorak is bifurcated, not uniform. The $5.56M median masks two parallel markets: the trophy detached stock on St Georges Road and Orrong Road that trades well above $10M, and the 49.8% of dwellings classified as apartments where entry pricing starts below $1M and pulls the headline figure down. With family income at $3,909 weekly (top 4% nationally) and mortgage-to-income at 28.7%, buyers technically clear the 30% stress threshold, but the price-to-income ratio of roughly 42 times household income is the tightest in metropolitan Melbourne, far above Glen Iris at 19x and Mosman at 15x. Peak-to-latest has corrected 21.7% from $7.1M (Oct-Dec 2023) to $5.56M (Apr-Jun 2024), the steepest pullback in any Melbourne top-decile suburb and a rare entry window. With 30.4% separate houses against 49.8% apartments and 19.8% semi-detached, family upgraders trading up from Glen Iris ($2.43M) or Hawthorn pay roughly 2.3x for the postcode premium.
For Investors
The investor read is dominated by one number: 19.8% rental vacancy, more than 11x Melbourne's 1.7% benchmark and one of the highest vacancy readings of any SEIFA top-decile suburb in Australia. Median rent of $486 weekly against a $5.56M median produces a gross yield of 0.45%, less than half Glen Iris at 0.96% and the lowest yield in any Melbourne dataset reviewed. The apartment segment carries this surplus structurally: 49.8% of dwellings are apartments and 32.3% of households rent, well above Glen Iris's 28.3%, but tenant demand for two-bedroom investment-grade flats in a $5.56M postcode does not scale with new supply. Forecast migration is +336 overseas net annually offset by -112 internal outflow, so the buyer pool depends on offshore wealth rather than domestic renters. With 55 planning permits lodged in 12 months and 8,728 families across 12,817 residents, generic flats stay oversupplied; only scarce typologies (period freestanding, riverbank apartments) work as capital plays.
Development Activity
Total DAs
220
Last 12 Months
204
YoY ChangeiYear-over-year change in DA lodgements
+2450.0%
Avg DA CostiAverage estimated cost per DA in the past year
N/A
Monthly DA Lodgements
DA Categories
Schools in Toorak iICSEA: school advantage index. 1000 = national avg, higher = more advantaged
St Kevin's College
Prep-12 · 2087 students
St Catherine's School
Prep-12 · 685 students
Loreto Mandeville Hall
Prep-12 · 1220 students
Toorak Primary School
Prep-6 · 439 students
Demographics
Toorak runs Anglo-established with a thicker non-Anglo overlay than peer ultra-luxury suburbs. English ancestry leads at 4,097, followed by Irish (1,421), Chinese (1,419) and Scottish (1,360), a Chinese-Irish near-tie that ranks Asian ancestry higher proportionally than Mosman (1,765 Chinese on 28K residents) and signals genuine offshore-wealth inflow rather than pure inherited-Anglo. 33.0% were born overseas, 11.4 percentage points above the national rate, and 63.3% of adults hold university qualifications, 33.2pp above the 30.1% national figure. The standout cultural signal is religion: 1,251 residents identify as Jewish (9.8% of the population), the highest absolute count in any inner-Melbourne suburb and a structural anchor of the East Melbourne Jewish corridor. Top languages after English are Mandarin (342), Greek (100), Cantonese (81), Italian (51) and French (39), a cosmopolitan-Anglo profile rather than migrant-majority.
Age Distribution
Bedrooms
Dwelling Structure
30.4%
Houses
19.8%
Townhouse
49.8%
Apartment
Tenure
Toorak's stock is apartment-dominant, not detached-mansion: 49.8% apartments, 30.4% separate houses and 19.8% semi-detached, so 69.6% of dwellings are non-house. Tenure splits 44.2% owned outright (well above the 31% national rate and 7pp above Glen Iris), 23.5% mortgaged and 32.3% renting, a profile shaped by long-tenure wealth holders rather than mortgage stretchers. Bedroom mix concentrates in two-bedroom (37.0%) and three-bedroom (30.0%) stock, with only 22.4% at four-plus bedrooms, a smaller large-family share than Glen Iris's 33.4% reflecting the apartment density. Prices have moved from $2.875M (2013) to $5.559M (Apr-Jun 2024), a 93.4% lift over 14 years and a 4.8% compound annual rate that runs ahead of Glen Iris's 4.5% CAGR. The peak of $7.1M reached in Oct-Dec 2023 has corrected 21.7%, the deepest pullback in any Melbourne top-decile suburb. Price-to-income runs at 42x annual household earnings of $131,716.
Median House Price Trend
Source: State Valuer-General
Mortgage / mo
$3,152
Rent / wk
$486
HH Size
2.1
Personal Income / wk
$1,427
Vacancy Ratei% of dwellings unoccupied on Census night (ABS 2021)
19.8%
Unoccupied
1,359
Rent / IncomeiMedian rent as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
19.2%
Mortgage / IncomeiMedian mortgage as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
28.7%
Community Profile
Languages Spoken at Home
Ancestry
Household Composition
39.5%
Couples, no children
8,728
Total families
Economy & Employment
Toorak is a finance-and-professional dormitory for the Melbourne CBD with a SEIFA anomaly worth dissecting. Industry concentrates in Professional/Tech (20.0%, 1,033 workers), Healthcare (17.9%, 922), Finance (10.5%, 541), Education (8.4%) and Retail (7.4%), so the top three industries absorb 48.4% of employed residents, a finance share roughly 30% above the national benchmark near 8%. Occupationally, 2,650 Professionals and 1,579 Managers represent 68.6% of the workforce, well above the 38% national share for those two categories. Unemployment is 3.9% and participation 56.2%, low because 3,930 residents (a third of the adult population) are not in the labour force. The SEIFA fingerprint tells the cleanest story: IRSAD decile 10, IRSD 10, IEO 10, but IER decile 7 with score 1035, three deciles below the others. That gap reflects asset-rich old-money paying themselves modestly in wage income while drawing from super and dividends, the opposite of Glen Iris's dual-professional IER 9 structure.
Unemployment
2.7%
Labour Force
7,943
Unemployed
211
Quarterly Trend
Source: SALM Dec-25
Socio-Economic Indexes (SEIFA)iABS index ranking suburbs from 1 (most disadvantaged) to 10 (most advantaged)
Full-time
65.5%
Part-time
30.6%
Participation
56.2%
Employed
6,167
Occupations
Top Industries
University
63.3%
Postgraduate
18.3%
Born Overseas
33.0%
Dwellings
5,479
Transport to Work
Four schools sit inside Toorak and all score ICSEA above 1141, putting the entire local system in the top decile nationally where the median is 1000. St Kevin's College leads at ICSEA 1192 with 2,087 enrolments (Catholic combined), the highest absolute enrolment among Melbourne top-decile suburb schools. St Catherine's (Independent, 1175, 685) and Loreto Mandeville Hall (Catholic, 1167, 1,220) provide the elite girls' options, and Toorak Primary (Government, 1141, 439) anchors the public system above most middle-ring Melbourne state-school medians. Crime runs at 57.9 per 1,000 residents (742 incidents over 12 months), with 75.6% property and deception (561 of 742) and 14.4% crimes against the person (107), a profile typical of affluent inner suburbs hit by opportunistic property crime. Public transport mode share is 5.2%, lower than Glen Iris's 6.6%, with 80.1% driving, reflecting car-dependent leafy-street geometry. Volunteering at 20.0% runs well above the 14% national rate.
Drive
80.1%
Public Transport
5.2%
Walk / Cycle
10.3%
Work from Home
N/A
Population Forecast
+0.58%/yr
(+101 people/yr)
EstablishedToorak is the textbook established-wealth aging profile, not a gentrification story. Forecast trend annual growth is 0.58% (about 101 persons per year on a 12,817 base), well below the Greater Melbourne average near 1.6% and slower than Glen Iris at 0.7%. The population shift is dominated by overseas migration (+336 net annually) offsetting net internal outflow of -112 per year, so domestic households are leaving while offshore wealth tops up the cohort. Senior-share has lifted +3.7 percentage points over a decade while working-age share fell -3.1pp and young-share rose just +0.7pp, an unambiguous aging trajectory. The gentrification score sits at 10/100 (Not gentrifying), the lowest reading among the ultra-luxury benchmark suburbs and well below Mosman's 31, because real income growth at +8.7% is modest compared to suburbs in transition. Affordability has improved from 38.3 (2011) to 34.7 (2021), a counter-intuitive result driven by high incomes outpacing the price gains for residents already inside the gates.
Historical + Forecast
Hamilton-Perry + Holt smoothing on ERP 2001-2025
Age Cohort Forecast
Primary Driver
Overseas Migration
Net Overseas / yr
+336
Net Internal / yr
-112
Gentrification Signal
Not gentrifying
Net internal outflow -112/yr, Strong overseas inflow +336/yr
Safety & Crime
Total Offences
742
Year ending June 2024
Rate per 1,000 People
57.9
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 Toorak compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Toorak a good suburb to live in?
For ultra-high-net-worth families wanting elite schools and trophy postcode prestige, yes. All 4 schools sit at ICSEA 1141 or above (top decile nationally vs national median 1000), 63.3% of adults are university-educated (33.2pp above national), and household income at the 92.7th percentile signals serious wealth. The trade-offs are cost ($5.56M median, 42x household income) and a 19.8% vacancy rate that makes investment yield very weak.
What is the median house price in Toorak?
The median house price is $5,559,300 as of Apr-Jun 2024, down 21.7% from the Oct-Dec 2023 peak of $7.1M but 93.4% higher than the 2013 trough of $2.875M. The 14-year compound annual growth rate is 4.8%, slightly ahead of Glen Iris's 4.5%. At roughly 42 times household income, Toorak runs the tightest price-to-income ratio in metropolitan Melbourne, far above Glen Iris at 19x and Mosman at 15x.
What schools are in Toorak?
Four schools sit inside Toorak, all in the top ICSEA decile (above 1141 vs national median 1000). St Kevin's College leads at ICSEA 1192 (Catholic, combined, 2,087 students, the largest enrolment among Melbourne top-decile suburb schools). Other options: St Catherine's School (Independent, ICSEA 1175, 685 students), Loreto Mandeville Hall (Catholic, 1167, 1,220) and Toorak Primary School (Government, 1141, 439). The cluster averages ICSEA 1169 with strong girls' independent representation.
Is Toorak safe?
Toorak runs roughly on par with the Greater Melbourne crime rate. Total recorded offences over 12 months were 742, equivalent to 57.9 per 1,000 residents, close to the Greater Melbourne 60-70 per 1,000 band. The mix skews non-violent: 561 property and deception offences (75.6% of total) versus 107 crimes against the person (14.4%) and just 12 drug offences. The pattern reflects opportunistic property crime targeting affluent areas rather than violent offending.
Is Toorak good for property investment?
Toorak is the weakest yield suburb in the Melbourne dataset and works only as a capital-growth play. Weekly rent of $486 against a $5.56M median produces a 0.45% gross yield, less than half Glen Iris at 0.96% and far below Melbourne's 3% average. The 19.8% vacancy rate runs more than 11x the Melbourne benchmark of 1.7%, signalling severe apartment oversupply. Capital growth has also stalled, with prices 21.7% below the Oct-Dec 2023 peak.
How is Toorak's population changing?
Toorak is growing slowly and aging. The 12,817 population is forecast to grow at 0.58% per year (about 101 residents annually), well below the Greater Melbourne average near 1.6%. Migration runs +336 overseas net offset by -112 internal outflow, so domestic households leave while offshore wealth replaces them. Senior-share is up 3.7pp over a decade while working-age fell -3.1pp. Median age 47 runs 7 years above national. Gentrification score sits at 10/100.
What languages are spoken in Toorak?
33.0% of residents were born overseas, 11.4 percentage points above the national 21.6%, but the suburb stays Anglo-majority by ancestry: English (4,097), Irish (1,421) and Scottish (1,360) collectively outnumber any single non-Anglo group. Chinese ancestry at 1,419 nearly ties Irish. After English the top languages are Mandarin (342 speakers), Greek (100), Cantonese (81), Italian (51) and French (39). The migrant mix reads offshore-wealth rather than working-migration.
What is the development activity like in Toorak?
55 planning permits were lodged in the past 12 months across 12,817 residents, a moderate pipeline of roughly 1 application per 233 residents that is well below Mosman's 1-per-75 density. Recent samples skew toward subdivision permits and conditions clearances rather than greenfield development. With 49.8% of dwellings already apartments and the suburb heavily built-out across 4.27 sq km, future supply continues coming from medium-density infill.
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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