Wesburn
With only 1,052 residents spread across 41.28 square kilometres, Wesburn sits well below average suburban density at 25.5 people per square km. Every single dwelling is a separate house, a 100% detached rate rarely seen even in regional Victoria, and median age of 43 runs 3 years above the national figure. Household income sits at the 49th percentile nationally, right at the middle of the distribution, yet the construction sector employs 27% of workers, well above state averages. The combination of a low-density, car-dependent footprint and a working-trades employment base signals a self-sufficient semi-rural community that functions independently of metropolitan services.
Local council: Yarra Ranges
Population
1,052
Median Age
43.0
Household IncomeiMedian weekly household income (ABS Census)
$1,548/wk
DAs (12 months)iDevelopment Applications lodged in the past year
3
Median House
$634K
October to December 2025
Only a handful of houses sold here in this period, so this median can jump sharply from one quarter to the next for reasons that have nothing to do with the market. Treat it as a rough guide, not a settled price.
Monthly mortgage repayments average $1,798, and the mortgage-to-income ratio sits at 26.8%, below the 30% stress threshold, making Wesburn more financially accessible than many outer-Melbourne markets. All dwellings are separate houses, so buyers face no apartment risk, and 38.1% of homes have 4 or more bedrooms compared to the state median profile. Outright ownership at 38.0% is notably high, indicating many residents hold their properties debt-free.
For Buyers
Monthly mortgage repayments average $1,798, and the mortgage-to-income ratio sits at 26.8%, below the 30% stress threshold, making Wesburn more financially accessible than many outer-Melbourne markets. All dwellings are separate houses, so buyers face no apartment risk, and 38.1% of homes have 4 or more bedrooms compared to the state median profile. Outright ownership at 38.0% is notably high, indicating many residents hold their properties debt-free.
For Investors
Rental demand in Wesburn is thin, with only 9.9% of dwellings occupied by renters, well below typical investment-grade suburbs. The 7.5% vacancy rate is elevated and points to limited rental competition, which is both a risk for landlords and a sign the suburb leans strongly toward owner-occupation. Development activity registered only 3 applications in the past 12 months, all subdivision permits, suggesting new supply will stay constrained.
Development Activity
Total DAs
3
Last 12 Months
3
YoY ChangeiYear-over-year change in DA lodgements
—
Avg DA CostiAverage estimated cost per DA in the past year
N/A
Monthly DA Lodgements
DA Categories
Schools in Wesburn
Open-register school locations for education access. This is not a school-quality ranking.
Wesburn Primary School
Demographics
Wesburn's median age of 43 sits 3 years above the national average, reflecting an established owner-occupier base rather than a young family influx. Overseas-born residents account for just 9.9% of the population, which is 11.7 percentage points below the national figure, and ancestry is predominantly Anglo-Celtic with English (475), Irish (107) and Scottish (91) the leading groups. University qualification rates reach only 15.2%, which is 14.9 percentage points lower than the national average, consistent with the suburb's trades and manual occupation base. Average household size of 2.8 persons is slightly above the national norm, and 309 families are couples with children compared to 229 couples without children.
Age Distribution
Bedrooms
Dwelling Structure
100.0%
Houses
0.0%
Townhouse
0.0%
Apartment
Tenure
All 100% of Wesburn's dwellings are separate houses, a uniformity that makes the suburb unusual even by regional Victorian standards. Ownership is strongly skewed toward long-term holders: 38.0% own outright and 52.1% hold a mortgage, leaving just 9.9% as renters. Bedroom distribution leans toward larger homes, with 45.8% being 3-bedroom and 38.1% with 4 or more bedrooms. Rent-to-income at 22.6% is below the 30% stress threshold, confirming housing costs are manageable relative to local incomes at the 49th household income percentile nationally.
Mortgage / mo
$1,798
Rent / wkiABS Census 2021 median across all dwelling types. Current market rents are typically higher.
$350
Census 2021
HH Size
2.8
Personal Income / wk
$714
Vacancy Ratei% of dwellings unoccupied on Census night (ABS 2021)
7.5%
Unoccupied
29
Rent / IncomeiMedian rent as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
22.6%
Mortgage / IncomeiMedian mortgage as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
26.8%
Community Profile
Ancestry
Household Composition
41.6%
Couples with children
38.9%
Couples, no children
16.4%
Single parent
293
Total families
Economy & Employment
Construction dominates Wesburn's employment base at 27.0% of workers (72 people), a share that far exceeds typical suburban rates and reflects proximity to rural and semi-rural building markets. Healthcare employs 14.2% and Manufacturing 10.9%, with Education at 10.1% rounding out the top four. By occupation, Clerical and Admin workers (76) slightly edge out Labourers (72), but the concentration in trades and manual roles explains the below-national university qualification rate of 15.2%. Full-time employment runs at 60.2% of employed residents, and the unemployment rate of 4.3% is modest. Participation at 54.3% is relatively low, partly because 292 residents are not in the labour force, consistent with the older median age of 43.
Unemployment
3.9%
Labour Force
541
Unemployed
21
Source: ABS Census 2021
Socio-Economic Indexes (SEIFA)iABS index ranking suburbs from 1 (most disadvantaged) to 10 (most advantaged)
Full-time
53.5%
Part-time
35.4%
Participation
60.9%
Employed
520
Full-time and part-time are shares of the employed. Source: ABS Census 2021
Occupations
Top Industries
University
15.2%
Postgraduate
3.3%
Born Overseas
9.9%
Dwellings
359
Transport to Work
Car dependency in Wesburn is high even by outer-suburban standards: 89.4% of residents drive to work and only 2.8% use public transport, well below national averages. This reflects the suburb's rural character and limited bus and train infrastructure. On the safety front, 43 total crimes were recorded at a rate of 40.9 per 1,000 residents, with justice procedures offences (16) and property offences (13) the most common categories. No schools are recorded within the suburb boundary, so families depend on nearby towns for schooling. Volunteering stands at 15.6% of residents, above many comparable small communities, and housing stress is contained with rent-to-income at 22.6% and mortgage-to-income at 26.8%, both below stress thresholds.
Drive
72.8%
Public Transport
2.3%
Walk / Cycle
1.4%
Work from Home
18.5%
Growth Outlook
Residential mobility is very low, with 88.3% of residents staying put compared to the previous year and a turnover rate of just 11.7%, which suggests price discovery is slow and the owner base is deeply entrenched. Development activity is minimal at only 3 applications in 12 months, all subdivision permits for 2-lot splits, pointing to incremental organic growth rather than estate-scale expansion. Population at 1,052 reflects the suburb's constrained geographic capacity across its 41 square kilometres.
Population trend: Yarra Ranges council area
Wesburn sits in the Yarra Ranges council area. These are the council area's residents, not Wesburn's.
Residents 2025
160,906
Growth, 5 yr average
+0.2%/yr
2020 to 2025
Growth, last year
+0.7%
2024 to 2025
ABS Estimated Resident Population by LGA, 30 June each year; council area, not this suburb
Safety & Crime
Total Offences
43
Year ending June 2024
Rate per 1,000 People
40.9
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 Wesburn compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wesburn a good suburb to live in?
Wesburn suits buyers who prioritise space, low housing stress and a stable owner-occupier community. With 100% separate houses, a mortgage-to-income ratio of 26.8% well below the 30% stress threshold, and 88.3% of residents staying year to year, the suburb offers long-term stability. The trade-off is very limited public transport at 2.8% usage and no recorded schools within the boundary.
What schools are in Wesburn?
No schools are recorded within the Wesburn suburb boundary in this dataset. With a population of 1,052 across 41.28 square kilometres, families travel to nearby towns for schooling. University qualifications locally sit at 15.2%, which is 14.9 percentage points below the national average.
Is Wesburn safe?
Wesburn recorded 43 total offences at a rate of 40.9 per 1,000 residents. The top categories were justice procedures offences (16 incidents) and property and deception offences (13 incidents). The small population base means individual incidents can move the rate, and the figure is comparable with other semi-rural Victorian communities of similar size.
Is Wesburn good for property investment?
Investors should expect income returns to be secondary to long-run price appreciation.
How is Wesburn's population changing?
Wesburn's population is 1,052, spread across a large 41.28 square kilometre area. Residential turnover is very low at 11.7%, with 88.3% of residents not moving in the previous year, suggesting the community is stable rather than growing rapidly. The suburb's development activity is minimal at 3 permit applications in the past 12 months.
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), Valuer-General Victoria (house prices), state education open registers (school locations), state Crime Statistics agencies (offences), council DA portals (development applications).
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