Melbourne property market: the official numbers
Melbourne, VIC, in official numbers: the people, the rents, the repayments, and the pay cheques behind them. Every figure below is ABS Census 2021 data, linked at the bottom so you can check it yourself.
The straight answer
Median rent in Melbourne was $390 a week at the 2021 Census — 4% above the national median. The typical repayment was $2,000 a month against $1,690 in rent — a middling gap, neither bargain nor squeeze.
The key numbers
The typical repayment ran at about 24% of the median household income. One caveat before you compare: everything here is August 2021. Repayments in particular have jumped since the 2022–24 rate rises. Treat these as a ranking tool, not a price tag.
Renting vs paying a mortgage
At the census, the typical monthly rent worked out to $1,690 against a typical mortgage repayment of $2,000:
What this gap does and doesn't tell you
The mortgage figure reflects loans and rates as at August 2021, before the 2022–24 rate rises — today's repayment on a new loan would be higher. The rent figure is what tenants were actually paying, not today's asking rents. The useful signal is the shape: where rent and repayments sit close together, buying has historically competed well with renting here; where repayments tower over rent, the market prices in growth. Run your own numbers with the mortgage vs invest tool or what can I afford?
Who owns, who rents
Renters are 30.5% of Melbourne households. If you're buying to let, that's the depth of your market — about the national norm.
Who lives here
What the age mix means for housing
A heavy 25–44 band usually means family housing demand (and pressure on 3–4 bedroom stock); a heavy 65+ band signals downsizer and retiree demand (units, single-level living, proximity to health care). Melbourne's median age of 37 sits below the national median of 38.
What keeps Melbourne employed
health care & social assistance employs 13.5% of Melbourne's 2,395,663 workers (Census 2021). Local housing demand rises and falls with it.
The upfront costs in VIC
Current sale prices live behind licensed feeds we won't republish. The costs of buying don't — they're public and exact:
- Stamp duty in Victoria — exact duty and first-home-buyer concessions.
- What can I afford? — borrowing power, price range and all-in upfront cash.
- The official VIC price trend — ABS state-level values since 2011, interactive.
Questions people ask
What is the median rent in Melbourne?
At the 2021 Census the median rent in Melbourne was $390 a week — 4% above the national median ($375/wk). Rents have moved since 2021; check current listings for today's asking rents.
How many people live in Melbourne?
4,817,843 people at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 37 (national median: 38). Melbourne is one of Victoria's significant urban areas as defined by the ABS.
What do people in Melbourne do for work?
The biggest employing industry is health care & social assistance, followed by professional, scientific & technical (ABS Census 2021). The industry mix shapes how resilient local housing demand is.
So, who buys here?
Your call
Rent covered roughly 84% of the typical repayment here — a middling shape. Owner-occupiers do fine in markets like this; an investor needs a sharper reason to pick it.
Everything above is August 2021 — before you act, pull current asking rents, vacancy and listing volumes for Melbourne. Then run your own numbers: what can I afford? for borrowing power and upfront cash, and the Victoria stamp duty calculator for the tax bill.
Other VIC markets
Geelong · Ballarat · Bendigo · Shepparton - Mooroopna · Mildura - Buronga · Traralgon - Morwell
All cities & hubs: the full directory.
General information only — not financial or property advice. All figures are ABS Census 2021 ( official QuickStats for Melbourne, CC-BY 4.0), which predates the 2022–24 rate rises; conditions have moved since. Last reviewed 10 July 2026.