Best Melbourne suburbs for families with good primary schools
Mount Waverley tops the ranking: 6 of its 6 schools rate above their ACARA peer group. The strongest results cluster between 6 and 34 km of the Melbourne CBD. These 30 suburbs came from a field of 161 eligible Melbourne suburbs.
This ranking scores every eligible Melbourne suburb on the share of primary-school students at schools that outperform their ACARA peer group, adjusted for socio-economic advantage, walkability, and safety. Public and private results are ranked separately since the buyer decisions differ.
For each Melbourne suburb we compute the share of primary-school enrolments at schools rated above their ACARA peer group, blended with the ABS SEIFA socio-economic index, OpenStreetMap walkability, and a composite safety score. The share is Bayesian-smoothed so a suburb with two-of-two above-peer schools can't leapfrog a suburb with eight-of-ten. A small volume bonus rewards suburbs offering more school choice — parents with two children in different year levels value optionality that a single-school suburb can't deliver.
Best Melbourne suburbs for good public primary schools
Public/government-sector primary schools — includes K-6 schools and the primary component of K-12 government schools within the suburb boundary.
Mount Waverley
VIC 3149 · 35,340 residents6/6 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Glen Waverley
VIC 3150 · 42,642 residents6/8 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Blackburn
VIC 3130 · 14,478 residents3/3 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Albert Park
VIC 3206 · 6,044 residents2/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Wheelers Hill
VIC 3150 · 20,652 residents4/5 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Parkdale
VIC 3195 · 12,308 residents2/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Carnegie
VIC 3163 · 17,909 residents2/3 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Balwyn North
VIC 3104 · 21,302 residents3/4 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Richmond
VIC 3121 · 28,587 residents2/3 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Glen Iris
VIC 3146 · 26,131 residents2/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Camberwell
VIC 3124 · 21,965 residents2/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Surrey Hills
VIC 3127 · 13,655 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Greensborough
VIC 3088 · 21,070 residents4/5 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Pascoe Vale
VIC 3044 · 18,171 residents2/3 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Vermont South
VIC 3133 · 11,954 residents2/3 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Ranked from 161 qualifying suburbs.
Best Melbourne suburbs for good private primary schools
Catholic and independent primary schools — includes standalone primaries and the primary component of K-12 combined schools.
Mount Waverley
VIC 3149 · 35,340 residents2/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Malvern
VIC 3144 · 9,929 residents2/3 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Wantirna South
VIC 3152 · 20,754 residents5/5 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Canterbury
VIC 3126 · 7,800 residents3/5 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Oakleigh
VIC 3166 · 8,442 residents2/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Surrey Hills
VIC 3127 · 13,655 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Ormond
VIC 3204 · 8,328 residents2/3 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Fitzroy North
VIC 3068 · 12,781 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Glen Iris
VIC 3146 · 26,131 residents3/5 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Balwyn
VIC 3103 · 13,495 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Wheelers Hill
VIC 3150 · 20,652 residents2/3 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Elsternwick
VIC 3185 · 10,887 residents3/7 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Sandringham
VIC 3191 · 10,926 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Glen Waverley
VIC 3150 · 42,642 residents2/4 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Essendon
VIC 3040 · 21,240 residents1/3 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Ranked from 95 qualifying suburbs.
40% share of schools above their peer group · 20% socio-economic advantage (SEIFA) · 25% walkability · 15% safety (bushfire, crime, flood risks combined). Plus a small volume bonus rewarding suburbs offering more school choice. See how we calculate for the full methodology.
Common questions about this ranking
What are the best Melbourne suburbs for families with good primary schools?
Mount Waverley tops the ranking: 6 of its 6 schools rate above their ACARA peer group. The strongest results cluster between 6 and 34 km of the Melbourne CBD. These 30 suburbs came from a field of 161 eligible Melbourne suburbs.
How is this ranking scored?
Each eligible Melbourne suburb is scored on four factors: 40% share of schools rated above their ACARA peer group (Bayesian-smoothed so a tiny suburb with 2/2 can't outrank a suburb with 8/10), 20% ABS SEIFA socio-economic advantage, 25% OpenStreetMap-derived walkability, and 15% safety (bushfire, crime and flood risks combined). A small volume bonus rewards suburbs offering more school choice.
Why are public and private schools ranked separately?
Buyer decisions differ: parents choosing between government-sector primary schools weigh very different factors from parents choosing between Catholic and independent schools. Blending the two hides the signal a reader is actually looking for, so we publish both lists on the same page.
Which suburbs are eligible for the ranking?
To appear on the list, a suburb needs at least 2 qualifying schools inside its boundary and a resident population of at least 500. Suburbs that fall below either threshold are excluded — not penalised — so the ranking isn't dominated by tiny, high-signal outliers.
How often is this list updated?
The top 15 is recomputed automatically after each ACARA schools data refresh, so the ranking reflects the most recent published NAPLAN-adjusted peer comparisons. See the footer of this page for the last computed date.
Same list in other cities
- Best Sydney suburbs for families with good primary schools
- Best Brisbane suburbs for families with good primary schools
- Best Perth suburbs for families with good primary schools
- Best Adelaide suburbs for families with good primary schools
- Best Hobart suburbs for families with good primary schools
- Best Darwin suburbs for families with good primary schools
- Best Canberra suburbs for families with good primary schools
- Best Newcastle suburbs for families with good primary schools
- Best Central Coast suburbs for families with good primary schools
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Related
Rankings last computed 12 October 2026. Recomputed after each ACARA schools data refresh.
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