Best Melbourne suburbs for families with good high schools
Mount Waverley tops the ranking: 2 of its 2 schools rate above their ACARA peer group. The strongest results cluster between 4 and 34 km of the Melbourne CBD. These 30 suburbs came from a field of 82 eligible Melbourne suburbs.
This ranking scores every eligible Melbourne suburb on the share of secondary-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 high-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 — families weighing multiple secondary options value optionality that a single-school suburb can't deliver.
Best Melbourne suburbs for good public high schools
Public/government-sector secondary schools — includes standalone secondaries and the secondary component of K-12 government schools within the suburb boundary.
Glen Waverley
VIC 3150 · 42,642 residents3/4 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Mount Waverley
VIC 3149 · 35,340 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Richmond
VIC 3121 · 28,587 residents2/5 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
South Yarra
VIC 3141 · 25,028 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Thornbury
VIC 3071 · 19,005 residents1/3 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Wheelers Hill
VIC 3150 · 20,652 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Melbourne
VIC 3000 · 54,941 residents1/3 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Essendon
VIC 3040 · 21,240 residents0/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Mont Albert North
VIC 3129 · 5,609 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · walkable
Ashwood
VIC 3147 · 7,154 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Fitzroy North
VIC 3068 · 12,781 residents0/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Northcote
VIC 3070 · 25,276 residents0/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Brunswick
VIC 3056 · 24,896 residents0/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Albert Park
VIC 3206 · 6,044 residents0/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Wantirna
VIC 3152 · 14,237 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Ranked from 80 qualifying suburbs.
Best Melbourne suburbs for good private high schools
Catholic and independent secondary schools — includes standalone secondaries and the secondary component of K-12 combined schools.
Mount Waverley
VIC 3149 · 35,340 residents2/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Canterbury
VIC 3126 · 7,800 residents3/5 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Ormond
VIC 3204 · 8,328 residents2/3 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Malvern
VIC 3144 · 9,929 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Balwyn
VIC 3103 · 13,495 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Wantirna South
VIC 3152 · 20,754 residents3/3 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Hughesdale
VIC 3166 · 7,563 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Armadale
VIC 3143 · 9,368 residents1/4 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Ivanhoe
VIC 3079 · 13,374 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Mentone
VIC 3194 · 13,197 residents1/4 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Elsternwick
VIC 3185 · 10,887 residents1/4 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Kew
VIC 3101 · 24,499 residents3/10 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
St Kilda East
VIC 3183 · 12,571 residents1/6 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Fitzroy North
VIC 3068 · 12,781 residents0/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Brighton
VIC 3186 · 23,252 residents1/6 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Ranked from 82 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 high schools?
Mount Waverley tops the ranking: 2 of its 2 schools rate above their ACARA peer group. The strongest results cluster between 4 and 34 km of the Melbourne CBD. These 30 suburbs came from a field of 82 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 high schools
- Best Brisbane suburbs for families with good high schools
- Best Perth suburbs for families with good high schools
- Best Adelaide suburbs for families with good high schools
- Best Hobart suburbs for families with good high schools
- Best Darwin suburbs for families with good high schools
- Best Canberra suburbs for families with good high schools
- Best Newcastle suburbs for families with good high schools
- Best Central Coast suburbs for families with good high schools
- Best Sunshine Coast suburbs for families with good high schools
- Best Gold Coast suburbs for families with good high schools
- Best Wollongong suburbs for families with good high schools
- Best Geelong suburbs for families with good high schools
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Related
Rankings last computed 12 October 2026. Recomputed after each ACARA schools data refresh.
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