Best Melbourne suburbs for property investors

Box Hill tops the list, with 60.7% of its occupied dwellings rented. Across the ranking, rental shares run from 41.1% to 73.3%. These 15 suburbs came from a field of 342 eligible Melbourne suburbs.

This ranking scores every eligible Melbourne suburb on the share of occupied dwellings that are rented, from the ABS 2021 census, blended with population and dwelling growth and a composite safety score. A deep rental market means a wider tenant pool and easier re-letting — what a buy-to-let investor weighs before yield.

Rental share leads the score but doesn't rule it: a raw sort on percent-rented would surface high-density CBD cores and student pockets, so growth (2016→2021 population and dwelling change) and safety are blended in to keep the list to genuinely investable neighbourhoods. The percentile that drives the score is computed within Melbourne, so each suburb ranks against its own metro. For the return side of the equation, see the companion rental-yield ranking — a deep rental market and a strong gross yield together are the classic buy-to-let signal.

Melbourne suburbs with the deepest rental markets

Ranked on the share of occupied dwellings that are rented (ABS 2021 census tenure), blended with population and dwelling growth and a composite safety score. A deep rental market means a larger tenant pool and easier re-letting — the signal a buy-to-let investor scans for.

1

Box Hill

VIC 3128 · 14,353 residents

61% renting · 39% owner-occupied · 62/100 safety

A 89.1
2

West Melbourne

VIC 3003 · 8,025 residents

67% renting · 33% owner-occupied · 48/100 safety

B 88.4
3

Melbourne

VIC 3000 · 54,941 residents

73% renting · 27% owner-occupied · 46/100 safety

B 87.5
4

Collingwood

VIC 3066 · 9,179 residents

66% renting · 34% owner-occupied · 53/100 safety

B 86.8
5

Docklands

VIC 3008 · 15,495 residents

69% renting · 31% owner-occupied · 40/100 safety

B 86.8
6

Southbank

VIC 3006 · 22,631 residents

69% renting · 31% owner-occupied · 38/100 safety

B 86.0
7

Brunswick East

VIC 3057 · 13,279 residents

54% renting · 46% owner-occupied · 54/100 safety

A 85.3
8

Abbotsford

VIC 3067 · 9,088 residents

57% renting · 43% owner-occupied · 45/100 safety

A 84.1
9

South Melbourne

VIC 3205 · 11,548 residents

56% renting · 44% owner-occupied · 53/100 safety

B 83.1
10

Footscray

VIC 3011 · 17,131 residents

58% renting · 42% owner-occupied · 47/100 safety

B 82.1
11

Bellfield

VIC 3081 · 1,996 residents

45% renting · 55% owner-occupied · 63/100 safety

B 81.5
12

Cremorne

VIC 3121 · 2,158 residents

51% renting · 49% owner-occupied · 45/100 safety

A 81.3
13

Braybrook

VIC 3019 · 9,682 residents

50% renting · 50% owner-occupied · 59/100 safety

B 81.3
14

Heidelberg Heights

VIC 3081 · 6,758 residents

43% renting · 57% owner-occupied · 66/100 safety

A 81.2
15

Caulfield North

VIC 3161 · 16,903 residents

41% renting · 59% owner-occupied · 68/100 safety

A 80.5

Ranked from 342 qualifying suburbs.

How we ranked these

55% rental share (percentile within Melbourne) · 25% growth (2016→2021 population + dwelling change) · 20% safety (bushfire, crime, flood combined). Rental share comes from ABS 2021 census tenure — the share of occupied dwellings that are rented. Percentiles are computed within Melbourne's candidate pool. A raw percent-rented sort would surface high-density cores, so growth and safety keep the list investable. See how we calculate for the full methodology.

Common questions about this ranking

What are the best Melbourne suburbs for property investors?

Box Hill tops the list, with 60.7% of its occupied dwellings rented. Across the ranking, rental shares run from 41.1% to 73.3%. These 15 suburbs came from a field of 342 eligible Melbourne suburbs.

How is this ranking scored?

Each eligible Melbourne suburb is scored on three factors: 55% rental share (the share of occupied dwellings that are rented, from the ABS 2021 census, ranked as a percentile within Melbourne), 25% growth (2016→2021 population and dwelling change combined), and 20% safety (bushfire, crime and flood risks combined).

Does a deep rental market mean a good investment?

Not on its own. A high rental share means the tenant pool is large and re-letting is easier — a genuine convenience — but it says nothing about the return. Pair this with the gross rental yield ranking for the return side, and bear in mind that the highest-rental suburbs are often high-density areas where capital growth can lag detached housing.

Which suburbs are eligible?

A suburb needs a resident population of at least 1,000 and a 2021 census tenure record. Suburbs below the threshold or missing census tenure data are excluded, not penalised, so the ranking isn't dominated by tiny outliers.

How often is this list updated?

The top 15 is recomputed whenever the underlying data refreshes. Tenure comes from the ABS census (every five years); the growth and safety inputs refresh alongside their own datasets.

Same list in other cities

Related

Rankings last computed 12 October 2026. Recomputed after each ACARA schools data refresh.

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