Airport West vs Niddrie
In both, most households own their home and most homes are detached houses. In Niddrie, about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Niddrie: a median of $1.27 million, against $1.04 million in Airport West, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Airport West tends to suit people living alone and buyers on a tighter budget, while Niddrie suits couples.
Which one suits you?
There is no overall winner — the suburb that suits a family with school-age kids is routinely the wrong one for someone commuting into the city. So each of these answers its own question, against a checklist you can see, using the same figures in the tables below.
Families with school-age kids
Niddrie
ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here
- carries lower crime risk (51/100 vs 86/100)
- is already more of a family suburb (63% vs 53%)
- But Airport West has more childcare (5 vs 2)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Airport West
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper houses ($1,040,000 vs $1,270,000)
Weighs house prices, unit prices, and mortgage stress.
Renters
Too close to call
Nothing among the 3 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Too close to call
Nothing among the 4 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs distance, drive time, rail access, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Niddrie
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (51/100 vs 86/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Airport West
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- returns a higher gross yield on houses (4.0% vs 3.0%)
Weighs house yield, unit yield, and population growth.
Where they sit
Airport West and Niddrie drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.
Bars start at zero. Scores, risks and rankings are drawn against their full 0–100 range; other rows are drawn in proportion to the larger of the two.
Side by side, out of 100
Risks are inverted — shown as safety and low exposure — so a longer bar always means better.
Demographics
Airport West has more residents (8,173 vs 5,901); Niddrie has higher household incomes ($115,076 vs $91,572).
| Airport West | Niddrie | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 8,173 +28% vs other | 5,901 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +8.1% | +7.7% |
| Median age | 39 | 40 |
| Median household income | $91,572/yr | $115,076/yr +26% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $401/wk | $432/wk +8% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (15.7%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.0%).
Where residents were born
Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents, 2021 Census. A dash means that country is not among the suburb's own eight largest.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (5.8%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Airport West | Niddrie | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,040,000 | $1,270,000 |
| Median unit price | $655,000 | $680,500 |
| Median land price | $1,250,000 | — |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 23 days from 84 sales | 25 days from 38 sales |
Unit price by bedroom count
Only bed counts both suburbs published enough sales for. Sale counts are shown because the buckets differ in depth.
46 vs 12 sales
27 vs 14 sales
House price by bedroom count
Only bed counts both suburbs published enough sales for. Sale counts are shown because the buckets differ in depth.
19 vs 13 sales
104 vs 52 sales
39 vs 48 sales
Zoning mix
Airport West has more commercially zoned land (24% vs 5%).
| Airport West | Niddrie | |
|---|---|---|
| Residential | 61% | 82% |
| Commercial | 24% | 5% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 7% | 8% |
| Parks and recreation | 7% | 3% |
| Industrial | 2% same for both | |
| Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the suburb around it. Zones as at 2026-09. | ||
Development activity
| Airport West | Niddrie | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 702 across Moonee Valley same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +82% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Airport West | Niddrie | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 4.0% $700/wk on $910K | 3.0% $725/wk on $1.25M |
| Units | 4.9% $572/wk on $612K | 5.2% $590/wk on $592K |
Ranking within VIC
| Airport West | Niddrie | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 73% of VIC | Higher than 80% of VIC |
| Income | Higher than 60% of VIC | Higher than 87% of VIC |
| Schools | Higher than 71% of VIC | Higher than 73% of VIC |
| Walkability | Higher than 95% of VIC same for both | |
| Affordability | Higher than 23% of VIC | Higher than 32% of VIC |
| EV adoption | Higher than 75% of VIC same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 99% of VIC | Higher than 93% of VIC |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 69% of VIC | Higher than 14% of VIC |
| Rental yield (units) | Higher than 54% of VIC | Higher than 70% of VIC |
Liveability
Niddrie scores higher overall (79 vs 68).
| Airport West | Niddrie | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | B | A |
| Score | 68/100 | 79/100 |
| Socio-economic band | advantaged area decile 7/10 | very advantaged area decile 9/10 |
Risk profile
Airport West carries more crime risk (86 vs 51).
| Airport West | Niddrie | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | High 86/100 | Moderate 51/100 |
| Flood | Low 35/100 | Low 38/100 |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 5 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Airport West | Niddrie | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 3 same for both | |
| Rated above peers | 1 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 1 | 0 |
| Rated below peers | 0 | 1 |
| Universities within 10 km | 2 Victoria University Footscray Park, 8.4 km | 2 Victoria University Footscray Park, 6.6 km |
| Full-time students aged 15–24 | 1.8% | 2.9% |
Schools in Airport West
- Niddrie Primary School Government · Primary above peers
- St Christopher's School Catholic · Primary at peers
- Essendon Keilor College-Niddrie Campus Government · Secondary
Schools in Niddrie
- Rosehill Secondary College Government · Secondary above peers
- St John Bosco's School Catholic · Primary below peers
- Niddrie Autistic School Government · Primary · Special school
Amenities in the suburb
| Airport West | Niddrie | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 4 | 0 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 2 | 1 |
| Parks & reserves | 7 | 5 |
| Childcare | 5 | 2 |
| GPs | 4 | 5 |
| Pharmacies | 3 same for both | |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 5 | 3 |
| Fuel stations | 0 | 1 |
| EV chargers | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 2 | 0 |
Mobility
| Airport West | Niddrie | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 85/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Melbourne | 15.1 km | 15.3 km +1% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 21 min | 22 min |
| Public transport score | 95/100 Tram · Bus | 94/100 Tram · Bus |
| Peak arrivals per hour | 265.8 7-9am + 5-7pm | 128.8 7-9am + 5-7pm |
| Median peak wait | 0 min scheduled, not actual same for both | |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.9% postcode 3042 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 21 postcode 3042 same for both | |
How people get to work
Method of travel on census day 2021 — which fell during COVID restrictions, so working from home is inflated and every travel mode understated.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (59.6%).
Setting
| Airport West | Niddrie | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 79 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 50 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 13.3 km | 11.5 km |
NBN connectivity
| Airport West | Niddrie | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 99/100 | 84/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the premises | Fibre to the curb |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 96% 4,996 premises | 30% 2,936 premises |
Climate
| Airport West | Niddrie | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 534 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 26.7°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 6.5°C same for both | |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Airport West | Niddrie | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | — same for both | |
| PM10 | 18.9 µg/m³ same for both | |
| NO₂ | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Airport West | Niddrie | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $2,027/yr same for both | |
| Council | Moonee Valley same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Airport West | Niddrie | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Maribyrnong same for both | |
| Member | Jo Briskey same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Airport West | Niddrie | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Airport West
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Airport West
Other comparisons with Niddrie
Information shown is provided as-is from Australian government and commercial data sources.
Always verify with the relevant authority before making property decisions.
See Data Sources and How We Calculate for details.