Apollo Bay vs Marengo

Apollo Bay is the younger of the two, with a median age of 52 against 59 in Marengo. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Apollo Bay, most households are people living alone. In Marengo, about half of households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Marengo: a median of $1.19 million, against $780,000 in Apollo Bay, though rent is higher in Apollo Bay. On these figures, Apollo Bay tends to suit buyers on a tighter budget, while Marengo suits older residents.

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

They split

one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here

  • Apollo Bay has more parks and reserves (8 vs 2)
  • Marengo carries lower crime risk (25/100 vs 67/100)

Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.

First-home buyers

Apollo Bay

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper houses ($780,000 vs $1,190,000)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Apollo Bay

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (29% vs 14%)

Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.

Commuting to the city

Marengo

ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (19/100 vs 4/100)
  • has a shorter drive in (169 min vs 192 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (200.1 km vs 207.6 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Marengo

ahead on 3 of the 5 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (19/100 vs 4/100)
  • carries lower crime risk (25/100 vs 67/100)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (40% vs 29%)
  • But Apollo Bay has more GPs (2 vs 0)

Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.

Investors

Too close to call

Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

Apollo Bay and Marengo drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.

Apollo Bay Marengo
Hides rows where both suburbs match

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.

Apollo Bay Marengo
Walkability 4 / 19
Apollo Bay — Walkability: 4/100 Marengo — Walkability: 19/100
Safety 33 / 75
Apollo Bay — Safety: 33/100 Marengo — Safety: 75/100
Low fire risk 37 / 9
Apollo Bay — Low fire risk: 37/100 Marengo — Low fire risk: 9/100
Low flood risk 65 / 45
Apollo Bay — Low flood risk: 65/100 Marengo — Low flood risk: 45/100

Demographics

Apollo Bay has more residents (1,790 vs 272); Marengo skews older (59 vs 52).

Apollo Bay Marengo
Population 1,790
+85% vs other
 272
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +12.0% +13.8%
Median age 52 59
Median household income $59,488/yr $67,184/yr
+13% vs other
Median weekly rent $300/wk
+6% vs other
 $282/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Apollo Bay Marengo
0-4 4.1% / —
Apollo Bay — 0-4: 4.1% Marengo — 0-4: not among its largest
5-14 9.4% / 9.2%
Apollo Bay — 5-14: 9.4% Marengo — 5-14: 9.2%
15-19 4.1% / 5.1%
Apollo Bay — 15-19: 4.1% Marengo — 15-19: 5.1%
20-24 2.5% / 2.6%
Apollo Bay — 20-24: 2.5% Marengo — 20-24: 2.6%
25-34 9.9% / 5.1%
Apollo Bay — 25-34: 9.9% Marengo — 25-34: 5.1%
35-44 10.1% / 9.2%
Apollo Bay — 35-44: 10.1% Marengo — 35-44: 9.2%
45-54 13.3% / 13.6%
Apollo Bay — 45-54: 13.3% Marengo — 45-54: 13.6%
55-64 17.3% / 15.1%
Apollo Bay — 55-64: 17.3% Marengo — 55-64: 15.1%
65-74 17.8% / 27.6%
Apollo Bay — 65-74: 17.8% Marengo — 65-74: 27.6%
75-84 8.0% / 10.3%
Apollo Bay — 75-84: 8.0% Marengo — 75-84: 10.3%
85+ 3.0% / 1.8%
Apollo Bay — 85+: 3.0% Marengo — 85+: 1.8%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (27.6%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Apollo Bay 55.2% lone person
Apollo Bay — Lone Person: 55.2% Apollo Bay — Couple Families: 26.2% Apollo Bay — One Parent Families: 12.6% Apollo Bay — Group Household: 4.8% Apollo Bay — Other Families: 1.2%
Marengo 52.6% lone person
Marengo — Lone Person: 52.6% Marengo — Couple Families: 28.2% Marengo — One Parent Families: 12.8% Marengo — Group Household: 6.4% Marengo — Other Families: 0.0%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Apollo Bay 29.1% renting
Apollo Bay — Owned Outright: 47.4% Apollo Bay — Mortgage: 23.5% Apollo Bay — Renting: 29.1%
Marengo 13.6% renting
Marengo — Owned Outright: 63.6% Marengo — Mortgage: 22.9% Marengo — Renting: 13.6%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.

Apollo Bay Marengo
Bachelor Degree 11.1% / 19.9%
Apollo Bay — Bachelor Degree: 11.1% Marengo — Bachelor Degree: 19.9%
Certificate III & IV 14.5% / 14.3%
Apollo Bay — Certificate III & IV: 14.5% Marengo — Certificate III & IV: 14.3%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.9% / 13.6%
Apollo Bay — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.9% Marengo — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 13.6%
Postgraduate Degree 4.5% / 3.7%
Apollo Bay — Postgraduate Degree: 4.5% Marengo — Postgraduate Degree: 3.7%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.8% / 1.8%
Apollo Bay — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.8% Marengo — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.8%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.9%).

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.

Apollo Bay Marengo
England 3.6% / 7.4%
Apollo Bay — England: 3.6% Marengo — England: 7.4%
Indonesia 0.6% / 3.3%
Apollo Bay — Indonesia: 0.6% Marengo — Indonesia: 3.3%
New Zealand 1.3% / 2.2%
Apollo Bay — New Zealand: 1.3% Marengo — New Zealand: 2.2%
China 0.8% / 1.1%
Apollo Bay — China: 0.8% Marengo — China: 1.1%
Nepal — / 1.5%
Apollo Bay — Nepal: not among its largest Marengo — Nepal: 1.5%
Ireland 0.9% / —
Apollo Bay — Ireland: 0.9% Marengo — Ireland: not among its largest
India 0.8% / —
Apollo Bay — India: 0.8% Marengo — India: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (7.4%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Apollo Bay 82.8% houses
Apollo Bay — Houses: 82.8% Apollo Bay — Townhouses: 10.0% Apollo Bay — Flats / Apartments: 7.2%
Marengo 89.3% houses
Marengo — Houses: 89.3% Marengo — Townhouses: 5.7% Marengo — Flats / Apartments: 4.9%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Apollo Bay Marengo
Median house price $780,000 $1,190,000
Median unit price $653,500 —
Median land price $407,500 —
Typical days to sell (houses) 62 days
from 23 sales
 —

Zoning mix

Apollo Bay has more land zoned for conservation (58% vs 36%).

Apollo Bay Marengo
Environmental 58% 36%
Parks and recreation 35% 25%
Residential 2% 22%
Infrastructure and transport 1% 9%
Other and special use 0% 8%
Rural and farming 3% 0%
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

Apollo Bay Marengo
New dwellings approved 226
across Colac Otway
same for both
Approvals change year on year +64%
same for both

Gross rental yield

Gross — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. From median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.

Apollo Bay Marengo
Houses 3.0%
$598/wk on $1.05M
 —
Units 3.6%
$550/wk on $795K
 —

Ranking within VIC

Apollo Bay Marengo
House price Higher than 54% of VIC —
Income Higher than 20% of VIC Higher than 28% of VIC
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 66% of VIC Higher than 79% of VIC
Affordability Higher than 16% of VIC —
EV adoption Higher than 73% of VIC
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 73% of VIC Higher than 74% of VIC
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 12% of VIC —
Rental yield (units) Higher than 3% of VIC —

Liveability

Marengo is more walkable (19 vs 4).

Apollo Bay Marengo
Grade D —
Score 24/100 —
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 4/10
 advantaged area
decile 7/10

Risk profile

Apollo Bay carries more crime risk (67 vs 25); Marengo carries more flood risk (55 vs 35).

Apollo Bay Marengo
Bushfire Moderate
63/100
 High
91/100
Crime Moderate
67/100
 Low
25/100
Flood Low
35/100
 Moderate
55/100
Coastal erosion Moderate
66/100
 Moderate
51/100
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 1
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Apollo Bay Marengo
Inside the suburb 1 0
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 1 0
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Apollo Bay

  • Apollo Bay P-12 College Government · Combined at peers

Schools in Marengo

No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.

Amenities in the suburb

Apollo Bay Marengo
Supermarkets 3 0
Cafes & restaurants 15 0
Parks & reserves 8 2
Childcare 2 0
GPs 2 0
Pharmacies 1 0
Hospitals 1 0
Police stations 1 0
Banks & Bank@Post 2 0
Fuel stations 1 0
EV chargers 1 0
Beaches 1 0
Waterways 27 0

Mobility

Apollo Bay sits further from the CBD (207.6 km vs 200.1 km).

Apollo Bay Marengo
Walkability score 4/100 19/100
Distance to Melbourne 207.6 km
+4% vs other
 200.1 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 192 min 169 min
Electric vehicle share 0.9%
postcode 3233
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 26
postcode 3233
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.

Apollo Bay Marengo
Car (driver) 55.1% / 59.1%
Apollo Bay — Car (driver): 55.1% Marengo — Car (driver): 59.1%
Worked from Home 20.4% / 27.3%
Apollo Bay — Worked from Home: 20.4% Marengo — Worked from Home: 27.3%
Walked Only 17.1% / 3.6%
Apollo Bay — Walked Only: 17.1% Marengo — Walked Only: 3.6%
Car (passenger) 4.5% / 10.0%
Apollo Bay — Car (passenger): 4.5% Marengo — Car (passenger): 10.0%
Bicycle 2.3% / —
Apollo Bay — Bicycle: 2.3% Marengo — Bicycle: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (59.1%).

Setting

Apollo Bay Marengo
Elevation 278 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 42 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 3.4 km 669 m
3.2 km to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Apollo Bay Marengo
Connectivity score 50/100 56/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 13%
2,189 premises
 21%
327 premises

Climate

Apollo Bay Marengo
Annual rainfall 1,070 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Council rates

Apollo Bay Marengo
Average residential rate $2,023/yr
same for both
Council Colac Otway
same for both

Federal electorate

Apollo Bay Marengo
Division Wannon
same for both
Member Dan Tehan
same for both
Party Liberal
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Apollo Bay Marengo
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Apollo Bay

Retirees River Rural

Marengo

Acreage Coastal Retirees
Full data on Apollo Bay Full data on Marengo
Unlock full address-level data — $29/month

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.

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