Arthurs Creek vs Cottles Bridge

In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are couple families. Houses cost more in Arthurs Creek: a median of $1.78 million, against $1.46 million in Cottles Bridge, though rent is higher in Cottles Bridge. Cottles Bridge is closer to the city centre: 39.3 km, against 45.1 km. On these figures, Cottles Bridge tends to suit buyers on a tighter budget.

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

  • Arthurs Creek has more schools rated above their peers (1 vs 0)
  • Cottles Bridge carries lower crime risk (17/100 vs 27/100)

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

First-home buyers

Cottles Bridge

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper houses ($1,462,500 vs $1,785,000)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Arthurs Creek

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($218/wk vs $260/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Cottles Bridge

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • sits closer to the CBD (39.3 km vs 45.1 km)
  • has a shorter drive in (53 min vs 58 min)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Cottles Bridge

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • carries lower crime risk (17/100 vs 27/100)

Weighs 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

Arthurs Creek and Cottles Bridge drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.

Arthurs Creek Cottles Bridge
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.

Arthurs Creek Cottles Bridge
Walkability 0 / 0
Arthurs Creek — Walkability: 0/100 Cottles Bridge — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 73 / 83
Arthurs Creek — Safety: 73/100 Cottles Bridge — Safety: 83/100
Low fire risk 2 / 11
Arthurs Creek — Low fire risk: 2/100 Cottles Bridge — Low fire risk: 11/100
Low flood risk 100 / 77
Arthurs Creek — Low flood risk: 100/100 Cottles Bridge — Low flood risk: 77/100

Demographics

Cottles Bridge has more residents (609 vs 478); Cottles Bridge rents higher ($260/wk vs $218/wk).

Arthurs Creek Cottles Bridge
Population 478 609
+27% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) -3.6% +1.3%
Median age 52
same for both
Median household income $115,128/yr
+2% vs other
 $112,840/yr
Median weekly rent $218/wk $260/wk
+19% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Arthurs Creek Cottles Bridge
0-4 3.6% / 4.3%
Arthurs Creek — 0-4: 3.6% Cottles Bridge — 0-4: 4.3%
5-14 9.2% / 11.0%
Arthurs Creek — 5-14: 9.2% Cottles Bridge — 5-14: 11.0%
15-19 6.1% / 5.7%
Arthurs Creek — 15-19: 6.1% Cottles Bridge — 15-19: 5.7%
20-24 7.1% / 7.2%
Arthurs Creek — 20-24: 7.1% Cottles Bridge — 20-24: 7.2%
25-34 6.7% / 7.2%
Arthurs Creek — 25-34: 6.7% Cottles Bridge — 25-34: 7.2%
35-44 7.5% / 8.0%
Arthurs Creek — 35-44: 7.5% Cottles Bridge — 35-44: 8.0%
45-54 13.2% / 12.6%
Arthurs Creek — 45-54: 13.2% Cottles Bridge — 45-54: 12.6%
55-64 19.5% / 20.7%
Arthurs Creek — 55-64: 19.5% Cottles Bridge — 55-64: 20.7%
65-74 15.9% / 18.6%
Arthurs Creek — 65-74: 15.9% Cottles Bridge — 65-74: 18.6%
75-84 8.6% / 6.1%
Arthurs Creek — 75-84: 8.6% Cottles Bridge — 75-84: 6.1%
85+ 1.3% / 1.1%
Arthurs Creek — 85+: 1.3% Cottles Bridge — 85+: 1.1%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.7%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Arthurs Creek 66.7% couple families
Arthurs Creek — Couple Families: 66.7% Arthurs Creek — Lone Person: 19.8% Arthurs Creek — One Parent Families: 9.4% Arthurs Creek — Group Household: 4.2%
Cottles Bridge 57.7% couple families
Cottles Bridge — Couple Families: 57.7% Cottles Bridge — Lone Person: 22.6% Cottles Bridge — One Parent Families: 12.4% Cottles Bridge — Group Household: 7.3%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Arthurs Creek 4.3% renting
Arthurs Creek — Owned Outright: 57.1% Arthurs Creek — Mortgage: 38.6% Arthurs Creek — Renting: 4.3%
Cottles Bridge 11.0% renting
Cottles Bridge — Owned Outright: 49.0% Cottles Bridge — Mortgage: 40.0% Cottles Bridge — Renting: 11.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Arthurs Creek Cottles Bridge
Bachelor Degree 13.4% / 18.4%
Arthurs Creek — Bachelor Degree: 13.4% Cottles Bridge — Bachelor Degree: 18.4%
Certificate III & IV 16.3% / 13.8%
Arthurs Creek — Certificate III & IV: 16.3% Cottles Bridge — Certificate III & IV: 13.8%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 13.0% / 12.5%
Arthurs Creek — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 13.0% Cottles Bridge — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 12.5%
Postgraduate Degree 3.6% / 7.7%
Arthurs Creek — Postgraduate Degree: 3.6% Cottles Bridge — Postgraduate Degree: 7.7%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.7% / 4.8%
Arthurs Creek — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.7% Cottles Bridge — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 4.8%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.4%).

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.

Arthurs Creek Cottles Bridge
England 4.0% / 6.2%
Arthurs Creek — England: 4.0% Cottles Bridge — England: 6.2%
New Zealand 1.7% / 1.5%
Arthurs Creek — New Zealand: 1.7% Cottles Bridge — New Zealand: 1.5%
Netherlands — / 1.0%
Arthurs Creek — Netherlands: not among its largest Cottles Bridge — Netherlands: 1.0%
China 0.8% / —
Arthurs Creek — China: 0.8% Cottles Bridge — China: not among its largest
Canada — / 0.7%
Arthurs Creek — Canada: not among its largest Cottles Bridge — Canada: 0.7%
Zimbabwe — / 0.7%
Arthurs Creek — Zimbabwe: not among its largest Cottles Bridge — Zimbabwe: 0.7%
Malaysia 0.6% / —
Arthurs Creek — Malaysia: 0.6% Cottles Bridge — Malaysia: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (6.2%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Arthurs Creek 99.4% houses
Arthurs Creek — Houses: 99.4% Arthurs Creek — Flats / Apartments: 0.6%
Cottles Bridge 100.0% houses
Cottles Bridge — Houses: 100.0% Cottles Bridge — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Houses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Arthurs Creek Cottles Bridge
Median house price $1,785,000 $1,462,500
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) — 44 days
from 4 sales

Zoning mix

Arthurs Creek has more rural and farming land (70% vs 0%); Cottles Bridge has more land zoned for conservation (96% vs 29%).

Arthurs Creek Cottles Bridge
Environmental 29% 96%
Rural and farming 70% 0%
Parks and recreation 0% 3%
Infrastructure and transport 1%
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

Arthurs Creek Cottles Bridge
New dwellings approved 98
across Nillumbik
same for both
Approvals change year on year +8%
same for both

Ranking within VIC

Arthurs Creek Cottles Bridge
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 87% of VIC Higher than 86% of VIC
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 56% of VIC Higher than 11% of VIC
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 83% of VIC
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 68% of VIC Higher than 52% of VIC

Liveability

Arthurs Creek Cottles Bridge
Grade — B
Score — 56/100
Socio-economic band very advantaged area
decile 10/10
same for both

Risk profile

Cottles Bridge carries more flood risk (23 vs 0); Arthurs Creek carries more crime risk (27 vs 17).

Arthurs Creek Cottles Bridge
Bushfire High
98/100
 High
89/100
Crime Low
27/100
 Low
17/100
Flood None
0/100
 Low
23/100
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 0
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Arthurs Creek Cottles Bridge
Inside the suburb 1
same for both
Rated above peers 1 0
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Arthurs Creek

  • Arthurs Creek Primary School Government · Primary above peers

Schools in Cottles Bridge

  • Learning Co-Operative School Independent · Primary

Amenities in the suburb

Arthurs Creek Cottles Bridge
Parks & reserves 1 0
Waterways 1 2

Mobility

Arthurs Creek sits further from the CBD (45.1 km vs 39.3 km).

Arthurs Creek Cottles Bridge
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Melbourne 45.1 km
+13% vs other
 39.3 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 58 min 53 min
Electric vehicle share 1.2%
postcode 3099
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 41
postcode 3099
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.

Arthurs Creek Cottles Bridge
Car (driver) 62.1% / 59.2%
Arthurs Creek — Car (driver): 62.1% Cottles Bridge — Car (driver): 59.2%
Worked from Home 29.2% / 34.6%
Arthurs Creek — Worked from Home: 29.2% Cottles Bridge — Worked from Home: 34.6%
Walked Only 4.6% / 2.3%
Arthurs Creek — Walked Only: 4.6% Cottles Bridge — Walked Only: 2.3%
Car (passenger) 2.3% / 3.8%
Arthurs Creek — Car (passenger): 2.3% Cottles Bridge — Car (passenger): 3.8%
Train 1.8% / —
Arthurs Creek — Train: 1.8% Cottles Bridge — Train: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (62.1%).

Setting

Arthurs Creek Cottles Bridge
Elevation 181 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 139 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 38.9 km 35.9 km

NBN connectivity

Arthurs Creek Cottles Bridge
Connectivity score 30/100
same for both
Most common technology Fixed wireless
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
184 premises
 0%
219 premises

Climate

Arthurs Creek Cottles Bridge
Annual rainfall 1,215 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 22.9°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 3.8°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Arthurs Creek Cottles Bridge
PM2.5 3.9 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 —
same for both
NO₂ —
same for both

Council rates

Arthurs Creek Cottles Bridge
Average residential rate $2,696/yr
same for both
Council Nillumbik
same for both

Federal electorate

Arthurs Creek Cottles Bridge
Division Mcewen
same for both
Member Rob Mitchell
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Arthurs Creek Cottles Bridge
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Arthurs Creek

Outer Retirees

Cottles Bridge

Acreage Outer Premium Retirees

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Arthurs Creek

Arthurs Creek vs Doreen Arthurs Creek vs Kinglake West Arthurs Creek vs St Andrews Arthurs Creek vs Humevale Arthurs Creek vs Yan Yean Arthurs Creek vs Strathewen

Other comparisons with Cottles Bridge

Cottles Bridge vs Hurstbridge Cottles Bridge vs St Andrews Cottles Bridge vs Panton Hill Cottles Bridge vs Nutfield
Full data on Arthurs Creek Full data on Cottles Bridge
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.

Save this page for later

We'll email you a link to this page so you can finish reading it on any device. We use your address once to send it and don't keep it.

or