Bairnsdale vs Hillside
Hillside is the younger of the two, with a median age of 39 against 44 in Bairnsdale. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Bairnsdale, about half of households are people living alone. In Hillside, most households are couple families. Houses cost more in Hillside: a median of $780,000, against $520,000 in Bairnsdale, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Bairnsdale tends to suit people living alone, older residents, and buyers on a tighter budget, while Hillside suits families with children and 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
Hillside
ahead on 4 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more schools rated above their peers (2 vs 1)
- carries lower crime risk (56/100 vs 95/100)
- is already more of a family suburb (69% vs 44%)
- But Bairnsdale has more childcare (11 vs 0)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
They split
one each way, out of the 2 things we measure here
- Bairnsdale has cheaper houses ($520,000 vs $780,000)
- Hillside leaves households under less mortgage stress (20% vs 25%)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Bairnsdale
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a bigger rental market to choose from (35% vs 9%)
- has cheaper rent ($270/wk vs $385/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Hillside
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- sits closer to the CBD (273.9 km vs 278.2 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Bairnsdale
ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here
- has more GPs (7 vs 0)
- has more residents already 65 and over (26% vs 17%)
- But Hillside carries lower crime risk (56/100 vs 95/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Hillside
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (50.3% vs 4.3%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Bairnsdale and Hillside 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
Bairnsdale has more residents (7,905 vs 290); Hillside has higher household incomes ($97,500 vs $57,252).
| Bairnsdale | Hillside | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 7,905 +96% vs other | 290 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +4.3% | +50.3% |
| Median age | 44 | 39 |
| Median household income | $57,252/yr | $97,500/yr +70% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $270/wk | $385/wk +43% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.6%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
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 (2.6%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.7%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Bairnsdale | Hillside | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $520,000 | $780,000 |
| Median unit price | $347,500 | — |
| Median land price | $225,000 | — |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 42 days from 132 sales | — |
Zoning mix
Hillside has more rural and farming land (96% vs 69%).
| Bairnsdale | Hillside | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 69% | 96% |
| Parks and recreation | 10% | 1% |
| Residential | 9% | 0% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 9% | 2% |
| Industrial | 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
| Bairnsdale | Hillside | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 386 across East Gippsland same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +50% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Bairnsdale | Hillside | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 4.6% $500/wk on $565K | — |
| Units | 5.3% $415/wk on $410K | — |
Ranking within VIC
| Bairnsdale | Hillside | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 9% of VIC | — |
| Income | Higher than 15% of VIC | Higher than 69% of VIC |
| Schools | Higher than 36% of VIC | Higher than 92% of VIC |
| Walkability | Higher than 22% of VIC | Higher than 27% of VIC |
| Affordability | Higher than 78% of VIC | — |
| EV adoption | Higher than 47% of VIC same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 78% of VIC | Higher than 73% of VIC |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 93% of VIC | — |
| Rental yield (units) | Higher than 74% of VIC | — |
Liveability
| Bairnsdale | Hillside | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | D | — |
| Score | 14/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | below-average income decile 2/10 | mid-range socio-economic decile 5/10 |
Risk profile
Bairnsdale carries more crime risk (95 vs 56).
| Bairnsdale | Hillside | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Moderate 61/100 same for both | |
| Crime | High 95/100 | Moderate 56/100 |
| Flood | Moderate 69/100 | High 70/100 |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 | Moderate 50/100 |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 5 within 5 km | 1 within 5 km |
Schools
| Bairnsdale | Hillside | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 9 | 3 |
| Rated above peers | 1 | 2 |
| Rated at peers | 3 | 0 |
| Rated below peers | 3 | 1 |
Schools in Bairnsdale
- Bairnsdale Primary School Government · Primary above peers
- Bairnsdale West Primary School Government · Primary at peers
- Nagle College Catholic · Secondary at peers
- St Mary's School Catholic · Primary at peers
- Bairnsdale Christian College Independent · Combined below peers
- Bairnsdale Secondary College Government · Secondary below peers
Schools in Hillside
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Bairnsdale | Hillside | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 3 | 0 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 13 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 9 | 0 |
| Childcare | 11 | 0 |
| GPs | 7 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 2 | 0 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 6 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 5 | 0 |
| EV chargers | 5 | 0 |
| Waterways | 1 | 4 |
Mobility
Bairnsdale sits further from the CBD (278.2 km vs 273.9 km).
| Bairnsdale | Hillside | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Melbourne | 278.2 km +2% vs other | 273.9 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 200 min | 199 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.5% postcode 3875 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 47 postcode 3875 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 (76.8%).
Setting
| Bairnsdale | Hillside | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 24 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 40 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 18.5 km | 24.0 km |
NBN connectivity
| Bairnsdale | Hillside | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 68/100 | 49/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the node | Fixed wireless |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 44% 5,144 premises | 27% 171 premises |
Climate
| Bairnsdale | Hillside | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 620 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 25.5°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 4.5°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Bairnsdale | Hillside | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,807/yr same for both | |
| Council | East Gippsland same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Bairnsdale | Hillside | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Gippsland same for both | |
| Member | Darren Chester same for both | |
| Party | The Nationals same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Bairnsdale | Hillside | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Bairnsdale
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Bairnsdale
Other comparisons with Hillside
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.