Balmattum vs Violet Town
Balmattum is the younger of the two, with a median age of 51 against 57 in Violet Town. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Balmattum, about half of households are couple families. In Violet Town, most households are people living alone. On these figures, Balmattum tends to suit families with children and couples, while Violet Town suits people living alone and 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
Violet Town
ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more parks and reserves (11 vs 2)
- carries lower crime risk (32/100 vs 75/100)
- But Balmattum is already more of a family suburb (66% vs 36%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Too close to call
Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Balmattum leaves renters under less rental stress (18% vs 26%)
- Violet Town has a bigger rental market to choose from (19% vs 8%)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Balmattum
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- sits closer to the CBD (175.7 km vs 188 km)
- has a shorter drive in (121 min vs 129 min)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Violet Town
ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here
- carries lower crime risk (32/100 vs 75/100)
- has more residents already 65 and over (36% vs 24%)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Balmattum
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (22.7% vs 7.1%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Balmattum and Violet Town 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
Violet Town has more residents (936 vs 135); Balmattum has higher household incomes ($75,816 vs $49,660).
| Balmattum | Violet Town | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 135 | 936 +593% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +22.7% | +7.1% |
| Median age | 51 | 57 |
| Median household income | $75,816/yr +34% vs other | $49,660/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $260/wk +4% vs other | $250/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.9%).
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 (5.9%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.8%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Balmattum | Violet Town | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | — | $460,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — | $195,500 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | — | 123 days from 3 sales |
Zoning mix
| Balmattum | Violet Town | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 97% | 94% |
| Parks and recreation | 0% | 3% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 3% | 2% |
| Residential | 0% | 1% |
| 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
| Balmattum | Violet Town | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 75 across Strathbogie same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +167% same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Balmattum | Violet Town | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — | Higher than 9% of VIC |
| Income | Higher than 43% of VIC | Higher than 9% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 11% of VIC | Higher than 1% of VIC |
| Affordability | — | Higher than 58% of VIC |
| EV adoption | Higher than 60% of VIC | Higher than 62% of VIC |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 29% of VIC | Higher than 48% of VIC |
Liveability
| Balmattum | Violet Town | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — | D |
| Score | — | 19/100 |
| Socio-economic band | advantaged area decile 7/10 | below-average income decile 2/10 |
Risk profile
Balmattum carries more crime risk (75 vs 32); Violet Town carries more bushfire risk (37 vs 18).
| Balmattum | Violet Town | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Low 18/100 | Low 37/100 |
| Crime | High 75/100 | Low 32/100 |
| Flood | High 75/100 | High 91/100 |
| 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
| Balmattum | Violet Town | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 | 1 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 | 1 |
Schools in Balmattum
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Schools in Violet Town
- Peranbin Primary College Government · Primary below peers
Amenities in the suburb
| Balmattum | Violet Town | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 2 | 11 |
| Childcare | 0 | 1 |
| GPs | 0 | 1 |
| Police stations | 0 | 1 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 0 | 2 |
| Fuel stations | 0 | 1 |
| Waterways | 1 | 21 |
Mobility
Violet Town sits further from the CBD (188 km vs 175.7 km).
| Balmattum | Violet Town | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Melbourne | 175.7 km | 188 km +7% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 121 min | 129 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.6% postcode 3666 | 0.6% postcode 3669 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 54 postcode 3666 | 56 postcode 3669 |
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 (64.7%).
Setting
| Balmattum | Violet Town | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 184 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 170 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Balmattum | Violet Town | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 27/100 | 30/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 57 premises | 0% 519 premises |
Climate
| Balmattum | Violet Town | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 865 mm | 484 mm |
| Summer max (Jan) | 27.2°C | — |
| Winter min (Jul) | 2.0°C | — |
Council rates
| Balmattum | Violet Town | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $2,476/yr same for both | |
| Council | Strathbogie same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Balmattum | Violet Town | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Indi same for both | |
| Member | Helen Haines same for both | |
| Party | Independent same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Balmattum | Violet Town | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Balmattum
Violet Town
More comparisons
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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.