Balnarring Beach vs Merricks Beach
Balnarring Beach is the younger of the two, with a median age of 58 against 62 in Merricks Beach. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Merricks Beach, about half of households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Balnarring Beach: a median of $1.64 million, against $1.38 million in Merricks Beach. On these figures, Merricks Beach tends to suit people living alone and 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
Balnarring Beach
ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here
- carries lower crime risk (48/100 vs 77/100)
- is already more of a family suburb (52% vs 36%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Merricks Beach
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper houses ($1,375,000 vs $1,640,000)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Merricks Beach
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has a bigger rental market to choose from (23% vs 11%)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Balnarring Beach
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- sits closer to the CBD (83.6 km vs 87.8 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 4 things we measure here
- Balnarring Beach carries lower crime risk (48/100 vs 77/100)
- Merricks Beach has more residents already 65 and over (43% vs 38%)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Where they sit
Balnarring Beach and Merricks Beach 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
Balnarring Beach has more residents (471 vs 157); Balnarring Beach has higher household incomes ($85,124 vs $76,180).
| Balnarring Beach | Merricks Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 471 +67% vs other | 157 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | — same for both | |
| Median age | 58 | 62 |
| Median household income | $85,124/yr +11% vs other | $76,180/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $423/wk | $436/wk +3% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.9%).
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 (7.0%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (29.3%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Balnarring Beach | Merricks Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,640,000 | $1,375,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 34 days from 11 sales | — |
Zoning mix
| Balnarring Beach | Merricks Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Residential | 73% | 75% |
| Parks and recreation | 24% | 23% |
| Planning zones cover 97% of Balnarring Beach and 98% of Merricks Beach. The rest is unzoned land such as water or road reserve. | ||
| 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
| Balnarring Beach | Merricks Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 791 across Mornington Peninsula same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +9% same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Balnarring Beach | Merricks Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 99% of VIC | — |
| Income | Higher than 55% of VIC | Higher than 43% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 77% of VIC | Higher than 74% of VIC |
| Affordability | Higher than 1% of VIC | — |
| EV adoption | Higher than 91% of VIC same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 91% of VIC | Higher than 93% of VIC |
Liveability
| Balnarring Beach | Merricks Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 9/10 | very advantaged area decile 10/10 |
Risk profile
Balnarring Beach carries more flood risk (62 vs 35); Merricks Beach carries more crime risk (77 vs 48).
| Balnarring Beach | Merricks Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Moderate 48/100 | High 77/100 |
| Flood | Moderate 62/100 | Low 35/100 |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 2 within 5 km | 1 within 5 km |
Schools
| Balnarring Beach | Merricks Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 same for both | |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 1 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Amenities in the suburb
| Balnarring Beach | Merricks Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 2 | 1 |
Mobility
Merricks Beach sits further from the CBD (87.8 km vs 83.6 km).
| Balnarring Beach | Merricks Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 14/100 | 12/100 |
| Distance to Melbourne | 83.6 km | 87.8 km +5% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 75 min | 74 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 1.7% postcode 3926 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 48 postcode 3926 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 (62.8%).
Setting
| Balnarring Beach | Merricks Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 11 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 18 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 397 m | 779 m |
NBN connectivity
| Balnarring Beach | Merricks Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 82/100 | 85/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the premises same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 67% 430 premises | 73% 260 premises |
Climate
| Balnarring Beach | Merricks Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 696 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 24.5°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 6.5°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Balnarring Beach | Merricks Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,659/yr same for both | |
| Council | Mornington Peninsula same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Balnarring Beach | Merricks Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Flinders same for both | |
| Member | Zoe Mckenzie same for both | |
| Party | Liberal same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Balnarring Beach | Merricks Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Balnarring Beach
Merricks Beach
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Balnarring Beach
Other comparisons with Merricks Beach
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.