Bend Of Islands vs Christmas Hills
In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Bend Of Islands, about half of households are couple families. In Christmas Hills, most households are couple families.
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
Bend Of Islands
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (14/100 vs 38/100)
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
Bend Of Islands
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($300/wk vs $353/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Bend Of Islands sits closer to the CBD (40.6 km vs 44.2 km)
- Christmas Hills is more walkable (13/100 vs 0/100)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Bend Of Islands
ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here
- carries lower crime risk (14/100 vs 38/100)
- has more residents already 65 and over (22% vs 16%)
- But Christmas Hills is more walkable (13/100 vs 0/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Christmas Hills
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (2.8% vs -9.5%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Bend Of Islands and Christmas Hills 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
Christmas Hills has more residents (365 vs 267); Christmas Hills rents higher ($353/wk vs $300/wk).
| Bend Of Islands | Christmas Hills | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 267 | 365 +37% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | -9.5% | +2.8% |
| Median age | 47 | 46 |
| Median household income | $102,492/yr | $118,820/yr +16% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $300/wk | $353/wk +18% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (23.0%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (21.3%).
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 (4.9%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Bend Of Islands | Christmas Hills | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | — | $1,115,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | — | 84 days from 3 sales |
Zoning mix
Christmas Hills has more land zoned for conservation (46% vs 1%).
| Bend Of Islands | Christmas Hills | |
|---|---|---|
| Other and special use | 81% | 2% |
| Environmental | 1% | 46% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 1% | 36% |
| Parks and recreation | 18% | 16% |
| 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
| Bend Of Islands | Christmas Hills | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 98 across Nillumbik same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +8% same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Bend Of Islands | Christmas Hills | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 75% of VIC | Higher than 91% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 15% of VIC | Higher than 75% of VIC |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 89% of VIC | Higher than 67% of VIC |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 40% of VIC | Higher than 32% of VIC |
Liveability
Christmas Hills is more walkable (13 vs 0).
| Bend Of Islands | Christmas Hills | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 10/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
Christmas Hills carries more crime risk (38 vs 14); Bend Of Islands carries more flood risk (59 vs 42).
| Bend Of Islands | Christmas Hills | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | High 93/100 | High 88/100 |
| Crime | Low 14/100 | Low 38/100 |
| Flood | Moderate 59/100 | Moderate 42/100 |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 0 within 5 km | 1 within 5 km |
Schools
| Bend Of Islands | Christmas Hills | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 | 1 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Schools in Bend Of Islands
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Schools in Christmas Hills
- Christmas Hills Primary School Government · Primary
Amenities in the suburb
| Bend Of Islands | Christmas Hills | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 3 same for both | |
| Waterways | 2 | 10 |
Mobility
Christmas Hills sits further from the CBD (44.2 km vs 40.6 km).
| Bend Of Islands | Christmas Hills | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 | 13/100 |
| Distance to Melbourne | 40.6 km | 44.2 km +9% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 55 min | 56 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 1.6% postcode 3097 | 0.8% postcode 3775 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 56 postcode 3097 | 48 postcode 3775 |
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 (70.2%).
Setting
| Bend Of Islands | Christmas Hills | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 147 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 167 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 33.1 km | 37.8 km |
NBN connectivity
| Bend Of Islands | Christmas Hills | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 29/100 | 27/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 95 premises | 0% 120 premises |
Climate
| Bend Of Islands | Christmas Hills | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 777 mm | 1,215 mm |
| Summer max (Jan) | 26.9°C | 22.9°C |
| Winter min (Jul) | 6.3°C | 3.8°C |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Bend Of Islands | Christmas Hills | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | — same for both | |
| PM10 | 15.5 µg/m³ same for both | |
| NO₂ | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Bend Of Islands | Christmas Hills | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $2,696/yr same for both | |
| Council | Nillumbik same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Bend Of Islands | Christmas Hills | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Casey same for both | |
| Member | Aaron Violi same for both | |
| Party | Liberal same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Bend Of Islands | Christmas Hills | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Bend Of Islands
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Bend Of Islands
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.