Benjeroop vs Pental Island

Benjeroop is the younger of the two, with a median age of 37 against 42 in Pental Island. In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are couple families. On these figures, Benjeroop tends to suit families with children, while Pental Island suits 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

Pental Island

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • carries lower crime risk (14/100 vs 76/100)

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

Benjeroop

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($0/wk vs $340/wk)

Weighs rent.

Commuting to the city

Benjeroop

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a shorter drive in (215 min vs 237 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (311.6 km vs 334.2 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Pental Island

ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here

  • carries lower crime risk (14/100 vs 76/100)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (23% vs 11%)

Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.

Investors

Benjeroop

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (24.4% vs 17.8%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

Benjeroop and Pental Island drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.

Benjeroop Pental Island
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.

Benjeroop Pental Island
Walkability 0 / 0
Benjeroop — Walkability: 0/100 Pental Island — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 24 / 86
Benjeroop — Safety: 24/100 Pental Island — Safety: 86/100
Low fire risk 100 / 76
Benjeroop — Low fire risk: 100/100 Pental Island — Low fire risk: 76/100
Low flood risk 2 / 3
Benjeroop — Low flood risk: 2/100 Pental Island — Low flood risk: 3/100

Demographics

Pental Island rents higher ($340/wk vs $0/wk); Pental Island has more residents (159 vs 56).

Benjeroop Pental Island
Population 56 159
+184% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +24.4% +17.8%
Median age 37 42
Median household income $94,224/yr $106,860/yr
+13% vs other
Median weekly rent — $340/wk
(not reported on the other side)

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Benjeroop Pental Island
0-4 7.1% / 4.4%
Benjeroop — 0-4: 7.1% Pental Island — 0-4: 4.4%
5-14 23.2% / 13.2%
Benjeroop — 5-14: 23.2% Pental Island — 5-14: 13.2%
15-19 7.1% / 6.3%
Benjeroop — 15-19: 7.1% Pental Island — 15-19: 6.3%
20-24 5.4% / 3.8%
Benjeroop — 20-24: 5.4% Pental Island — 20-24: 3.8%
25-34 7.1% / 3.8%
Benjeroop — 25-34: 7.1% Pental Island — 25-34: 3.8%
35-44 10.7% / 15.1%
Benjeroop — 35-44: 10.7% Pental Island — 35-44: 15.1%
45-54 17.9% / 11.9%
Benjeroop — 45-54: 17.9% Pental Island — 45-54: 11.9%
55-64 5.4% / 14.5%
Benjeroop — 55-64: 5.4% Pental Island — 55-64: 14.5%
65-74 10.7% / 13.8%
Benjeroop — 65-74: 10.7% Pental Island — 65-74: 13.8%
75-84 — / 6.9%
Benjeroop — 75-84: not among its largest Pental Island — 75-84: 6.9%
85+ — / 1.9%
Benjeroop — 85+: not among its largest Pental Island — 85+: 1.9%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (23.2%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Benjeroop 69.2% couple families
Benjeroop — Couple Families: 69.2% Benjeroop — Lone Person: 30.8% Benjeroop — One Parent Families: 0.0%
Pental Island 64.7% couple families
Pental Island — Couple Families: 64.7% Pental Island — Lone Person: 26.5% Pental Island — One Parent Families: 8.8%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Benjeroop 0.0% renting
Benjeroop — Owned Outright: 50.0% Benjeroop — Mortgage: 50.0% Benjeroop — Renting: 0.0%
Pental Island 20.4% renting
Pental Island — Owned Outright: 46.9% Pental Island — Mortgage: 32.7% Pental Island — Renting: 20.4%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Benjeroop 100.0% houses
Benjeroop — Houses: 100.0% Benjeroop — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Pental Island 94.6% houses
Pental Island — Houses: 94.6% Pental Island — Flats / Apartments: 5.4%
Houses Flats / Apartments

Qualifications

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

Benjeroop Pental Island
Certificate III & IV 21.4% / 22.6%
Benjeroop — Certificate III & IV: 21.4% Pental Island — Certificate III & IV: 22.6%
Bachelor Degree 12.5% / 6.9%
Benjeroop — Bachelor Degree: 12.5% Pental Island — Bachelor Degree: 6.9%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 5.4% / 3.8%
Benjeroop — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.4% Pental Island — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 3.8%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate — / 1.9%
Benjeroop — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest Pental Island — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.9%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.6%).

Zoning mix

Benjeroop has more rural and farming land (94% vs 77%).

Benjeroop Pental Island
Rural and farming 94% 77%
Parks and recreation 6% 23%
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

Benjeroop Pental Island
New dwellings approved 19
across Gannawarra
 91
across Swan Hill
Approvals change year on year — -86%

Ranking within VIC

Benjeroop Pental Island
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 64% of VIC Higher than 79% of VIC
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 52% of VIC Higher than 6% of VIC
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 2% of VIC —
NBN connectivity Higher than 19% of VIC Higher than 33% of VIC

Liveability

Benjeroop Pental Island
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band below-average income
decile 2/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 6/10

Risk profile

Pental Island carries more bushfire risk (24 vs 0); Benjeroop carries more crime risk (76 vs 14).

Benjeroop Pental Island
Bushfire None
0/100
 Low
24/100
Crime High
76/100
 Low
14/100
Flood High
98/100
 High
97/100
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

Benjeroop Pental Island
Inside the suburb 0
same for both
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Amenities in the suburb

Benjeroop Pental Island
Waterways 0 3

Mobility

Pental Island sits further from the CBD (334.2 km vs 311.6 km).

Benjeroop Pental Island
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Melbourne 311.6 km 334.2 km
+7% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 215 min 237 min
Electric vehicle share 0.1%
postcode 3579
 0.0%
postcode 3586
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 49
postcode 3579
 50
postcode 3586

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.

Benjeroop Pental Island
Car (driver) 62.1% / 83.1%
Benjeroop — Car (driver): 62.1% Pental Island — Car (driver): 83.1%
Worked from Home 20.7% / 16.9%
Benjeroop — Worked from Home: 20.7% Pental Island — Worked from Home: 16.9%
Walked Only 17.2% / —
Benjeroop — Walked Only: 17.2% Pental Island — Walked Only: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (83.1%).

Setting

Benjeroop Pental Island
Elevation 72 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 71 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Benjeroop Pental Island
Connectivity score 21/100 28/100
Most common technology Satellite (Sky Muster) Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
17 premises
 0%
60 premises

Climate

Benjeroop Pental Island
Annual rainfall 364 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 32.1°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 4.5°C
same for both

Council rates

Benjeroop Pental Island
Average residential rate $1,855/yr $2,333/yr
Council Gannawarra Swan Hill

Federal electorate

Benjeroop Pental Island
Division Mallee
same for both
Member Anne Webster
same for both
Party The Nationals
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Benjeroop Pental Island
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Benjeroop

Family Rural

Pental Island

Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Benjeroop

Benjeroop vs Mystic Park Benjeroop vs Lake Charm

Other comparisons with Pental Island

Pental Island vs Swan Hill Pental Island vs Lake Boga Pental Island vs Castle Donnington
Full data on Benjeroop Full data on Pental Island
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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.

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