Cardigan vs Windermere

Cardigan is the younger of the two, with a median age of 36 against 46 in Windermere. In both, most households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are couple families. On these figures, Cardigan tends to suit families with children and couples, while Windermere 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

Cardigan

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is already more of a family suburb (87% vs 67%)

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

Windermere

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (27% vs 7%)
  • has cheaper rent ($200/wk vs $350/wk)

Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.

Commuting to the city

Windermere

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has a shorter drive in (90 min vs 98 min)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Windermere

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has more residents already 65 and over (21% vs 8%)

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

Investors

Cardigan

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (41.1% vs -1.0%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Cardigan Windermere
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.

Cardigan Windermere
Walkability 0 / 0
Cardigan — Walkability: 0/100 Windermere — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 18 / 11
Cardigan — Safety: 18/100 Windermere — Safety: 11/100
Low fire risk 77 / 100
Cardigan — Low fire risk: 77/100 Windermere — Low fire risk: 100/100
Low flood risk 64 / 18
Cardigan — Low flood risk: 64/100 Windermere — Low flood risk: 18/100

Demographics

Cardigan has more residents (1,064 vs 96); Cardigan rents higher ($350/wk vs $200/wk).

Cardigan Windermere
Population 1,064
+91% vs other
 96
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +41.1% -1.0%
Median age 36 46
Median household income $141,076/yr
+17% vs other
 $117,000/yr
Median weekly rent $350/wk
+43% vs other
 $200/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Cardigan Windermere
0-4 5.5% / —
Cardigan — 0-4: 5.5% Windermere — 0-4: not among its largest
5-14 18.3% / 19.8%
Cardigan — 5-14: 18.3% Windermere — 5-14: 19.8%
15-19 11.7% / 7.3%
Cardigan — 15-19: 11.7% Windermere — 15-19: 7.3%
20-24 5.1% / 5.2%
Cardigan — 20-24: 5.1% Windermere — 20-24: 5.2%
25-34 8.2% / 14.6%
Cardigan — 25-34: 8.2% Windermere — 25-34: 14.6%
35-44 14.3% / 3.1%
Cardigan — 35-44: 14.3% Windermere — 35-44: 3.1%
45-54 17.9% / 11.5%
Cardigan — 45-54: 17.9% Windermere — 45-54: 11.5%
55-64 12.1% / 16.7%
Cardigan — 55-64: 12.1% Windermere — 55-64: 16.7%
65-74 6.0% / 12.5%
Cardigan — 65-74: 6.0% Windermere — 65-74: 12.5%
75-84 2.1% / 8.3%
Cardigan — 75-84: 2.1% Windermere — 75-84: 8.3%
85+ 0.3% / —
Cardigan — 85+: 0.3% Windermere — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.8%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Cardigan 81.2% couple families
Cardigan — Couple Families: 81.2% Cardigan — Lone Person: 10.5% Cardigan — One Parent Families: 6.1% Cardigan — Group Household: 2.2%
Windermere 66.7% couple families
Windermere — Couple Families: 66.7% Windermere — Lone Person: 33.3% Windermere — One Parent Families: 0.0% Windermere — Group Household: 0.0%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Cardigan 7.4% renting
Cardigan — Owned Outright: 37.5% Cardigan — Mortgage: 55.2% Cardigan — Renting: 7.4%
Windermere 26.9% renting
Windermere — Owned Outright: 50.0% Windermere — Mortgage: 23.1% Windermere — Renting: 26.9%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Cardigan 98.7% houses
Cardigan — Houses: 98.7% Cardigan — Flats / Apartments: 1.3%
Windermere 100.0% houses
Windermere — Houses: 100.0% Windermere — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Houses Flats / Apartments

Qualifications

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

Cardigan Windermere
Certificate III & IV 17.1% / 25.0%
Cardigan — Certificate III & IV: 17.1% Windermere — Certificate III & IV: 25.0%
Bachelor Degree 9.7% / 10.4%
Cardigan — Bachelor Degree: 9.7% Windermere — Bachelor Degree: 10.4%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 6.9% / 8.3%
Cardigan — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.9% Windermere — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.3%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.3% / 4.2%
Cardigan — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.3% Windermere — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 4.2%
Postgraduate Degree 3.2% / —
Cardigan — Postgraduate Degree: 3.2% Windermere — Postgraduate Degree: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (25.0%).

Property market

Cardigan Windermere
Median house price $1,142,500 —
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price $547,500 —
Typical days to sell (houses) 30 days
from 19 sales
 —

Zoning mix

Windermere has more rural and farming land (98% vs 67%).

Cardigan Windermere
Rural and farming 67% 98%
Other and special use 20% 0%
Residential 9% 0%
Infrastructure and transport 2%
same for both
Parks and recreation 2% 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

Cardigan Windermere
New dwellings approved 1,451
across Ballarat
same for both
Approvals change year on year +42%
same for both

Gross rental yield

Gross — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. From median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.

Cardigan Windermere
Houses 2.8%
$700/wk on $1.3M
 —
Units —
same for both

Ranking within VIC

Cardigan Windermere
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 96% of VIC Higher than 89% of VIC
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 60% of VIC Higher than 44% of VIC
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 39% of VIC Higher than 38% of VIC
NBN connectivity Higher than 89% of VIC Higher than 64% of VIC
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 8% of VIC —

Liveability

Cardigan Windermere
Grade C —
Score 44/100 —
Socio-economic band very advantaged area
decile 9/10
 advantaged area
decile 8/10

Risk profile

Cardigan carries more bushfire risk (23 vs 0); Windermere carries more flood risk (82 vs 36).

Cardigan Windermere
Bushfire Low
23/100
 None
0/100
Crime High
82/100
 High
89/100
Flood Low
36/100
 High
82/100
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

Cardigan Windermere
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

Cardigan Windermere
Cafes & restaurants 0 1
Parks & reserves 2 0
Childcare 1 0
Waterways 3 9

Mobility

Cardigan Windermere
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Melbourne 132.1 km 131.2 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 98 min 90 min
Electric vehicle share 0.4%
postcode 3352
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 51
postcode 3352
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.

Cardigan Windermere
Car (driver) 77.5% / 47.8%
Cardigan — Car (driver): 77.5% Windermere — Car (driver): 47.8%
Worked from Home 15.5% / 32.6%
Cardigan — Worked from Home: 15.5% Windermere — Worked from Home: 32.6%
Walked Only 1.0% / 19.6%
Cardigan — Walked Only: 1.0% Windermere — Walked Only: 19.6%
Car (passenger) 6.0% / —
Cardigan — Car (passenger): 6.0% Windermere — Car (passenger): not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (77.5%).

Setting

Cardigan Windermere
Elevation 418 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 399 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Cardigan Windermere
Connectivity score 78/100 30/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 68%
973 premises
 0%
45 premises

Climate

Cardigan Windermere
Annual rainfall 605 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 25.7°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 3.5°C
same for both

Council rates

Cardigan Windermere
Average residential rate $2,086/yr
same for both
Council Ballarat
same for both

Federal electorate

Cardigan Windermere
Division Ballarat
same for both
Member Catherine King
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Cardigan Windermere
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Cardigan

Acreage Family Luxury

Windermere

Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Cardigan

Cardigan vs Alfredton Cardigan vs Wendouree Cardigan vs Lucas Cardigan vs Haddon Cardigan vs Cardigan Village Cardigan vs Mitchell Park

Other comparisons with Windermere

Windermere vs Miners Rest Windermere vs Cardigan Village Windermere vs Mitchell Park Windermere vs Learmonth Windermere vs Burrumbeet Windermere vs Blowhard
Full data on Cardigan Full data on Windermere
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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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