Clifton Springs vs Bellarine

Clifton Springs is the younger of the two, with a median age of 48 against 57 in Bellarine. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Bellarine, about half of households are couple families. On these figures, Bellarine tends to suit couples 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

They split

one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here

  • Clifton Springs has more parks and reserves (8 vs 0)
  • Bellarine carries lower crime risk (10/100 vs 31/100)

Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.

First-home buyers

Bellarine

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (18% vs 26%)

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

They split

one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here

  • Clifton Springs has a bigger rental market to choose from (18% vs 8%)
  • Bellarine leaves renters under less rental stress (16% vs 26%)

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

Commuting to the city

Clifton Springs

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (34/100 vs 12/100)
  • sits closer to the CBD (96.3 km vs 101.2 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Bellarine

ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here

  • carries lower crime risk (10/100 vs 31/100)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (35% vs 27%)
  • But Clifton Springs is more walkable (34/100 vs 12/100)

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

Investors

Too close to call

Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Clifton Springs Bellarine
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.

Clifton Springs Bellarine
Walkability 34 / 12
Clifton Springs — Walkability: 34/100 Bellarine — Walkability: 12/100
Safety 69 / 90
Clifton Springs — Safety: 69/100 Bellarine — Safety: 90/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Clifton Springs — Low fire risk: 100/100 Bellarine — Low fire risk: 100/100
Low flood risk 100 / 76
Clifton Springs — Low flood risk: 100/100 Bellarine — Low flood risk: 76/100

Demographics

Clifton Springs has more residents (7,646 vs 169); Bellarine has higher household incomes ($115,128 vs $70,096).

Clifton Springs Bellarine
Population 7,646
+98% vs other
 169
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +1.7% +0.0%
Median age 48 57
Median household income $70,096/yr $115,128/yr
+64% vs other
Median weekly rent $350/wk
same for both

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Clifton Springs Bellarine
0-4 4.7% / —
Clifton Springs — 0-4: 4.7% Bellarine — 0-4: not among its largest
5-14 10.8% / 7.1%
Clifton Springs — 5-14: 10.8% Bellarine — 5-14: 7.1%
15-19 5.1% / 4.7%
Clifton Springs — 15-19: 5.1% Bellarine — 15-19: 4.7%
20-24 4.4% / 7.7%
Clifton Springs — 20-24: 4.4% Bellarine — 20-24: 7.7%
25-34 9.6% / 7.1%
Clifton Springs — 25-34: 9.6% Bellarine — 25-34: 7.1%
35-44 11.2% / 5.9%
Clifton Springs — 35-44: 11.2% Bellarine — 35-44: 5.9%
45-54 12.4% / 14.8%
Clifton Springs — 45-54: 12.4% Bellarine — 45-54: 14.8%
55-64 15.2% / 19.5%
Clifton Springs — 55-64: 15.2% Bellarine — 55-64: 19.5%
65-74 16.2% / 18.3%
Clifton Springs — 65-74: 16.2% Bellarine — 65-74: 18.3%
75-84 8.4% / 11.2%
Clifton Springs — 75-84: 8.4% Bellarine — 75-84: 11.2%
85+ 2.0% / 5.3%
Clifton Springs — 85+: 2.0% Bellarine — 85+: 5.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.5%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Clifton Springs 37.9% couple families
Clifton Springs — Couple Families: 37.9% Clifton Springs — Lone Person: 40.9% Clifton Springs — One Parent Families: 16.9% Clifton Springs — Group Household: 3.0% Clifton Springs — Other Families: 1.2%
Bellarine 54.1% couple families
Bellarine — Couple Families: 54.1% Bellarine — Lone Person: 35.1% Bellarine — One Parent Families: 10.8% Bellarine — Group Household: 0.0% Bellarine — Other Families: 0.0%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Clifton Springs 18.3% renting
Clifton Springs — Owned Outright: 43.8% Clifton Springs — Mortgage: 37.9% Clifton Springs — Renting: 18.3%
Bellarine 8.3% renting
Bellarine — Owned Outright: 68.3% Bellarine — Mortgage: 23.3% Bellarine — Renting: 8.3%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Clifton Springs Bellarine
Certificate III & IV 20.1% / 15.4%
Clifton Springs — Certificate III & IV: 20.1% Bellarine — Certificate III & IV: 15.4%
Bachelor Degree 9.7% / 14.8%
Clifton Springs — Bachelor Degree: 9.7% Bellarine — Bachelor Degree: 14.8%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 9.2% / 11.8%
Clifton Springs — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 9.2% Bellarine — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 11.8%
Postgraduate Degree 2.6% / 6.5%
Clifton Springs — Postgraduate Degree: 2.6% Bellarine — Postgraduate Degree: 6.5%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.3% / 5.3%
Clifton Springs — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.3% Bellarine — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 5.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.1%).

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.

Clifton Springs Bellarine
England 6.0% / 4.7%
Clifton Springs — England: 6.0% Bellarine — England: 4.7%
South Africa 0.5% / 1.8%
Clifton Springs — South Africa: 0.5% Bellarine — South Africa: 1.8%
New Zealand 1.3% / —
Clifton Springs — New Zealand: 1.3% Bellarine — New Zealand: not among its largest
Scotland 0.9% / —
Clifton Springs — Scotland: 0.9% Bellarine — Scotland: not among its largest
Germany 0.7% / —
Clifton Springs — Germany: 0.7% Bellarine — Germany: not among its largest
Netherlands 0.5% / —
Clifton Springs — Netherlands: 0.5% Bellarine — Netherlands: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (6.0%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Clifton Springs 98.2% houses
Clifton Springs — Houses: 98.2% Clifton Springs — Townhouses: 1.8%
Bellarine 100.0% houses
Bellarine — Houses: 100.0% Bellarine — Townhouses: 0.0%
Houses Townhouses

Property market

Clifton Springs Bellarine
Median house price $702,500 —
Median unit price $530,000 —
Median land price $385,000 —
Typical days to sell (houses) 31 days
from 125 sales
 —

Zoning mix

Bellarine has more rural and farming land (98% vs 10%).

Clifton Springs Bellarine
Rural and farming 10% 98%
Residential 70% 0%
Parks and recreation 19% 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

Clifton Springs Bellarine
New dwellings approved 3,468
across Greater Geelong
same for both
Approvals change year on year +56%
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.

Clifton Springs Bellarine
Houses 3.8%
$535/wk on $735K
 —
Units —
same for both

Ranking within VIC

Clifton Springs Bellarine
House price Higher than 34% of VIC —
Income Higher than 32% of VIC Higher than 87% of VIC
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 83% of VIC Higher than 74% of VIC
Affordability Higher than 49% of VIC —
EV adoption Higher than 61% of VIC Higher than 68% of VIC
NBN connectivity Higher than 81% of VIC Higher than 46% of VIC
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 53% of VIC —

Liveability

Clifton Springs is more walkable (34 vs 12).

Clifton Springs Bellarine
Grade B —
Score 58/100 —
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 4/10
 very advantaged area
decile 9/10

Risk profile

Bellarine carries more flood risk (24 vs 0); Clifton Springs carries more crime risk (31 vs 10).

Clifton Springs Bellarine
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime Low
31/100
 Low
10/100
Flood None
0/100
 Low
24/100
Coastal erosion High
73/100
 Moderate
67/100
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 2
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Clifton Springs Bellarine
Inside the suburb 1 0
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 1 0

Schools in Clifton Springs

  • Clifton Springs Primary School Government · Primary below peers

Schools in Bellarine

No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.

Amenities in the suburb

Clifton Springs Bellarine
Parks & reserves 8 0
Childcare 4 0
GPs 1 0

Mobility

Bellarine sits further from the CBD (101.2 km vs 96.3 km).

Clifton Springs Bellarine
Walkability score 34/100 12/100
Distance to Melbourne 96.3 km 101.2 km
+5% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 89 min 91 min
Public transport score 75/100 35/100
Peak arrivals per hour 36.8
7-9am + 5-7pm
 4.5
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 1 min
scheduled, not actual
same for both
Electric vehicle share 0.6%
postcode 3222
 0.8%
postcode 3223
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 44
postcode 3222
 34
postcode 3223

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.

Clifton Springs Bellarine
Car (driver) 74.0% / 50.9%
Clifton Springs — Car (driver): 74.0% Bellarine — Car (driver): 50.9%
Worked from Home 18.3% / 36.4%
Clifton Springs — Worked from Home: 18.3% Bellarine — Worked from Home: 36.4%
Car (passenger) 4.6% / 5.5%
Clifton Springs — Car (passenger): 4.6% Bellarine — Car (passenger): 5.5%
Walked Only 0.9% / 7.3%
Clifton Springs — Walked Only: 0.9% Bellarine — Walked Only: 7.3%
Bus 1.0% / —
Clifton Springs — Bus: 1.0% Bellarine — Bus: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (74.0%).

Setting

Clifton Springs Bellarine
Elevation 44 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 56 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 624 m 1.8 km

NBN connectivity

Clifton Springs Bellarine
Connectivity score 72/100 29/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 49%
3,791 premises
 1%
79 premises

Climate

Clifton Springs Bellarine
Annual rainfall —
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 22.8°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 7.8°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Clifton Springs Bellarine
PM2.5 5.0 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 20.5 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ —
same for both

Council rates

Clifton Springs Bellarine
Average residential rate $1,802/yr
same for both
Council Greater Geelong
same for both

Federal electorate

Clifton Springs Bellarine
Division Corangamite
same for both
Member Libby Coker
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Clifton Springs Bellarine
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Clifton Springs

Coastal Large Blocks Retirees

Bellarine

Coastal Outer Retirees

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Clifton Springs

Clifton Springs vs Drysdale Clifton Springs vs Curlewis

Other comparisons with Bellarine

Bellarine vs Drysdale Bellarine vs Portarlington
Full data on Clifton Springs Full data on Bellarine
Unlock full address-level data — $29/month

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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