Clunes vs Dunach
Clunes is the younger of the two, with a median age of 51 against 58 in Dunach. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Clunes, about half of households are people living alone. In Dunach, most households are people living alone. On these figures, Dunach tends to suit people living alone.
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
- Clunes has more parks and reserves (10 vs 2)
- Dunach carries lower crime risk (19/100 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
Dunach
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($200/wk vs $220/wk)
Weighs rent and rental stress.
Commuting to the city
Clunes
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (48/100 vs 0/100)
- has a shorter drive in (104 min vs 113 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (146.5 km vs 157 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Dunach
ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here
- carries lower crime risk (19/100 vs 38/100)
- has more residents already 65 and over (35% vs 27%)
- But Clunes is more walkable (48/100 vs 0/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Dunach
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (43.1% vs 6.7%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Clunes and Dunach 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
Clunes has more residents (1,844 vs 83); Clunes has higher household incomes ($53,924 vs $41,132).
| Clunes | Dunach | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,844 +95% vs other | 83 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +6.7% | +43.1% |
| Median age | 51 | 58 |
| Median household income | $53,924/yr +24% vs other | $41,132/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $220/wk +9% vs other | $200/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (27.7%).
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 (7.2%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.5%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Clunes | Dunach | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $510,000 | — |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | $260,000 | — |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 106 days from 28 sales | — |
Zoning mix
Clunes has more rural and farming land (84% vs 64%); Dunach has more land zoned for conservation (14% vs 0%).
| Clunes | Dunach | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 84% | 64% |
| Parks and recreation | 6% | 20% |
| Environmental | 0% | 14% |
| Residential | 8% | 0% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 3% | 2% |
| 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
| Clunes | Dunach | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 104 across Hepburn same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -6% same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Clunes | Dunach | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 11% of VIC | — |
| Income | Higher than 12% of VIC | Higher than 4% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 86% of VIC | Higher than 2% of VIC |
| Affordability | Higher than 61% of VIC | — |
| EV adoption | Higher than 77% of VIC | Higher than 35% of VIC |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 76% of VIC | Higher than 1% of VIC |
Liveability
Clunes is more walkable (48 vs 0).
| Clunes | Dunach | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | D | — |
| Score | 25/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | below-average income decile 2/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
Clunes carries more crime risk (38 vs 19); Dunach carries more bushfire risk (87 vs 73).
| Clunes | Dunach | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | High 73/100 | High 87/100 |
| Crime | Low 38/100 | Low 19/100 |
| Flood | Moderate 56/100 | Moderate 50/100 |
| 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
| Clunes | Dunach | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 1 | 0 |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Schools in Clunes
- Clunes Primary School Government · Primary at peers
Schools in Dunach
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Clunes | Dunach | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 1 | 0 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 4 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 10 | 2 |
| Childcare | 1 | 0 |
| GPs | 1 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 1 | 0 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 1 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 18 | 13 |
Mobility
Dunach sits further from the CBD (157 km vs 146.5 km).
| Clunes | Dunach | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 48/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Melbourne | 146.5 km | 157 km +7% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 104 min | 113 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 1.0% postcode 3370 | 0.4% postcode 3371 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 47 postcode 3370 | 56 postcode 3371 |
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 (84.6%).
Setting
| Clunes | Dunach | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 329 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 259 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Clunes | Dunach | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 64/100 | 15/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the premises | Satellite (Sky Muster) |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 43% 1,066 premises | 0% 24 premises |
Climate
| Clunes | Dunach | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 537 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Clunes | Dunach | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,748/yr same for both | |
| Council | Hepburn same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Clunes | Dunach | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Ballarat same for both | |
| Member | Catherine King same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Clunes | Dunach | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Clunes
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Clunes
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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.