Costerfield vs Mount Camel
Mount Camel is the younger of the two, with a median age of 56 against 59 in Costerfield. In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are 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
- Costerfield has more parks and reserves (4 vs 0)
- Mount Camel is already more of a family suburb (40% vs 26%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Mount Camel
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (20% vs 28%)
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
Costerfield
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($50/wk vs $125/wk)
Weighs rent and rental stress.
Commuting to the city
Costerfield
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- sits closer to the CBD (131.3 km vs 147.3 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Too close to call
Nothing among the 4 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Mount Camel
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (28.3% vs -6.7%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Costerfield and Mount Camel 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
Mount Camel rents higher ($125/wk vs $50/wk); Mount Camel has more residents (136 vs 70).
| Costerfield | Mount Camel | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 70 | 136 +94% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | -6.7% | +28.3% |
| Median age | 59 | 56 |
| Median household income | $44,148/yr | $77,116/yr +75% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $50/wk | $125/wk +150% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (25.7%).
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 (6.6%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.9%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Costerfield | Mount Camel | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | — | $582,500 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
Zoning mix
| Costerfield | Mount Camel | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 62% | 68% |
| Parks and recreation | 37% | 32% |
| 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
| Costerfield | Mount Camel | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 885 across Greater Bendigo same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +28% same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Costerfield | Mount Camel | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 5% of VIC | Higher than 44% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 50% of VIC | Higher than 16% of VIC |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 64% of VIC same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 66% of VIC | Higher than 40% of VIC |
Liveability
| Costerfield | Mount Camel | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | below-average income decile 3/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
Costerfield carries more bushfire risk (58 vs 30).
| Costerfield | Mount Camel | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Moderate 58/100 | Low 30/100 |
| Crime | Moderate 40/100 | Moderate 47/100 |
| Flood | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 1 within 5 km | 0 within 5 km |
Schools
| Costerfield | Mount Camel | |
|---|---|---|
| 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
| Costerfield | Mount Camel | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 4 | 0 |
| Waterways | 5 | 8 |
Mobility
Mount Camel sits further from the CBD (147.3 km vs 131.3 km).
| Costerfield | Mount Camel | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Melbourne | 131.3 km | 147.3 km +12% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 107 min | 110 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.7% postcode 3523 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 54 postcode 3523 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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (69.6%).
Setting
| Costerfield | Mount Camel | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 204 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 211 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Costerfield | Mount Camel | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 30/100 | 29/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 66 premises | 0% 83 premises |
Climate
| Costerfield | Mount Camel | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 553 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 29.6°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 3.1°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Costerfield | Mount Camel | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,949/yr same for both | |
| Council | Greater Bendigo same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Costerfield | Mount Camel | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Bendigo same for both | |
| Member | Lisa Chesters same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Costerfield | Mount Camel | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Costerfield
Other comparisons with Mount Camel
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.