Creswick vs Dean
Dean is the younger of the two, with a median age of 38 against 50 in Creswick. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Creswick, about half of households are people living alone. In Dean, most households are couple families. On these figures, Creswick tends to suit people living alone and older residents, while Dean suits families with children and couples.
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
Creswick
ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more parks and reserves (13 vs 0)
- has more childcare (4 vs 0)
- has more schools inside the suburb (3 vs 0)
- But Dean is already more of a family suburb (72% vs 47%)
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
Dean
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves renters under less rental stress (18% vs 24%)
Weighs rent and rental stress.
Commuting to the city
Dean
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (83 min vs 90 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (114 km vs 121.3 km)
- But Creswick is more walkable (79/100 vs 0/100)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Creswick
ahead on 3 of the 4 things we measure here
- is more walkable (79/100 vs 0/100)
- has more GPs (2 vs 0)
- has more residents already 65 and over (29% vs 17%)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Dean
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (10.0% vs 3.4%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Creswick and Dean 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
Creswick has more residents (3,279 vs 132); Creswick skews older (50 vs 38).
| Creswick | Dean | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 3,279 +96% vs other | 132 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +3.4% | +10.0% |
| Median age | 50 | 38 |
| Median household income | $59,488/yr | $75,348/yr +27% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $275/wk +5% vs other | $260/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.9%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.4%).
Property market
| Creswick | Dean | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $575,000 | — |
| Median unit price | $326,250 | — |
| Median land price | $225,000 | — |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 82 days from 48 sales | — |
Zoning mix
Dean has more rural and farming land (95% vs 46%).
| Creswick | Dean | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 46% | 95% |
| Parks and recreation | 31% | 0% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 8% | 5% |
| Residential | 8% | 0% |
| Environmental | 4% | 0% |
| Other and special use | 1% | 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
| Creswick | Dean | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 104 across Hepburn same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -6% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Creswick | Dean | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 3.0% $410/wk on $720K | — |
| Units | — same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Creswick | Dean | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 17% of VIC | — |
| Income | Higher than 20% of VIC | Higher than 42% of VIC |
| Schools | Higher than 92% of VIC | — |
| Walkability | Higher than 93% of VIC | Higher than 2% of VIC |
| Affordability | Higher than 56% of VIC | — |
| EV adoption | Higher than 57% of VIC same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 97% of VIC | Higher than 38% of VIC |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 12% of VIC | — |
Liveability
Creswick is more walkable (79 vs 0).
| Creswick | Dean | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | C | — |
| Score | 47/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | below-average income decile 3/10 | advantaged area decile 8/10 |
Risk profile
Creswick carries more flood risk (27 vs 0).
| Creswick | Dean | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Moderate 68/100 | High 75/100 |
| Crime | High 78/100 | High 81/100 |
| Flood | Low 27/100 | None 0/100 |
| 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
| Creswick | Dean | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 3 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 2 | 0 |
| Rated at peers | 1 | 0 |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Schools in Creswick
- Creswick North Primary School Government · Primary above peers
- St Augustine's School Catholic · Primary above peers
- Creswick Primary School Government · Primary at peers
Schools in Dean
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Creswick | Dean | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 1 | 0 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 5 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 13 | 0 |
| Childcare | 4 | 0 |
| GPs | 2 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 1 | 0 |
| Hospitals | 1 | 0 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 2 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 1 | 0 |
| EV chargers | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 52 | 0 |
Mobility
Creswick sits further from the CBD (121.3 km vs 114 km).
| Creswick | Dean | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 79/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Melbourne | 121.3 km +6% vs other | 114 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 90 min | 83 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.6% postcode 3363 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 51 postcode 3363 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 (74.6%).
Setting
| Creswick | Dean | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 428 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 587 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Creswick | Dean | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 92/100 | 29/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the premises | Fixed wireless |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 86% 1,853 premises | 0% 56 premises |
Climate
| Creswick | Dean | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 714 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Creswick | Dean | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,748/yr same for both | |
| Council | Hepburn same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Creswick | Dean | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Ballarat same for both | |
| Member | Catherine King same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Creswick | Dean | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Creswick
Other comparisons with Dean
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.