Dargo vs Dinner Plain

Dinner Plain is the younger of the two, with a median age of 37 against 57 in Dargo. In both, the large majority of households own their home and most homes are detached houses. In Dargo, most households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Dinner Plain: a median of $830,000, against $450,000 in Dargo, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Dargo tends to suit people living alone, older residents, and buyers on a tighter budget, while Dinner Plain suits young adults.

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

  • Dargo has more parks and reserves (7 vs 1)
  • Dinner Plain has more schools inside the suburb (3 vs 0)

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

First-home buyers

They split

one each way, out of the 2 things we measure here

  • Dargo has cheaper houses ($450,000 vs $830,000)
  • Dinner Plain leaves households under less mortgage stress (15% vs 29%)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

They split

one each way, out of the 2 things we measure here

  • Dargo has cheaper rent ($160/wk vs $269/wk)
  • Dinner Plain leaves renters under less rental stress (12% vs 22%)

Weighs rent and rental stress.

Commuting to the city

Dargo

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • sits closer to the CBD (342 km vs 394.7 km)
  • has a shorter drive in (291 min vs 300 min)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Dinner Plain

ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here

  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (28% vs 5%)
  • carries lower crime risk (23/100 vs 87/100)
  • But Dargo has more residents already 65 and over (39% vs 7%)

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

Investors

Dargo

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (6.1% vs -44.3%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Dargo Dinner Plain
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.

Dargo Dinner Plain
Walkability 0 / 0
Dargo — Walkability: 0/100 Dinner Plain — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 13 / 77
Dargo — Safety: 13/100 Dinner Plain — Safety: 77/100
Low fire risk 8 / 1
Dargo — Low fire risk: 8/100 Dinner Plain — Low fire risk: 1/100
Low flood risk 100 / 100
Dargo — Low flood risk: 100/100 Dinner Plain — Low flood risk: 100/100

Demographics

Dinner Plain has higher household incomes ($117,000 vs $37,700); Dinner Plain rents higher ($269/wk vs $160/wk).

Dargo Dinner Plain
Population 105 128
+22% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +6.1% -44.3%
Median age 57 37
Median household income $37,700/yr $117,000/yr
+210% vs other
Median weekly rent $160/wk $269/wk
+68% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Dargo Dinner Plain
0-4 4.8% / 2.3%
Dargo — 0-4: 4.8% Dinner Plain — 0-4: 2.3%
5-14 9.5% / 4.7%
Dargo — 5-14: 9.5% Dinner Plain — 5-14: 4.7%
15-19 2.9% / 14.1%
Dargo — 15-19: 2.9% Dinner Plain — 15-19: 14.1%
20-24 3.8% / 6.2%
Dargo — 20-24: 3.8% Dinner Plain — 20-24: 6.2%
25-34 5.7% / 19.5%
Dargo — 25-34: 5.7% Dinner Plain — 25-34: 19.5%
35-44 10.5% / 14.8%
Dargo — 35-44: 10.5% Dinner Plain — 35-44: 14.8%
45-54 6.7% / 21.1%
Dargo — 45-54: 6.7% Dinner Plain — 45-54: 21.1%
55-64 19.0% / 6.2%
Dargo — 55-64: 19.0% Dinner Plain — 55-64: 6.2%
65-74 30.5% / 7.0%
Dargo — 65-74: 30.5% Dinner Plain — 65-74: 7.0%
75-84 8.6% / —
Dargo — 75-84: 8.6% Dinner Plain — 75-84: not among its largest
85+ — / —
Dargo — 85+: not among its largest Dinner Plain — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (30.5%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Dargo 68.0% lone person
Dargo — Lone Person: 68.0% Dargo — Couple Families: 32.0% Dargo — Group Household: 0.0% Dargo — One Parent Families: 0.0%
Dinner Plain 38.2% lone person
Dinner Plain — Lone Person: 38.2% Dinner Plain — Couple Families: 26.5% Dinner Plain — Group Household: 26.5% Dinner Plain — One Parent Families: 8.8%
Lone Person Couple Families Group Household One Parent Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Dargo 0.0% renting
Dargo — Owned Outright: 85.0% Dargo — Mortgage: 15.0% Dargo — Renting: 0.0%
Dinner Plain 22.7% renting
Dinner Plain — Owned Outright: 40.9% Dinner Plain — Mortgage: 36.4% Dinner Plain — Renting: 22.7%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

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.

Dargo Dinner Plain
New Zealand — / 5.5%
Dargo — New Zealand: not among its largest Dinner Plain — New Zealand: 5.5%
England — / 4.7%
Dargo — England: not among its largest Dinner Plain — England: 4.7%
Germany 3.8% / —
Dargo — Germany: 3.8% Dinner Plain — Germany: not among its largest
Taiwan — / 2.3%
Dargo — Taiwan: not among its largest Dinner Plain — Taiwan: 2.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (5.5%).

Qualifications

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

Dargo Dinner Plain
Certificate III & IV 19.0% / 18.8%
Dargo — Certificate III & IV: 19.0% Dinner Plain — Certificate III & IV: 18.8%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 7.6% / 9.4%
Dargo — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.6% Dinner Plain — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 9.4%
Bachelor Degree 2.9% / 14.1%
Dargo — Bachelor Degree: 2.9% Dinner Plain — Bachelor Degree: 14.1%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate — / 7.0%
Dargo — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest Dinner Plain — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 7.0%
Postgraduate Degree — / 6.2%
Dargo — Postgraduate Degree: not among its largest Dinner Plain — Postgraduate Degree: 6.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.0%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Dargo 95.2% houses
Dargo — Houses: 95.2% Dargo — Flats / Apartments: 4.8% Dargo — Townhouses: 0.0%
Dinner Plain 72.5% houses
Dinner Plain — Houses: 72.5% Dinner Plain — Flats / Apartments: 20.0% Dinner Plain — Townhouses: 7.5%
Houses Flats / Apartments Townhouses

Property market

Dargo Dinner Plain
Median house price $450,000 $830,000
Median unit price — $515,000
Median land price — $140,500
Typical days to sell (houses) — 125 days
from 7 sales

Zoning mix

Dinner Plain has more land zoned for conservation (29% vs 0%); Dargo has more rural and farming land (14% vs 0%).

Dargo Dinner Plain
Parks and recreation 85% 60%
Environmental 0% 29%
Rural and farming 14% 0%
Other and special use 0% 8%
Infrastructure and transport 0% 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

Dargo Dinner Plain
New dwellings approved 209
across Wellington
 32
across Alpine
Approvals change year on year +17% -42%

Ranking within VIC

Dargo Dinner Plain
House price — Higher than 50% of VIC
Income Higher than 2% of VIC Higher than 89% of VIC
Schools — Higher than 24% of VIC
Walkability Higher than 14% of VIC Higher than 48% of VIC
Affordability — Higher than 86% of VIC
EV adoption Higher than 9% of VIC Higher than 49% of VIC
NBN connectivity Higher than 3% of VIC Higher than 65% of VIC

Liveability

Dargo Dinner Plain
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band below-average income
decile 2/10
 very advantaged area
decile 9/10

Risk profile

Dargo carries more crime risk (87 vs 23).

Dargo Dinner Plain
Bushfire High
92/100
 High
99/100
Crime High
87/100
 Low
23/100
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 0
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Dargo Dinner Plain
Inside the suburb 0 3
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Dargo

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

Schools in Dinner Plain

  • Bright P-12 College Dinner Plain Annexe Secondary Government · Combined
  • Bright P-12 College-Dinner Plain Annexe Primary Government · Combined
  • School for Student Leadership Government · Secondary

Amenities in the suburb

Dargo Dinner Plain
Supermarkets 1 0
Cafes & restaurants 1
same for both
Parks & reserves 7 1
GPs 1 0
Banks & Bank@Post 1 0
Fuel stations 1 0
Waterways 690 0

Mobility

Dinner Plain sits further from the CBD (394.7 km vs 342 km).

Dargo Dinner Plain
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Melbourne 342 km 394.7 km
+15% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 291 min 300 min
Electric vehicle share 0.2%
postcode 3862
 0.5%
postcode 3898
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 57
postcode 3862
 40
postcode 3898

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.

Dargo Dinner Plain
Car (driver) 53.1% / 25.0%
Dargo — Car (driver): 53.1% Dinner Plain — Car (driver): 25.0%
Walked Only 12.5% / 45.6%
Dargo — Walked Only: 12.5% Dinner Plain — Walked Only: 45.6%
Worked from Home 25.0% / 25.0%
Dargo — Worked from Home: 25.0% Dinner Plain — Worked from Home: 25.0%
Car (passenger) 9.4% / 4.4%
Dargo — Car (passenger): 9.4% Dinner Plain — Car (passenger): 4.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (53.1%).

Setting

Dargo Dinner Plain
Elevation 319 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 1,438 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Dargo Dinner Plain
Connectivity score 15/100 30/100
Most common technology Satellite (Sky Muster) Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
29 premises
 0%
201 premises

Climate

Dargo Dinner Plain
Annual rainfall 1,604 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 16.0°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) -3.3°C
same for both

Council rates

Dargo Dinner Plain
Average residential rate $1,960/yr $1,945/yr
Council Wellington Alpine

Federal electorate

Dargo Dinner Plain
Division Gippsland Indi
Member Darren Chester Helen Haines
Party The Nationals Independent

First Home Owner Grant

Dargo Dinner Plain
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Dargo

Retirees River Rural

Dinner Plain

Rural Students

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Dargo

Dargo vs Omeo Dargo vs Hotham Heights Dargo vs Cobungra

Other comparisons with Dinner Plain

Dinner Plain vs Hotham Heights Dinner Plain vs Cobungra
Full data on Dargo Full data on Dinner Plain
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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