Darley vs Merrimu

In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Darley, about half of households are couple families. In Merrimu, the large majority of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Merrimu: a median of $1.32 million, against $650,000 in Darley, though rent is higher in Darley. On these figures, Darley tends to suit buyers on a tighter budget, while Merrimu suits 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

Darley

ahead on 4 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more childcare (8 vs 0)
  • has more parks and reserves (5 vs 0)
  • has more schools inside the suburb (2 vs 0)
  • But Merrimu is already more of a family suburb (82% vs 72%)

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

First-home buyers

Darley

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has cheaper land ($501,000 vs $1,382,500)
  • has cheaper houses ($650,000 vs $1,320,000)

Weighs house prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Merrimu

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • leaves renters under less rental stress (4% vs 16%)
  • has cheaper rent ($100/wk vs $320/wk)
  • But Darley has a bigger rental market to choose from (17% vs 6%)

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

Commuting to the city

They split

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

  • Darley is more walkable (20/100 vs 4/100)
  • Merrimu sits closer to the CBD (56.3 km vs 60.8 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Darley

ahead on 3 of the 4 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (20/100 vs 4/100)
  • has more GPs (3 vs 0)
  • carries lower crime risk (57/100 vs 68/100)

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

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

Darley Merrimu
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.

Darley Merrimu
Walkability 20 / 4
Darley — Walkability: 20/100 Merrimu — Walkability: 4/100
Safety 43 / 32
Darley — Safety: 43/100 Merrimu — Safety: 32/100
Low fire risk 18 / 100
Darley — Low fire risk: 18/100 Merrimu — Low fire risk: 100/100
Low flood risk 53 / 68
Darley — Low flood risk: 53/100 Merrimu — Low flood risk: 68/100

Demographics

Darley has more residents (9,190 vs 397); Darley rents higher ($320/wk vs $100/wk).

Darley Merrimu
Population 9,190
+96% vs other
 397
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +9.8% +6.1%
Median age 37 39
Median household income $101,452/yr $126,932/yr
+25% vs other
Median weekly rent $320/wk
+69% vs other
 $100/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Darley Merrimu
0-4 6.3% / 5.5%
Darley — 0-4: 6.3% Merrimu — 0-4: 5.5%
5-14 14.8% / 18.6%
Darley — 5-14: 14.8% Merrimu — 5-14: 18.6%
15-19 6.5% / 4.0%
Darley — 15-19: 6.5% Merrimu — 15-19: 4.0%
20-24 5.9% / 5.5%
Darley — 20-24: 5.9% Merrimu — 20-24: 5.5%
25-34 13.2% / 11.1%
Darley — 25-34: 13.2% Merrimu — 25-34: 11.1%
35-44 13.7% / 14.9%
Darley — 35-44: 13.7% Merrimu — 35-44: 14.9%
45-54 13.7% / 13.9%
Darley — 45-54: 13.7% Merrimu — 45-54: 13.9%
55-64 12.2% / 12.6%
Darley — 55-64: 12.2% Merrimu — 55-64: 12.6%
65-74 8.7% / 8.1%
Darley — 65-74: 8.7% Merrimu — 65-74: 8.1%
75-84 3.3% / 2.0%
Darley — 75-84: 3.3% Merrimu — 75-84: 2.0%
85+ 1.5% / 1.5%
Darley — 85+: 1.5% Merrimu — 85+: 1.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.6%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Darley 53.8% couple families
Darley — Couple Families: 53.8% Darley — Lone Person: 24.7% Darley — One Parent Families: 17.9% Darley — Group Household: 2.4% Darley — Other Families: 1.3%
Merrimu 76.3% couple families
Merrimu — Couple Families: 76.3% Merrimu — Lone Person: 14.5% Merrimu — One Parent Families: 5.3% Merrimu — Group Household: 3.9% Merrimu — 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.

Darley 17.3% renting
Darley — Owned Outright: 28.8% Darley — Mortgage: 53.9% Darley — Renting: 17.3%
Merrimu 5.7% renting
Merrimu — Owned Outright: 34.3% Merrimu — Mortgage: 60.0% Merrimu — Renting: 5.7%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Darley Merrimu
Certificate III & IV 18.2% / 21.2%
Darley — Certificate III & IV: 18.2% Merrimu — Certificate III & IV: 21.2%
Bachelor Degree 8.6% / 7.8%
Darley — Bachelor Degree: 8.6% Merrimu — Bachelor Degree: 7.8%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.4% / 5.0%
Darley — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.4% Merrimu — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.0%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.7% / 2.5%
Darley — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.7% Merrimu — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.5%
Postgraduate Degree 2.2% / 0.8%
Darley — Postgraduate Degree: 2.2% Merrimu — Postgraduate Degree: 0.8%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (21.2%).

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.

Darley Merrimu
England 3.3% / 1.5%
Darley — England: 3.3% Merrimu — England: 1.5%
New Zealand 1.3% / 2.8%
Darley — New Zealand: 1.3% Merrimu — New Zealand: 2.8%
India 1.7% / 1.8%
Darley — India: 1.7% Merrimu — India: 1.8%
Scotland 0.6% / 1.5%
Darley — Scotland: 0.6% Merrimu — Scotland: 1.5%
Italy 0.3% / 1.3%
Darley — Italy: 0.3% Merrimu — Italy: 1.3%
Netherlands 0.4% / —
Darley — Netherlands: 0.4% Merrimu — Netherlands: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (3.3%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Darley 92.9% houses
Darley — Houses: 92.9% Darley — Townhouses: 6.7% Darley — Flats / Apartments: 0.4%
Merrimu 100.0% houses
Merrimu — Houses: 100.0% Merrimu — Townhouses: 0.0% Merrimu — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Darley Merrimu
Median house price $650,000 $1,320,000
Median unit price $430,000 —
Median land price $501,000 $1,382,500
Typical days to sell (houses) 37 days
from 153 sales
 —

Zoning mix

Merrimu has more land zoned for conservation (50% vs 3%); Darley has more rural and farming land (48% vs 30%).

Darley Merrimu
Environmental 3% 50%
Rural and farming 48% 30%
Residential 22% 0%
Other and special use 15% 2%
Parks and recreation 8% 12%
Infrastructure and transport 3% 6%
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

Darley Merrimu
New dwellings approved 338
across Moorabool
same for both
Approvals change year on year +4%
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.

Darley Merrimu
Houses 3.6%
$520/wk on $754K
 —
Units —
same for both

Ranking within VIC

Darley Merrimu
House price Higher than 32% of VIC —
Income Higher than 74% of VIC Higher than 94% of VIC
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 79% of VIC Higher than 64% of VIC
Affordability Higher than 89% of VIC —
EV adoption Higher than 64% of VIC
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 98% of VIC Higher than 48% of VIC
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 41% of VIC —

Liveability

Darley is more walkable (20 vs 4).

Darley Merrimu
Grade C —
Score 31/100 —
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 5/10
 advantaged area
decile 7/10

Risk profile

Darley carries more bushfire risk (82 vs 0); Darley carries more flood risk (47 vs 32).

Darley Merrimu
Bushfire High
82/100
 None
0/100
Crime Moderate
57/100
 Moderate
68/100
Flood Moderate
47/100
 Low
32/100
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 3
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Darley Merrimu
Inside the suburb 2 0
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 1 0
Rated below peers 1 0

Schools in Darley

  • Pentland Primary School Government · Primary at peers
  • Darley Primary School Government · Primary below peers

Schools in Merrimu

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

Amenities in the suburb

Darley Merrimu
Supermarkets 1 0
Cafes & restaurants 1 0
Parks & reserves 5 0
Childcare 8 0
GPs 3 0
Pharmacies 1 0
Waterways 3 2

Mobility

Darley sits further from the CBD (60.8 km vs 56.3 km).

Darley Merrimu
Walkability score 20/100 4/100
Distance to Melbourne 60.8 km
+7% vs other
 56.3 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 52 min
same for both
Electric vehicle share 0.7%
postcode 3340
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 42
postcode 3340
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.

Darley Merrimu
Car (driver) 71.4% / 70.8%
Darley — Car (driver): 71.4% Merrimu — Car (driver): 70.8%
Worked from Home 20.2% / 22.7%
Darley — Worked from Home: 20.2% Merrimu — Worked from Home: 22.7%
Car (passenger) 5.1% / 3.2%
Darley — Car (passenger): 5.1% Merrimu — Car (passenger): 3.2%
Walked Only 0.8% / 3.2%
Darley — Walked Only: 0.8% Merrimu — Walked Only: 3.2%
Train 2.1% / —
Darley — Train: 2.1% Merrimu — Train: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (71.4%).

Setting

Darley Merrimu
Elevation 157 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 190 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 43.3 km 38.4 km

NBN connectivity

Darley Merrimu
Connectivity score 98/100 30/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 97%
3,821 premises
 0%
133 premises

Climate

Darley Merrimu
Annual rainfall 778 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Darley Merrimu
PM2.5 4.4 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 —
same for both
NO₂ —
same for both

Council rates

Darley Merrimu
Average residential rate $1,979/yr
same for both
Council Moorabool
same for both

Federal electorate

Darley Merrimu
Division Hawke
same for both
Member Sam Rae
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Darley Merrimu
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Darley

Quiet Regional Centre River

Merrimu

Acreage Family Outer

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Darley

Darley vs Bacchus Marsh Darley vs Coimadai Darley vs Myrniong Darley vs Pentland Hills

Other comparisons with Merrimu

Merrimu vs Bacchus Marsh Merrimu vs Hopetoun Park Merrimu vs Coimadai Merrimu vs Long Forest
Full data on Darley Full data on Merrimu
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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.

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