Dartmouth vs Nariel Valley

Nariel Valley is the younger of the two, with a median age of 52 against 60 in Dartmouth. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Dartmouth, most households are people living alone. In Nariel Valley, most households are couple families. On these figures, Dartmouth tends to suit people living alone, while Nariel Valley 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

Nariel Valley

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • carries lower crime risk (18/100 vs 56/100)
  • is already more of a family suburb (60% vs 29%)
  • has more separate houses rather than flats (114% vs 96%)

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

First-home buyers

Nariel Valley

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (1% vs 23%)

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Nariel Valley

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • leaves renters under less rental stress (11% vs 30%)
  • has cheaper rent ($165/wk vs $200/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Nariel Valley

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a shorter drive in (398 min vs 424 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (496.1 km vs 510 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

They split

one each way, out of the 4 things we measure here

  • Dartmouth has more residents already 65 and over (32% vs 25%)
  • Nariel Valley carries lower crime risk (18/100 vs 56/100)

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

Investors

Dartmouth

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (25.0% vs -3.3%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Dartmouth Nariel Valley
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.

Dartmouth Nariel Valley
Walkability 0 / 0
Dartmouth — Walkability: 0/100 Nariel Valley — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 44 / 82
Dartmouth — Safety: 44/100 Nariel Valley — Safety: 82/100
Low fire risk 9 / 10
Dartmouth — Low fire risk: 9/100 Nariel Valley — Low fire risk: 10/100
Low flood risk 45 / 68
Dartmouth — Low flood risk: 45/100 Nariel Valley — Low flood risk: 68/100

Demographics

Nariel Valley has higher household incomes ($81,224 vs $34,424); Dartmouth has more residents (130 vs 87).

Dartmouth Nariel Valley
Population 130
+33% vs other
 87
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +25.0% -3.3%
Median age 60 52
Median household income $34,424/yr $81,224/yr
+136% vs other
Median weekly rent $200/wk
+18% vs other
 $165/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Dartmouth Nariel Valley
0-4 3.1% / 6.9%
Dartmouth — 0-4: 3.1% Nariel Valley — 0-4: 6.9%
5-14 13.8% / 9.2%
Dartmouth — 5-14: 13.8% Nariel Valley — 5-14: 9.2%
15-19 2.3% / 9.2%
Dartmouth — 15-19: 2.3% Nariel Valley — 15-19: 9.2%
20-24 — / 8.0%
Dartmouth — 20-24: not among its largest Nariel Valley — 20-24: 8.0%
25-34 4.6% / —
Dartmouth — 25-34: 4.6% Nariel Valley — 25-34: not among its largest
35-44 6.9% / 6.9%
Dartmouth — 35-44: 6.9% Nariel Valley — 35-44: 6.9%
45-54 6.2% / 23.0%
Dartmouth — 45-54: 6.2% Nariel Valley — 45-54: 23.0%
55-64 18.5% / 16.1%
Dartmouth — 55-64: 18.5% Nariel Valley — 55-64: 16.1%
65-74 27.7% / 12.6%
Dartmouth — 65-74: 27.7% Nariel Valley — 65-74: 12.6%
75-84 4.6% / 9.2%
Dartmouth — 75-84: 4.6% Nariel Valley — 75-84: 9.2%
85+ — / 3.4%
Dartmouth — 85+: not among its largest Nariel Valley — 85+: 3.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (27.7%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Dartmouth 71.4% lone person
Dartmouth — Lone Person: 71.4% Dartmouth — Couple Families: 14.3% Dartmouth — One Parent Families: 14.3%
Nariel Valley 40.0% lone person
Nariel Valley — Lone Person: 40.0% Nariel Valley — Couple Families: 60.0% Nariel Valley — One Parent Families: 0.0%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Dartmouth 17.5% renting
Dartmouth — Owned Outright: 62.5% Dartmouth — Mortgage: 20.0% Dartmouth — Renting: 17.5%
Nariel Valley 16.0% renting
Nariel Valley — Owned Outright: 68.0% Nariel Valley — Mortgage: 16.0% Nariel Valley — Renting: 16.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Dartmouth 95.5% houses
Dartmouth — Houses: 95.5% Dartmouth — Flats / Apartments: 4.5%
Nariel Valley 114.3% houses
Nariel Valley — Houses: 114.3% Nariel Valley — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Houses Flats / Apartments

Qualifications

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

Dartmouth Nariel Valley
Certificate III & IV 18.5% / 25.3%
Dartmouth — Certificate III & IV: 18.5% Nariel Valley — Certificate III & IV: 25.3%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 10.0% / 5.7%
Dartmouth — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 10.0% Nariel Valley — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.7%
Bachelor Degree 3.1% / 5.7%
Dartmouth — Bachelor Degree: 3.1% Nariel Valley — Bachelor Degree: 5.7%
Postgraduate Degree 3.1% / 3.4%
Dartmouth — Postgraduate Degree: 3.1% Nariel Valley — Postgraduate Degree: 3.4%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate — / 3.4%
Dartmouth — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest Nariel Valley — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 3.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (25.3%).

Zoning mix

Dartmouth Nariel Valley
Parks and recreation 88% 94%
Infrastructure and transport 11% 0%
Rural and farming 1% 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

Dartmouth Nariel Valley
New dwellings approved 19
across Towong
same for both

Ranking within VIC

Dartmouth Nariel Valley
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 1% of VIC Higher than 49% of VIC
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 13% of VIC Higher than 25% of VIC
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption —
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 3% of VIC Higher than 14% of VIC

Liveability

Dartmouth Nariel Valley
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 4/10
 advantaged area
decile 7/10

Risk profile

Dartmouth carries more crime risk (56 vs 18); Dartmouth carries more flood risk (55 vs 32).

Dartmouth Nariel Valley
Bushfire High
91/100
 High
90/100
Crime Moderate
56/100
 Low
18/100
Flood Moderate
55/100
 Low
32/100
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

Dartmouth Nariel Valley
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

Dartmouth Nariel Valley
Parks & reserves 5 6
Banks & Bank@Post 1 0
Waterways 18 35

Mobility

Dartmouth sits further from the CBD (510 km vs 496.1 km).

Dartmouth Nariel Valley
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Melbourne 510 km
+3% vs other
 496.1 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 424 min 398 min
Electric vehicle share 0.0%
postcode 3701
 0.0%
postcode 3707
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 65
postcode 3701
 71
postcode 3707

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.

Dartmouth Nariel Valley
Car (driver) 87.0% / 67.4%
Dartmouth — Car (driver): 87.0% Nariel Valley — Car (driver): 67.4%
Worked from Home — / 32.6%
Dartmouth — Worked from Home: not among its largest Nariel Valley — Worked from Home: 32.6%
Walked Only 13.0% / —
Dartmouth — Walked Only: 13.0% Nariel Valley — Walked Only: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (87.0%).

Setting

Dartmouth Nariel Valley
Elevation 607 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 868 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Dartmouth Nariel Valley
Connectivity score 15/100 17/100
Most common technology Satellite (Sky Muster)
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
14 premises
 0%
49 premises

Climate

Dartmouth Nariel Valley
Annual rainfall 947 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 29.0°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 2.9°C
same for both

Council rates

Dartmouth Nariel Valley
Average residential rate $1,875/yr
same for both
Council Towong
same for both

Federal electorate

Dartmouth Nariel Valley
Division Indi
same for both
Member Helen Haines
same for both
Party Independent
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Dartmouth Nariel Valley
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Dartmouth

Retirees Rural

Nariel Valley

Retirees Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Dartmouth

Dartmouth vs Tallangatta Valley Dartmouth vs Benambra Dartmouth vs Mitta Mitta

Other comparisons with Nariel Valley

Nariel Valley vs Cudgewa Nariel Valley vs Benambra Nariel Valley vs Thowgla Valley Nariel Valley vs Biggara Nariel Valley vs Colac Colac
Full data on Dartmouth Full data on Nariel Valley
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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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