Digby vs Merino

Digby is the younger of the two, with a median age of 49 against 58 in Merino. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Merino, most households are people living alone. On these figures, Merino tends to suit 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

Digby

ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here

  • carries lower crime risk (15/100 vs 78/100)
  • is already more of a family suburb (51% vs 31%)

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

First-home buyers

Digby

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (12% vs 20%)

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Merino

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($100/wk vs $120/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Digby

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has a shorter drive in (250 min vs 255 min)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

They split

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

  • Digby carries lower crime risk (15/100 vs 78/100)
  • Merino has more residents already 65 and over (32% vs 25%)

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

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

Digby Merino
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.

Digby Merino
Walkability 0 / 0
Digby — Walkability: 0/100 Merino — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 85 / 22
Digby — Safety: 85/100 Merino — Safety: 22/100
Low fire risk 11 / 27
Digby — Low fire risk: 11/100 Merino — Low fire risk: 27/100
Low flood risk 100 / 100
Digby — Low flood risk: 100/100 Merino — Low flood risk: 100/100

Demographics

Merino has more residents (249 vs 122); Digby has higher household incomes ($54,132 vs $39,988).

Digby Merino
Population 122 249
+104% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) -1.6%
same for both
Median age 49 58
Median household income $54,132/yr
+26% vs other
 $39,988/yr
Median weekly rent $120/wk
+17% vs other
 $100/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Digby Merino
0-4 2.5% / 1.2%
Digby — 0-4: 2.5% Merino — 0-4: 1.2%
5-14 13.9% / 5.6%
Digby — 5-14: 13.9% Merino — 5-14: 5.6%
15-19 9.8% / 3.2%
Digby — 15-19: 9.8% Merino — 15-19: 3.2%
20-24 6.6% / 2.8%
Digby — 20-24: 6.6% Merino — 20-24: 2.8%
25-34 — / 5.6%
Digby — 25-34: not among its largest Merino — 25-34: 5.6%
35-44 9.0% / 10.4%
Digby — 35-44: 9.0% Merino — 35-44: 10.4%
45-54 16.4% / 11.2%
Digby — 45-54: 16.4% Merino — 45-54: 11.2%
55-64 9.0% / 27.3%
Digby — 55-64: 9.0% Merino — 55-64: 27.3%
65-74 13.1% / 19.3%
Digby — 65-74: 13.1% Merino — 65-74: 19.3%
75-84 11.5% / 11.2%
Digby — 75-84: 11.5% Merino — 75-84: 11.2%
85+ — / 1.2%
Digby — 85+: not among its largest Merino — 85+: 1.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (27.3%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Digby 40.5% lone person
Digby — Lone Person: 40.5% Digby — Couple Families: 29.7% Digby — One Parent Families: 21.6% Digby — Group Household: 8.1%
Merino 63.1% lone person
Merino — Lone Person: 63.1% Merino — Couple Families: 22.6% Merino — One Parent Families: 8.3% Merino — Group Household: 6.0%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families Group Household

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Digby 9.3% renting
Digby — Owned Outright: 55.8% Digby — Mortgage: 34.9% Digby — Renting: 9.3%
Merino 9.2% renting
Merino — Owned Outright: 68.3% Merino — Mortgage: 22.5% Merino — Renting: 9.2%
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.

Digby Merino
England 2.5% / 6.8%
Digby — England: 2.5% Merino — England: 6.8%
New Zealand — / 1.2%
Digby — New Zealand: not among its largest Merino — New Zealand: 1.2%
Singapore — / 1.2%
Digby — Singapore: not among its largest Merino — Singapore: 1.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (6.8%).

Qualifications

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

Digby Merino
Certificate III & IV 19.7% / 18.5%
Digby — Certificate III & IV: 19.7% Merino — Certificate III & IV: 18.5%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.2% / 8.0%
Digby — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.2% Merino — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.0%
Bachelor Degree 2.5% / 4.4%
Digby — Bachelor Degree: 2.5% Merino — Bachelor Degree: 4.4%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate — / 3.2%
Digby — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest Merino — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 3.2%
Postgraduate Degree — / 1.6%
Digby — Postgraduate Degree: not among its largest Merino — Postgraduate Degree: 1.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.7%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Digby 100.0% houses
Digby — Houses: 100.0% Digby — Townhouses: 0.0%
Merino 97.5% houses
Merino — Houses: 97.5% Merino — Townhouses: 5.0%
Houses Townhouses

Property market

Digby Merino
Median house price — $225,000
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price —
same for both

Zoning mix

Digby Merino
Rural and farming 96% 99%
Parks and recreation 2% 0%
Infrastructure and transport 1%
same for both
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

Digby Merino
New dwellings approved 60
across Glenelg
same for both
Approvals change year on year -65%
same for both

Ranking within VIC

Digby Merino
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 12% of VIC Higher than 3% of VIC
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 59% of VIC Higher than 27% of VIC
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption —
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 18% of VIC Higher than 57% of VIC

Liveability

Digby Merino
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 5/10
 below-average income
decile 2/10

Risk profile

Merino carries more crime risk (78 vs 15); Digby carries more bushfire risk (89 vs 73).

Digby Merino
Bushfire High
89/100
 High
73/100
Crime Low
15/100
 High
78/100
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

Digby Merino
Inside the suburb 0 1
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Digby

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

Schools in Merino

  • Merino Consolidated School Government · Primary

Amenities in the suburb

Digby Merino
Parks & reserves 6 4
Police stations 0 1
Banks & Bank@Post 1
same for both
Waterways 9 5

Mobility

Digby Merino
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Melbourne 359.7 km 359.4 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 250 min 255 min
Electric vehicle share 0.0%
postcode 3309
 0.0%
postcode 3310
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings — 31
postcode 3310

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.

Digby Merino
Car (driver) 81.2% / 76.3%
Digby — Car (driver): 81.2% Merino — Car (driver): 76.3%
Worked from Home 18.8% / 14.5%
Digby — Worked from Home: 18.8% Merino — Worked from Home: 14.5%
Walked Only — / 5.3%
Digby — Walked Only: not among its largest Merino — Walked Only: 5.3%
Car (passenger) — / 3.9%
Digby — Car (passenger): not among its largest Merino — Car (passenger): 3.9%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (81.2%).

Setting

Digby Merino
Elevation 123 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 90 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Digby Merino
Connectivity score 20/100 30/100
Most common technology Satellite (Sky Muster) Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
20 premises
 0%
148 premises

Council rates

Digby Merino
Average residential rate $1,852/yr
same for both
Council Glenelg
same for both

Federal electorate

Digby Merino
Division Wannon
same for both
Member Dan Tehan
same for both
Party Liberal
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Digby Merino
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Digby

Quiet Rural

Merino

Retirees Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Digby

Digby vs Dartmoor Digby vs Grassdale

Other comparisons with Merino

Merino vs Sandford Merino vs Henty Merino vs Grassdale
Full data on Digby Full data on Merino
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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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