Drouin West vs Brandy Creek

Brandy Creek is the younger of the two, with a median age of 42 against 54 in Drouin West. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Drouin West, most households are couple families. In Brandy Creek, about half of households are couple families. On these figures, Drouin West tends to suit older residents, while Brandy Creek suits families with children.

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

Brandy Creek

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is already more of a family suburb (76% vs 64%)

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

Brandy Creek

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($0/wk vs $193/wk)

Weighs rent.

Commuting to the city

Drouin West

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (22/100 vs 0/100)
  • sits closer to the CBD (95.8 km vs 100.6 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Drouin West

ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (22/100 vs 0/100)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (30% vs 21%)

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

Investors

Drouin West

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (9.4% vs -6.0%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Drouin West Brandy Creek
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.

Drouin West Brandy Creek
Walkability 22 / 0
Drouin West — Walkability: 22/100 Brandy Creek — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 55 / 63
Drouin West — Safety: 55/100 Brandy Creek — Safety: 63/100
Low fire risk 1 / 100
Drouin West — Low fire risk: 1/100 Brandy Creek — Low fire risk: 100/100
Low flood risk 26 / 59
Drouin West — Low flood risk: 26/100 Brandy Creek — Low flood risk: 59/100

Demographics

Drouin West rents higher ($193/wk vs $0/wk); Drouin West has more residents (361 vs 94).

Drouin West Brandy Creek
Population 361
+74% vs other
 94
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +9.4% -6.0%
Median age 54 42
Median household income $82,316/yr $110,500/yr
+34% vs other
Median weekly rent $193/wk
(not reported on the other side)
 —

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Drouin West Brandy Creek
0-4 3.9% / 5.3%
Drouin West — 0-4: 3.9% Brandy Creek — 0-4: 5.3%
5-14 9.4% / 16.0%
Drouin West — 5-14: 9.4% Brandy Creek — 5-14: 16.0%
15-19 2.5% / —
Drouin West — 15-19: 2.5% Brandy Creek — 15-19: not among its largest
20-24 4.2% / 3.2%
Drouin West — 20-24: 4.2% Brandy Creek — 20-24: 3.2%
25-34 7.2% / 9.6%
Drouin West — 25-34: 7.2% Brandy Creek — 25-34: 9.6%
35-44 8.6% / 12.8%
Drouin West — 35-44: 8.6% Brandy Creek — 35-44: 12.8%
45-54 14.7% / 20.2%
Drouin West — 45-54: 14.7% Brandy Creek — 45-54: 20.2%
55-64 18.0% / 9.6%
Drouin West — 55-64: 18.0% Brandy Creek — 55-64: 9.6%
65-74 19.1% / 16.0%
Drouin West — 65-74: 19.1% Brandy Creek — 65-74: 16.0%
75-84 8.0% / 5.3%
Drouin West — 75-84: 8.0% Brandy Creek — 75-84: 5.3%
85+ 2.5% / —
Drouin West — 85+: 2.5% Brandy Creek — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.2%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Drouin West 56.5% couple families
Drouin West — Couple Families: 56.5% Drouin West — One Parent Families: 7.1% Drouin West — Lone Person: 29.4% Drouin West — Other Families: 0.0% Drouin West — Group Household: 7.1%
Brandy Creek 52.9% couple families
Brandy Creek — Couple Families: 52.9% Brandy Creek — One Parent Families: 23.5% Brandy Creek — Lone Person: 0.0% Brandy Creek — Other Families: 23.5% Brandy Creek — Group Household: 0.0%
Couple Families One Parent Families Lone Person Other Families Group Household

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Drouin West 6.2% renting
Drouin West — Owned Outright: 58.6% Drouin West — Mortgage: 35.2% Drouin West — Renting: 6.2%
Brandy Creek 0.0% renting
Brandy Creek — Owned Outright: 37.5% Brandy Creek — Mortgage: 62.5% Brandy Creek — Renting: 0.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Drouin West 100.0% houses
Drouin West — Houses: 100.0%
Brandy Creek 100.0% houses
Brandy Creek — Houses: 100.0%
Houses

Qualifications

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

Drouin West Brandy Creek
Certificate III & IV 20.2% / 23.4%
Drouin West — Certificate III & IV: 20.2% Brandy Creek — Certificate III & IV: 23.4%
Bachelor Degree 7.8% / 10.6%
Drouin West — Bachelor Degree: 7.8% Brandy Creek — Bachelor Degree: 10.6%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 9.4% / 6.4%
Drouin West — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 9.4% Brandy Creek — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.4%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 3.0% / 5.3%
Drouin West — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 3.0% Brandy Creek — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 5.3%
Postgraduate Degree 1.1% / 3.2%
Drouin West — Postgraduate Degree: 1.1% Brandy Creek — Postgraduate Degree: 3.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (23.4%).

Property market

Drouin West Brandy Creek
Median house price — $665,000
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price —
same for both

Zoning mix

Drouin West Brandy Creek
Rural and farming 91% 100%
Parks and recreation 5% 0%
Infrastructure and transport 4% 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

Drouin West Brandy Creek
New dwellings approved 619
across Baw Baw
same for both
Approvals change year on year +49%
same for both

Ranking within VIC

Drouin West Brandy Creek
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 50% of VIC Higher than 84% of VIC
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 80% of VIC Higher than 49% of VIC
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 55% of VIC Higher than 57% of VIC
NBN connectivity Higher than 56% of VIC Higher than 65% of VIC

Liveability

Drouin West is more walkable (22 vs 0).

Drouin West Brandy Creek
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 7/10
 very advantaged area
decile 9/10

Risk profile

Drouin West carries more bushfire risk (99 vs 0); Drouin West carries more flood risk (74 vs 41).

Drouin West Brandy Creek
Bushfire High
99/100
 None
0/100
Crime Moderate
45/100
 Low
37/100
Flood High
74/100
 Moderate
41/100
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

Drouin West Brandy Creek
Inside the suburb 1 0
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 1 0
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Drouin West

  • Drouin West Primary School Government · Primary at peers

Schools in Brandy Creek

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

Amenities in the suburb

Drouin West Brandy Creek
Parks & reserves 2 0
Childcare 2 0
Waterways 2 0

Mobility

Brandy Creek sits further from the CBD (100.6 km vs 95.8 km).

Drouin West Brandy Creek
Walkability score 22/100 0/100
Distance to Melbourne 95.8 km 100.6 km
+5% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 74 min 78 min
Electric vehicle share 0.6%
postcode 3818
 0.6%
postcode 3821
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 49
postcode 3818
 55
postcode 3821

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.

Drouin West Brandy Creek
Car (driver) 60.5% / 70.0%
Drouin West — Car (driver): 60.5% Brandy Creek — Car (driver): 70.0%
Worked from Home 30.8% / 30.0%
Drouin West — Worked from Home: 30.8% Brandy Creek — Worked from Home: 30.0%
Walked Only 5.2% / —
Drouin West — Walked Only: 5.2% Brandy Creek — Walked Only: not among its largest
Car (passenger) 3.5% / —
Drouin West — Car (passenger): 3.5% Brandy Creek — Car (passenger): not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (70.0%).

Setting

Drouin West Brandy Creek
Elevation 84 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 136 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 37.0 km 39.9 km

NBN connectivity

Drouin West Brandy Creek
Connectivity score 30/100
same for both
Most common technology Fixed wireless
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
157 premises
 0%
43 premises

Climate

Drouin West Brandy Creek
Annual rainfall 1,090 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 25.1°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 3.7°C
same for both

Council rates

Drouin West Brandy Creek
Average residential rate $2,138/yr
same for both
Council Baw Baw
same for both

Federal electorate

Drouin West Brandy Creek
Division Monash
same for both
Member Mary Aldred
same for both
Party Liberal
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Drouin West Brandy Creek
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Drouin West

Retirees River Rural

Brandy Creek

Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Drouin West

Drouin West vs Drouin Drouin West vs Longwarry Drouin West vs Jindivick Drouin West vs Labertouche Drouin West vs Longwarry North Drouin West vs Rokeby

Other comparisons with Brandy Creek

Brandy Creek vs Warragul Brandy Creek vs Buln Buln Brandy Creek vs Drouin East
Full data on Drouin West Full data on Brandy Creek
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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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