Dunach vs Talbot
Comparing Dunach and Talbot, VIC: Talbot is more walkable (31 vs 0); Talbot has more residents (452 vs 83); and Talbot carries more crime risk (79 vs 19).
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
- Dunach carries lower crime risk (19/100 vs 79/100)
- Talbot has more parks and reserves (9 vs 2)
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
Talbot
ahead on 2 of the 2 things we measure here
- leaves renters under less rental stress (20% vs 25%)
- has cheaper rent ($160/wk vs $200/wk)
Weighs rent and rental stress.
Commuting to the city
Dunach
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (113 min vs 118 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (157 km vs 163.3 km)
- But Talbot is more walkable (31/100 vs 0/100)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here
- Dunach carries lower crime risk (19/100 vs 79/100)
- Talbot is more walkable (31/100 vs 0/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Dunach
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (43.1% vs 2.3%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Dunach and Talbot drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.
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.
Demographics
Talbot has more residents (452 vs 83); Dunach rents higher ($200/wk vs $160/wk).
| Dunach | Talbot | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 83 | 452 +445% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +43.1% | +2.3% |
| Median age | 58 | 59 |
| Median household income | $41,132/yr | $41,236/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $200/wk +20% vs other | $160/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (27.7%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (7.2%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.5%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Dunach | Talbot | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | — | $401,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — | $100,000 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | — | 44 days from 7 sales |
Zoning mix
Talbot has more rural and farming land (78% vs 64%); Dunach has more land zoned for conservation (14% vs 1%).
| Dunach | Talbot | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 64% | 78% |
| Parks and recreation | 20% | 15% |
| Environmental | 14% | 1% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 2% | 4% |
| Residential | 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
| Dunach | Talbot | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 104 across Hepburn | 40 across Central Goldfields |
| Approvals change year on year | -6% | +129% |
Ranking within VIC
| Dunach | Talbot | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 4% of VIC same for both | |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 2% of VIC | Higher than 83% of VIC |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 35% of VIC same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 1% of VIC | Higher than 3% of VIC |
Liveability
Talbot is more walkable (31 vs 0).
| Dunach | Talbot | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | below-average income decile 2/10 | high-need area decile 1/10 |
Risk profile
Talbot carries more crime risk (79 vs 19); Talbot carries more flood risk (75 vs 50).
| Dunach | Talbot | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | High 87/100 | High 85/100 |
| Crime | Low 19/100 | High 79/100 |
| Flood | Moderate 50/100 | High 75/100 |
| 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
| Dunach | Talbot | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 | 1 |
| Rated above peers | 0 | 1 |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Schools in Dunach
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Schools in Talbot
- Talbot Primary School Government · Primary above peers
Amenities in the suburb
| Dunach | Talbot | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 2 | 9 |
| Childcare | 0 | 1 |
| GPs | 0 | 1 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 0 | 1 |
| Waterways | 13 | 10 |
Mobility
Talbot sits further from the CBD (163.3 km vs 157 km).
| Dunach | Talbot | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 | 31/100 |
| Distance to Melbourne | 157 km | 163.3 km +4% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 113 min | 118 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.4% postcode 3371 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 56 postcode 3371 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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (84.6%).
Setting
| Dunach | Talbot | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 259 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 246 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Dunach | Talbot | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 15/100 same for both | |
| Most common technology | Satellite (Sky Muster) same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 24 premises | 0% 52 premises |
Climate
| Dunach | Talbot | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 537 mm | 510 mm |
| Summer max (Jan) | — | 29.0°C |
| Winter min (Jul) | — | 3.9°C |
Council rates
| Dunach | Talbot | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,748/yr | $1,555/yr |
| Council | Hepburn | Central Goldfields |
Federal electorate
| Dunach | Talbot | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Ballarat | Mallee |
| Member | Catherine King | Anne Webster |
| Party | Australian Labor Party | The Nationals |
First Home Owner Grant
| Dunach | Talbot | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Dunach
Other comparisons with Talbot
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.