Dunolly vs Waanyarra
Waanyarra is the younger of the two, with a median age of 49 against 58 in Dunolly. In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are people living alone. On these figures, Dunolly tends to suit older residents.
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
- Dunolly has more parks and reserves (7 vs 1)
- Waanyarra carries lower crime risk (25/100 vs 46/100)
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
Dunolly
ahead on 2 of the 2 things we measure here
- has cheaper rent ($192/wk vs $360/wk)
- leaves renters under less rental stress (27% vs 46%)
Weighs rent and rental stress.
Commuting to the city
Dunolly
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (8/100 vs 0/100)
- has a shorter drive in (132 min vs 140 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (181.3 km vs 186.7 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Dunolly
ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here
- is more walkable (8/100 vs 0/100)
- has more residents already 65 and over (36% vs 16%)
- But Waanyarra carries lower crime risk (25/100 vs 46/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Waanyarra
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (159.1% vs 0.7%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Dunolly and Waanyarra 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
Dunolly has more residents (899 vs 57); Waanyarra rents higher ($360/wk vs $192/wk).
| Dunolly | Waanyarra | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 899 +94% vs other | 57 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +0.7% | +159.1% |
| Median age | 58 | 49 |
| Median household income | $37,440/yr | $40,560/yr +8% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $192/wk | $360/wk +88% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.1%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.7%).
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 (8.8%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Dunolly | Waanyarra | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $370,000 | — |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | $125,000 | — |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 35 days from 15 sales | — |
Zoning mix
Dunolly has more rural and farming land (49% vs 20%).
| Dunolly | Waanyarra | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks and recreation | 43% | 80% |
| Rural and farming | 49% | 20% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 5% | 0% |
| Residential | 2% | 0% |
| Environmental | 1% | 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
| Dunolly | Waanyarra | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 40 across Central Goldfields | 27 across Loddon |
| Approvals change year on year | +129% | +150% |
Ranking within VIC
| Dunolly | Waanyarra | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 2% of VIC | Higher than 4% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 69% of VIC | Higher than 15% of VIC |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | — | Higher than 55% of VIC |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 64% of VIC | Higher than 20% of VIC |
Liveability
Dunolly is more walkable (8 vs 0).
| Dunolly | Waanyarra | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | C | — |
| Score | 33/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | high-need area decile 1/10 | below-average income decile 2/10 |
Risk profile
Waanyarra carries more bushfire risk (35 vs 0); Dunolly carries more crime risk (46 vs 25).
| Dunolly | Waanyarra | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 | Low 35/100 |
| Crime | Moderate 46/100 | Low 25/100 |
| Flood | Moderate 55/100 | Moderate 49/100 |
| 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
| Dunolly | Waanyarra | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 1 | 0 |
Schools in Dunolly
- Dunolly Primary School Government · Primary below peers
Schools in Waanyarra
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Dunolly | Waanyarra | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 1 | 0 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 3 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 7 | 1 |
| Childcare | 2 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 1 | 0 |
| Hospitals | 1 | 0 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 9 | 3 |
Mobility
Waanyarra sits further from the CBD (186.7 km vs 181.3 km).
| Dunolly | Waanyarra | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 8/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Melbourne | 181.3 km | 186.7 km +3% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 132 min | 140 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.0% postcode 3472 | 0.6% postcode 3551 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 54 postcode 3472 | 64 postcode 3551 |
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 (78.7%).
Setting
| Dunolly | Waanyarra | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 201 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 193 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Dunolly | Waanyarra | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 30/100 | 22/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 596 premises | 0% 16 premises |
Climate
| Dunolly | Waanyarra | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 510 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 29.0°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 3.9°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Dunolly | Waanyarra | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,555/yr | $1,353/yr |
| Council | Central Goldfields | Loddon |
Federal electorate
| Dunolly | Waanyarra | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Mallee same for both | |
| Member | Anne Webster same for both | |
| Party | The Nationals same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Dunolly | Waanyarra | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Dunolly
Waanyarra
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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.