Durham Lead vs Scotsburn
Durham Lead is the younger of the two, with a median age of 44 against 47 in Scotsburn. In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are couple families.
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
Scotsburn
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (12/100 vs 25/100)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Too close to call
Nothing among the 2 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Scotsburn
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- leaves renters under less rental stress (14% vs 22%)
- has cheaper rent ($275/wk vs $412/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Scotsburn
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (93 min vs 99 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (119.7 km vs 125.2 km)
- But Durham Lead is more walkable (10/100 vs 0/100)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 4 things we measure here
- Durham Lead is more walkable (10/100 vs 0/100)
- Scotsburn carries lower crime risk (12/100 vs 25/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Durham Lead
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (4.1% vs -5.4%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Durham Lead and Scotsburn 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
Durham Lead has more residents (408 vs 244); Durham Lead rents higher ($412/wk vs $275/wk).
| Durham Lead | Scotsburn | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 408 +40% vs other | 244 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +4.1% | -5.4% |
| Median age | 44 | 47 |
| Median household income | $99,632/yr | $100,048/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $412/wk +33% vs other | $275/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.5%).
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 (5.1%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.9%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Durham Lead | Scotsburn | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $880,000 | $910,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
Zoning mix
Scotsburn has more rural and farming land (90% vs 71%).
| Durham Lead | Scotsburn | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 71% | 90% |
| Environmental | 17% | 9% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 11% | 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
| Durham Lead | Scotsburn | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 1,451 across Ballarat same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +42% same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Durham Lead | Scotsburn | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 72% of VIC same for both | |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 71% of VIC | Higher than 49% of VIC |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 37% of VIC | Higher than 38% of VIC |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 43% of VIC | Higher than 65% of VIC |
Liveability
Durham Lead is more walkable (10 vs 0).
| Durham Lead | Scotsburn | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | advantaged area decile 7/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
Durham Lead carries more flood risk (34 vs 0); Durham Lead carries more crime risk (25 vs 12).
| Durham Lead | Scotsburn | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | High 80/100 | High 82/100 |
| Crime | Low 25/100 | Low 12/100 |
| Flood | Low 34/100 | None 0/100 |
| 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
| Durham Lead | Scotsburn | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Durham Lead
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Schools in Scotsburn
- Buninyong Primary School-Scotsburn Primary School Government · Primary
Amenities in the suburb
| Durham Lead | Scotsburn | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 0 | 30 |
Mobility
Durham Lead sits further from the CBD (125.2 km vs 119.7 km).
| Durham Lead | Scotsburn | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 10/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Melbourne | 125.2 km +4% vs other | 119.7 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 99 min | 93 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.4% postcode 3352 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 51 postcode 3352 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 (70.8%).
Setting
| Durham Lead | Scotsburn | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 410 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 470 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Durham Lead | Scotsburn | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 29/100 | 30/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 161 premises | 0% 101 premises |
Climate
| Durham Lead | Scotsburn | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 605 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 25.7°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 3.5°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Durham Lead | Scotsburn | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $2,086/yr same for both | |
| Council | Ballarat same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Durham Lead | Scotsburn | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Ballarat same for both | |
| Member | Catherine King same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Durham Lead | Scotsburn | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Durham Lead
Other comparisons with Scotsburn
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.