Elsternwick vs Ripponlea

Ripponlea is the younger of the two, with a median age of 34 against 38 in Elsternwick. In both, about half of households are people living alone. In Elsternwick, most households own their home. In Ripponlea, about half of households rent and most homes are flats or apartments. Houses cost more in Elsternwick: a median of $2 million, against $1.83 million in Ripponlea, and rent is higher there too. Ripponlea is closer to the city centre: 9.2 km, against 10.7 km. On these figures, Ripponlea tends to suit share households.

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

Elsternwick

ahead on 4 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more childcare (17 vs 0)
  • has more schools inside the suburb (7 vs 0)
  • has more separate houses rather than flats (38% vs 21%)

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

First-home buyers

Ripponlea

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper units ($476,250 vs $621,500)

Weighs house prices, unit prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Ripponlea

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($391/wk vs $441/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Ripponlea

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • gets more of its commuters onto trains and trams (12% vs 6%)

Weighs distance, drive time, rail access, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

They split

one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here

  • Elsternwick has more residents already 65 and over (16% vs 9%)
  • Ripponlea has more units and townhouses to downsize into (79% vs 62%)

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

Investors

They split

one each way, out of the 2 things we measure here

  • Elsternwick is growing faster (5.2% vs -2.8%)
  • Ripponlea returns a higher gross yield on units (6.9% vs 4.8%)

Weighs unit yield and population growth.

Where they sit

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

Elsternwick Ripponlea
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.

Elsternwick Ripponlea
Walkability 92 / 96
Elsternwick — Walkability: 92/100 Ripponlea — Walkability: 96/100
Safety 31 / 35
Elsternwick — Safety: 31/100 Ripponlea — Safety: 35/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Elsternwick — Low fire risk: 100/100 Ripponlea — Low fire risk: 100/100
Low flood risk 68 / 54
Elsternwick — Low flood risk: 68/100 Ripponlea — Low flood risk: 54/100

Demographics

Elsternwick has more residents (10,887 vs 1,532); Elsternwick rents higher ($441/wk vs $391/wk).

Elsternwick Ripponlea
Population 10,887
+86% vs other
 1,532
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +5.2% -2.8%
Median age 38 34
Median household income $114,868/yr
+8% vs other
 $105,196/yr
Median weekly rent $441/wk
+11% vs other
 $391/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Elsternwick Ripponlea
0-4 5.1% / 6.0%
Elsternwick — 0-4: 5.1% Ripponlea — 0-4: 6.0%
5-14 11.8% / 11.6%
Elsternwick — 5-14: 11.8% Ripponlea — 5-14: 11.6%
15-19 5.5% / 4.6%
Elsternwick — 15-19: 5.5% Ripponlea — 15-19: 4.6%
20-24 5.5% / 8.2%
Elsternwick — 20-24: 5.5% Ripponlea — 20-24: 8.2%
25-34 17.0% / 20.9%
Elsternwick — 25-34: 17.0% Ripponlea — 25-34: 20.9%
35-44 14.1% / 17.4%
Elsternwick — 35-44: 14.1% Ripponlea — 35-44: 17.4%
45-54 13.5% / 13.9%
Elsternwick — 45-54: 13.5% Ripponlea — 45-54: 13.9%
55-64 11.2% / 9.0%
Elsternwick — 55-64: 11.2% Ripponlea — 55-64: 9.0%
65-74 9.1% / 5.0%
Elsternwick — 65-74: 9.1% Ripponlea — 65-74: 5.0%
75-84 4.8% / 3.2%
Elsternwick — 75-84: 4.8% Ripponlea — 75-84: 3.2%
85+ 2.4% / 1.0%
Elsternwick — 85+: 2.4% Ripponlea — 85+: 1.0%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.9%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Elsternwick 45.3% lone person
Elsternwick — Lone Person: 45.3% Elsternwick — Couple Families: 36.6% Elsternwick — Group Household: 6.9% Elsternwick — One Parent Families: 10.1% Elsternwick — Other Families: 1.2%
Ripponlea 47.6% lone person
Ripponlea — Lone Person: 47.6% Ripponlea — Couple Families: 27.6% Ripponlea — Group Household: 13.0% Ripponlea — One Parent Families: 9.8% Ripponlea — Other Families: 2.0%
Lone Person Couple Families Group Household One Parent Families Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Elsternwick 39.6% renting
Elsternwick — Owned Outright: 31.4% Elsternwick — Mortgage: 29.0% Elsternwick — Renting: 39.6%
Ripponlea 49.2% renting
Ripponlea — Owned Outright: 20.7% Ripponlea — Mortgage: 30.1% Ripponlea — Renting: 49.2%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Elsternwick Ripponlea
Bachelor Degree 27.1% / 27.2%
Elsternwick — Bachelor Degree: 27.1% Ripponlea — Bachelor Degree: 27.2%
Postgraduate Degree 10.7% / 10.2%
Elsternwick — Postgraduate Degree: 10.7% Ripponlea — Postgraduate Degree: 10.2%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 7.8% / 7.7%
Elsternwick — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.8% Ripponlea — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.7%
Certificate III & IV 5.9% / 7.6%
Elsternwick — Certificate III & IV: 5.9% Ripponlea — Certificate III & IV: 7.6%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 4.4% / 3.4%
Elsternwick — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 4.4% Ripponlea — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 3.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (27.2%).

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.

Elsternwick Ripponlea
England 4.0% / 4.5%
Elsternwick — England: 4.0% Ripponlea — England: 4.5%
New Zealand 2.0% / 2.3%
Elsternwick — New Zealand: 2.0% Ripponlea — New Zealand: 2.3%
India 1.3% / 2.3%
Elsternwick — India: 1.3% Ripponlea — India: 2.3%
Ireland 1.4% / 1.6%
Elsternwick — Ireland: 1.4% Ripponlea — Ireland: 1.6%
South Africa 1.9% / 0.7%
Elsternwick — South Africa: 1.9% Ripponlea — South Africa: 0.7%
Nepal — / 1.7%
Elsternwick — Nepal: not among its largest Ripponlea — Nepal: 1.7%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (4.5%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Elsternwick 42.5% flats / apartments
Elsternwick — Flats / Apartments: 42.5% Elsternwick — Houses: 38.2% Elsternwick — Townhouses: 19.3%
Ripponlea 64.8% flats / apartments
Ripponlea — Flats / Apartments: 64.8% Ripponlea — Houses: 20.6% Ripponlea — Townhouses: 14.6%
Flats / Apartments Houses Townhouses

Property market

Elsternwick Ripponlea
Median house price $2,000,000 $1,825,500
Median unit price $621,500 $476,250
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) 25 days
from 43 sales
 26 days
from 6 sales

Unit price by bedroom count

Only bed counts both suburbs published enough sales for. Sale counts are shown because the buckets differ in depth.

Elsternwick Ripponlea
1 bed $385K / $330K
Elsternwick — 1 bed: $385K (41 sales) Ripponlea — 1 bed: $330K (18 sales)

41 vs 18 sales

2 bed $644K / $575K
Elsternwick — 2 bed: $644K (100 sales) Ripponlea — 2 bed: $575K (29 sales)

100 vs 29 sales

Zoning mix

Elsternwick Ripponlea
Residential 87% 70%
Infrastructure and transport 5% 22%
Commercial 7%
same for both
Parks and recreation 1% 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

Elsternwick Ripponlea
New dwellings approved 617
across Glen Eira
 891
across Port Phillip
Approvals change year on year -69% +4175%

Gross rental yield

Gross — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. From median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.

Elsternwick Ripponlea
Houses 2.4%
$1,000/wk on $2.2M
 —
Units 4.8%
$642/wk on $702K
 6.9%
$600/wk on $450K

Ranking within VIC

Elsternwick Ripponlea
House price Higher than 97% of VIC Higher than 85% of VIC
Income Higher than 87% of VIC Higher than 77% of VIC
Schools Higher than 81% of VIC —
Walkability Higher than 97% of VIC Higher than 98% of VIC
Affordability Higher than 3% of VIC Higher than 18% of VIC
EV adoption Higher than 97% of VIC
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 84% of VIC Higher than 83% of VIC
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 3% of VIC —
Rental yield (units) Higher than 49% of VIC Higher than 97% of VIC

Liveability

Elsternwick Ripponlea
Grade A+
same for both
Score 86/100 84/100
Socio-economic band very advantaged area
decile 10/10
same for both

Risk profile

Ripponlea carries more flood risk (46 vs 32).

Elsternwick Ripponlea
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime Moderate
69/100
 Moderate
65/100
Flood Low
32/100
 Moderate
46/100
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 8
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Elsternwick Ripponlea
Inside the suburb 7 0
Rated above peers 3 0
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 1 0
Universities within 10 km 3
Monash Caulfield, 3.1 km
 3
Monash Caulfield, 4.1 km
Full-time students aged 15–24 3.1% 3.2%

Schools in Elsternwick

  • Adass Israel School Independent · Combined above peers
  • Sholem Aleichem College Independent · Primary above peers
  • St Joseph's School Catholic · Primary above peers
  • Leibler Yavneh College Independent · Combined below peers
  • Adass Israel School - Orrong Road Campus Independent · Combined
  • Sholem Aleichem College - Senior Campus Independent · Primary

Schools in Ripponlea

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

Amenities in the suburb

Elsternwick Ripponlea
Supermarkets 2 1
Cafes & restaurants 19 7
Parks & reserves 3 1
Childcare 17 0
GPs 2 1
Pharmacies 5 1
Banks & Bank@Post 4 1
Fuel stations 2 0

Mobility

Elsternwick Ripponlea
Walkability score 92/100 96/100
Distance to Melbourne 10.7 km
+14% vs other
 9.2 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 22 min 18 min
Public transport score 94/100
Rail · Tram · Bus
 96/100
Rail · Tram · Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 221.8
7-9am + 5-7pm
 52.8
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 0 min
scheduled, not actual
 1 min
scheduled, not actual
Electric vehicle share 2.6%
postcode 3185
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 13
postcode 3185
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.

Elsternwick Ripponlea
Worked from Home 51.5% / 48.8%
Elsternwick — Worked from Home: 51.5% Ripponlea — Worked from Home: 48.8%
Car (driver) 35.3% / 30.8%
Elsternwick — Car (driver): 35.3% Ripponlea — Car (driver): 30.8%
Train 5.6% / 9.6%
Elsternwick — Train: 5.6% Ripponlea — Train: 9.6%
Walked Only 3.4% / 3.0%
Elsternwick — Walked Only: 3.4% Ripponlea — Walked Only: 3.0%
Car (passenger) 2.0% / 3.5%
Elsternwick — Car (passenger): 2.0% Ripponlea — Car (passenger): 3.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (51.5%).

Setting

Elsternwick Ripponlea
Elevation 30 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 17 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 2.0 km
3.0 km to a named beach
 1.6 km
2.2 km to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Elsternwick Ripponlea
Connectivity score 76/100 75/100
Most common technology Hybrid fibre-coaxial
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 4%
5,640 premises
 0%
883 premises

Climate

Elsternwick Ripponlea
Annual rainfall 644 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 26.0°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 6.9°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Elsternwick Ripponlea
PM2.5 7.6 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 —
same for both
NO₂ —
same for both

Council rates

Elsternwick Ripponlea
Average residential rate $1,577/yr $1,765/yr
Council Glen Eira Port Phillip

Federal electorate

Elsternwick Ripponlea
Division Goldstein Macnamara
Member Tim Wilson Josh Burns
Party Liberal Australian Labor Party

First Home Owner Grant

Elsternwick Ripponlea
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Elsternwick

Apartments Coastal Easy Commute Middle-Ring Parks Professionals Trams Transport Hub Urban

Ripponlea

Affordable Apartments Coastal Easy Commute Inner Parks Professionals Trains Trams Transport Hub Urban

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Elsternwick

Elsternwick vs Brighton Elsternwick vs Caulfield North Elsternwick vs Elwood Elsternwick vs St Kilda East Elsternwick vs Caulfield South Elsternwick vs Caulfield

Other comparisons with Ripponlea

Ripponlea vs Elwood Ripponlea vs St Kilda East Ripponlea vs Balaclava
Full data on Elsternwick Full data on Ripponlea
Unlock full address-level data — $29/month

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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