Essendon North vs Airport West

In Essendon North, about half of households rent, about half of homes are flats or apartments, and about half of households are people living alone. In Airport West, most households own their home and most homes are detached houses. Houses cost more in Essendon North: a median of $1.33 million, against $1.04 million in Airport West, though rent is higher in Airport West. Essendon North is closer to the city centre: 13.1 km, against 15.1 km. On these figures, Essendon North tends to suit renters and people living alone, while Airport West suits buyers on a tighter budget.

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

Airport West

ahead on 4 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more parks and reserves (7 vs 2)
  • has more schools inside the suburb (3 vs 1)
  • has more separate houses rather than flats (62% vs 31%)

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

First-home buyers

They split

one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here

  • Essendon North has cheaper units ($415,000 vs $655,000)
  • Airport West has cheaper houses ($1,040,000 vs $1,331,000)

Weighs house prices, unit prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Essendon North

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (46% vs 29%)
  • has cheaper rent ($360/wk vs $401/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Essendon North

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • sits closer to the CBD (13.1 km vs 15.1 km)

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

Downsizers and retirees

They split

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

  • Essendon North has more units and townhouses to downsize into (69% vs 37%)
  • Airport West has more GPs (4 vs 1)

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

Investors

Airport West

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • is growing faster (8.1% vs 2.8%)
  • returns a higher gross yield on houses (4.0% vs 3.2%)
  • But Essendon North returns a higher gross yield on units (5.8% vs 4.9%)

Weighs house yield, unit yield, and population growth.

Where they sit

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

Essendon North Airport West
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.

Essendon North Airport West
Walkability 88 / 85
Essendon North — Walkability: 88/100 Airport West — Walkability: 85/100
Safety 18 / 14
Essendon North — Safety: 18/100 Airport West — Safety: 14/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Essendon North — Low fire risk: 100/100 Airport West — Low fire risk: 100/100
Low flood risk 84 / 65
Essendon North — Low flood risk: 84/100 Airport West — Low flood risk: 65/100

Demographics

Airport West has more residents (8,173 vs 3,071); Airport West rents higher ($401/wk vs $360/wk).

Essendon North Airport West
Population 3,071 8,173
+166% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +2.8% +8.1%
Median age 38 39
Median household income $89,024/yr $91,572/yr
+3% vs other
Median weekly rent $360/wk $401/wk
+11% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Essendon North Airport West
0-4 4.7% / 6.6%
Essendon North — 0-4: 4.7% Airport West — 0-4: 6.6%
5-14 9.6% / 10.0%
Essendon North — 5-14: 9.6% Airport West — 5-14: 10.0%
15-19 4.8% / 4.3%
Essendon North — 15-19: 4.8% Airport West — 15-19: 4.3%
20-24 6.5% / 4.8%
Essendon North — 20-24: 6.5% Airport West — 20-24: 4.8%
25-34 18.0% / 15.7%
Essendon North — 25-34: 18.0% Airport West — 25-34: 15.7%
35-44 16.1% / 15.6%
Essendon North — 35-44: 16.1% Airport West — 35-44: 15.6%
45-54 13.6% / 12.6%
Essendon North — 45-54: 13.6% Airport West — 45-54: 12.6%
55-64 10.2% / 10.9%
Essendon North — 55-64: 10.2% Airport West — 55-64: 10.9%
65-74 8.8% / 9.4%
Essendon North — 65-74: 8.8% Airport West — 65-74: 9.4%
75-84 4.5% / 6.9%
Essendon North — 75-84: 4.5% Airport West — 75-84: 6.9%
85+ 2.9% / 3.2%
Essendon North — 85+: 2.9% Airport West — 85+: 3.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.0%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Essendon North 51.3% lone person
Essendon North — Lone Person: 51.3% Essendon North — Couple Families: 30.7% Essendon North — One Parent Families: 11.7% Essendon North — Group Household: 4.7% Essendon North — Other Families: 1.6%
Airport West 41.1% lone person
Airport West — Lone Person: 41.1% Airport West — Couple Families: 37.5% Airport West — One Parent Families: 15.6% Airport West — Group Household: 3.6% Airport West — Other Families: 2.1%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Essendon North 46.5% renting
Essendon North — Owned Outright: 27.3% Essendon North — Mortgage: 26.2% Essendon North — Renting: 46.5%
Airport West 28.6% renting
Airport West — Owned Outright: 38.9% Airport West — Mortgage: 32.5% Airport West — Renting: 28.6%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Essendon North Airport West
Bachelor Degree 19.3% / 14.9%
Essendon North — Bachelor Degree: 19.3% Airport West — Bachelor Degree: 14.9%
Certificate III & IV 10.5% / 13.7%
Essendon North — Certificate III & IV: 10.5% Airport West — Certificate III & IV: 13.7%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.0% / 8.3%
Essendon North — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.0% Airport West — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.3%
Postgraduate Degree 7.9% / 4.2%
Essendon North — Postgraduate Degree: 7.9% Airport West — Postgraduate Degree: 4.2%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.7% / 2.3%
Essendon North — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.7% Airport West — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.3%).

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.

Essendon North Airport West
Italy 3.5% / 5.8%
Essendon North — Italy: 3.5% Airport West — Italy: 5.8%
India 5.8% / 2.4%
Essendon North — India: 5.8% Airport West — India: 2.4%
England 1.7% / 1.4%
Essendon North — England: 1.7% Airport West — England: 1.4%
China 1.6% / 1.0%
Essendon North — China: 1.6% Airport West — China: 1.0%
New Zealand 1.2% / 1.1%
Essendon North — New Zealand: 1.2% Airport West — New Zealand: 1.1%
Philippines 1.4% / 0.7%
Essendon North — Philippines: 1.4% Airport West — Philippines: 0.7%
Greece — / 1.3%
Essendon North — Greece: not among its largest Airport West — Greece: 1.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (5.8%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Essendon North 30.7% houses
Essendon North — Houses: 30.7% Essendon North — Flats / Apartments: 53.9% Essendon North — Townhouses: 15.4%
Airport West 62.5% houses
Airport West — Houses: 62.5% Airport West — Flats / Apartments: 2.0% Airport West — Townhouses: 35.4%
Houses Flats / Apartments Townhouses

Property market

Essendon North Airport West
Median house price $1,331,000 $1,040,000
Median unit price $415,000 $655,000
Median land price — $1,250,000
Typical days to sell (houses) 34 days
from 16 sales
 23 days
from 84 sales

House price by bedroom count

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

Essendon North Airport West
3 bed $1.17M / $978K
Essendon North — 3 bed: $1.17M (15 sales) Airport West — 3 bed: $978K (104 sales)

15 vs 104 sales

4 bed $1.64M / $1.2M
Essendon North — 4 bed: $1.64M (10 sales) Airport West — 4 bed: $1.2M (39 sales)

10 vs 39 sales

Zoning mix

Airport West has more commercially zoned land (24% vs 10%).

Essendon North Airport West
Residential 70% 61%
Commercial 10% 24%
Infrastructure and transport 18% 7%
Parks and recreation 1% 7%
Industrial 0% 2%
Planning zones cover 99% of Essendon North and 100% of Airport West. The rest is unzoned land such as water or road reserve.
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

Essendon North Airport West
New dwellings approved 702
across Moonee Valley
same for both
Approvals change year on year +82%
same for both

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.

Essendon North Airport West
Houses 3.2%
$748/wk on $1.2M
 4.0%
$700/wk on $910K
Units 5.8%
$500/wk on $446K
 4.9%
$572/wk on $612K

Ranking within VIC

Essendon North Airport West
House price Higher than 91% of VIC Higher than 73% of VIC
Income Higher than 59% of VIC Higher than 60% of VIC
Schools — Higher than 71% of VIC
Walkability Higher than 96% of VIC Higher than 95% of VIC
Affordability Higher than 5% of VIC Higher than 23% of VIC
EV adoption Higher than 98% of VIC Higher than 75% of VIC
NBN connectivity Higher than 94% of VIC Higher than 99% of VIC
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 25% of VIC Higher than 69% of VIC
Rental yield (units) Higher than 89% of VIC Higher than 54% of VIC

Liveability

Essendon North scores higher overall (78 vs 68).

Essendon North Airport West
Grade A B
Score 78/100 68/100
Socio-economic band very advantaged area
decile 9/10
 advantaged area
decile 7/10

Risk profile

Airport West carries more flood risk (35 vs 16).

Essendon North Airport West
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime High
82/100
 High
86/100
Flood Low
16/100
 Low
35/100
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 4
within 5 km
 5
within 5 km

Schools

Essendon North Airport West
Inside the suburb 1 3
Rated above peers 1
same for both
Rated at peers 0 1
Rated below peers 0
same for both
Universities within 10 km 3
Victoria University Footscray Park, 6.7 km
 2
Victoria University Footscray Park, 8.4 km
Full-time students aged 15–24 3.2% 1.8%

Schools in Essendon North

  • Essendon North Primary School Government · Primary above peers

Schools in Airport West

  • Niddrie Primary School Government · Primary above peers
  • St Christopher's School Catholic · Primary at peers
  • Essendon Keilor College-Niddrie Campus Government · Secondary

Amenities in the suburb

Essendon North Airport West
Supermarkets 0 4
Cafes & restaurants 4 2
Parks & reserves 2 7
Childcare 4 5
GPs 1 4
Pharmacies 1 3
Banks & Bank@Post 0 5
EV chargers 0 1
Waterways 0 2

Mobility

Airport West sits further from the CBD (15.1 km vs 13.1 km).

Essendon North Airport West
Walkability score 88/100 85/100
Distance to Melbourne 13.1 km 15.1 km
+15% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 21 min
same for both
Public transport score 96/100
Tram · Bus
 95/100
Tram · Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 63.0
7-9am + 5-7pm
 265.8
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 1 min
scheduled, not actual
 0 min
scheduled, not actual
Electric vehicle share 2.9%
postcode 3041
 0.9%
postcode 3042
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 21
postcode 3041
 21
postcode 3042

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.

Essendon North Airport West
Car (driver) 52.0% / 59.6%
Essendon North — Car (driver): 52.0% Airport West — Car (driver): 59.6%
Worked from Home 34.0% / 31.7%
Essendon North — Worked from Home: 34.0% Airport West — Worked from Home: 31.7%
Train 4.5% / 2.2%
Essendon North — Train: 4.5% Airport West — Train: 2.2%
Car (passenger) 3.0% / 3.3%
Essendon North — Car (passenger): 3.0% Airport West — Car (passenger): 3.3%
Tram / Light Rail 2.9% / 0.6%
Essendon North — Tram / Light Rail: 2.9% Airport West — Tram / Light Rail: 0.6%
Walked Only 1.8% / 1.5%
Essendon North — Walked Only: 1.8% Airport West — Walked Only: 1.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (59.6%).

Setting

Essendon North Airport West
Elevation 68 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 79 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 11.4 km 13.3 km

NBN connectivity

Essendon North Airport West
Connectivity score 87/100 99/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 47%
2,093 premises
 96%
4,996 premises

Climate

Essendon North Airport West
Annual rainfall 534 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 26.7°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 6.5°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Essendon North Airport West
PM2.5 —
same for both
PM10 18.9 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ —
same for both

Council rates

Essendon North Airport West
Average residential rate $2,027/yr
same for both
Council Moonee Valley
same for both

Federal electorate

Essendon North Airport West
Division Maribyrnong
same for both
Member Jo Briskey
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Essendon North Airport West
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Essendon North

Affordable Apartments Easy Commute Middle-Ring Parks Trams Transport Hub Urban

Airport West

Easy Commute Middle-Ring Parks Townhouses Trams Transport Hub

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Essendon North

Essendon North vs Essendon Essendon North vs Strathmore Essendon North vs Niddrie

Other comparisons with Airport West

Airport West vs Keilor East Airport West vs Tullamarine Airport West vs Niddrie Airport West vs Keilor Park Airport West vs Strathmore Heights
Full data on Essendon North Full data on Airport West
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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