Fairy Dell vs Rochester

Fairy Dell is the younger of the two, with a median age of 44 against 53 in Rochester. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Fairy Dell, the large majority of households are couple families. In Rochester, about half of households are people living alone. On these figures, Fairy Dell tends to suit couples, while Rochester suits people living alone and 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

Rochester

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more parks and reserves (8 vs 0)
  • has more schools inside the suburb (3 vs 0)
  • has more childcare (3 vs 0)
  • But Fairy Dell is already more of a family suburb (75% vs 43%)

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

First-home buyers

Fairy Dell

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (13% vs 23%)

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

They split

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

  • Fairy Dell leaves renters under less rental stress (15% vs 20%)
  • Rochester has cheaper rent ($220/wk vs $265/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Rochester

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (11/100 vs 0/100)
  • sits closer to the CBD (202.4 km vs 205.2 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Rochester

ahead on 3 of the 4 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (11/100 vs 0/100)
  • has more GPs (2 vs 0)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (32% vs 22%)

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

Investors

Fairy Dell

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (16.2% vs 1.3%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Fairy Dell Rochester
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.

Fairy Dell Rochester
Walkability 0 / 11
Fairy Dell — Walkability: 0/100 Rochester — Walkability: 11/100
Safety 44 / 47
Fairy Dell — Safety: 44/100 Rochester — Safety: 47/100
Low fire risk 57 / 74
Fairy Dell — Low fire risk: 57/100 Rochester — Low fire risk: 74/100
Low flood risk 100 / 15
Fairy Dell — Low flood risk: 100/100 Rochester — Low flood risk: 15/100

Demographics

Rochester has more residents (3,154 vs 93); Fairy Dell has higher household incomes ($94,224 vs $55,796).

Fairy Dell Rochester
Population 93 3,154
+3291% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +16.2% +1.3%
Median age 44 53
Median household income $94,224/yr
+41% vs other
 $55,796/yr
Median weekly rent $265/wk
+17% vs other
 $220/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Fairy Dell Rochester
0-4 — / 3.9%
Fairy Dell — 0-4: not among its largest Rochester — 0-4: 3.9%
5-14 15.1% / 10.1%
Fairy Dell — 5-14: 15.1% Rochester — 5-14: 10.1%
15-19 5.4% / 5.1%
Fairy Dell — 15-19: 5.4% Rochester — 15-19: 5.1%
20-24 10.8% / 4.5%
Fairy Dell — 20-24: 10.8% Rochester — 20-24: 4.5%
25-34 7.5% / 7.7%
Fairy Dell — 25-34: 7.5% Rochester — 25-34: 7.7%
35-44 9.7% / 8.4%
Fairy Dell — 35-44: 9.7% Rochester — 35-44: 8.4%
45-54 8.6% / 12.3%
Fairy Dell — 45-54: 8.6% Rochester — 45-54: 12.3%
55-64 18.3% / 15.7%
Fairy Dell — 55-64: 18.3% Rochester — 55-64: 15.7%
65-74 18.3% / 15.2%
Fairy Dell — 65-74: 18.3% Rochester — 65-74: 15.2%
75-84 3.2% / 11.5%
Fairy Dell — 75-84: 3.2% Rochester — 75-84: 11.5%
85+ — / 5.3%
Fairy Dell — 85+: not among its largest Rochester — 85+: 5.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.3%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Fairy Dell 75.0% couple families
Fairy Dell — Couple Families: 75.0% Fairy Dell — Lone Person: 25.0% Fairy Dell — One Parent Families: 0.0% Fairy Dell — Group Household: 0.0% Fairy Dell — Other Families: 0.0%
Rochester 28.8% couple families
Rochester — Couple Families: 28.8% Rochester — Lone Person: 50.5% Rochester — One Parent Families: 14.4% Rochester — Group Household: 4.2% Rochester — Other Families: 2.0%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Fairy Dell 16.7% renting
Fairy Dell — Owned Outright: 33.3% Fairy Dell — Mortgage: 50.0% Fairy Dell — Renting: 16.7%
Rochester 20.0% renting
Rochester — Owned Outright: 51.8% Rochester — Mortgage: 28.2% Rochester — Renting: 20.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Fairy Dell 100.0% houses
Fairy Dell — Houses: 100.0% Fairy Dell — Townhouses: 0.0% Fairy Dell — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Rochester 92.9% houses
Rochester — Houses: 92.9% Rochester — Townhouses: 5.4% Rochester — Flats / Apartments: 1.7%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Qualifications

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

Fairy Dell Rochester
Certificate III & IV 23.7% / 16.6%
Fairy Dell — Certificate III & IV: 23.7% Rochester — Certificate III & IV: 16.6%
Bachelor Degree 8.6% / 5.8%
Fairy Dell — Bachelor Degree: 8.6% Rochester — Bachelor Degree: 5.8%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 5.4% / 5.5%
Fairy Dell — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.4% Rochester — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.5%
Postgraduate Degree 4.3% / 0.7%
Fairy Dell — Postgraduate Degree: 4.3% Rochester — Postgraduate Degree: 0.7%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate — / 1.3%
Fairy Dell — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest Rochester — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (23.7%).

Property market

Fairy Dell Rochester
Median house price — $455,000
Median unit price — $365,000
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) — 75 days
from 14 sales

Zoning mix

Fairy Dell Rochester
Rural and farming 96% 89%
Infrastructure and transport 3% 5%
Residential 0% 4%
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

Fairy Dell Rochester
New dwellings approved 264
across Campaspe
same for both
Approvals change year on year +63%
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.

Fairy Dell Rochester
Houses — 4.2%
$445/wk on $549K
Units —
same for both

Ranking within VIC

Fairy Dell Rochester
House price — Higher than 8% of VIC
Income Higher than 64% of VIC Higher than 14% of VIC
Schools — Higher than 10% of VIC
Walkability Higher than 1% of VIC Higher than 73% of VIC
Affordability — Higher than 76% of VIC
EV adoption Higher than 32% of VIC
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 48% of VIC Higher than 76% of VIC
Rental yield (houses) — Higher than 81% of VIC

Liveability

Rochester is more walkable (11 vs 0).

Fairy Dell Rochester
Grade — D
Score — 18/100
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 6/10
 below-average income
decile 2/10

Risk profile

Rochester carries more flood risk (85 vs 0); Fairy Dell carries more bushfire risk (43 vs 26).

Fairy Dell Rochester
Bushfire Moderate
43/100
 Low
26/100
Crime Moderate
56/100
 Moderate
53/100
Flood None
0/100
 High
85/100
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

Fairy Dell Rochester
Inside the suburb 0 3
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0 1
Rated below peers 0 2

Schools in Fairy Dell

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

Schools in Rochester

  • Rochester Primary School Government · Primary at peers
  • Rochester Secondary College Government · Secondary below peers
  • St Joseph's School Catholic · Primary below peers

Amenities in the suburb

Fairy Dell Rochester
Supermarkets 0 1
Cafes & restaurants 0 2
Parks & reserves 0 8
Childcare 0 3
GPs 0 2
Pharmacies 0 1
Hospitals 0 1
Police stations 0 1
Banks & Bank@Post 0 2
Fuel stations 0 4
Waterways 2 7

Mobility

Fairy Dell sits further from the CBD (205.2 km vs 202.4 km).

Fairy Dell Rochester
Walkability score 0/100 11/100
Distance to Melbourne 205.2 km
+1% vs other
 202.4 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 150 min 149 min
Electric vehicle share 0.4%
postcode 3561
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 57
postcode 3561
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.

Fairy Dell Rochester
Car (driver) 57.8% / 79.8%
Fairy Dell — Car (driver): 57.8% Rochester — Car (driver): 79.8%
Worked from Home 26.7% / 9.0%
Fairy Dell — Worked from Home: 26.7% Rochester — Worked from Home: 9.0%
Walked Only 8.9% / 4.4%
Fairy Dell — Walked Only: 8.9% Rochester — Walked Only: 4.4%
Car (passenger) 6.7% / 5.4%
Fairy Dell — Car (passenger): 6.7% Rochester — Car (passenger): 5.4%
Bicycle — / 1.1%
Fairy Dell — Bicycle: not among its largest Rochester — Bicycle: 1.1%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (79.8%).

Setting

Fairy Dell Rochester
Elevation 110 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 117 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Fairy Dell Rochester
Connectivity score 30/100 64/100
Most common technology Fixed wireless Fibre to the premises
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
40 premises
 41%
1,679 premises

Climate

Fairy Dell Rochester
Annual rainfall 438 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Council rates

Fairy Dell Rochester
Average residential rate $2,035/yr
same for both
Council Campaspe
same for both

Federal electorate

Fairy Dell Rochester
Division Bendigo
same for both
Member Lisa Chesters
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Fairy Dell Rochester
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Fairy Dell

Rural

Rochester

Acreage Affordable Retirees Trains

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Fairy Dell

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Other comparisons with Rochester

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Full data on Fairy Dell Full data on Rochester
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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.

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