Fingal vs St Andrews Beach
St Andrews Beach is the younger of the two, with a median age of 44 against 56 in Fingal. In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Fingal: a median of $1.76 million, against $1.45 million in St Andrews Beach, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Fingal tends to suit older residents, while St Andrews Beach suits families with children and 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
St Andrews Beach
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (18/100 vs 42/100)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
St Andrews Beach
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper houses ($1,450,000 vs $1,762,500)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
St Andrews Beach
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($360/wk vs $418/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Fingal sits closer to the CBD (99.4 km vs 102.1 km)
- St Andrews Beach is more walkable (30/100 vs 0/100)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
St Andrews Beach
ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here
- is more walkable (30/100 vs 0/100)
- carries lower crime risk (18/100 vs 42/100)
- But Fingal has more residents already 65 and over (31% vs 15%)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Fingal
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (20.4% vs 9.6%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Fingal and St Andrews Beach 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
St Andrews Beach has more residents (974 vs 637); Fingal skews older (56 vs 44).
| Fingal | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 637 | 974 +53% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +20.4% | +9.6% |
| Median age | 56 | 44 |
| Median household income | $100,256/yr | $100,412/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $418/wk +14% vs other | $360/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (24.6%).
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 (17.2%).
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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (8.9%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Fingal | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,762,500 | $1,450,000 |
| Median unit price | $573,500 | — |
| Median land price | — | $810,000 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 75 days from 4 sales | 30 days from 4 sales |
Zoning mix
Fingal has more rural and farming land (78% vs 0%).
| Fingal | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 78% | 0% |
| Residential | 0% | 59% |
| Parks and recreation | 6% | 33% |
| Other and special use | 11% | 0% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 5% | 8% |
| Planning zones cover 100% of Fingal and 99% of St Andrews Beach. 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
| Fingal | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 791 across Mornington Peninsula same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +9% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Fingal | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | — | 2.8% $850/wk on $1.56M |
| Units | — same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Fingal | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 95% of VIC | Higher than 88% of VIC |
| Income | Higher than 73% of VIC same for both | |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 50% of VIC | Higher than 82% of VIC |
| Affordability | Higher than 3% of VIC | Higher than 10% of VIC |
| EV adoption | Higher than 76% of VIC | Higher than 78% of VIC |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 73% of VIC | Higher than 88% of VIC |
| Rental yield (houses) | — | Higher than 8% of VIC |
Liveability
St Andrews Beach is more walkable (30 vs 0); St Andrews Beach scores higher overall (69 vs 62).
| Fingal | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | B | A |
| Score | 62/100 | 69/100 |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 9/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
Fingal carries more crime risk (42 vs 18); St Andrews Beach carries more flood risk (34 vs 16).
| Fingal | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Moderate 42/100 | Low 18/100 |
| Flood | Low 16/100 | Low 34/100 |
| Coastal erosion | Low 32/100 | Low 37/100 |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 2 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Fingal | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 same for both | |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Amenities in the suburb
| Fingal | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Cafes & restaurants | 0 | 1 |
| Parks & reserves | 2 same for both | |
| Childcare | 0 | 1 |
Mobility
St Andrews Beach sits further from the CBD (102.1 km vs 99.4 km).
| Fingal | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 | 30/100 |
| Distance to Melbourne | 99.4 km | 102.1 km +3% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 80 min | 84 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 1.0% postcode 3939 | 1.0% postcode 3941 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 31 postcode 3939 | 23 postcode 3941 |
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 (63.7%).
Setting
| Fingal | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 20 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 15 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 2.1 km 4.1 km to a named beach | 387 m 4.6 km to a named beach |
NBN connectivity
| Fingal | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 38/100 | 78/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless | Fibre to the premises |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 10% 420 premises | 60% 822 premises |
Climate
| Fingal | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 700 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Fingal | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,659/yr same for both | |
| Council | Mornington Peninsula same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Fingal | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Flinders same for both | |
| Member | Zoe Mckenzie same for both | |
| Party | Liberal same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Fingal | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Fingal
Other comparisons with St Andrews Beach
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.