Flemington vs North Melbourne
North Melbourne is the younger of the two, with a median age of 31 against 34 in Flemington. In both, most households rent, most homes are flats or apartments, and about half of households are people living alone. Units cost more in North Melbourne: a median of $485,000, against $432,000 in Flemington, and rent is higher there too. North Melbourne is closer to the city centre: 3.3 km, against 5.9 km. On these figures, North Melbourne tends to suit young adults and 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
They split
one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here
- Flemington has more separate houses rather than flats (22% vs 4%)
- North Melbourne has more schools inside the suburb (9 vs 4)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Flemington
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper units ($432,500 vs $485,000)
Weighs house prices, unit prices, and mortgage stress.
Renters
Flemington
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($300/wk vs $381/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
North Melbourne
ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (9 min vs 18 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (3.3 km vs 5.9 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, rail access, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
North Melbourne
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has more units and townhouses to downsize into (96% vs 78%)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Flemington returns a higher gross yield on units (7.7% vs 6.4%)
- North Melbourne is growing faster (0.1% vs -9.0%)
Weighs house yield, unit yield, and population growth.
Where they sit
Flemington and North Melbourne 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
North Melbourne has more residents (14,953 vs 7,025); North Melbourne rents higher ($381/wk vs $300/wk).
| Flemington | North Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 7,025 | 14,953 +113% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | -9.0% | +0.1% |
| Median age | 34 | 31 |
| Median household income | $79,300/yr | $89,284/yr +13% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $300/wk | $381/wk +27% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (28.6%).
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 (26.4%).
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 (7.7%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Flemington | North Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,125,000 | $1,225,000 |
| Median unit price | $432,500 | $485,000 |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 22 days from 57 sales | 25 days from 63 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.
59 vs 45 sales
50 vs 37 sales
11 vs 13 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.
67 vs 116 sales
57 vs 139 sales
10 vs 21 sales
Zoning mix
North Melbourne has more commercially zoned land (17% vs 2%).
| Flemington | North Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| Other and special use | 54% | 15% |
| Residential | 30% | 48% |
| Commercial | 2% | 17% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 8% | 14% |
| Parks and recreation | 6% | 4% |
| Industrial | 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
| Flemington | North Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 4,715 across Melbourne same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +195% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Flemington | North Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 3.8% $762/wk on $1.05M | 3.8% $850/wk on $1.18M |
| Units | 7.7% $680/wk on $460K | 6.4% $650/wk on $530K |
Ranking within VIC
| Flemington | North Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 75% of VIC | Higher than 80% of VIC |
| Income | Higher than 46% of VIC | Higher than 59% of VIC |
| Schools | Higher than 53% of VIC | Higher than 36% of VIC |
| Walkability | Higher than 99% of VIC | Higher than 100% of VIC |
| Affordability | Higher than 12% of VIC | Higher than 14% of VIC |
| EV adoption | Higher than 91% of VIC | Higher than 92% of VIC |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 89% of VIC | Higher than 91% of VIC |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 52% of VIC | Higher than 51% of VIC |
| Rental yield (units) | Higher than 100% of VIC | Higher than 95% of VIC |
Liveability
North Melbourne scores higher overall (58 vs 51).
| Flemington | North Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | B same for both | |
| Score | 51/100 | 58/100 |
| Socio-economic band | mid-range socio-economic decile 5/10 | very advantaged area decile 9/10 |
Risk profile
Flemington carries more flood risk (87 vs 76).
| Flemington | North Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | High 93/100 | High 90/100 |
| Flood | High 87/100 | High 76/100 |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 29 within 5 km | 33 within 5 km |
Schools
| Flemington | North Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 4 | 9 |
| Rated above peers | 1 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 1 | 3 |
| Rated below peers | 1 | 0 |
| Universities within 10 km | 3 Victoria University Footscray Park, 2.3 km | 3 The University of Melbourne, 1.4 km |
| Full-time students aged 15–24 | 2.7% | 8.3% |
Schools in Flemington
- St Brendan's School Catholic · Primary above peers
- Mount Alexander 7-12 College Government · Secondary at peers
- Debney Meadows Primary School Government · Primary below peers
- SEDA College (Victoria) - Flemington HUB Independent · Secondary
Schools in North Melbourne
- Saints College - North Melbourne Campus Catholic · Secondary · Special school above peers
- North Melbourne Primary School Government · Primary at peers
- St Aloysius College Catholic · Secondary at peers
- St Michael's Primary School Catholic · Primary at peers
- Mount Alexander 7-12 College-River Nile Campus Government · Secondary
- North Melbourne Primary School - Molesworth Street Campus Government · Primary
Amenities in the suburb
| Flemington | North Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 4 | 6 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 17 | 56 |
| Parks & reserves | 8 | 10 |
| Childcare | 8 | 10 |
| GPs | 6 | 5 |
| Pharmacies | 3 | 5 |
| Police stations | 1 same for both | |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 1 | 2 |
| Fuel stations | 1 | 5 |
| Waterways | 2 | 1 |
Mobility
Flemington sits further from the CBD (5.9 km vs 3.3 km).
| Flemington | North Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 99/100 | 100/100 |
| Distance to Melbourne | 5.9 km +44% vs other | 3.3 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 18 min | 9 min |
| Public transport score | 97/100 Rail · Tram · Bus | 96/100 Rail · Tram · Bus |
| Peak arrivals per hour | 142.5 7-9am + 5-7pm | 415.0 7-9am + 5-7pm |
| Median peak wait | 0 min scheduled, not actual same for both | |
| Electric vehicle share | 1.7% postcode 3031 | 1.7% postcode 3051 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 11 postcode 3031 | 4 postcode 3051 |
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 (47.0%).
Setting
| Flemington | North Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 12 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 18 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 5.9 km | 4.9 km |
NBN connectivity
| Flemington | North Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 79/100 | 81/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the curb | Fibre to the building |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 22% 4,227 premises | 34% 10,965 premises |
Climate
| Flemington | North Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| 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)
| Flemington | North Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | — | 7.9 µg/m³ |
| PM10 | 18.9 µg/m³ | — |
| NO₂ | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Flemington | North Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $2,345/yr same for both | |
| Council | Melbourne same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Flemington | North Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Maribyrnong | Melbourne |
| Member | Jo Briskey | Sarah Witty |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Flemington | North Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Flemington
North Melbourne
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Flemington
Other comparisons with North Melbourne
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.