Forge Creek vs Raymond Island

Forge Creek is the younger of the two, with a median age of 45 against 68 in Raymond Island. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Forge Creek, most households are couple families. In Raymond Island, most households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Forge Creek: a median of $840,000, against $535,000 in Raymond Island, though rent is higher in Raymond Island. On these figures, Forge Creek tends to suit couples, while Raymond Island suits people living alone, older residents, 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

They split

one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here

  • Forge Creek is already more of a family suburb (76% vs 25%)
  • Raymond Island carries lower crime risk (16/100 vs 27/100)

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

First-home buyers

They split

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

  • Forge Creek leaves households under less mortgage stress (19% vs 24%)
  • Raymond Island has cheaper houses ($535,000 vs $840,000)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Forge Creek

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • leaves renters under less rental stress (12% vs 30%)
  • has cheaper rent ($220/wk vs $280/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Forge Creek

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a shorter drive in (210 min vs 238 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (288.5 km vs 297.9 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Raymond Island

ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here

  • has more residents already 65 and over (59% vs 20%)
  • carries lower crime risk (16/100 vs 27/100)

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

Investors

Forge Creek

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (25.4% vs 7.5%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Forge Creek Raymond Island
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.

Forge Creek Raymond Island
Walkability 0 / 0
Forge Creek — Walkability: 0/100 Raymond Island — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 73 / 84
Forge Creek — Safety: 73/100 Raymond Island — Safety: 84/100
Low fire risk 43 / 72
Forge Creek — Low fire risk: 43/100 Raymond Island — Low fire risk: 72/100
Low flood risk 26 / 3
Forge Creek — Low flood risk: 26/100 Raymond Island — Low flood risk: 3/100

Demographics

Forge Creek has higher household incomes ($96,876 vs $47,892); Raymond Island has more residents (589 vs 346).

Forge Creek Raymond Island
Population 346 589
+70% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +25.4% +7.5%
Median age 45 68
Median household income $96,876/yr
+51% vs other
 $47,892/yr
Median weekly rent $220/wk $280/wk
+27% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Forge Creek Raymond Island
0-4 3.5% / 0.8%
Forge Creek — 0-4: 3.5% Raymond Island — 0-4: 0.8%
5-14 10.1% / 3.6%
Forge Creek — 5-14: 10.1% Raymond Island — 5-14: 3.6%
15-19 12.1% / 2.4%
Forge Creek — 15-19: 12.1% Raymond Island — 15-19: 2.4%
20-24 4.0% / 1.5%
Forge Creek — 20-24: 4.0% Raymond Island — 20-24: 1.5%
25-34 8.4% / 3.6%
Forge Creek — 25-34: 8.4% Raymond Island — 25-34: 3.6%
35-44 9.5% / 3.6%
Forge Creek — 35-44: 9.5% Raymond Island — 35-44: 3.6%
45-54 14.7% / 7.5%
Forge Creek — 45-54: 14.7% Raymond Island — 45-54: 7.5%
55-64 15.9% / 17.3%
Forge Creek — 55-64: 15.9% Raymond Island — 55-64: 17.3%
65-74 12.4% / 35.0%
Forge Creek — 65-74: 12.4% Raymond Island — 65-74: 35.0%
75-84 6.4% / 19.7%
Forge Creek — 75-84: 6.4% Raymond Island — 75-84: 19.7%
85+ 0.9% / 4.6%
Forge Creek — 85+: 0.9% Raymond Island — 85+: 4.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (35.0%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Forge Creek 23.5% lone person
Forge Creek — Lone Person: 23.5% Forge Creek — Couple Families: 68.6% Forge Creek — One Parent Families: 7.8% Forge Creek — Other Families: 0.0%
Raymond Island 72.5% lone person
Raymond Island — Lone Person: 72.5% Raymond Island — Couple Families: 17.4% Raymond Island — One Parent Families: 7.4% Raymond Island — Other Families: 2.7%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Forge Creek 8.2% renting
Forge Creek — Owned Outright: 48.0% Forge Creek — Mortgage: 43.9% Forge Creek — Renting: 8.2%
Raymond Island 7.7% renting
Raymond Island — Owned Outright: 74.8% Raymond Island — Mortgage: 17.5% Raymond Island — Renting: 7.7%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Forge Creek Raymond Island
Certificate III & IV 15.6% / 20.5%
Forge Creek — Certificate III & IV: 15.6% Raymond Island — Certificate III & IV: 20.5%
Bachelor Degree 11.0% / 9.8%
Forge Creek — Bachelor Degree: 11.0% Raymond Island — Bachelor Degree: 9.8%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 6.9% / 13.1%
Forge Creek — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.9% Raymond Island — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 13.1%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 4.6% / 3.6%
Forge Creek — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 4.6% Raymond Island — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 3.6%
Postgraduate Degree 4.6% / 3.2%
Forge Creek — Postgraduate Degree: 4.6% Raymond Island — Postgraduate Degree: 3.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.5%).

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.

Forge Creek Raymond Island
England 2.0% / 7.5%
Forge Creek — England: 2.0% Raymond Island — England: 7.5%
New Zealand 1.4% / 2.0%
Forge Creek — New Zealand: 1.4% Raymond Island — New Zealand: 2.0%
India 0.9% / 1.0%
Forge Creek — India: 0.9% Raymond Island — India: 1.0%
Germany — / 1.7%
Forge Creek — Germany: not among its largest Raymond Island — Germany: 1.7%
Ireland 0.9% / 0.7%
Forge Creek — Ireland: 0.9% Raymond Island — Ireland: 0.7%
Netherlands — / 1.5%
Forge Creek — Netherlands: not among its largest Raymond Island — Netherlands: 1.5%
Italy 0.9% / —
Forge Creek — Italy: 0.9% Raymond Island — Italy: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (7.5%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Forge Creek 100.0% houses
Forge Creek — Houses: 100.0%
Raymond Island 100.3% houses
Raymond Island — Houses: 100.3%
Houses

Property market

Forge Creek Raymond Island
Median house price $840,000 $535,000
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price — $580,000
Typical days to sell (houses) 23 days
from 3 sales
 71 days
from 9 sales

Zoning mix

Forge Creek has more rural and farming land (74% vs 18%).

Forge Creek Raymond Island
Parks and recreation 22% 79%
Rural and farming 74% 18%
Residential 0% 4%
Infrastructure and transport 2% 0%
Environmental 2% 0%
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

Forge Creek Raymond Island
New dwellings approved 386
across East Gippsland
same for both
Approvals change year on year +50%
same for both

Ranking within VIC

Forge Creek Raymond Island
House price — Higher than 17% of VIC
Income Higher than 67% of VIC Higher than 8% of VIC
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 56% of VIC Higher than 11% of VIC
Affordability — Higher than 32% of VIC
EV adoption Higher than 48% of VIC Higher than 35% of VIC
NBN connectivity Higher than 46% of VIC Higher than 81% of VIC

Liveability

Forge Creek Raymond Island
Grade — D
Score — 25/100
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 5/10
 below-average income
decile 3/10

Risk profile

Forge Creek carries more bushfire risk (57 vs 28); Forge Creek carries more crime risk (27 vs 16).

Forge Creek Raymond Island
Bushfire Moderate
57/100
 Low
28/100
Crime Low
27/100
 Low
16/100
Flood High
74/100
 High
97/100
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 1
within 5 km
 0
within 5 km

Schools

Forge Creek Raymond Island
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

Forge Creek Raymond Island
Parks & reserves 2 1
Beaches 4 0
Waterways 1 0

Mobility

Raymond Island sits further from the CBD (297.9 km vs 288.5 km).

Forge Creek Raymond Island
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Melbourne 288.5 km 297.9 km
+3% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 210 min 238 min
Electric vehicle share 0.5%
postcode 3875
 0.4%
postcode 3880
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 47
postcode 3875
 45
postcode 3880

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.

Forge Creek Raymond Island
Car (driver) 67.5% / 45.1%
Forge Creek — Car (driver): 67.5% Raymond Island — Car (driver): 45.1%
Worked from Home 11.5% / 37.4%
Forge Creek — Worked from Home: 11.5% Raymond Island — Worked from Home: 37.4%
Car (passenger) 10.2% / 7.7%
Forge Creek — Car (passenger): 10.2% Raymond Island — Car (passenger): 7.7%
Walked Only 7.0% / 9.9%
Forge Creek — Walked Only: 7.0% Raymond Island — Walked Only: 9.9%
Bus 3.8% / —
Forge Creek — Bus: 3.8% Raymond Island — Bus: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (67.5%).

Setting

Forge Creek Raymond Island
Elevation 31 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 0 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 9.9 km
3.9 km to a named beach
 5.1 km

NBN connectivity

Forge Creek Raymond Island
Connectivity score 29/100 72/100
Most common technology Fixed wireless Fibre to the premises
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
153 premises
 52%
545 premises

Climate

Forge Creek Raymond Island
Annual rainfall 620 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 25.5°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 4.5°C
same for both

Council rates

Forge Creek Raymond Island
Average residential rate $1,807/yr
same for both
Council East Gippsland
same for both

Federal electorate

Forge Creek Raymond Island
Division Gippsland
same for both
Member Darren Chester
same for both
Party The Nationals
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Forge Creek Raymond Island
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Forge Creek

Rural

Raymond Island

Acreage Affordable Retirees

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Forge Creek

Forge Creek vs Bairnsdale Forge Creek vs Eagle Point Forge Creek vs Loch Sport Forge Creek vs Newlands Arm Forge Creek vs Goon Nure

Other comparisons with Raymond Island

Raymond Island vs Paynesville Raymond Island vs Metung Raymond Island vs Eagle Point Raymond Island vs Loch Sport Raymond Island vs Newlands Arm
Full data on Forge Creek Full data on Raymond Island
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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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