Forrest vs Kawarren
In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Kawarren, about half of households are people living alone.
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
Forrest
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (33/100 vs 69/100)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Too close to call
Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
Kawarren
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has cheaper rent ($165/wk vs $290/wk)
- leaves renters under less rental stress (15% vs 27%)
- But Forrest has a bigger rental market to choose from (15% vs 4%)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Forrest
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (13/100 vs 0/100)
- sits closer to the CBD (160.3 km vs 173.4 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Forrest
ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here
- is more walkable (13/100 vs 0/100)
- carries lower crime risk (33/100 vs 69/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Too close to call
Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Forrest and Kawarren 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
Forrest rents higher ($290/wk vs $165/wk); Forrest has more residents (257 vs 189).
| Forrest | Kawarren | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 257 +26% vs other | 189 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +11.7% | +13.9% |
| Median age | 52 | 54 |
| Median household income | $56,732/yr +2% vs other | $55,692/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $290/wk +43% vs other | $165/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (24.9%).
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 (7.8%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.4%).
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Forrest | Kawarren | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $502,500 | — |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
Zoning mix
| Forrest | Kawarren | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 58% | 51% |
| Parks and recreation | 35% | 48% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 6% | 1% |
| Residential | 1% | 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
| Forrest | Kawarren | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 226 across Colac Otway same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +64% same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Forrest | Kawarren | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 15% of VIC | Higher than 14% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 76% of VIC | Higher than 13% of VIC |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 88% of VIC | Higher than 4% of VIC |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 66% of VIC | Higher than 33% of VIC |
Liveability
Forrest is more walkable (13 vs 0).
| Forrest | Kawarren | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | mid-range socio-economic decile 6/10 | mid-range socio-economic decile 4/10 |
Risk profile
Forrest carries more flood risk (56 vs 13); Kawarren carries more crime risk (69 vs 33).
| Forrest | Kawarren | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | High 92/100 | High 90/100 |
| Crime | Low 33/100 | Moderate 69/100 |
| Flood | Moderate 56/100 | Low 13/100 |
| 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
| Forrest | Kawarren | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 1 | 0 |
Schools in Forrest
- Forrest Primary School Government · Primary below peers
Schools in Kawarren
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Forrest | Kawarren | |
|---|---|---|
| Cafes & restaurants | 1 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 3 same for both | |
| Childcare | 1 | 0 |
| GPs | 1 | 0 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 1 | 8 |
Mobility
Kawarren sits further from the CBD (173.4 km vs 160.3 km).
| Forrest | Kawarren | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 13/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Melbourne | 160.3 km | 173.4 km +8% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 131 min | 135 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 1.5% postcode 3236 | 0.1% postcode 3249 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 51 postcode 3236 | 39 postcode 3249 |
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 (62.5%).
Setting
| Forrest | Kawarren | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 232 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 178 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 21.4 km | 26.5 km |
NBN connectivity
| Forrest | Kawarren | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 30/100 | 28/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 201 premises | 0% 111 premises |
Climate
| Forrest | Kawarren | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 607 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Forrest | Kawarren | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $2,023/yr same for both | |
| Council | Colac Otway same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Forrest | Kawarren | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Wannon same for both | |
| Member | Dan Tehan same for both | |
| Party | Liberal same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Forrest | Kawarren | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Forrest
Other comparisons with Kawarren
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.