Gembrook vs Powelltown

Gembrook is the younger of the two, with a median age of 41 against 47 in Powelltown. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Gembrook, most households are couple families. On these figures, Gembrook tends to suit families with children and couples, while Powelltown suits 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

Gembrook

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more parks and reserves (18 vs 2)
  • has more childcare (3 vs 0)
  • is already more of a family suburb (71% vs 57%)
  • But Powelltown carries lower crime risk (43/100 vs 87/100)

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

They split

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

  • Gembrook leaves renters under less rental stress (18% vs 27%)
  • Powelltown has cheaper rent ($300/wk vs $360/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Gembrook

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • sits closer to the CBD (77.9 km vs 87.7 km)
  • has a shorter drive in (91 min vs 96 min)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Powelltown

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • carries lower crime risk (43/100 vs 87/100)

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

Investors

Gembrook

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (8.9% vs -1.4%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Gembrook Powelltown
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.

Gembrook Powelltown
Walkability 0 / 0
Gembrook — Walkability: 0/100 Powelltown — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 13 / 57
Gembrook — Safety: 13/100 Powelltown — Safety: 57/100
Low fire risk 5 / 2
Gembrook — Low fire risk: 5/100 Powelltown — Low fire risk: 2/100
Low flood risk 64 / 81
Gembrook — Low flood risk: 64/100 Powelltown — Low flood risk: 81/100

Demographics

Gembrook has more residents (2,559 vs 214); Gembrook has higher household incomes ($104,104 vs $58,500).

Gembrook Powelltown
Population 2,559
+92% vs other
 214
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +8.9% -1.4%
Median age 41 47
Median household income $104,104/yr
+44% vs other
 $58,500/yr
Median weekly rent $360/wk
+17% vs other
 $300/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Gembrook Powelltown
0-4 5.3% / —
Gembrook — 0-4: 5.3% Powelltown — 0-4: not among its largest
5-14 15.1% / 10.3%
Gembrook — 5-14: 15.1% Powelltown — 5-14: 10.3%
15-19 6.3% / 10.7%
Gembrook — 15-19: 6.3% Powelltown — 15-19: 10.7%
20-24 5.8% / 8.9%
Gembrook — 20-24: 5.8% Powelltown — 20-24: 8.9%
25-34 10.4% / 7.9%
Gembrook — 25-34: 10.4% Powelltown — 25-34: 7.9%
35-44 11.5% / 8.9%
Gembrook — 35-44: 11.5% Powelltown — 35-44: 8.9%
45-54 15.0% / 19.6%
Gembrook — 45-54: 15.0% Powelltown — 45-54: 19.6%
55-64 15.0% / 13.1%
Gembrook — 55-64: 15.0% Powelltown — 55-64: 13.1%
65-74 9.8% / 10.3%
Gembrook — 65-74: 9.8% Powelltown — 65-74: 10.3%
75-84 4.9% / 6.5%
Gembrook — 75-84: 4.9% Powelltown — 75-84: 6.5%
85+ 1.1% / 1.9%
Gembrook — 85+: 1.1% Powelltown — 85+: 1.9%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.6%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Gembrook 58.2% couple families
Gembrook — Couple Families: 58.2% Gembrook — Lone Person: 25.6% Gembrook — One Parent Families: 12.6% Gembrook — Group Household: 2.4% Gembrook — Other Families: 1.2%
Powelltown 39.2% couple families
Powelltown — Couple Families: 39.2% Powelltown — Lone Person: 43.1% Powelltown — One Parent Families: 17.6% Powelltown — Group Household: 0.0% Powelltown — Other Families: 0.0%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Gembrook 12.4% renting
Gembrook — Owned Outright: 33.6% Gembrook — Mortgage: 54.1% Gembrook — Renting: 12.4%
Powelltown 15.9% renting
Powelltown — Owned Outright: 33.3% Powelltown — Mortgage: 50.7% Powelltown — Renting: 15.9%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

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.

Gembrook Powelltown
England 4.6% / 6.5%
Gembrook — England: 4.6% Powelltown — England: 6.5%
Germany 0.7% / 2.3%
Gembrook — Germany: 0.7% Powelltown — Germany: 2.3%
New Zealand 1.1% / —
Gembrook — New Zealand: 1.1% Powelltown — New Zealand: not among its largest
South Africa 0.5% / —
Gembrook — South Africa: 0.5% Powelltown — South Africa: not among its largest
Italy 0.5% / —
Gembrook — Italy: 0.5% Powelltown — Italy: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (6.5%).

Qualifications

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

Gembrook Powelltown
Certificate III & IV 17.0% / 17.8%
Gembrook — Certificate III & IV: 17.0% Powelltown — Certificate III & IV: 17.8%
Bachelor Degree 10.3% / 4.2%
Gembrook — Bachelor Degree: 10.3% Powelltown — Bachelor Degree: 4.2%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.6% / 3.7%
Gembrook — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.6% Powelltown — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 3.7%
Postgraduate Degree 2.6% / —
Gembrook — Postgraduate Degree: 2.6% Powelltown — Postgraduate Degree: not among its largest
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.6% / —
Gembrook — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.6% Powelltown — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.8%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Gembrook 97.5% houses
Gembrook — Houses: 97.5% Gembrook — Flats / Apartments: 2.5%
Powelltown 100.0% houses
Powelltown — Houses: 100.0% Powelltown — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Houses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Gembrook Powelltown
Median house price $930,000 —
Median unit price $570,000 —
Median land price $1,160,000 —
Typical days to sell (houses) 30 days
from 28 sales
 —

Zoning mix

Gembrook has more land zoned for conservation (18% vs 1%); Gembrook has more rural and farming land (13% vs 1%).

Gembrook Powelltown
Parks and recreation 68% 98%
Environmental 18% 1%
Rural and farming 13% 1%
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

Gembrook Powelltown
New dwellings approved 1,323
across Cardinia
 416
across Yarra Ranges
Approvals change year on year +13% -57%

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.

Gembrook Powelltown
Houses 3.3%
$650/wk on $1.04M
 —
Units —
same for both

Ranking within VIC

Gembrook Powelltown
House price Higher than 70% of VIC —
Income Higher than 76% of VIC Higher than 18% of VIC
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 14% of VIC Higher than 42% of VIC
Affordability Higher than 44% of VIC —
EV adoption Higher than 41% of VIC
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 74% of VIC Higher than 8% of VIC
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 26% of VIC —

Liveability

Gembrook Powelltown
Grade D —
Score 28/100 —
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 7/10
 high-need area
decile 1/10

Risk profile

Gembrook carries more crime risk (87 vs 43); Gembrook carries more flood risk (36 vs 19).

Gembrook Powelltown
Bushfire High
95/100
 High
98/100
Crime High
87/100
 Moderate
43/100
Flood Low
36/100
 Low
19/100
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

Gembrook Powelltown
Inside the suburb 1 0
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 1 0
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Gembrook

  • Gembrook Primary School Government · Primary at peers

Schools in Powelltown

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

Amenities in the suburb

Gembrook Powelltown
Supermarkets 1 0
Cafes & restaurants 4 0
Parks & reserves 18 2
Childcare 3 0
Banks & Bank@Post 1
same for both
Fuel stations 1 0
Waterways 436 174

Mobility

Powelltown sits further from the CBD (87.7 km vs 77.9 km).

Gembrook Powelltown
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Melbourne 77.9 km 87.7 km
+13% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 91 min 96 min
Electric vehicle share 0.4%
postcode 3783
 0.4%
postcode 3797
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 48
postcode 3783
 41
postcode 3797

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.

Gembrook Powelltown
Car (driver) 70.1% / 55.6%
Gembrook — Car (driver): 70.1% Powelltown — Car (driver): 55.6%
Worked from Home 24.6% / 18.5%
Gembrook — Worked from Home: 24.6% Powelltown — Worked from Home: 18.5%
Walked Only 1.9% / 18.5%
Gembrook — Walked Only: 1.9% Powelltown — Walked Only: 18.5%
Car (passenger) 2.5% / 7.4%
Gembrook — Car (passenger): 2.5% Powelltown — Car (passenger): 7.4%
Train 0.7% / —
Gembrook — Train: 0.7% Powelltown — Train: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (70.1%).

Setting

Gembrook Powelltown
Elevation 154 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 347 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 34.6 km 48.5 km

NBN connectivity

Gembrook Powelltown
Connectivity score 58/100 15/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node Satellite (Sky Muster)
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 35%
896 premises
 0%
26 premises

Climate

Gembrook Powelltown
Annual rainfall 1,350 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Council rates

Gembrook Powelltown
Average residential rate $1,880/yr $2,161/yr
Council Cardinia Yarra Ranges

Federal electorate

Gembrook Powelltown
Division La Trobe Casey
Member Jason Wood Aaron Violi
Party Liberal
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Gembrook Powelltown
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Gembrook

River Rural

Powelltown

River Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Gembrook

Gembrook vs Cockatoo Gembrook vs Pakenham Upper Gembrook vs Nar Nar Goon North Gembrook vs Yellingbo Gembrook vs Tynong North Gembrook vs Labertouche

Other comparisons with Powelltown

Powelltown vs Warburton Powelltown vs East Warburton Powelltown vs Three Bridges Powelltown vs Gilderoy
Full data on Gembrook Full data on Powelltown
Unlock full address-level data — $29/month

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.

Save this page for later

We'll email you a link to this page so you can finish reading it on any device. We use your address once to send it and don't keep it.

or