Goughs Bay vs Howes Creek
Howes Creek is the younger of the two, with a median age of 46 against 57 in Goughs Bay. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Goughs Bay, most households are people living alone. In Howes Creek, most households are couple families. On these figures, Goughs Bay tends to suit people living alone and older residents, while Howes Creek suits families with children and couples.
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
Howes Creek
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is already more of a family suburb (58% vs 38%)
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
Howes Creek
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a bigger rental market to choose from (23% vs 10%)
- leaves renters under less rental stress (17% vs 30%)
- has cheaper rent ($238/wk vs $268/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Howes Creek
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (172 min vs 177 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (202.1 km vs 206 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Goughs Bay
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has more residents already 65 and over (31% vs 10%)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Goughs Bay
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (25.7% vs -4.3%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Goughs Bay and Howes Creek 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
Goughs Bay has more residents (328 vs 67); Howes Creek has higher household incomes ($71,500 vs $46,384).
| Goughs Bay | Howes Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 328 +80% vs other | 67 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +25.7% | -4.3% |
| Median age | 57 | 46 |
| Median household income | $46,384/yr | $71,500/yr +54% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $268/wk +11% vs other | $238/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (23.5%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
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 (4.9%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.4%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Goughs Bay | Howes Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $760,000 | — |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 207 days from 5 sales | — |
Zoning mix
Goughs Bay has more rural and farming land (96% vs 62%).
| Goughs Bay | Howes Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 96% | 62% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 0% | 34% |
| Parks and recreation | 1% | 4% |
| Residential | 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
| Goughs Bay | Howes Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 76 across Mansfield same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -50% same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Goughs Bay | Howes Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 6% of VIC | Higher than 35% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 50% of VIC | Higher than 32% of VIC |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 59% of VIC same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 66% of VIC | Higher than 59% of VIC |
Liveability
| Goughs Bay | Howes Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | mid-range socio-economic decile 4/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
Goughs Bay carries more bushfire risk (98 vs 41); Howes Creek carries more flood risk (92 vs 59).
| Goughs Bay | Howes Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | High 98/100 | Moderate 41/100 |
| Crime | Low 17/100 | Low 22/100 |
| Flood | Moderate 59/100 | High 92/100 |
| 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
| Goughs Bay | Howes Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| 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
| Goughs Bay | Howes Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 2 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 0 | 1 |
Mobility
Goughs Bay sits further from the CBD (206 km vs 202.1 km).
| Goughs Bay | Howes Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Melbourne | 206 km +2% vs other | 202.1 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 177 min | 172 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.6% postcode 3723 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 33 postcode 3723 same for both | |
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 (63.1%).
Setting
| Goughs Bay | Howes Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 415 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 284 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Goughs Bay | Howes Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 30/100 same for both | |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 306 premises | 0% 36 premises |
Climate
| Goughs Bay | Howes Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 810 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 29.3°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 4.1°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Goughs Bay | Howes Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,697/yr same for both | |
| Council | Mansfield same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Goughs Bay | Howes Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Indi same for both | |
| Member | Helen Haines same for both | |
| Party | Independent same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Goughs Bay | Howes Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Goughs Bay
Other comparisons with Howes Creek
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.