Harrietville vs Hotham Heights
Hotham Heights is the younger of the two, with a median age of 30 against 45 in Harrietville. In Harrietville, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Hotham Heights, about half of households rent, the large majority of homes are flats or apartments, and most households are people living alone. On these figures, Hotham Heights tends to suit renters, young adults, and 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
Harrietville
ahead on 4 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more separate houses rather than flats (92% vs 0%)
- is already more of a family suburb (58% vs 20%)
- has more parks and reserves (5 vs 2)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Hotham Heights
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (9% vs 22%)
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Harrietville has cheaper rent ($290/wk vs $470/wk)
- Hotham Heights has a bigger rental market to choose from (48% vs 24%)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Harrietville
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- sits closer to the CBD (356.2 km vs 381.7 km)
- has a shorter drive in (284 min vs 292 min)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here
- Harrietville has more residents already 65 and over (15% vs 7%)
- Hotham Heights has more units and townhouses to downsize into (100% vs 8%)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Harrietville
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (44.4% vs -34.7%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Harrietville and Hotham Heights 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
Harrietville has more residents (488 vs 128); Hotham Heights rents higher ($470/wk vs $290/wk).
| Harrietville | Hotham Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 488 +74% vs other | 128 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +44.4% | -34.7% |
| Median age | 45 | 30 |
| Median household income | $84,500/yr | $109,564/yr +30% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $290/wk | $470/wk +62% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (32.0%).
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 (24.2%).
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 (4.1%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Harrietville | Hotham Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $800,000 | — |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
Zoning mix
| Harrietville | Hotham Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks and recreation | 93% | 95% |
| Rural and farming | 6% | 0% |
| Environmental | 0% | 3% |
| Other and special use | 0% | 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
| Harrietville | Hotham Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 32 across Alpine same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -42% same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Harrietville | Hotham Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 54% of VIC | Higher than 82% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 36% of VIC | Higher than 62% of VIC |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 79% of VIC same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 7% of VIC | Higher than 47% of VIC |
Liveability
| Harrietville | Hotham Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | advantaged area decile 7/10 | very advantaged area decile 9/10 |
Risk profile
| Harrietville | Hotham Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | High 97/100 | High 94/100 |
| Crime | Low 13/100 | Low 11/100 |
| Flood | None 0/100 same for both | |
| 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
| Harrietville | Hotham Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 1 | 0 |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Schools in Harrietville
- Harrietville Primary School Government · Primary above peers
Schools in Hotham Heights
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Harrietville | Hotham Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 0 | 1 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 3 | 6 |
| Parks & reserves | 5 | 2 |
| Childcare | 2 | 0 |
| GPs | 0 | 1 |
| Police stations | 0 | 1 |
| Fuel stations | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 233 | 220 |
Mobility
Hotham Heights sits further from the CBD (381.7 km vs 356.2 km).
| Harrietville | Hotham Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Melbourne | 356.2 km | 381.7 km +7% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 284 min | 292 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 1.1% postcode 3741 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 45 postcode 3741 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 (56.2%).
Setting
| Harrietville | Hotham Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 617 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 1,382 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Harrietville | Hotham Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 15/100 | 29/100 |
| Most common technology | Satellite (Sky Muster) | Fixed wireless |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 35 premises | 0% 46 premises |
Climate
| Harrietville | Hotham Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,604 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 16.0°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | -3.3°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Harrietville | Hotham Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,945/yr same for both | |
| Council | Alpine same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Harrietville | Hotham Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Indi same for both | |
| Member | Helen Haines same for both | |
| Party | Independent same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Harrietville | Hotham Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Harrietville
Other comparisons with Hotham Heights
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.