Heywood vs Gorae
Gorae is the younger of the two, with a median age of 40 against 48 in Heywood. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Heywood, about half of households are people living alone. In Gorae, most households are couple families. On these figures, Heywood tends to suit people living alone and older residents, while Gorae suits 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
They split
one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here
- Heywood has more parks and reserves (11 vs 2)
- Gorae carries lower crime risk (13/100 vs 78/100)
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
Heywood
ahead on 2 of the 2 things we measure here
- has cheaper rent ($180/wk vs $460/wk)
- leaves renters under less rental stress (17% vs 24%)
Weighs rent and rental stress.
Commuting to the city
Heywood
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (248 min vs 264 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (332.2 km vs 350.5 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Heywood
ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here
- has more GPs (2 vs 0)
- has more residents already 65 and over (26% vs 11%)
- But Gorae carries lower crime risk (13/100 vs 78/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Gorae
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (25.5% vs 5.2%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Heywood and Gorae 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
Heywood has more residents (1,815 vs 236); Gorae rents higher ($460/wk vs $180/wk).
| Heywood | Gorae | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,815 +87% vs other | 236 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +5.2% | +25.5% |
| Median age | 48 | 40 |
| Median household income | $56,004/yr | $97,500/yr +74% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $180/wk | $460/wk +156% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.6%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 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 (19.5%).
Property market
| Heywood | Gorae | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $360,000 | — |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | $151,500 | — |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 67 days from 17 sales | — |
Zoning mix
Heywood has more rural and farming land (75% vs 30%).
| Heywood | Gorae | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 75% | 30% |
| Parks and recreation | 21% | 70% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 2% | 0% |
| Other and special use | 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
| Heywood | Gorae | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 60 across Glenelg same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -65% same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Heywood | Gorae | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 4% of VIC | — |
| Income | Higher than 14% of VIC | Higher than 69% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 65% of VIC | Higher than 37% of VIC |
| Affordability | Higher than 93% of VIC | — |
| EV adoption | — | Higher than 6% of VIC |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 73% of VIC | Higher than 31% of VIC |
Liveability
| Heywood | Gorae | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | D | — |
| Score | 8/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | high-need area decile 1/10 | mid-range socio-economic decile 5/10 |
Risk profile
Heywood carries more flood risk (47 vs 0); Heywood carries more crime risk (78 vs 13).
| Heywood | Gorae | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | High 83/100 | High 91/100 |
| Crime | High 78/100 | Low 13/100 |
| Flood | Moderate 47/100 | None 0/100 |
| 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
| Heywood | Gorae | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 2 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 1 | 0 |
| Rated below peers | 1 | 0 |
Schools in Heywood
- Heywood Consolidated School Government · Primary at peers
- Heywood District Secondary College Government · Secondary below peers
Schools in Gorae
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Heywood | Gorae | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 1 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 11 | 2 |
| Childcare | 2 | 0 |
| GPs | 2 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 1 | 0 |
| Hospitals | 1 | 0 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 2 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 18 | 9 |
Mobility
Gorae sits further from the CBD (350.5 km vs 332.2 km).
| Heywood | Gorae | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 4/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Melbourne | 332.2 km | 350.5 km +6% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 248 min | 264 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.0% postcode 3304 | 0.2% postcode 3305 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 38 postcode 3304 | 33 postcode 3305 |
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 (79.1%).
Setting
| Heywood | Gorae | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 27 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 70 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 14.8 km | 9.2 km |
NBN connectivity
| Heywood | Gorae | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 50/100 | 27/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 24% 962 premises | 0% 82 premises |
Climate
| Heywood | Gorae | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 661 mm | 860 mm |
| Summer max (Jan) | — | 22.2°C |
| Winter min (Jul) | — | 6.6°C |
Council rates
| Heywood | Gorae | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,852/yr same for both | |
| Council | Glenelg same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Heywood | Gorae | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Wannon same for both | |
| Member | Dan Tehan same for both | |
| Party | Liberal same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Heywood | Gorae | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Heywood
Gorae
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Heywood
Other comparisons with Gorae
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.