Howqua Inlet vs Piries
In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Howqua Inlet, the large majority of households are people living alone. In Piries, most households are couple families. On these figures, Howqua Inlet tends to suit people living alone, while Piries suits older residents.
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
Howqua Inlet
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (26/100 vs 42/100)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, and childcare.
First-home buyers
Piries
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (21% vs 39%)
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
They split
one each way, out of the 2 things we measure here
- Howqua Inlet has cheaper rent ($294/wk vs $396/wk)
- Piries leaves renters under less rental stress (22% vs 42%)
Weighs rent and rental stress.
Commuting to the city
Piries
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- sits closer to the CBD (205 km vs 214 km)
- has a shorter drive in (173 min vs 178 min)
- But Howqua Inlet is more walkable (8/100 vs 0/100)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Howqua Inlet
ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here
- is more walkable (8/100 vs 0/100)
- carries lower crime risk (26/100 vs 42/100)
- But Piries has more residents already 65 and over (29% vs 21%)
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
Howqua Inlet and Piries 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
Piries has higher household incomes ($94,224 vs $36,140); Piries rents higher ($396/wk vs $294/wk).
| Howqua Inlet | Piries | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 63 | 66 +5% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +12.5% | +13.8% |
| Median age | 54 | 56 |
| Median household income | $36,140/yr | $94,224/yr +161% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $294/wk | $396/wk +35% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.2%).
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 (20.6%).
Zoning mix
Howqua Inlet has more rural and farming land (88% vs 76%).
| Howqua Inlet | Piries | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 88% | 76% |
| Parks and recreation | 5% | 16% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 5% | 8% |
| Residential | 3% | 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
| Howqua Inlet | Piries | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 76 across Mansfield same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -50% same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Howqua Inlet | Piries | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 2% of VIC | Higher than 65% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 69% of VIC | Higher than 56% of VIC |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 59% of VIC | Higher than 60% of VIC |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 66% of VIC | Higher than 46% of VIC |
Liveability
Howqua Inlet is more walkable (8 vs 0).
| Howqua Inlet | Piries | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | advantaged area decile 7/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
Piries carries more flood risk (70 vs 39); Piries carries more crime risk (42 vs 26).
| Howqua Inlet | Piries | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | High 100/100 | High 98/100 |
| Crime | Low 26/100 | Moderate 42/100 |
| Flood | Low 39/100 | High 70/100 |
| 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
| Howqua Inlet | Piries | |
|---|---|---|
| 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
| Howqua Inlet | Piries | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 0 | 5 |
Mobility
Howqua Inlet sits further from the CBD (214 km vs 205 km).
| Howqua Inlet | Piries | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 8/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Melbourne | 214 km +4% vs other | 205 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 178 min | 173 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 (85.7%).
Setting
| Howqua Inlet | Piries | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 395 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 491 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Howqua Inlet | Piries | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 30/100 | 29/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 81 premises | 0% 39 premises |
Climate
| Howqua Inlet | Piries | |
|---|---|---|
| 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
| Howqua Inlet | Piries | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,697/yr same for both | |
| Council | Mansfield same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Howqua Inlet | Piries | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Indi same for both | |
| Member | Helen Haines same for both | |
| Party | Independent same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Howqua Inlet | Piries | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Howqua Inlet
Other comparisons with Piries
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.