Illawarra vs Deep Lead

Illawarra is the younger of the two, with a median age of 42 against 49 in Deep Lead. In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and about half of households are people living alone. On these figures, Illawarra tends to suit 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

Deep Lead

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has more parks and reserves (14 vs 2)

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

Illawarra

ahead on 2 of the 2 things we measure here

  • leaves renters under less rental stress (17% vs 34%)
  • has cheaper rent ($300/wk vs $450/wk)

Weighs rent and rental stress.

Commuting to the city

Illawarra

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • sits closer to the CBD (241 km vs 243.3 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Deep Lead

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has more residents already 65 and over (28% vs 21%)

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

Investors

Deep Lead

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (2.9% vs -2.4%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Illawarra Deep Lead
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.

Illawarra Deep Lead
Walkability 10 / 10
Illawarra — Walkability: 10/100 Deep Lead — Walkability: 10/100
Safety 10 / 11
Illawarra — Safety: 10/100 Deep Lead — Safety: 11/100
Low fire risk 31 / 42
Illawarra — Low fire risk: 31/100 Deep Lead — Low fire risk: 42/100
Low flood risk 12 / 43
Illawarra — Low flood risk: 12/100 Deep Lead — Low flood risk: 43/100

Demographics

Deep Lead has more residents (210 vs 80); Deep Lead rents higher ($450/wk vs $300/wk).

Illawarra Deep Lead
Population 80 210
+162% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) -2.4% +2.9%
Median age 42 49
Median household income $93,132/yr
+26% vs other
 $68,588/yr
Median weekly rent $300/wk $450/wk
+50% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Illawarra Deep Lead
0-4 5.0% / 4.8%
Illawarra — 0-4: 5.0% Deep Lead — 0-4: 4.8%
5-14 11.2% / 12.9%
Illawarra — 5-14: 11.2% Deep Lead — 5-14: 12.9%
15-19 3.8% / 2.9%
Illawarra — 15-19: 3.8% Deep Lead — 15-19: 2.9%
20-24 5.0% / 3.8%
Illawarra — 20-24: 5.0% Deep Lead — 20-24: 3.8%
25-34 16.2% / 4.8%
Illawarra — 25-34: 16.2% Deep Lead — 25-34: 4.8%
35-44 18.8% / 14.8%
Illawarra — 35-44: 18.8% Deep Lead — 35-44: 14.8%
45-54 15.0% / 16.2%
Illawarra — 45-54: 15.0% Deep Lead — 45-54: 16.2%
55-64 12.5% / 13.8%
Illawarra — 55-64: 12.5% Deep Lead — 55-64: 13.8%
65-74 15.0% / 18.1%
Illawarra — 65-74: 15.0% Deep Lead — 65-74: 18.1%
75-84 6.2% / 6.7%
Illawarra — 75-84: 6.2% Deep Lead — 75-84: 6.7%
85+ — / 3.3%
Illawarra — 85+: not among its largest Deep Lead — 85+: 3.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.8%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Illawarra 50.0% lone person
Illawarra — Lone Person: 50.0% Illawarra — Couple Families: 50.0% Illawarra — One Parent Families: 0.0%
Deep Lead 46.9% lone person
Deep Lead — Lone Person: 46.9% Deep Lead — Couple Families: 36.7% Deep Lead — One Parent Families: 16.3%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Illawarra 0.0% renting
Illawarra — Owned Outright: 41.4% Illawarra — Mortgage: 58.6% Illawarra — Renting: 0.0%
Deep Lead 0.0% renting
Deep Lead — Owned Outright: 56.8% Deep Lead — Mortgage: 43.2% Deep Lead — Renting: 0.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Illawarra 100.0% houses
Illawarra — Houses: 100.0%
Deep Lead 100.0% houses
Deep Lead — Houses: 100.0%
Houses

Qualifications

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

Illawarra Deep Lead
Certificate III & IV 12.5% / 17.6%
Illawarra — Certificate III & IV: 12.5% Deep Lead — Certificate III & IV: 17.6%
Bachelor Degree 21.2% / 6.2%
Illawarra — Bachelor Degree: 21.2% Deep Lead — Bachelor Degree: 6.2%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 10.0% / 10.5%
Illawarra — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 10.0% Deep Lead — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 10.5%
Postgraduate Degree — / 2.4%
Illawarra — Postgraduate Degree: not among its largest Deep Lead — Postgraduate Degree: 2.4%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate — / 2.4%
Illawarra — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest Deep Lead — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (21.2%).

Zoning mix

Deep Lead has more rural and farming land (78% vs 57%).

Illawarra Deep Lead
Rural and farming 57% 78%
Parks and recreation 42% 20%
Infrastructure and transport 1% 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

Illawarra Deep Lead
New dwellings approved 28
across Northern Grampians
same for both
Approvals change year on year -62%
same for both

Ranking within VIC

Illawarra Deep Lead
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 62% of VIC Higher than 31% of VIC
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 71% of VIC Higher than 70% of VIC
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 23% of VIC Higher than 62% of VIC
NBN connectivity Higher than 28% of VIC Higher than 21% of VIC

Liveability

Illawarra Deep Lead
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 4/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 5/10

Risk profile

Illawarra carries more flood risk (88 vs 57); Illawarra carries more bushfire risk (69 vs 58).

Illawarra Deep Lead
Bushfire Moderate
69/100
 Moderate
58/100
Crime High
90/100
 High
89/100
Flood High
88/100
 Moderate
57/100
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

Illawarra Deep Lead
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

Illawarra Deep Lead
Parks & reserves 2 14
Waterways 1 0

Mobility

Deep Lead sits further from the CBD (243.3 km vs 241 km).

Illawarra Deep Lead
Walkability score 10/100
same for both
Distance to Melbourne 241 km 243.3 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 170 min 168 min
Electric vehicle share 0.3%
postcode 3381
 0.6%
postcode 3385
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 44
postcode 3381
 56
postcode 3385

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.

Illawarra Deep Lead
Car (driver) 81.0% / 89.9%
Illawarra — Car (driver): 81.0% Deep Lead — Car (driver): 89.9%
Worked from Home 7.1% / 10.1%
Illawarra — Worked from Home: 7.1% Deep Lead — Worked from Home: 10.1%
Bus 11.9% / —
Illawarra — Bus: 11.9% Deep Lead — Bus: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (89.9%).

Setting

Illawarra Deep Lead
Elevation 194 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 222 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Illawarra Deep Lead
Connectivity score 26/100 22/100
Most common technology Fixed wireless Satellite (Sky Muster)
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
30 premises
 0%
78 premises

Climate

Illawarra Deep Lead
Annual rainfall 554 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 27.5°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 4.0°C
same for both

Council rates

Illawarra Deep Lead
Average residential rate $1,730/yr
same for both
Council Northern Grampians
same for both

Federal electorate

Illawarra Deep Lead
Division Mallee
same for both
Member Anne Webster
same for both
Party The Nationals
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Illawarra Deep Lead
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Illawarra

Rural

Deep Lead

Retirees Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Illawarra

Illawarra vs Stawell Illawarra vs Lake Lonsdale

Other comparisons with Deep Lead

Deep Lead vs Stawell Deep Lead vs Glenorchy Deep Lead vs Lake Lonsdale
Full data on Illawarra Full data on Deep Lead
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.

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