Johanna vs Lavers Hill
Lavers Hill is the younger of the two, with a median age of 44 against 57 in Johanna. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Johanna, most households are people living alone. In Lavers Hill, about half of households are people living alone. On these figures, Johanna tends to suit 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
Lavers Hill
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is already more of a family suburb (48% vs 29%)
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
Lavers Hill
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has cheaper rent ($100/wk vs $200/wk)
- leaves renters under less rental stress (7% vs 13%)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Johanna has a shorter drive in (169 min vs 177 min)
- Lavers Hill sits closer to the CBD (209.8 km vs 215 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Johanna
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has more residents already 65 and over (16% vs 6%)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Johanna
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (34.9% vs 11.5%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Johanna and Lavers Hill 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
Johanna rents higher ($200/wk vs $100/wk); Johanna skews older (57 vs 44).
| Johanna | Lavers Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 85 | 87 +2% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +34.9% | +11.5% |
| Median age | 57 | 44 |
| Median household income | $81,224/yr +12% vs other | $71,500/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $200/wk +50% vs other | $100/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (36.5%).
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 (5.7%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 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 (18.4%).
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Zoning mix
Johanna has more land zoned for conservation (31% vs 0%); Johanna has more rural and farming land (60% vs 44%).
| Johanna | Lavers Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 60% | 44% |
| Parks and recreation | 8% | 55% |
| Environmental | 31% | 0% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 1% same for both | |
| 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
| Johanna | Lavers Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 226 across Colac Otway same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +64% same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Johanna | Lavers Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 49% of VIC | Higher than 36% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 35% of VIC | Higher than 46% of VIC |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 95% of VIC same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 19% of VIC | Higher than 36% of VIC |
Liveability
| Johanna | Lavers Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | advantaged area decile 8/10 | mid-range socio-economic decile 4/10 |
Risk profile
Johanna carries more flood risk (38 vs 0).
| Johanna | Lavers Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | High 93/100 | High 90/100 |
| Crime | Low 16/100 | Low 25/100 |
| Flood | Low 38/100 | None 0/100 |
| Coastal erosion | Low 25/100 | None 0/100 |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 0 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Johanna | Lavers Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 | 1 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 | 1 |
Schools in Johanna
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Schools in Lavers Hill
- Lavers Hill K-12 College Government · Combined below peers
Amenities in the suburb
| Johanna | Lavers Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Cafes & restaurants | 0 | 2 |
| Parks & reserves | 1 | 0 |
| Childcare | 0 | 1 |
| Police stations | 0 | 1 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 0 | 1 |
| Waterways | 7 | 12 |
Mobility
Johanna sits further from the CBD (215 km vs 209.8 km).
| Johanna | Lavers Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Melbourne | 215 km +2% vs other | 209.8 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 169 min | 177 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 2.2% postcode 3238 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 40 postcode 3238 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 (61.3%).
Setting
| Johanna | Lavers Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 122 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 296 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 3.4 km | 9.8 km |
NBN connectivity
| Johanna | Lavers Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 21/100 | 28/100 |
| Most common technology | Satellite (Sky Muster) | Fixed wireless |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 54 premises | 0% 79 premises |
Climate
| Johanna | Lavers Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 853 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 21.0°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 8.7°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Johanna | Lavers Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $2,023/yr same for both | |
| Council | Colac Otway same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Johanna | Lavers Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Wannon same for both | |
| Member | Dan Tehan same for both | |
| Party | Liberal same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Johanna | Lavers Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
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.