Lake Powell vs Boundary Bend
Lake Powell is the younger of the two, with a median age of 34 against 53 in Boundary Bend. In Lake Powell, most households rent and about half of homes are flats or apartments. In Boundary Bend, 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, Lake Powell tends to suit renters and young adults, while Boundary Bend suits people living alone, couples, and 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
Boundary Bend
ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here
- is already more of a family suburb (52% vs 16%)
- has more separate houses rather than flats (84% vs 54%)
- carries lower crime risk (47/100 vs 65/100)
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
Lake Powell
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a bigger rental market to choose from (66% vs 21%)
- has cheaper rent ($130/wk vs $162/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Boundary Bend
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (302 min vs 313 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (433.8 km vs 448.2 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Boundary Bend
ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here
- has more residents already 65 and over (27% vs 4%)
- carries lower crime risk (47/100 vs 65/100)
- But Lake Powell has more units and townhouses to downsize into (46% vs 16%)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Lake Powell
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (352.6% vs 16.7%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Lake Powell and Boundary Bend 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
Boundary Bend has more residents (154 vs 86); Boundary Bend skews older (53 vs 34).
| Lake Powell | Boundary Bend | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 86 | 154 +79% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +352.6% | +16.7% |
| Median age | 34 | 53 |
| Median household income | $98,852/yr +19% vs other | $79,612/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $130/wk | $162/wk +25% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (36.0%).
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 (9.3%).
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 (14.9%).
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Zoning mix
Boundary Bend has more rural and farming land (85% vs 67%).
| Lake Powell | Boundary Bend | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 67% | 85% |
| Parks and recreation | 32% | 14% |
| 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
| Lake Powell | Boundary Bend | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 91 across Swan Hill same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -86% same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Lake Powell | Boundary Bend | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 71% of VIC | Higher than 46% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 63% of VIC | Higher than 37% of VIC |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | — same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 22% of VIC | Higher than 7% of VIC |
Liveability
| Lake Powell | Boundary Bend | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | below-average income decile 3/10 | mid-range socio-economic decile 4/10 |
Risk profile
Lake Powell carries more crime risk (65 vs 47); Lake Powell carries more flood risk (89 vs 79).
| Lake Powell | Boundary Bend | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Low 35/100 | Low 34/100 |
| Crime | Moderate 65/100 | Moderate 47/100 |
| Flood | High 89/100 | High 79/100 |
| 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
| Lake Powell | Boundary Bend | |
|---|---|---|
| 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
| Lake Powell | Boundary Bend | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 1 | 2 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 0 | 1 |
| Fuel stations | 0 | 1 |
| EV chargers | 0 | 1 |
| Waterways | 2 | 0 |
Mobility
Lake Powell sits further from the CBD (448.2 km vs 433.8 km).
| Lake Powell | Boundary Bend | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Melbourne | 448.2 km +3% vs other | 433.8 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 313 min | 302 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.0% postcode 3597 | 0.0% postcode 3599 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 40 postcode 3597 | — |
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 (65.2%).
Setting
| Lake Powell | Boundary Bend | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 76 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 68 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Lake Powell | Boundary Bend | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 22/100 | 15/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless | Satellite (Sky Muster) |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 22 premises | 0% 17 premises |
Council rates
| Lake Powell | Boundary Bend | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $2,333/yr same for both | |
| Council | Swan Hill same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Lake Powell | Boundary Bend | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Mallee same for both | |
| Member | Anne Webster same for both | |
| Party | The Nationals same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Lake Powell | Boundary Bend | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Lake Powell
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.