Lauriston vs Malmsbury
In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Lauriston, about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Lauriston: a median of $1.7 million, against $750,000 in Malmsbury, though rent is higher in Malmsbury. On these figures, Lauriston tends to suit couples, while Malmsbury suits people living alone and buyers on a tighter budget.
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
- Lauriston is already more of a family suburb (64% vs 55%)
- Malmsbury has more schools inside the suburb (2 vs 0)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Malmsbury
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper houses ($750,000 vs $1,700,000)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Lauriston
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- leaves renters under less rental stress (16% vs 21%)
- has cheaper rent ($320/wk vs $350/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Malmsbury
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (22/100 vs 10/100)
- has a shorter drive in (71 min vs 76 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (95.9 km vs 100.1 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Malmsbury
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is more walkable (22/100 vs 10/100)
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
Lauriston and Malmsbury 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
Malmsbury has more residents (905 vs 247); Lauriston has higher household incomes ($107,536 vs $85,072).
| Lauriston | Malmsbury | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 247 | 905 +266% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +4.7% | +8.9% |
| Median age | 47 | 45 |
| Median household income | $107,536/yr +21% vs other | $85,072/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $320/wk | $350/wk +9% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.6%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.0%).
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 (4.9%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Lauriston | Malmsbury | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,700,000 | $750,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — | $302,500 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | — | 35 days from 14 sales |
Zoning mix
| Lauriston | Malmsbury | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 86% | 78% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 6% | 14% |
| Parks and recreation | 8% | 4% |
| Residential | 0% | 3% |
| 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
| Lauriston | Malmsbury | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 331 across Macedon Ranges same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +80% same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Lauriston | Malmsbury | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — | Higher than 40% of VIC |
| Income | Higher than 80% of VIC | Higher than 55% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 73% of VIC | Higher than 80% of VIC |
| Affordability | — | Higher than 66% of VIC |
| EV adoption | Higher than 76% of VIC | Higher than 79% of VIC |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 47% of VIC | Higher than 70% of VIC |
Liveability
Malmsbury is more walkable (22 vs 10).
| Lauriston | Malmsbury | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — | C |
| Score | — | 40/100 |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 9/10 | advantaged area decile 7/10 |
Risk profile
Malmsbury carries more bushfire risk (41 vs 22).
| Lauriston | Malmsbury | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Low 22/100 | Moderate 41/100 |
| Crime | Moderate 45/100 | Moderate 53/100 |
| Flood | Moderate 61/100 | Moderate 67/100 |
| 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
| Lauriston | Malmsbury | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 | 2 |
| Rated above peers | 0 | 1 |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Schools in Lauriston
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Schools in Malmsbury
- Malmsbury Primary School Government · Primary above peers
- Parkville College - Malmsbury Campus Government · Secondary · Special school
Amenities in the suburb
| Lauriston | Malmsbury | |
|---|---|---|
| Cafes & restaurants | 0 | 3 |
| Parks & reserves | 4 | 2 |
| Childcare | 0 | 1 |
| Pharmacies | 0 | 1 |
| Police stations | 0 | 1 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 0 | 1 |
| Waterways | 2 | 10 |
Mobility
Lauriston sits further from the CBD (100.1 km vs 95.9 km).
| Lauriston | Malmsbury | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 10/100 | 22/100 |
| Distance to Melbourne | 100.1 km +4% vs other | 95.9 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 76 min | 71 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 1.0% postcode 3444 | 1.1% postcode 3446 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 49 postcode 3444 | 62 postcode 3446 |
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 (60.6%).
Setting
| Lauriston | Malmsbury | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 494 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 462 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Lauriston | Malmsbury | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 29/100 | 30/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 118 premises | 0% 464 premises |
Climate
| Lauriston | Malmsbury | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 598 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 27.9°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 3.7°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Lauriston | Malmsbury | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $2,065/yr same for both | |
| Council | Macedon Ranges same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Lauriston | Malmsbury | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Bendigo same for both | |
| Member | Lisa Chesters same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Lauriston | Malmsbury | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Lauriston
Malmsbury
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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.