Maiden Gully vs Golden Square

In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Maiden Gully, most households are couple families. Houses cost more in Maiden Gully: a median of $800,000, against $609,000 in Golden Square, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Maiden Gully tends to suit families with children and couples, while Golden Square 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

Maiden Gully

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • carries lower crime risk (23/100 vs 69/100)
  • has more schools rated above their peers (1 vs 0)
  • is already more of a family suburb (81% vs 50%)
  • But Golden Square has more parks and reserves (10 vs 5)

Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.

First-home buyers

Golden Square

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has cheaper houses ($609,000 vs $800,000)
  • has cheaper land ($305,000 vs $385,000)

Weighs house prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Golden Square

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (36% vs 7%)
  • has cheaper rent ($295/wk vs $380/wk)

Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.

Commuting to the city

Golden Square

ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (67/100 vs 30/100)
  • sits closer to the CBD (148.5 km vs 152.1 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, rail access, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Golden Square

ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (67/100 vs 30/100)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (21% vs 13%)
  • But Maiden Gully carries lower crime risk (23/100 vs 69/100)

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

Investors

Too close to call

Nothing among the 2 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs house yield and population growth.

Where they sit

Maiden Gully and Golden Square drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.

Maiden Gully Golden Square
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.

Maiden Gully Golden Square
Walkability 30 / 67
Maiden Gully — Walkability: 30/100 Golden Square — Walkability: 67/100
Safety 77 / 31
Maiden Gully — Safety: 77/100 Golden Square — Safety: 31/100
Low fire risk 62 / 80
Maiden Gully — Low fire risk: 62/100 Golden Square — Low fire risk: 80/100
Low flood risk 52 / 56
Maiden Gully — Low flood risk: 52/100 Golden Square — Low flood risk: 56/100

Demographics

Golden Square has more residents (9,220 vs 5,407); Maiden Gully has higher household incomes ($114,868 vs $69,888).

Maiden Gully Golden Square
Population 5,407 9,220
+71% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +8.3% +4.5%
Median age 37 39
Median household income $114,868/yr
+39% vs other
 $69,888/yr
Median weekly rent $380/wk
+22% vs other
 $295/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Maiden Gully Golden Square
0-4 6.8% / 5.8%
Maiden Gully — 0-4: 6.8% Golden Square — 0-4: 5.8%
5-14 17.9% / 11.5%
Maiden Gully — 5-14: 17.9% Golden Square — 5-14: 11.5%
15-19 6.7% / 5.2%
Maiden Gully — 15-19: 6.7% Golden Square — 15-19: 5.2%
20-24 5.2% / 5.8%
Maiden Gully — 20-24: 5.2% Golden Square — 20-24: 5.8%
25-34 9.1% / 15.2%
Maiden Gully — 25-34: 9.1% Golden Square — 25-34: 15.2%
35-44 15.3% / 12.6%
Maiden Gully — 35-44: 15.3% Golden Square — 35-44: 12.6%
45-54 14.3% / 11.3%
Maiden Gully — 45-54: 14.3% Golden Square — 45-54: 11.3%
55-64 11.4% / 11.7%
Maiden Gully — 55-64: 11.4% Golden Square — 55-64: 11.7%
65-74 9.5% / 10.4%
Maiden Gully — 65-74: 9.5% Golden Square — 65-74: 10.4%
75-84 3.3% / 6.9%
Maiden Gully — 75-84: 3.3% Golden Square — 75-84: 6.9%
85+ 0.5% / 3.5%
Maiden Gully — 85+: 0.5% Golden Square — 85+: 3.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.9%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Maiden Gully 69.3% couple families
Maiden Gully — Couple Families: 69.3% Maiden Gully — Lone Person: 15.6% Maiden Gully — One Parent Families: 11.8% Maiden Gully — Group Household: 2.5% Maiden Gully — Other Families: 0.9%
Golden Square 30.7% couple families
Golden Square — Couple Families: 30.7% Golden Square — Lone Person: 43.6% Golden Square — One Parent Families: 19.1% Golden Square — Group Household: 5.1% Golden Square — Other Families: 1.5%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Maiden Gully 7.4% renting
Maiden Gully — Owned Outright: 36.7% Maiden Gully — Mortgage: 55.9% Maiden Gully — Renting: 7.4%
Golden Square 35.6% renting
Golden Square — Owned Outright: 31.5% Golden Square — Mortgage: 32.9% Golden Square — Renting: 35.6%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Maiden Gully Golden Square
Certificate III & IV 18.6% / 16.6%
Maiden Gully — Certificate III & IV: 18.6% Golden Square — Certificate III & IV: 16.6%
Bachelor Degree 10.6% / 10.3%
Maiden Gully — Bachelor Degree: 10.6% Golden Square — Bachelor Degree: 10.3%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 7.6% / 7.4%
Maiden Gully — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.6% Golden Square — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.4%
Postgraduate Degree 2.4% / 2.6%
Maiden Gully — Postgraduate Degree: 2.4% Golden Square — Postgraduate Degree: 2.6%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.6% / 2.2%
Maiden Gully — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.6% Golden Square — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.6%).

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.

Maiden Gully Golden Square
England 1.4% / 1.4%
Maiden Gully — England: 1.4% Golden Square — England: 1.4%
India 0.7% / 1.2%
Maiden Gully — India: 0.7% Golden Square — India: 1.2%
New Zealand 0.6% / 0.7%
Maiden Gully — New Zealand: 0.6% Golden Square — New Zealand: 0.7%
Philippines 0.3% / 0.7%
Maiden Gully — Philippines: 0.3% Golden Square — Philippines: 0.7%
Thailand — / 0.9%
Maiden Gully — Thailand: not among its largest Golden Square — Thailand: 0.9%
Myanmar — / 0.7%
Maiden Gully — Myanmar: not among its largest Golden Square — Myanmar: 0.7%
Netherlands 0.3% / —
Maiden Gully — Netherlands: 0.3% Golden Square — Netherlands: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (1.4%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Maiden Gully 98.9% houses
Maiden Gully — Houses: 98.9% Maiden Gully — Flats / Apartments: 1.1% Maiden Gully — Townhouses: 0.0%
Golden Square 91.4% houses
Golden Square — Houses: 91.4% Golden Square — Flats / Apartments: 4.3% Golden Square — Townhouses: 4.3%
Houses Flats / Apartments Townhouses

Property market

Maiden Gully Golden Square
Median house price $800,000 $609,000
Median unit price — $472,125
Median land price $385,000 $305,000
Typical days to sell (houses) 35 days
from 73 sales
 25 days
from 102 sales

House price by bedroom count

Only bed counts both suburbs published enough sales for. Sale counts are shown because the buckets differ in depth.

Maiden Gully Golden Square
3 bed $695K / $591K
Maiden Gully — 3 bed: $695K (32 sales) Golden Square — 3 bed: $591K (148 sales)

32 vs 148 sales

4 bed $812K / $727K
Maiden Gully — 4 bed: $812K (84 sales) Golden Square — 4 bed: $727K (64 sales)

84 vs 64 sales

5 bed $938K / $768K
Maiden Gully — 5 bed: $938K (18 sales) Golden Square — 5 bed: $768K (10 sales)

18 vs 10 sales

Zoning mix

Maiden Gully has more rural and farming land (44% vs 0%).

Maiden Gully Golden Square
Residential 22% 64%
Rural and farming 44% 0%
Parks and recreation 31% 7%
Infrastructure and transport 2% 11%
Commercial 0% 8%
Industrial 1% 7%
Other and special use 0% 4%
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

Maiden Gully Golden Square
New dwellings approved 885
across Greater Bendigo
same for both
Approvals change year on year +28%
same for both

Gross rental yield

Gross — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. From median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.

Maiden Gully Golden Square
Houses 3.9%
$675/wk on $904K
 4.1%
$530/wk on $674K
Units — 5.2%
$450/wk on $446K

Ranking within VIC

Maiden Gully Golden Square
House price Higher than 48% of VIC Higher than 20% of VIC
Income Higher than 87% of VIC Higher than 32% of VIC
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 82% of VIC Higher than 89% of VIC
Affordability Higher than 87% of VIC Higher than 68% of VIC
EV adoption Higher than 56% of VIC Higher than 36% of VIC
NBN connectivity Higher than 93% of VIC Higher than 78% of VIC
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 60% of VIC Higher than 74% of VIC
Rental yield (units) — Higher than 73% of VIC

Liveability

Golden Square is more walkable (67 vs 30); Maiden Gully scores higher overall (55 vs 40).

Maiden Gully Golden Square
Grade B C
Score 55/100 40/100
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 8/10
 below-average income
decile 3/10

Risk profile

Golden Square carries more crime risk (69 vs 23); Maiden Gully carries more bushfire risk (38 vs 20).

Maiden Gully Golden Square
Bushfire Low
38/100
 Low
20/100
Crime Low
23/100
 Moderate
69/100
Flood Moderate
48/100
 Moderate
44/100
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 4
within 5 km
 5
within 5 km

Schools

Maiden Gully Golden Square
Inside the suburb 2
same for both
Rated above peers 1 0
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 1 2
Universities within 10 km 1
Bendigo Campus, 8.4 km
 1
Bendigo Campus, 3.9 km
Full-time students aged 15–24 1.3% 1.1%

Schools in Maiden Gully

  • Maiden Gully Primary School Government · Primary above peers
  • Marist College Bendigo Catholic · Combined below peers

Schools in Golden Square

  • Golden Square Primary School Government · Primary below peers
  • Specimen Hill Primary School Government · Primary below peers

Amenities in the suburb

Maiden Gully Golden Square
Supermarkets 1
same for both
Cafes & restaurants 1 2
Parks & reserves 5 10
Childcare 5 6
GPs 1
same for both
Pharmacies 1
same for both
Banks & Bank@Post 1 2
Fuel stations 0 5
Waterways 0 3

Mobility

Maiden Gully sits further from the CBD (152.1 km vs 148.5 km).

Maiden Gully Golden Square
Walkability score 30/100 67/100
Distance to Melbourne 152.1 km
+2% vs other
 148.5 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 110 min 106 min
Public transport score 75/100
same for both
Peak arrivals per hour 45.8
7-9am + 5-7pm
 106.8
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 1 min
scheduled, not actual
 0 min
scheduled, not actual
Electric vehicle share 0.6%
postcode 3551
 0.4%
postcode 3555
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 64
postcode 3551
 38
postcode 3555

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.

Maiden Gully Golden Square
Car (driver) 76.4% / 75.1%
Maiden Gully — Car (driver): 76.4% Golden Square — Car (driver): 75.1%
Worked from Home 15.9% / 15.1%
Maiden Gully — Worked from Home: 15.9% Golden Square — Worked from Home: 15.1%
Car (passenger) 5.7% / 5.5%
Maiden Gully — Car (passenger): 5.7% Golden Square — Car (passenger): 5.5%
Walked Only 0.8% / 1.9%
Maiden Gully — Walked Only: 0.8% Golden Square — Walked Only: 1.9%
Bus 0.4% / 1.3%
Maiden Gully — Bus: 0.4% Golden Square — Bus: 1.3%
Bicycle 0.6% / 0.8%
Maiden Gully — Bicycle: 0.6% Golden Square — Bicycle: 0.8%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (76.4%).

Setting

Maiden Gully Golden Square
Elevation 221 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 233 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Maiden Gully Golden Square
Connectivity score 84/100 68/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises Fibre to the node
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 49%
2,088 premises
 42%
4,934 premises

Climate

Maiden Gully Golden Square
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

Maiden Gully Golden Square
Average residential rate $1,949/yr
same for both
Council Greater Bendigo
same for both

Federal electorate

Maiden Gully Golden Square
Division Bendigo
same for both
Member Lisa Chesters
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Maiden Gully Golden Square
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Maiden Gully

Acreage Family

Golden Square

Large Blocks Regional Centre River

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Maiden Gully

Maiden Gully vs Kangaroo Flat Maiden Gully vs Eaglehawk Maiden Gully vs California Gully Maiden Gully vs Long Gully Maiden Gully vs Marong Maiden Gully vs Lockwood

Other comparisons with Golden Square

Golden Square vs Kangaroo Flat Golden Square vs Bendigo Golden Square vs Quarry Hill Golden Square vs Ironbark Golden Square vs West Bendigo Golden Square vs Golden Gully
Full data on Maiden Gully Full data on Golden Square
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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.

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