Mcmahons Creek vs Reefton
Reefton is the younger of the two, with a median age of 40 against 45 in McMahons Creek. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In McMahons Creek, about half of households are people living alone. In Reefton, most households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Reefton: a median of $650,000, against $525,000 in McMahons Creek, though rent is higher in McMahons Creek. On these figures, McMahons Creek tends to suit buyers on a tighter budget, while Reefton suits people living alone and families with children.
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
McMahons Creek
ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here
- carries lower crime risk (63/100 vs 83/100)
- has more separate houses rather than flats (93% vs 82%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
McMahons Creek
ahead on 2 of the 2 things we measure here
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (23% vs 30%)
- has cheaper houses ($525,000 vs $650,000)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Reefton
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($0/wk vs $260/wk)
Weighs rent.
Commuting to the city
McMahons Creek
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (107 min vs 121 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (97.1 km vs 102.2 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here
- Mcmahons Creek carries lower crime risk (63/100 vs 83/100)
- Reefton has more units and townhouses to downsize into (18% vs 7%)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Reefton
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (72.9% vs 14.4%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Mcmahons Creek and Reefton 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
McMahons Creek rents higher ($260/wk vs $0/wk); McMahons Creek has more residents (143 vs 102).
| Mcmahons Creek | Reefton | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 143 +29% vs other | 102 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +14.4% | +72.9% |
| Median age | 45 | 40 |
| Median household income | $52,884/yr +16% vs other | $44,200/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $260/wk (not reported on the other side) | — |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.3%).
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 (3.9%).
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 (14.7%).
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Mcmahons Creek | Reefton | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $525,000 | $650,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
Zoning mix
| Mcmahons Creek | Reefton | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks and recreation | 65% | 92% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 33% | 7% |
| Rural and farming | 2% | 0% |
| 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
| Mcmahons Creek | Reefton | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 416 across Yarra Ranges same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -57% same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Mcmahons Creek | Reefton | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 11% of VIC | Higher than 5% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 6% of VIC | Higher than 11% of VIC |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 46% of VIC same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 1% of VIC | Higher than 2% of VIC |
Liveability
| Mcmahons Creek | Reefton | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | below-average income decile 2/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
Reefton carries more crime risk (83 vs 63).
| Mcmahons Creek | Reefton | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | High 95/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Moderate 63/100 | High 83/100 |
| Flood | Low 24/100 | Low 20/100 |
| 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
| Mcmahons Creek | Reefton | |
|---|---|---|
| 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
| Mcmahons Creek | Reefton | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 3 | 1 |
| Waterways | 438 | 398 |
Mobility
Reefton sits further from the CBD (102.2 km vs 97.1 km).
| Mcmahons Creek | Reefton | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Melbourne | 97.1 km | 102.2 km +5% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 107 min | 121 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.5% postcode 3799 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 35 postcode 3799 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 (77.8%).
Setting
| Mcmahons Creek | Reefton | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 482 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 635 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Mcmahons Creek | Reefton | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 15/100 same for both | |
| Most common technology | Satellite (Sky Muster) same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 8 premises | 0% 10 premises |
Climate
| Mcmahons Creek | Reefton | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,350 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Mcmahons Creek | Reefton | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $2,161/yr same for both | |
| Council | Yarra Ranges same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Mcmahons Creek | Reefton | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Casey same for both | |
| Member | Aaron Violi same for both | |
| Party | Liberal same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Mcmahons Creek | Reefton | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Mcmahons Creek
Reefton
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Mcmahons Creek
Other comparisons with Reefton
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.