Melton West vs Long Forest

Melton West is the younger of the two, with a median age of 36 against 44 in Long Forest. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Long Forest, most households are couple families. Houses cost more in Long Forest: a median of $1.07 million, against $600,000 in Melton West, and rent is higher there too. Melton West is closer to the city centre: 47.8 km, against 54.1 km. On these figures, Melton West tends to suit families with children and buyers on a tighter budget, while Long Forest suits couples.

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

  • Melton West has more schools inside the suburb (8 vs 0)
  • Long Forest carries lower crime risk (43/100 vs 85/100)

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

First-home buyers

They split

one each way, out of the 2 things we measure here

  • Melton West has cheaper houses ($600,000 vs $1,070,000)
  • Long Forest leaves households under less mortgage stress (16% vs 24%)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Melton West

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($320/wk vs $520/wk)

Weighs rent and rental stress.

Commuting to the city

Melton West

ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (40/100 vs 0/100)
  • sits closer to the CBD (47.8 km vs 54.1 km)

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

Downsizers and retirees

Melton West

ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (40/100 vs 0/100)
  • has more GPs (2 vs 0)
  • But Long Forest carries lower crime risk (43/100 vs 85/100)

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

Where they sit

Melton West and Long Forest drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.

Melton West Long Forest
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.

Melton West Long Forest
Walkability 40 / 0
Melton West — Walkability: 40/100 Long Forest — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 15 / 57
Melton West — Safety: 15/100 Long Forest — Safety: 57/100
Low fire risk 33 / 34
Melton West — Low fire risk: 33/100 Long Forest — Low fire risk: 34/100
Low flood risk 89 / 71
Melton West — Low flood risk: 89/100 Long Forest — Low flood risk: 71/100

Demographics

Melton West has more residents (8,784 vs 343); Long Forest has higher household incomes ($126,724 vs $75,400).

Melton West Long Forest
Population 8,784
+96% vs other
 343
Population trend (2016 → 2021) — -5.0%
Median age 36 44
Median household income $75,400/yr $126,724/yr
+68% vs other
Median weekly rent $320/wk $520/wk
+62% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Melton West Long Forest
0-4 6.1% / 1.5%
Melton West — 0-4: 6.1% Long Forest — 0-4: 1.5%
5-14 15.0% / 13.1%
Melton West — 5-14: 15.0% Long Forest — 5-14: 13.1%
15-19 7.1% / 10.2%
Melton West — 15-19: 7.1% Long Forest — 15-19: 10.2%
20-24 6.0% / 5.5%
Melton West — 20-24: 6.0% Long Forest — 20-24: 5.5%
25-34 13.0% / 7.3%
Melton West — 25-34: 13.0% Long Forest — 25-34: 7.3%
35-44 14.4% / 14.6%
Melton West — 35-44: 14.4% Long Forest — 35-44: 14.6%
45-54 12.9% / 16.9%
Melton West — 45-54: 12.9% Long Forest — 45-54: 16.9%
55-64 11.3% / 16.3%
Melton West — 55-64: 11.3% Long Forest — 55-64: 16.3%
65-74 9.8% / 13.1%
Melton West — 65-74: 9.8% Long Forest — 65-74: 13.1%
75-84 3.7% / 2.9%
Melton West — 75-84: 3.7% Long Forest — 75-84: 2.9%
85+ 0.9% / —
Melton West — 85+: 0.9% Long Forest — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.9%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Melton West 44.8% couple families
Melton West — Couple Families: 44.8% Melton West — One Parent Families: 23.7% Melton West — Lone Person: 26.7% Melton West — Group Household: 3.3% Melton West — Other Families: 1.4%
Long Forest 64.1% couple families
Long Forest — Couple Families: 64.1% Long Forest — One Parent Families: 20.5% Long Forest — Lone Person: 15.4% Long Forest — Group Household: 0.0% Long Forest — Other Families: 0.0%
Couple Families One Parent Families Lone Person Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Melton West 23.8% renting
Melton West — Owned Outright: 30.5% Melton West — Mortgage: 45.7% Melton West — Renting: 23.8%
Long Forest 0.0% renting
Long Forest — Owned Outright: 46.2% Long Forest — Mortgage: 53.8% Long Forest — Renting: 0.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Melton West Long Forest
Certificate III & IV 16.3% / 20.1%
Melton West — Certificate III & IV: 16.3% Long Forest — Certificate III & IV: 20.1%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 6.5% / 10.8%
Melton West — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.5% Long Forest — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 10.8%
Bachelor Degree 6.4% / 9.0%
Melton West — Bachelor Degree: 6.4% Long Forest — Bachelor Degree: 9.0%
Postgraduate Degree 1.7% / 2.9%
Melton West — Postgraduate Degree: 1.7% Long Forest — Postgraduate Degree: 2.9%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.0% / 1.5%
Melton West — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.0% Long Forest — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.1%).

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.

Melton West Long Forest
England 2.8% / 4.7%
Melton West — England: 2.8% Long Forest — England: 4.7%
New Zealand 2.4% / 2.3%
Melton West — New Zealand: 2.4% Long Forest — New Zealand: 2.3%
India 3.4% / —
Melton West — India: 3.4% Long Forest — India: not among its largest
Philippines 1.5% / —
Melton West — Philippines: 1.5% Long Forest — Philippines: not among its largest
Germany — / 0.9%
Melton West — Germany: not among its largest Long Forest — Germany: 0.9%
Netherlands — / 0.9%
Melton West — Netherlands: not among its largest Long Forest — Netherlands: 0.9%
Vietnam 0.7% / —
Melton West — Vietnam: 0.7% Long Forest — Vietnam: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (4.7%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Melton West 93.7% houses
Melton West — Houses: 93.7% Melton West — Townhouses: 6.2% Melton West — Flats / Apartments: 0.1%
Long Forest 100.0% houses
Long Forest — Houses: 100.0% Long Forest — Townhouses: 0.0% Long Forest — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Melton West Long Forest
Median house price $600,000 $1,070,000
Median unit price $430,000 —
Median land price $470,000 —
Typical days to sell (houses) 28 days
from 98 sales
 —

Zoning mix

Long Forest has more rural and farming land (58% vs 25%).

Melton West Long Forest
Rural and farming 25% 58%
Residential 53% 0%
Parks and recreation 6% 37%
Environmental 6% 1%
Infrastructure and transport 6% 5%
Commercial 4% 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

Melton West Long Forest
New dwellings approved 4,602
across Melton
 338
across Moorabool
Approvals change year on year +5% +4%

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.

Melton West Long Forest
Houses 3.8%
$450/wk on $610K
 —
Units —
same for both

Ranking within VIC

Melton West Long Forest
House price Higher than 26% of VIC —
Income Higher than 42% of VIC —
Schools Higher than 40% of VIC —
Walkability Higher than 85% of VIC Higher than 38% of VIC
Affordability Higher than 68% of VIC —
EV adoption Higher than 45% of VIC Higher than 65% of VIC
NBN connectivity Higher than 98% of VIC Higher than 21% of VIC
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 57% of VIC —

Liveability

Melton West is more walkable (40 vs 0).

Melton West Long Forest
Grade C —
Score 32/100 —
Socio-economic band below-average income
decile 2/10
 advantaged area
decile 7/10

Risk profile

Long Forest carries more flood risk (29 vs 11); Melton West carries more crime risk (85 vs 43).

Melton West Long Forest
Bushfire Moderate
67/100
 Moderate
66/100
Crime High
85/100
 Moderate
43/100
Flood Low
11/100
 Low
29/100
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 0
within 5 km
 2
within 5 km

Schools

Melton West Long Forest
Inside the suburb 8 0
Rated above peers 1 0
Rated at peers 1 0
Rated below peers 4 0

Schools in Melton West

  • OneSchool Global Vic Independent · Combined above peers
  • St Francis Catholic College Catholic · Secondary at peers
  • Melton Secondary College Government · Secondary below peers
  • Melton West Primary School Government · Primary below peers
  • St Catherine of Siena School Catholic · Primary below peers
  • Wedge Park Primary School Government · Primary below peers

Schools in Long Forest

No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.

Amenities in the suburb

Melton West Long Forest
Supermarkets 4 0
Cafes & restaurants 6 0
Parks & reserves 3 1
Childcare 8 0
GPs 2 0
Pharmacies 2 0
Banks & Bank@Post 5 0
Fuel stations 1 0
Waterways 1
same for both

Mobility

Long Forest sits further from the CBD (54.1 km vs 47.8 km).

Melton West Long Forest
Walkability score 40/100 0/100
Distance to Melbourne 47.8 km 54.1 km
+13% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 45 min 46 min
Electric vehicle share 0.5%
postcode 3337
 0.7%
postcode 3340
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 42
postcode 3337
 42
postcode 3340

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.

Melton West Long Forest
Car (driver) 72.6% / 64.8%
Melton West — Car (driver): 72.6% Long Forest — Car (driver): 64.8%
Worked from Home 17.7% / 25.5%
Melton West — Worked from Home: 17.7% Long Forest — Worked from Home: 25.5%
Car (passenger) 5.6% / 6.1%
Melton West — Car (passenger): 5.6% Long Forest — Car (passenger): 6.1%
Train 2.4% / 3.6%
Melton West — Train: 2.4% Long Forest — Train: 3.6%
Walked Only 1.2% / —
Melton West — Walked Only: 1.2% Long Forest — Walked Only: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (72.6%).

Setting

Melton West Long Forest
Elevation 142 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 175 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 32.5 km 36.5 km

NBN connectivity

Melton West Long Forest
Connectivity score 97/100 22/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises Satellite (Sky Muster)
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 92%
3,608 premises
 0%
66 premises

Climate

Melton West Long Forest
Annual rainfall 518 mm 778 mm
Summer max (Jan) 26.7°C —
Winter min (Jul) 6.0°C —

Air quality (annual mean)

Melton West Long Forest
PM2.5 4.4 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 —
same for both
NO₂ —
same for both

Council rates

Melton West Long Forest
Average residential rate $1,779/yr $1,979/yr
Council Melton Moorabool

Federal electorate

Melton West Long Forest
Division Hawke
same for both
Member Sam Rae
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Melton West Long Forest
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Melton West

Large Blocks Outer

Long Forest

Acreage Outer

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Melton West

Melton West vs Harkness Melton West vs Melton South Melton West vs Brookfield Melton West vs Kurunjang Melton West vs Melton Melton West vs Hopetoun Park

Other comparisons with Long Forest

Long Forest vs Harkness Long Forest vs Brookfield Long Forest vs Hopetoun Park Long Forest vs Toolern Vale Long Forest vs Coimadai Long Forest vs Merrimu
Full data on Melton West Full data on Long Forest
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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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