Meredith vs Elaine
In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Meredith, about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Meredith: a median of $635,000, against $572,000 in Elaine, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Meredith tends to suit 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
Meredith
ahead on 4 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more parks and reserves (8 vs 2)
- has more schools rated above their peers (1 vs 0)
- is already more of a family suburb (65% vs 53%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Elaine
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper houses ($571,500 vs $635,000)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Elaine
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- leaves renters under less rental stress (9% vs 18%)
- has cheaper rent ($166/wk vs $300/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Meredith
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- sits closer to the CBD (114.3 km vs 121.6 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Meredith
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (53/100 vs 65/100)
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
Meredith and Elaine 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
Meredith has more residents (821 vs 232); Meredith rents higher ($300/wk vs $166/wk).
| Meredith | Elaine | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 821 +72% vs other | 232 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +4.2% | +1.8% |
| Median age | 45 | 44 |
| Median household income | $85,176/yr | $91,780/yr +8% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $300/wk +45% vs other | $166/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.3%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
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 (4.3%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.1%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Meredith | Elaine | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $635,000 | $571,500 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | $369,500 | — |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 94 days from 7 sales | — |
Zoning mix
Elaine has more rural and farming land (97% vs 84%).
| Meredith | Elaine | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 84% | 97% |
| Environmental | 8% | 0% |
| Parks and recreation | 6% | 0% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 1% | 2% |
| 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
| Meredith | Elaine | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 186 across Golden Plains | 338 across Moorabool |
| Approvals change year on year | +10% | +4% |
Ranking within VIC
| Meredith | Elaine | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 55% of VIC | Higher than 61% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 30% of VIC | Higher than 19% of VIC |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 27% of VIC | Higher than 46% of VIC |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 35% of VIC | Higher than 34% of VIC |
Liveability
| Meredith | Elaine | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | D | — |
| Score | 30/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | mid-range socio-economic decile 5/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
Meredith carries more flood risk (45 vs 0); Elaine carries more crime risk (65 vs 53).
| Meredith | Elaine | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Moderate 56/100 | Moderate 66/100 |
| Crime | Moderate 53/100 | Moderate 65/100 |
| Flood | Moderate 45/100 | None 0/100 |
| 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
| Meredith | Elaine | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 1 | 0 |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Schools in Meredith
- Meredith Primary School Government · Primary above peers
Schools in Elaine
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Meredith | Elaine | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 8 | 2 |
| Childcare | 2 | 0 |
| GPs | 1 | 0 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 1 same for both | |
| EV chargers | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 20 | 2 |
Mobility
Elaine sits further from the CBD (121.6 km vs 114.3 km).
| Meredith | Elaine | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Melbourne | 114.3 km | 121.6 km +6% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 89 min | 92 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.3% postcode 3333 | 0.5% postcode 3334 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 49 postcode 3333 | 36 postcode 3334 |
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 (74.7%).
Setting
| Meredith | Elaine | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 331 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 409 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 38.7 km | 48.0 km |
NBN connectivity
| Meredith | Elaine | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 28/100 same for both | |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 352 premises | 0% 99 premises |
Climate
| Meredith | Elaine | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 502 mm | 578 mm |
| Summer max (Jan) | 25.8°C | — |
| Winter min (Jul) | 5.3°C | — |
Council rates
| Meredith | Elaine | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $2,052/yr | $1,979/yr |
| Council | Golden Plains | Moorabool |
Federal electorate
| Meredith | Elaine | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Ballarat same for both | |
| Member | Catherine King same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Meredith | Elaine | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Meredith
Other comparisons with Elaine
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.