Mount Helen vs Navigators

Mount Helen is the younger of the two, with a median age of 36 against 44 in Navigators. In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are couple families. On these figures, Navigators tends to suit couples.

Mount Helen is a larger, more established community of 3011 people with a younger median age of 36 years, while Navigators is a small enclave of 276 residents with a median age of 44. Mount Helen offers higher median household income at $107,952 compared to Navigators' $94,224, and significantly better walkability at 25 versus 7. Navigators has a lower bushfire risk rating of 57 compared to Mount Helen's 42, though both suburbs face similar rental costs and negligible flood risk. Mount Helen suits those seeking a more connected, economically stronger community, while Navigators appeals to those prioritising a quieter, smaller-scale setting with a slightly higher socio-economic profile.

Written by an AI language model from the figures below. Every number in it is checked against those figures before it is published.

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

Mount Helen

ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more childcare (3 vs 0)
  • has more schools inside the suburb (2 vs 0)
  • But Navigators is already more of a family suburb (82% vs 71%)

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

First-home buyers

Mount Helen

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (18% vs 23%)

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Mount Helen

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (18% vs 7%)

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

Commuting to the city

They split

one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here

  • Mount Helen is more walkable (28/100 vs 10/100)
  • Navigators sits closer to the CBD (113.9 km vs 118.1 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

They split

one each way, out of the 4 things we measure here

  • Mount Helen is more walkable (28/100 vs 10/100)
  • Navigators has more residents already 65 and over (22% vs 14%)

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

Investors

Navigators

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (9.1% vs 1.2%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

Mount Helen and Navigators drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.

Mount Helen Navigators
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.

Mount Helen Navigators
Walkability 28 / 10
Mount Helen — Walkability: 28/100 Navigators — Walkability: 10/100
Safety 55 / 49
Mount Helen — Safety: 55/100 Navigators — Safety: 49/100
Low fire risk 100 / 42
Mount Helen — Low fire risk: 100/100 Navigators — Low fire risk: 42/100
Low flood risk 100 / 100
Mount Helen — Low flood risk: 100/100 Navigators — Low flood risk: 100/100

Demographics

Mount Helen has more residents (3,011 vs 276); Navigators skews older (44 vs 36).

Mount Helen Navigators
Population 3,011
+91% vs other
 276
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +1.2% +9.1%
Median age 36 44
Median household income $107,952/yr
+13% vs other
 $94,224/yr
Median weekly rent $345/wk $350/wk
+1% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Mount Helen Navigators
0-4 5.6% / 5.4%
Mount Helen — 0-4: 5.6% Navigators — 0-4: 5.4%
5-14 14.8% / 14.5%
Mount Helen — 5-14: 14.8% Navigators — 5-14: 14.5%
15-19 8.7% / 9.1%
Mount Helen — 15-19: 8.7% Navigators — 15-19: 9.1%
20-24 8.4% / 2.2%
Mount Helen — 20-24: 8.4% Navigators — 20-24: 2.2%
25-34 10.2% / 8.0%
Mount Helen — 25-34: 10.2% Navigators — 25-34: 8.0%
35-44 12.6% / 11.2%
Mount Helen — 35-44: 12.6% Navigators — 35-44: 11.2%
45-54 12.8% / 13.0%
Mount Helen — 45-54: 12.8% Navigators — 45-54: 13.0%
55-64 12.6% / 12.3%
Mount Helen — 55-64: 12.6% Navigators — 55-64: 12.3%
65-74 9.6% / 17.0%
Mount Helen — 65-74: 9.6% Navigators — 65-74: 17.0%
75-84 3.7% / 3.3%
Mount Helen — 75-84: 3.7% Navigators — 75-84: 3.3%
85+ 0.6% / 1.4%
Mount Helen — 85+: 0.6% Navigators — 85+: 1.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.0%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Mount Helen 55.2% couple families
Mount Helen — Couple Families: 55.2% Mount Helen — Lone Person: 23.9% Mount Helen — One Parent Families: 15.6% Mount Helen — Group Household: 4.4% Mount Helen — Other Families: 0.9%
Navigators 66.7% couple families
Navigators — Couple Families: 66.7% Navigators — Lone Person: 18.3% Navigators — One Parent Families: 15.0% Navigators — Group Household: 0.0% Navigators — Other Families: 0.0%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Mount Helen 17.8% renting
Mount Helen — Owned Outright: 38.5% Mount Helen — Mortgage: 43.7% Mount Helen — Renting: 17.8%
Navigators 6.6% renting
Navigators — Owned Outright: 50.5% Navigators — Mortgage: 42.9% Navigators — Renting: 6.6%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Mount Helen Navigators
Certificate III & IV 12.5% / 17.0%
Mount Helen — Certificate III & IV: 12.5% Navigators — Certificate III & IV: 17.0%
Bachelor Degree 14.9% / 9.8%
Mount Helen — Bachelor Degree: 14.9% Navigators — Bachelor Degree: 9.8%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 7.6% / 11.6%
Mount Helen — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.6% Navigators — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 11.6%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 3.8% / 3.3%
Mount Helen — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 3.8% Navigators — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 3.3%
Postgraduate Degree 5.3% / 1.1%
Mount Helen — Postgraduate Degree: 5.3% Navigators — Postgraduate Degree: 1.1%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.0%).

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.

Mount Helen Navigators
England 3.2% / 2.2%
Mount Helen — England: 3.2% Navigators — England: 2.2%
New Zealand 0.9% / 2.5%
Mount Helen — New Zealand: 0.9% Navigators — New Zealand: 2.5%
Scotland 0.3% / 1.8%
Mount Helen — Scotland: 0.3% Navigators — Scotland: 1.8%
India 0.8% / —
Mount Helen — India: 0.8% Navigators — India: not among its largest
China 0.6% / —
Mount Helen — China: 0.6% Navigators — China: not among its largest
South Africa 0.6% / —
Mount Helen — South Africa: 0.6% Navigators — South Africa: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (3.2%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Mount Helen 93.8% houses
Mount Helen — Houses: 93.8% Mount Helen — Townhouses: 3.4% Mount Helen — Flats / Apartments: 2.8%
Navigators 100.0% houses
Navigators — Houses: 100.0% Navigators — Townhouses: 0.0% Navigators — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Mount Helen Navigators
Median house price $680,000 —
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price $335,000 —
Typical days to sell (houses) 45 days
from 33 sales
 —

Zoning mix

Navigators has more rural and farming land (93% vs 72%).

Mount Helen Navigators
Rural and farming 72% 93%
Residential 12% 0%
Infrastructure and transport 8% 3%
Other and special use 0% 4%
Commercial 4% 0%
Parks and recreation 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

Mount Helen Navigators
New dwellings approved 1,451
across Ballarat
 338
across Moorabool
Approvals change year on year +42% +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.

Mount Helen Navigators
Houses 2.9%
$450/wk on $818K
 —
Units —
same for both

Ranking within VIC

Mount Helen Navigators
House price Higher than 40% of VIC —
Income Higher than 80% of VIC Higher than 64% of VIC
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 82% of VIC Higher than 71% of VIC
Affordability Higher than 88% of VIC —
EV adoption Higher than 72% of VIC Higher than 37% of VIC
NBN connectivity Higher than 93% of VIC Higher than 58% of VIC
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 9% of VIC —

Liveability

Mount Helen is more walkable (28 vs 10).

Mount Helen Navigators
Grade B —
Score 67/100 —
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 8/10
 very advantaged area
decile 9/10

Risk profile

Navigators carries more bushfire risk (58 vs 0).

Mount Helen Navigators
Bushfire None
0/100
 Moderate
58/100
Crime Moderate
45/100
 Moderate
51/100
Flood None
0/100
same for both
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 1
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Mount Helen Navigators
Inside the suburb 2 0
Rated above peers 1 0
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 1 0
Universities within 10 km 1
Federation University Ballarat, 8.0 km
 1
Federation University Ballarat, 9.3 km
Full-time students aged 15–24 5.6% 1.1%

Schools in Mount Helen

  • Ballarat Steiner School Independent · Primary above peers
  • Emmaus Catholic Primary School Catholic · Primary below peers

Schools in Navigators

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

Amenities in the suburb

Mount Helen Navigators
Cafes & restaurants 2 0
Parks & reserves 1 0
Childcare 3 0
Waterways 20 14

Mobility

Mount Helen sits further from the CBD (118.1 km vs 113.9 km).

Mount Helen Navigators
Walkability score 28/100 10/100
Distance to Melbourne 118.1 km
+4% vs other
 113.9 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 89 min 85 min
Electric vehicle share 0.9%
postcode 3350
 0.4%
postcode 3352
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 30
postcode 3350
 51
postcode 3352

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.

Mount Helen Navigators
Car (driver) 65.7% / 69.6%
Mount Helen — Car (driver): 65.7% Navigators — Car (driver): 69.6%
Worked from Home 26.5% / 19.6%
Mount Helen — Worked from Home: 26.5% Navigators — Worked from Home: 19.6%
Car (passenger) 5.9% / 6.9%
Mount Helen — Car (passenger): 5.9% Navigators — Car (passenger): 6.9%
Walked Only 0.6% / 3.9%
Mount Helen — Walked Only: 0.6% Navigators — Walked Only: 3.9%
Bus 0.9% / —
Mount Helen — Bus: 0.9% Navigators — Bus: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (69.6%).

Setting

Mount Helen Navigators
Elevation 495 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 507 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Mount Helen Navigators
Connectivity score 86/100 30/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 68%
1,664 premises
 0%
107 premises

Climate

Mount Helen Navigators
Annual rainfall 605 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 25.7°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 3.5°C
same for both

Council rates

Mount Helen Navigators
Average residential rate $2,086/yr $1,979/yr
Council Ballarat Moorabool

Federal electorate

Mount Helen Navigators
Division Ballarat
same for both
Member Catherine King
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Mount Helen Navigators
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Mount Helen

Acreage Quiet River

Navigators

Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Mount Helen

Mount Helen vs Buninyong Mount Helen vs Mount Clear Mount Helen vs Magpie

Other comparisons with Navigators

Navigators vs Canadian Navigators vs Buninyong Navigators vs Mount Clear Navigators vs Warrenheip Navigators vs Yendon Navigators vs Dunnstown
Full data on Mount Helen Full data on Navigators
Unlock full address-level data — $29/month

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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