Newstead vs Sandon
In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and about half of households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Sandon: a median of $895,000, against $550,000 in Newstead, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Newstead tends to suit older residents 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
Newstead
ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more parks and reserves (5 vs 0)
- has more separate houses rather than flats (96% vs 86%)
- But Sandon carries lower crime risk (22/100 vs 46/100)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Newstead
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper houses ($550,000 vs $895,000)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Newstead
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($300/wk vs $330/wk)
Weighs rent and rental stress.
Commuting to the city
Newstead
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (40/100 vs 0/100)
- has a shorter drive in (105 min vs 110 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (138 km vs 141 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here
- Newstead is more walkable (40/100 vs 0/100)
- Sandon has more units and townhouses to downsize into (14% vs 4%)
Weighs smaller dwellings, 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
Newstead and Sandon 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
Newstead has more residents (820 vs 89); Sandon has higher household incomes ($63,648 vs $57,460).
| Newstead | Sandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 820 +89% vs other | 89 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +8.8% | +9.9% |
| Median age | 51 | 53 |
| Median household income | $57,460/yr | $63,648/yr +11% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $300/wk | $330/wk +10% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (25.8%).
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 (5.6%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (15.7%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Newstead | Sandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $550,000 | $895,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | $207,500 | — |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 58 days from 4 sales | — |
Zoning mix
Sandon has more rural and farming land (86% vs 64%).
| Newstead | Sandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 64% | 86% |
| Parks and recreation | 25% | 13% |
| Residential | 6% | 0% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 5% | 1% |
| 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
| Newstead | Sandon | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 102 across Mount Alexander same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -7% same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Newstead | Sandon | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 16% of VIC | Higher than 25% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 84% of VIC | Higher than 31% of VIC |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 64% of VIC same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 56% of VIC | Higher than 15% of VIC |
Liveability
Newstead is more walkable (40 vs 0).
| Newstead | Sandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | B | — |
| Score | 56/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | mid-range socio-economic decile 4/10 | mid-range socio-economic decile 6/10 |
Risk profile
Sandon carries more bushfire risk (78 vs 0); Newstead carries more crime risk (46 vs 22).
| Newstead | Sandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 | High 78/100 |
| Crime | Moderate 46/100 | Low 22/100 |
| 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 | 0 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Newstead | Sandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 1 | 0 |
Schools in Newstead
- Newstead Primary School Government · Primary below peers
Schools in Sandon
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Newstead | Sandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Cafes & restaurants | 1 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 5 | 0 |
| Childcare | 2 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 1 | 0 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 4 | 3 |
Mobility
Sandon sits further from the CBD (141 km vs 138 km).
| Newstead | Sandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 40/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Melbourne | 138 km | 141 km +2% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 105 min | 110 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.7% postcode 3462 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 56 postcode 3462 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 (74.2%).
Setting
| Newstead | Sandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 213 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 285 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Newstead | Sandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 30/100 | 18/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless | Satellite (Sky Muster) |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 429 premises | 0% 27 premises |
Climate
| Newstead | Sandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 531 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Newstead | Sandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,885/yr same for both | |
| Council | Mount Alexander same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Newstead | Sandon | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Bendigo same for both | |
| Member | Lisa Chesters same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Newstead | Sandon | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Newstead
Other comparisons with Sandon
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.