Nowa Nowa vs Toorloo Arm
Toorloo Arm is the younger of the two, with a median age of 45 against 55 in Nowa Nowa. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. On these figures, Nowa Nowa tends to suit people living alone, share households, and older residents, while Toorloo Arm suits 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
They split
one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here
- Nowa Nowa carries lower crime risk (81/100 vs 91/100)
- Toorloo Arm is already more of a family suburb (58% vs 42%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Too close to call
Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
Toorloo Arm
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- leaves renters under less rental stress (13% vs 21%)
- has cheaper rent ($170/wk vs $210/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Nowa Nowa
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (239 min vs 249 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (325.9 km vs 332 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Nowa Nowa
ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here
- has more residents already 65 and over (29% vs 17%)
- carries lower crime risk (81/100 vs 91/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Toorloo Arm
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (40.6% vs 2.6%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Nowa Nowa and Toorloo Arm 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
Toorloo Arm has more residents (509 vs 199); Toorloo Arm has higher household incomes ($68,484 vs $52,624).
| Nowa Nowa | Toorloo Arm | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 199 | 509 +156% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +2.6% | +40.6% |
| Median age | 55 | 45 |
| Median household income | $52,624/yr | $68,484/yr +30% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $210/wk +19% vs other | $170/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.1%).
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 (4.0%).
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
| Nowa Nowa | Toorloo Arm | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $200,000 | — |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
Zoning mix
| Nowa Nowa | Toorloo Arm | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks and recreation | 93% | 80% |
| Rural and farming | 5% | 11% |
| Other and special use | 0% | 8% |
| 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
| Nowa Nowa | Toorloo Arm | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 386 across East Gippsland same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +50% same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Nowa Nowa | Toorloo Arm | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 11% of VIC | Higher than 30% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 44% of VIC | Higher than 56% of VIC |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | — | Higher than 30% of VIC |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 64% of VIC | Higher than 32% of VIC |
Liveability
| Nowa Nowa | Toorloo Arm | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — | D |
| Score | — | 9/100 |
| Socio-economic band | below-average income decile 2/10 | high-need area decile 1/10 |
Risk profile
Toorloo Arm carries more crime risk (91 vs 81).
| Nowa Nowa | Toorloo Arm | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | High 90/100 | High 88/100 |
| Crime | High 81/100 | High 91/100 |
| 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
| Nowa Nowa | Toorloo Arm | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 | 1 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 | 1 |
Schools in Nowa Nowa
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Schools in Toorloo Arm
- Toorloo Arm Primary School Government · Primary below peers
Amenities in the suburb
| Nowa Nowa | Toorloo Arm | |
|---|---|---|
| Cafes & restaurants | 2 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 1 | 0 |
| GPs | 0 | 1 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 11 | 3 |
Mobility
Toorloo Arm sits further from the CBD (332 km vs 325.9 km).
| Nowa Nowa | Toorloo Arm | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Melbourne | 325.9 km | 332 km +2% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 239 min | 249 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.0% postcode 3887 | 0.3% postcode 3909 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 79 postcode 3887 | 41 postcode 3909 |
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 (79.1%).
Setting
| Nowa Nowa | Toorloo Arm | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 141 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 55 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 19.3 km | 7.7 km |
NBN connectivity
| Nowa Nowa | Toorloo Arm | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 30/100 | 27/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 106 premises | 0% 159 premises |
Climate
| Nowa Nowa | Toorloo Arm | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 620 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 25.5°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 4.5°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Nowa Nowa | Toorloo Arm | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,807/yr same for both | |
| Council | East Gippsland same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Nowa Nowa | Toorloo Arm | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Gippsland same for both | |
| Member | Darren Chester same for both | |
| Party | The Nationals same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Nowa Nowa | Toorloo Arm | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Nowa Nowa
Other comparisons with Toorloo Arm
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.