Pastoria vs Pipers Creek
Pipers Creek is the younger of the two, with a median age of 40 against 50 in Pastoria. 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, Pastoria tends to suit people living alone and older residents, while Pipers Creek 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
- Pastoria carries lower crime risk (20/100 vs 60/100)
- Pipers Creek is already more of a family suburb (73% vs 60%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Pipers Creek
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (18% vs 49%)
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
Pipers Creek
ahead on 2 of the 2 things we measure here
- leaves renters under less rental stress (12% vs 18%)
- has cheaper rent ($300/wk vs $346/wk)
Weighs rent and rental stress.
Commuting to the city
Pipers Creek
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- sits closer to the CBD (87.1 km vs 99.4 km)
- has a shorter drive in (67 min vs 75 min)
- But Pastoria is more walkable (10/100 vs 0/100)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Pastoria
ahead on 3 of the 4 things we measure here
- is more walkable (10/100 vs 0/100)
- carries lower crime risk (20/100 vs 60/100)
- has more residents already 65 and over (32% vs 16%)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Pastoria
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (56.2% vs 18.9%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Pastoria and Pipers Creek 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
Pipers Creek has more residents (189 vs 75); Pipers Creek has higher household incomes ($133,692 vs $97,500).
| Pastoria | Pipers Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 75 | 189 +152% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +56.2% | +18.9% |
| Median age | 50 | 40 |
| Median household income | $97,500/yr | $133,692/yr +37% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $346/wk +13% vs other | $300/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (24.0%).
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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (12.0%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.7%).
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Zoning mix
Pipers Creek has more rural and farming land (74% vs 61%).
| Pastoria | Pipers Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 61% | 74% |
| Environmental | 28% | 26% |
| Parks and recreation | 10% | 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
| Pastoria | Pipers Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 331 across Macedon Ranges same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +80% same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Pastoria | Pipers Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 70% of VIC | Higher than 95% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 72% of VIC | Higher than 22% of VIC |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 76% of VIC same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 14% of VIC | Higher than 34% of VIC |
Liveability
Pastoria is more walkable (10 vs 0).
| Pastoria | Pipers Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 10/10 | very advantaged area decile 9/10 |
Risk profile
Pipers Creek carries more crime risk (60 vs 20); Pipers Creek carries more flood risk (30 vs 16).
| Pastoria | Pipers Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Moderate 61/100 | Moderate 55/100 |
| Crime | Low 20/100 | Moderate 60/100 |
| Flood | Low 16/100 | Low 30/100 |
| 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
| Pastoria | Pipers Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 same for both | |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Amenities in the suburb
| Pastoria | Pipers Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 0 | 2 |
Mobility
Pastoria sits further from the CBD (99.4 km vs 87.1 km).
| Pastoria | Pipers Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 10/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Melbourne | 99.4 km +12% vs other | 87.1 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 75 min | 67 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 1.0% postcode 3444 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 49 postcode 3444 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 (55.4%).
Setting
| Pastoria | Pipers Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 479 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 521 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Pastoria | Pipers Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 17/100 | 28/100 |
| Most common technology | Satellite (Sky Muster) | Fixed wireless |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 28 premises | 0% 70 premises |
Climate
| Pastoria | Pipers Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 778 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Pastoria | Pipers Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $2,065/yr same for both | |
| Council | Macedon Ranges same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Pastoria | Pipers Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Bendigo same for both | |
| Member | Lisa Chesters same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Pastoria | Pipers Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Pastoria
Pipers Creek
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Pastoria
Other comparisons with Pipers Creek
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.