Portland vs Portland West

In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Portland, about half of households are people living alone. In Portland West, most households are couple families. On these figures, Portland tends to suit people living alone, while Portland West suits 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

They split

one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here

  • Portland has more schools inside the suburb (9 vs 0)
  • Portland West carries lower crime risk (36/100 vs 86/100)

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

First-home buyers

Portland West

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (16% vs 22%)

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Portland

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (28% vs 6%)
  • has cheaper rent ($250/wk vs $300/wk)
  • But Portland West leaves renters under less rental stress (16% vs 22%)

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

Commuting to the city

Portland

ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (63/100 vs 0/100)
  • has a shorter drive in (268 min vs 275 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (358.5 km vs 360.6 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Portland

ahead on 3 of the 4 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (63/100 vs 0/100)
  • has more GPs (5 vs 0)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (25% vs 20%)
  • But Portland West carries lower crime risk (36/100 vs 86/100)

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

Investors

Portland West

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (8.8% vs 3.1%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Portland Portland West
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.

Portland Portland West
Walkability 63 / 0
Portland — Walkability: 63/100 Portland West — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 14 / 64
Portland — Safety: 14/100 Portland West — Safety: 64/100
Low fire risk 6 / 10
Portland — Low fire risk: 6/100 Portland West — Low fire risk: 10/100
Low flood risk 61 / 81
Portland — Low flood risk: 61/100 Portland West — Low flood risk: 81/100

Demographics

Portland has more residents (10,016 vs 619); Portland West has higher household incomes ($100,412 vs $59,592).

Portland Portland West
Population 10,016
+94% vs other
 619
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +3.1% +8.8%
Median age 47 49
Median household income $59,592/yr $100,412/yr
+68% vs other
Median weekly rent $250/wk $300/wk
+20% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Portland Portland West
0-4 4.6% / 4.2%
Portland — 0-4: 4.6% Portland West — 0-4: 4.2%
5-14 11.1% / 10.7%
Portland — 5-14: 11.1% Portland West — 5-14: 10.7%
15-19 5.6% / 8.1%
Portland — 15-19: 5.6% Portland West — 15-19: 8.1%
20-24 4.9% / 3.2%
Portland — 20-24: 4.9% Portland West — 20-24: 3.2%
25-34 9.6% / 7.4%
Portland — 25-34: 9.6% Portland West — 25-34: 7.4%
35-44 10.7% / 10.8%
Portland — 35-44: 10.7% Portland West — 35-44: 10.8%
45-54 13.0% / 17.8%
Portland — 45-54: 13.0% Portland West — 45-54: 17.8%
55-64 15.5% / 17.9%
Portland — 55-64: 15.5% Portland West — 55-64: 17.9%
65-74 14.2% / 14.9%
Portland — 65-74: 14.2% Portland West — 65-74: 14.9%
75-84 7.5% / 3.9%
Portland — 75-84: 7.5% Portland West — 75-84: 3.9%
85+ 3.3% / 1.0%
Portland — 85+: 3.3% Portland West — 85+: 1.0%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.9%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Portland 29.2% couple families
Portland — Couple Families: 29.2% Portland — Lone Person: 48.0% Portland — One Parent Families: 17.5% Portland — Group Household: 4.1% Portland — Other Families: 1.2%
Portland West 62.2% couple families
Portland West — Couple Families: 62.2% Portland West — Lone Person: 26.7% Portland West — One Parent Families: 6.7% Portland West — Group Household: 4.4% Portland West — 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.

Portland 27.6% renting
Portland — Owned Outright: 41.8% Portland — Mortgage: 30.6% Portland — Renting: 27.6%
Portland West 6.0% renting
Portland West — Owned Outright: 49.5% Portland West — Mortgage: 44.4% Portland West — Renting: 6.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Portland Portland West
Certificate III & IV 17.9% / 20.2%
Portland — Certificate III & IV: 17.9% Portland West — Certificate III & IV: 20.2%
Bachelor Degree 6.5% / 11.8%
Portland — Bachelor Degree: 6.5% Portland West — Bachelor Degree: 11.8%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 6.4% / 8.2%
Portland — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.4% Portland West — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.2%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.4% / 3.2%
Portland — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.4% Portland West — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 3.2%
Postgraduate Degree 1.2% / 1.0%
Portland — Postgraduate Degree: 1.2% Portland West — Postgraduate Degree: 1.0%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.2%).

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.

Portland Portland West
England 2.4% / 2.3%
Portland — England: 2.4% Portland West — England: 2.3%
New Zealand 1.3% / 1.5%
Portland — New Zealand: 1.3% Portland West — New Zealand: 1.5%
Philippines 0.7% / 0.8%
Portland — Philippines: 0.7% Portland West — Philippines: 0.8%
Scotland 0.4% / 0.5%
Portland — Scotland: 0.4% Portland West — Scotland: 0.5%
Germany — / 0.6%
Portland — Germany: not among its largest Portland West — Germany: 0.6%
Netherlands 0.5% / —
Portland — Netherlands: 0.5% Portland West — Netherlands: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (2.4%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Portland 88.2% houses
Portland — Houses: 88.2% Portland — Townhouses: 9.4% Portland — Flats / Apartments: 2.4%
Portland West 100.9% houses
Portland West — Houses: 100.9% Portland West — Townhouses: 0.0% Portland West — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Portland Portland West
Median house price $470,000 —
Median unit price $297,500 —
Median land price $220,000 —
Typical days to sell (houses) 56 days
from 137 sales
 —

Zoning mix

Portland West has more land zoned for conservation (33% vs 2%); Portland West has more rural and farming land (40% vs 11%).

Portland Portland West
Rural and farming 11% 40%
Environmental 2% 33%
Industrial 28% 0%
Residential 27% 0%
Parks and recreation 13% 26%
Infrastructure and transport 10% 1%
Commercial 5% 0%
Other and special use 2% 0%
Planning zones cover 97% of Portland and 100% of Portland West. The rest is unzoned land such as water or road reserve.
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

Portland Portland West
New dwellings approved 60
across Glenelg
same for both
Approvals change year on year -65%
same for both

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.

Portland Portland West
Houses 5.2%
$580/wk on $580K
 —
Units 4.9%
$380/wk on $400K
 —

Ranking within VIC

Portland Portland West
House price Higher than 8% of VIC —
Income Higher than 20% of VIC Higher than 73% of VIC
Schools Higher than 76% of VIC —
Walkability Higher than 88% of VIC Higher than 25% of VIC
Affordability Higher than 82% of VIC —
EV adoption Higher than 6% of VIC
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 77% of VIC Higher than 41% of VIC
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 99% of VIC —
Rental yield (units) Higher than 58% of VIC —

Liveability

Portland is more walkable (63 vs 0).

Portland Portland West
Grade D
same for both
Score 29/100 30/100
Socio-economic band below-average income
decile 2/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 6/10

Risk profile

Portland carries more crime risk (86 vs 36); Portland carries more flood risk (39 vs 19).

Portland Portland West
Bushfire High
94/100
 High
90/100
Crime High
86/100
 Low
36/100
Flood Low
39/100
 Low
19/100
Coastal erosion Moderate
60/100
 Moderate
59/100
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 3
within 5 km
 1
within 5 km

Schools

Portland Portland West
Inside the suburb 9 0
Rated above peers 3 0
Rated at peers 3 0
Rated below peers 1 0

Schools in Portland

  • Bayview College Independent · Secondary above peers
  • Portland Primary School Government · Primary above peers
  • St John's Lutheran School Independent · Primary above peers
  • Bundarra Primary School Government · Primary at peers
  • Portland Secondary College Government · Secondary at peers
  • Portland South Primary School Government · Primary at peers

Schools in Portland West

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

Amenities in the suburb

Portland Portland West
Supermarkets 3 0
Cafes & restaurants 8 1
Parks & reserves 21 6
Childcare 7 0
GPs 5 0
Pharmacies 2 0
Police stations 1 0
Banks & Bank@Post 7 0
Fuel stations 4 0
EV chargers 1 0
Beaches 1 0
Waterways 3 1

Mobility

Portland West sits further from the CBD (360.6 km vs 358.5 km).

Portland Portland West
Walkability score 63/100 0/100
Distance to Melbourne 358.5 km 360.6 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 268 min 275 min
Electric vehicle share 0.2%
postcode 3305
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 33
postcode 3305
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.

Portland Portland West
Car (driver) 82.3% / 79.2%
Portland — Car (driver): 82.3% Portland West — Car (driver): 79.2%
Worked from Home 6.8% / 12.1%
Portland — Worked from Home: 6.8% Portland West — Worked from Home: 12.1%
Car (passenger) 6.0% / 5.7%
Portland — Car (passenger): 6.0% Portland West — Car (passenger): 5.7%
Walked Only 4.2% / 3.0%
Portland — Walked Only: 4.2% Portland West — Walked Only: 3.0%
Bicycle 0.6% / —
Portland — Bicycle: 0.6% Portland West — Bicycle: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (82.3%).

Setting

Portland Portland West
Elevation 16 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 61 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 1.2 km
2.9 km to a named beach
 2.8 km

NBN connectivity

Portland Portland West
Connectivity score 66/100 29/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 39%
5,892 premises
 0%
263 premises

Climate

Portland Portland West
Annual rainfall 661 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Council rates

Portland Portland West
Average residential rate $1,852/yr
same for both
Council Glenelg
same for both

Federal electorate

Portland Portland West
Division Wannon
same for both
Member Dan Tehan
same for both
Party Liberal
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Portland Portland West
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Portland

Affordable Coastal Parks Regional Centre Retirees

Portland West

Coastal Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Portland

Portland vs Portland North

Other comparisons with Portland West

Portland West vs Portland North Portland West vs Cashmore Portland West vs Cape Bridgewater
Full data on Portland Full data on Portland West
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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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