Rye vs St Andrews Beach
St Andrews Beach is the younger of the two, with a median age of 44 against 51 in Rye. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Rye, about half of households are people living alone. In St Andrews Beach, about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in St Andrews Beach: a median of $1.45 million, against $900,000 in Rye. On these figures, Rye tends to suit people living alone, older residents, and buyers on a tighter budget, while St Andrews Beach suits families with children and 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
St Andrews Beach
ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here
- carries lower crime risk (18/100 vs 60/100)
- is already more of a family suburb (65% vs 49%)
- But Rye has more parks and reserves (7 vs 2)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Rye
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has cheaper houses ($900,000 vs $1,450,000)
- has cheaper land ($650,000 vs $810,000)
- But St Andrews Beach leaves households under less mortgage stress (24% vs 31%)
Weighs house prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.
Renters
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Rye has a bigger rental market to choose from (22% vs 12%)
- St Andrews Beach leaves renters under less rental stress (19% vs 28%)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
St Andrews Beach
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is more walkable (30/100 vs 20/100)
Weighs distance, drive time, rail access, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here
- Rye has more GPs (4 vs 0)
- St Andrews Beach carries lower crime risk (18/100 vs 60/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Too close to call
Nothing among the 2 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs house yield and population growth.
Where they sit
Rye and St Andrews Beach 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
Rye has more residents (9,438 vs 974); St Andrews Beach has higher household incomes ($100,412 vs $69,368).
| Rye | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 9,438 +90% vs other | 974 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +12.1% | +9.6% |
| Median age | 51 | 44 |
| Median household income | $69,368/yr | $100,412/yr +45% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $372/wk +3% vs other | $360/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.1%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.2%).
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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (3.9%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Rye | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $900,000 | $1,450,000 |
| Median unit price | $602,500 | — |
| Median land price | $650,000 | $810,000 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 30 days from 231 sales | 30 days from 4 sales |
House price by bedroom count
Only bed counts both suburbs published enough sales for. Sale counts are shown because the buckets differ in depth.
216 vs 12 sales
105 vs 12 sales
Zoning mix
Rye has more rural and farming land (17% vs 0%).
| Rye | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Residential | 67% | 59% |
| Parks and recreation | 9% | 33% |
| Rural and farming | 17% | 0% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 6% | 8% |
| Planning zones cover 100% of Rye and 99% of St Andrews Beach. 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
| Rye | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 791 across Mornington Peninsula same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +9% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Rye | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 2.9% $660/wk on $1.2M | 2.8% $850/wk on $1.56M |
| Units | 4.7% $520/wk on $570K | — |
Ranking within VIC
| Rye | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 64% of VIC | Higher than 88% of VIC |
| Income | Higher than 31% of VIC | Higher than 73% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 80% of VIC | Higher than 82% of VIC |
| Affordability | Higher than 18% of VIC | Higher than 10% of VIC |
| EV adoption | Higher than 78% of VIC same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 84% of VIC | Higher than 88% of VIC |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 9% of VIC | Higher than 8% of VIC |
| Rental yield (units) | Higher than 47% of VIC | — |
Liveability
St Andrews Beach is more walkable (30 vs 20); St Andrews Beach scores higher overall (69 vs 57).
| Rye | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | B | A |
| Score | 57/100 | 69/100 |
| Socio-economic band | mid-range socio-economic decile 6/10 | very advantaged area decile 9/10 |
Risk profile
Rye carries more crime risk (60 vs 18); St Andrews Beach carries more flood risk (34 vs 19).
| Rye | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Moderate 60/100 | Low 18/100 |
| Flood | Low 19/100 | Low 34/100 |
| Coastal erosion | Moderate 56/100 | Low 37/100 |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 1 within 5 km | 2 within 5 km |
Schools
| Rye | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 1 | 0 |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Schools in Rye
- Rye Primary School Government · Primary at peers
Schools in St Andrews Beach
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Rye | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 1 | 0 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 14 | 1 |
| Parks & reserves | 7 | 2 |
| Childcare | 2 | 1 |
| GPs | 4 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 2 | 0 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 2 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 2 | 0 |
| EV chargers | 1 | 0 |
| Beaches | 1 | 0 |
Mobility
| Rye | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 20/100 | 30/100 |
| Distance to Melbourne | 102.6 km | 102.1 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 84 min same for both | |
| Electric vehicle share | 1.0% postcode 3941 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 23 postcode 3941 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 (65.7%).
Setting
| Rye | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 33 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 15 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 1.9 km 2.0 km to a named beach | 387 m 4.6 km to a named beach |
NBN connectivity
| Rye | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 75/100 | 78/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the premises same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 55% 9,444 premises | 60% 822 premises |
Climate
| Rye | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 700 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Rye | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,659/yr same for both | |
| Council | Mornington Peninsula same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Rye | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Flinders same for both | |
| Member | Zoe Mckenzie same for both | |
| Party | Liberal same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Rye | St Andrews Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Rye
Other comparisons with St Andrews Beach
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.