Smiths Beach vs Sunderland Bay

Sunderland Bay is the younger of the two, with a median age of 41 against 51 in Smiths Beach. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Smiths Beach, about half of households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Smiths Beach: a median of $768,000, against $662,000 in Sunderland Bay. On these figures, Smiths Beach tends to suit people living alone, while Sunderland Bay 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

  • Smiths Beach carries lower crime risk (29/100 vs 52/100)
  • Sunderland Bay is already more of a family suburb (54% vs 42%)

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

First-home buyers

Sunderland Bay

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (24% vs 31%)
  • has cheaper houses ($662,000 vs $767,500)
  • But Smiths Beach has cheaper land ($580,000 vs $995,000)

Weighs house prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Too close to call

Nothing among the 3 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

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

Commuting to the city

Smiths Beach

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is more walkable (27/100 vs 10/100)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Smiths Beach

ahead on 3 of the 4 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (27/100 vs 10/100)
  • carries lower crime risk (29/100 vs 52/100)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (24% vs 17%)

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

Investors

Smiths Beach

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (39.4% vs 30.8%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Smiths Beach Sunderland Bay
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.

Smiths Beach Sunderland Bay
Walkability 27 / 10
Smiths Beach — Walkability: 27/100 Sunderland Bay — Walkability: 10/100
Safety 71 / 48
Smiths Beach — Safety: 71/100 Sunderland Bay — Safety: 48/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Smiths Beach — Low fire risk: 100/100 Sunderland Bay — Low fire risk: 100/100
Low flood risk 71 / 79
Smiths Beach — Low flood risk: 71/100 Sunderland Bay — Low flood risk: 79/100

Demographics

Smiths Beach skews older (51 vs 41).

Smiths Beach Sunderland Bay
Population 315
+3% vs other
 306
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +39.4% +30.8%
Median age 51 41
Median household income $61,412/yr $65,728/yr
+7% vs other
Median weekly rent $330/wk
+4% vs other
 $316/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Smiths Beach Sunderland Bay
0-4 6.3% / 5.2%
Smiths Beach — 0-4: 6.3% Sunderland Bay — 0-4: 5.2%
5-14 9.2% / 16.0%
Smiths Beach — 5-14: 9.2% Sunderland Bay — 5-14: 16.0%
15-19 5.1% / 6.5%
Smiths Beach — 15-19: 5.1% Sunderland Bay — 15-19: 6.5%
20-24 2.5% / 4.6%
Smiths Beach — 20-24: 2.5% Sunderland Bay — 20-24: 4.6%
25-34 9.8% / 11.1%
Smiths Beach — 25-34: 9.8% Sunderland Bay — 25-34: 11.1%
35-44 10.8% / 11.4%
Smiths Beach — 35-44: 10.8% Sunderland Bay — 35-44: 11.4%
45-54 11.7% / 14.7%
Smiths Beach — 45-54: 11.7% Sunderland Bay — 45-54: 14.7%
55-64 25.1% / 14.7%
Smiths Beach — 55-64: 25.1% Sunderland Bay — 55-64: 14.7%
65-74 14.3% / 10.1%
Smiths Beach — 65-74: 14.3% Sunderland Bay — 65-74: 10.1%
75-84 7.3% / 6.5%
Smiths Beach — 75-84: 7.3% Sunderland Bay — 75-84: 6.5%
85+ 2.2% / —
Smiths Beach — 85+: 2.2% Sunderland Bay — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (25.1%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Smiths Beach 51.6% lone person
Smiths Beach — Lone Person: 51.6% Smiths Beach — Couple Families: 36.3% Smiths Beach — One Parent Families: 5.5% Smiths Beach — Group Household: 6.6%
Sunderland Bay 42.3% lone person
Sunderland Bay — Lone Person: 42.3% Sunderland Bay — Couple Families: 28.9% Sunderland Bay — One Parent Families: 24.7% Sunderland Bay — Group Household: 4.1%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families Group Household

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Smiths Beach 19.5% renting
Smiths Beach — Owned Outright: 51.7% Smiths Beach — Mortgage: 28.8% Smiths Beach — Renting: 19.5%
Sunderland Bay 21.6% renting
Sunderland Bay — Owned Outright: 45.7% Sunderland Bay — Mortgage: 32.8% Sunderland Bay — Renting: 21.6%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Smiths Beach Sunderland Bay
Certificate III & IV 16.5% / 16.3%
Smiths Beach — Certificate III & IV: 16.5% Sunderland Bay — Certificate III & IV: 16.3%
Bachelor Degree 19.7% / 12.1%
Smiths Beach — Bachelor Degree: 19.7% Sunderland Bay — Bachelor Degree: 12.1%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 10.2% / 4.6%
Smiths Beach — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 10.2% Sunderland Bay — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 4.6%
Postgraduate Degree 6.7% / 2.6%
Smiths Beach — Postgraduate Degree: 6.7% Sunderland Bay — Postgraduate Degree: 2.6%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.9% / 2.6%
Smiths Beach — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.9% Sunderland Bay — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.7%).

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.

Smiths Beach Sunderland Bay
England 3.5% / 3.9%
Smiths Beach — England: 3.5% Sunderland Bay — England: 3.9%
New Zealand 2.9% / 1.3%
Smiths Beach — New Zealand: 2.9% Sunderland Bay — New Zealand: 1.3%
Netherlands 1.9% / —
Smiths Beach — Netherlands: 1.9% Sunderland Bay — Netherlands: not among its largest
Ireland 1.3% / —
Smiths Beach — Ireland: 1.3% Sunderland Bay — Ireland: not among its largest
Philippines — / 1.3%
Smiths Beach — Philippines: not among its largest Sunderland Bay — Philippines: 1.3%
Malaysia 1.0% / —
Smiths Beach — Malaysia: 1.0% Sunderland Bay — Malaysia: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (3.9%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Smiths Beach 97.0% houses
Smiths Beach — Houses: 97.0% Smiths Beach — Flats / Apartments: 3.0%
Sunderland Bay 100.0% houses
Sunderland Bay — Houses: 100.0% Sunderland Bay — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Houses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Smiths Beach Sunderland Bay
Median house price $767,500 $662,000
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price $580,000 $995,000
Typical days to sell (houses) 110 days
from 7 sales
 116 days
from 4 sales

Zoning mix

Smiths Beach has more rural and farming land (15% vs 0%).

Smiths Beach Sunderland Bay
Residential 66% 84%
Parks and recreation 17% 13%
Rural and farming 15% 0%
Infrastructure and transport 2%
same for both
Planning zones cover 100% of Smiths Beach and 99% of Sunderland Bay. 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

Smiths Beach Sunderland Bay
New dwellings approved 393
across Bass Coast
same for both
Approvals change year on year +0%
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.

Smiths Beach Sunderland Bay
Houses — 5.4%
$575/wk on $549K
Units —
same for both

Ranking within VIC

Smiths Beach Sunderland Bay
House price Higher than 71% of VIC Higher than 41% of VIC
Income Higher than 22% of VIC —
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 82% of VIC Higher than 70% of VIC
Affordability Higher than 7% of VIC —
EV adoption Higher than 70% of VIC
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 83% of VIC Higher than 87% of VIC
Rental yield (houses) — Higher than 99% of VIC

Liveability

Smiths Beach is more walkable (27 vs 10).

Smiths Beach Sunderland Bay
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 8/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 4/10

Risk profile

Sunderland Bay carries more crime risk (52 vs 29).

Smiths Beach Sunderland Bay
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime Low
29/100
 Moderate
52/100
Flood Low
29/100
 Low
21/100
Coastal erosion Low
17/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 1
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Smiths Beach Sunderland Bay
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

Smiths Beach Sunderland Bay
Parks & reserves 1 0

Mobility

Smiths Beach Sunderland Bay
Walkability score 27/100 10/100
Distance to Melbourne 135.4 km
+1% vs other
 133.9 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 110 min
same for both
Electric vehicle share 0.8%
postcode 3922
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 29
postcode 3922
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.

Smiths Beach Sunderland Bay
Car (driver) 58.6% / 66.1%
Smiths Beach — Car (driver): 58.6% Sunderland Bay — Car (driver): 66.1%
Worked from Home 30.8% / 25.2%
Smiths Beach — Worked from Home: 30.8% Sunderland Bay — Worked from Home: 25.2%
Car (passenger) 3.8% / 6.1%
Smiths Beach — Car (passenger): 3.8% Sunderland Bay — Car (passenger): 6.1%
Walked Only 6.8% / 2.6%
Smiths Beach — Walked Only: 6.8% Sunderland Bay — Walked Only: 2.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (66.1%).

Setting

Smiths Beach Sunderland Bay
Elevation 19 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 27 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 368 m
427 m to a named beach
 236 m
1.3 km to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Smiths Beach Sunderland Bay
Connectivity score 75/100 77/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 54%
597 premises
 59%
323 premises

Climate

Smiths Beach Sunderland Bay
Annual rainfall 704 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 24.1°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 8.6°C
same for both

Council rates

Smiths Beach Sunderland Bay
Average residential rate $1,727/yr
same for both
Council Bass Coast
same for both

Federal electorate

Smiths Beach Sunderland Bay
Division Monash
same for both
Member Mary Aldred
same for both
Party Liberal
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Smiths Beach Sunderland Bay
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Smiths Beach

Acreage Beach Beachfront Coastal

Sunderland Bay

Beach Coastal Large Blocks

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Smiths Beach

Smiths Beach vs Cowes Smiths Beach vs Ventnor Smiths Beach vs Sunset Strip

Other comparisons with Sunderland Bay

Sunderland Bay vs Rhyll Sunderland Bay vs Surf Beach Sunderland Bay vs Sunset Strip
Full data on Smiths Beach Full data on Sunderland Bay
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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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