Smiths Beach vs Ventnor
Smiths Beach is the younger of the two, with a median age of 51 against 58 in Ventnor. In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and about half of households are people living alone. On these figures, Ventnor tends to suit older residents.
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
Ventnor
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has more parks and reserves (5 vs 1)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Too close to call
Nothing among the 3 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
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 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (27/100 vs 0/100)
- sits closer to the CBD (135.4 km vs 140.2 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here
- Smiths Beach is more walkable (27/100 vs 0/100)
- Ventnor has more residents already 65 and over (34% vs 24%)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Where they sit
Smiths Beach and Ventnor 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
Ventnor has more residents (982 vs 315); Ventnor skews older (58 vs 51).
| Smiths Beach | Ventnor | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 315 | 982 +212% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +39.4% | — |
| Median age | 51 | 58 |
| Median household income | $61,412/yr | $67,184/yr +9% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $330/wk | $328/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (25.1%).
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 (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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (5.8%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Smiths Beach | Ventnor | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $767,500 | $820,600 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | $580,000 | $592,500 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 110 days from 7 sales | 62 days from 34 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.
10 vs 23 sales
9 vs 32 sales
Zoning mix
Ventnor has more rural and farming land (82% vs 15%).
| Smiths Beach | Ventnor | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 15% | 82% |
| Residential | 66% | 4% |
| Parks and recreation | 17% | 8% |
| Other and special use | 0% | 4% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 2% same for both | |
| 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 | Ventnor | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 393 across Bass Coast same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +0% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Smiths Beach | Ventnor | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | — | 3.1% $530/wk on $877K |
| Units | — same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Smiths Beach | Ventnor | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 71% of VIC | Higher than 55% of VIC |
| Income | Higher than 22% of VIC | Higher than 28% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 82% of VIC | Higher than 9% of VIC |
| Affordability | Higher than 7% of VIC | Higher than 24% of VIC |
| EV adoption | Higher than 70% of VIC same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 83% of VIC | Higher than 88% of VIC |
| Rental yield (houses) | — | Higher than 19% of VIC |
Liveability
Smiths Beach is more walkable (27 vs 0).
| Smiths Beach | Ventnor | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — | B |
| Score | — | 57/100 |
| Socio-economic band | advantaged area decile 8/10 | advantaged area decile 7/10 |
Risk profile
| Smiths Beach | Ventnor | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Low 29/100 | Low 37/100 |
| Flood | Low 29/100 | Low 22/100 |
| Coastal erosion | Low 17/100 | Moderate 59/100 |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 1 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Smiths Beach | Ventnor | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Smiths Beach
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Schools in Ventnor
- Phillip Island Village School Independent · Primary below peers
Amenities in the suburb
| Smiths Beach | Ventnor | |
|---|---|---|
| Cafes & restaurants | 0 | 4 |
| Parks & reserves | 1 | 5 |
| Waterways | 0 | 3 |
Mobility
Ventnor sits further from the CBD (140.2 km vs 135.4 km).
| Smiths Beach | Ventnor | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 27/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Melbourne | 135.4 km | 140.2 km +4% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 110 min | 113 min |
| 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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (61.3%).
Setting
| Smiths Beach | Ventnor | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 19 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 33 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 368 m 427 m to a named beach | 2.5 km 2.6 km to a named beach |
NBN connectivity
| Smiths Beach | Ventnor | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 75/100 | 78/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the premises same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 54% 597 premises | 61% 1,135 premises |
Climate
| Smiths Beach | Ventnor | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Ventnor | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,727/yr same for both | |
| Council | Bass Coast same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Smiths Beach | Ventnor | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Monash same for both | |
| Member | Mary Aldred same for both | |
| Party | Liberal same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Smiths Beach | Ventnor | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Smiths Beach
Other comparisons with Ventnor
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.