Smythes Creek vs Bunkers Hill

Smythes Creek is the younger of the two, with a median age of 38 against 46 in Bunkers Hill. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Smythes Creek, most households are couple families. In Bunkers Hill, about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Bunkers Hill: a median of $810,000, against $600,000 in Smythes Creek, though rent is higher in Smythes Creek. On these figures, Smythes Creek tends to suit couples and buyers on a tighter budget.

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

Smythes Creek

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is already more of a family suburb (79% vs 71%)

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

First-home buyers

Smythes Creek

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper houses ($600,000 vs $810,000)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Bunkers Hill

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($335/wk vs $395/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Smythes Creek

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • sits closer to the CBD (125.7 km vs 132.7 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Too close to call

Nothing among the 4 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

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

Where they sit

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

Smythes Creek Bunkers Hill
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.

Smythes Creek Bunkers Hill
Walkability 6 / 0
Smythes Creek — Walkability: 6/100 Bunkers Hill — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 7 / 15
Smythes Creek — Safety: 7/100 Bunkers Hill — Safety: 15/100
Low fire risk 46 / 38
Smythes Creek — Low fire risk: 46/100 Bunkers Hill — Low fire risk: 38/100
Low flood risk 76 / 100
Smythes Creek — Low flood risk: 76/100 Bunkers Hill — Low flood risk: 100/100

Demographics

Smythes Creek has more residents (1,762 vs 270); Bunkers Hill skews older (46 vs 38).

Smythes Creek Bunkers Hill
Population 1,762
+85% vs other
 270
Population trend (2016 → 2021) — +3.4%
Median age 38 46
Median household income $110,864/yr
+3% vs other
 $107,016/yr
Median weekly rent $395/wk
+15% vs other
 $335/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Smythes Creek Bunkers Hill
0-4 6.2% / 4.8%
Smythes Creek — 0-4: 6.2% Bunkers Hill — 0-4: 4.8%
5-14 13.6% / 14.1%
Smythes Creek — 5-14: 13.6% Bunkers Hill — 5-14: 14.1%
15-19 9.7% / 6.3%
Smythes Creek — 15-19: 9.7% Bunkers Hill — 15-19: 6.3%
20-24 6.6% / 6.3%
Smythes Creek — 20-24: 6.6% Bunkers Hill — 20-24: 6.3%
25-34 10.2% / 10.0%
Smythes Creek — 25-34: 10.2% Bunkers Hill — 25-34: 10.0%
35-44 11.1% / 10.4%
Smythes Creek — 35-44: 11.1% Bunkers Hill — 35-44: 10.4%
45-54 14.0% / 12.2%
Smythes Creek — 45-54: 14.0% Bunkers Hill — 45-54: 12.2%
55-64 13.2% / 20.4%
Smythes Creek — 55-64: 13.2% Bunkers Hill — 55-64: 20.4%
65-74 10.2% / 14.8%
Smythes Creek — 65-74: 10.2% Bunkers Hill — 65-74: 14.8%
75-84 4.1% / 3.7%
Smythes Creek — 75-84: 4.1% Bunkers Hill — 75-84: 3.7%
85+ 0.6% / —
Smythes Creek — 85+: 0.6% Bunkers Hill — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.4%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Smythes Creek 66.1% couple families
Smythes Creek — Couple Families: 66.1% Smythes Creek — Lone Person: 16.5% Smythes Creek — One Parent Families: 12.9% Smythes Creek — Group Household: 3.4% Smythes Creek — Other Families: 1.0%
Bunkers Hill 51.6% couple families
Bunkers Hill — Couple Families: 51.6% Bunkers Hill — Lone Person: 24.2% Bunkers Hill — One Parent Families: 19.4% Bunkers Hill — Group Household: 4.8% Bunkers Hill — 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.

Smythes Creek 9.6% renting
Smythes Creek — Owned Outright: 36.8% Smythes Creek — Mortgage: 53.6% Smythes Creek — Renting: 9.6%
Bunkers Hill 11.4% renting
Bunkers Hill — Owned Outright: 44.3% Bunkers Hill — Mortgage: 44.3% Bunkers Hill — Renting: 11.4%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

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.

Smythes Creek Bunkers Hill
New Zealand 0.6% / 1.5%
Smythes Creek — New Zealand: 0.6% Bunkers Hill — New Zealand: 1.5%
England 2.0% / —
Smythes Creek — England: 2.0% Bunkers Hill — England: not among its largest
India 1.1% / —
Smythes Creek — India: 1.1% Bunkers Hill — India: not among its largest
Scotland 0.9% / —
Smythes Creek — Scotland: 0.9% Bunkers Hill — Scotland: not among its largest
Netherlands 0.6% / —
Smythes Creek — Netherlands: 0.6% Bunkers Hill — Netherlands: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (2.0%).

Qualifications

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

Smythes Creek Bunkers Hill
Certificate III & IV 19.8% / 24.1%
Smythes Creek — Certificate III & IV: 19.8% Bunkers Hill — Certificate III & IV: 24.1%
Bachelor Degree 10.1% / 8.9%
Smythes Creek — Bachelor Degree: 10.1% Bunkers Hill — Bachelor Degree: 8.9%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 7.8% / 8.1%
Smythes Creek — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.8% Bunkers Hill — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.1%
Postgraduate Degree 2.5% / 1.9%
Smythes Creek — Postgraduate Degree: 2.5% Bunkers Hill — Postgraduate Degree: 1.9%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.3% / 1.5%
Smythes Creek — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.3% Bunkers Hill — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (24.1%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Smythes Creek 99.1% houses
Smythes Creek — Houses: 99.1% Smythes Creek — Flats / Apartments: 0.9%
Bunkers Hill 100.0% houses
Bunkers Hill — Houses: 100.0% Bunkers Hill — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Houses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Smythes Creek Bunkers Hill
Median house price $600,000 $810,000
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price $290,000 —
Typical days to sell (houses) 36 days
from 64 sales
 —

Zoning mix

Smythes Creek Bunkers Hill
Rural and farming 91% 98%
Residential 8% 0%
Infrastructure and transport 2% 1%
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

Smythes Creek Bunkers Hill
New dwellings approved 186
across Golden Plains
 1,451
across Ballarat
Approvals change year on year +10% +42%

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.

Smythes Creek Bunkers Hill
Houses 3.1%
$518/wk on $859K
 —
Units —
same for both

Ranking within VIC

Smythes Creek Bunkers Hill
House price Higher than 21% of VIC —
Income Higher than 84% of VIC Higher than 79% of VIC
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 67% of VIC Higher than 29% of VIC
Affordability Higher than 97% of VIC —
EV adoption Higher than 39% of VIC Higher than 37% of VIC
NBN connectivity Higher than 78% of VIC Higher than 58% of VIC
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 18% of VIC —

Liveability

Smythes Creek Bunkers Hill
Grade C —
Score 34/100 —
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 7/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 6/10

Risk profile

Smythes Creek carries more flood risk (24 vs 0).

Smythes Creek Bunkers Hill
Bushfire Moderate
54/100
 Moderate
62/100
Crime High
93/100
 High
85/100
Flood Low
24/100
 None
0/100
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

Smythes Creek Bunkers Hill
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
Universities within 10 km 1
Federation University Ballarat, 8.7 km
 1
Federation University Ballarat, 9.3 km
Full-time students aged 15–24 1.7% 0.0%

Amenities in the suburb

Smythes Creek Bunkers Hill
Supermarkets 1 0
Cafes & restaurants 4 0
Pharmacies 1 0
Banks & Bank@Post 2 0
Fuel stations 1 0
Waterways 1 0

Mobility

Bunkers Hill sits further from the CBD (132.7 km vs 125.7 km).

Smythes Creek Bunkers Hill
Walkability score 6/100 0/100
Distance to Melbourne 125.7 km 132.7 km
+6% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 99 min 97 min
Electric vehicle share 0.4%
postcode 3351
 0.4%
postcode 3352
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 52
postcode 3351
 51
postcode 3352

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.

Smythes Creek Bunkers Hill
Car (driver) 75.6% / 81.0%
Smythes Creek — Car (driver): 75.6% Bunkers Hill — Car (driver): 81.0%
Worked from Home 15.8% / 13.2%
Smythes Creek — Worked from Home: 15.8% Bunkers Hill — Worked from Home: 13.2%
Car (passenger) 7.5% / —
Smythes Creek — Car (passenger): 7.5% Bunkers Hill — Car (passenger): not among its largest
Walked Only 0.8% / 5.8%
Smythes Creek — Walked Only: 0.8% Bunkers Hill — Walked Only: 5.8%
Bus 0.4% / —
Smythes Creek — Bus: 0.4% Bunkers Hill — Bus: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (81.0%).

Setting

Smythes Creek Bunkers Hill
Elevation 408 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 440 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Smythes Creek Bunkers Hill
Connectivity score 68/100 30/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 54%
1,067 premises
 0%
97 premises

Climate

Smythes Creek Bunkers Hill
Annual rainfall 605 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 25.7°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 3.5°C
same for both

Council rates

Smythes Creek Bunkers Hill
Average residential rate $2,052/yr $2,086/yr
Council Golden Plains Ballarat

Federal electorate

Smythes Creek Bunkers Hill
Division Ballarat
same for both
Member Catherine King
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Smythes Creek Bunkers Hill
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Smythes Creek

Acreage

Bunkers Hill

Rural

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Other comparisons with Bunkers Hill

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Full data on Smythes Creek Full data on Bunkers Hill
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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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