Smythes Creek vs Winter Valley

Winter Valley is the younger of the two, with a median age of 29 against 38 in Smythes Creek. 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 Winter Valley, about half of households are couple families. On these figures, Smythes Creek tends to suit couples, while Winter Valley suits young adults and 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

Winter Valley

ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more parks and reserves (4 vs 0)
  • has more childcare (3 vs 0)
  • But Smythes Creek is already more of a family suburb (79% vs 70%)

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

Winter Valley

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (25% vs 10%)

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

Commuting to the city

Winter Valley

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • sits closer to the CBD (122 km vs 125.7 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Smythes Creek

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has more residents already 65 and over (15% vs 7%)

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

Investors

Winter Valley

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • returns a higher gross yield on houses (3.9% vs 3.1%)

Weighs house yield.

Where they sit

Smythes Creek and Winter Valley 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 Winter Valley
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 Winter Valley
Walkability 6 / 11
Smythes Creek — Walkability: 6/100 Winter Valley — Walkability: 11/100
Safety 7 / 9
Smythes Creek — Safety: 7/100 Winter Valley — Safety: 9/100
Low fire risk 46 / 100
Smythes Creek — Low fire risk: 46/100 Winter Valley — Low fire risk: 100/100
Low flood risk 76 / 100
Smythes Creek — Low flood risk: 76/100 Winter Valley — Low flood risk: 100/100

Demographics

Winter Valley has more residents (3,440 vs 1,762); Smythes Creek skews older (38 vs 29).

Smythes Creek Winter Valley
Population 1,762 3,440
+95% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) —
same for both
Median age 38 29
Median household income $110,864/yr
+6% vs other
 $104,676/yr
Median weekly rent $395/wk
+1% vs other
 $390/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Smythes Creek Winter Valley
0-4 6.2% / 10.1%
Smythes Creek — 0-4: 6.2% Winter Valley — 0-4: 10.1%
5-14 13.6% / 16.0%
Smythes Creek — 5-14: 13.6% Winter Valley — 5-14: 16.0%
15-19 9.7% / 4.8%
Smythes Creek — 15-19: 9.7% Winter Valley — 15-19: 4.8%
20-24 6.6% / 7.8%
Smythes Creek — 20-24: 6.6% Winter Valley — 20-24: 7.8%
25-34 10.2% / 23.4%
Smythes Creek — 25-34: 10.2% Winter Valley — 25-34: 23.4%
35-44 11.1% / 14.1%
Smythes Creek — 35-44: 11.1% Winter Valley — 35-44: 14.1%
45-54 14.0% / 9.8%
Smythes Creek — 45-54: 14.0% Winter Valley — 45-54: 9.8%
55-64 13.2% / 7.1%
Smythes Creek — 55-64: 13.2% Winter Valley — 55-64: 7.1%
65-74 10.2% / 4.6%
Smythes Creek — 65-74: 10.2% Winter Valley — 65-74: 4.6%
75-84 4.1% / 2.2%
Smythes Creek — 75-84: 4.1% Winter Valley — 75-84: 2.2%
85+ 0.6% / 0.4%
Smythes Creek — 85+: 0.6% Winter Valley — 85+: 0.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (23.4%).

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%
Winter Valley 54.3% couple families
Winter Valley — Couple Families: 54.3% Winter Valley — Lone Person: 21.8% Winter Valley — One Parent Families: 15.8% Winter Valley — Group Household: 6.0% Winter Valley — Other Families: 2.1%
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%
Winter Valley 24.6% renting
Winter Valley — Owned Outright: 16.9% Winter Valley — Mortgage: 58.5% Winter Valley — Renting: 24.6%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Smythes Creek Winter Valley
Certificate III & IV 19.8% / 18.1%
Smythes Creek — Certificate III & IV: 19.8% Winter Valley — Certificate III & IV: 18.1%
Bachelor Degree 10.1% / 11.8%
Smythes Creek — Bachelor Degree: 10.1% Winter Valley — Bachelor Degree: 11.8%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 7.8% / 7.9%
Smythes Creek — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.8% Winter Valley — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.9%
Postgraduate Degree 2.5% / 2.8%
Smythes Creek — Postgraduate Degree: 2.5% Winter Valley — Postgraduate Degree: 2.8%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.3% / 1.6%
Smythes Creek — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.3% Winter Valley — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.8%).

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 Winter Valley
India 1.1% / 3.3%
Smythes Creek — India: 1.1% Winter Valley — India: 3.3%
England 2.0% / 0.9%
Smythes Creek — England: 2.0% Winter Valley — England: 0.9%
New Zealand 0.6% / 0.7%
Smythes Creek — New Zealand: 0.6% Winter Valley — New Zealand: 0.7%
Philippines 0.2% / 0.9%
Smythes Creek — Philippines: 0.2% Winter Valley — Philippines: 0.9%
Netherlands 0.6% / 0.4%
Smythes Creek — Netherlands: 0.6% Winter Valley — Netherlands: 0.4%
Scotland 0.9% / —
Smythes Creek — Scotland: 0.9% Winter Valley — Scotland: not among its largest
China — / 0.7%
Smythes Creek — China: not among its largest Winter Valley — China: 0.7%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (3.3%).

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%
Winter Valley 99.1% houses
Winter Valley — Houses: 99.1% Winter Valley — Flats / Apartments: 0.9%
Houses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Smythes Creek Winter Valley
Median house price $600,000 $630,000
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price $290,000 $285,000
Typical days to sell (houses) 36 days
from 64 sales
 41 days
from 118 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.

Smythes Creek Winter Valley
3 bed $560K / $552K
Smythes Creek — 3 bed: $560K (33 sales) Winter Valley — 3 bed: $552K (30 sales)

33 vs 30 sales

4 bed $610K / $638K
Smythes Creek — 4 bed: $610K (94 sales) Winter Valley — 4 bed: $638K (146 sales)

94 vs 146 sales

Zoning mix

Smythes Creek has more rural and farming land (91% vs 0%).

Smythes Creek Winter Valley
Residential 8% 98%
Rural and farming 91% 0%
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

Smythes Creek Winter Valley
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 Winter Valley
Houses 3.1%
$518/wk on $859K
 3.9%
$490/wk on $658K
Units —
same for both

Ranking within VIC

Smythes Creek Winter Valley
House price Higher than 21% of VIC Higher than 23% of VIC
Income Higher than 84% of VIC Higher than 77% of VIC
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 67% of VIC Higher than 74% of VIC
Affordability Higher than 97% of VIC Higher than 96% of VIC
EV adoption Higher than 39% of VIC Higher than 44% of VIC
NBN connectivity Higher than 78% of VIC Higher than 98% of VIC
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 18% of VIC Higher than 60% of VIC

Liveability

Winter Valley scores higher overall (53 vs 34).

Smythes Creek Winter Valley
Grade C B
Score 34/100 53/100
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 7/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 6/10

Risk profile

Smythes Creek carries more bushfire risk (54 vs 0); Smythes Creek carries more flood risk (24 vs 0).

Smythes Creek Winter Valley
Bushfire Moderate
54/100
 None
0/100
Crime High
93/100
 High
91/100
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
 6
within 5 km

Schools

Smythes Creek Winter Valley
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, 5.4 km
Full-time students aged 15–24 1.7% 2.2%

Amenities in the suburb

Smythes Creek Winter Valley
Supermarkets 1 0
Cafes & restaurants 4 0
Parks & reserves 0 4
Childcare 0 3
GPs 0 1
Pharmacies 1 0
Police stations 0 1
Banks & Bank@Post 2 0
Fuel stations 1 3
Waterways 1 2

Mobility

Smythes Creek sits further from the CBD (125.7 km vs 122 km).

Smythes Creek Winter Valley
Walkability score 6/100 11/100
Distance to Melbourne 125.7 km
+3% vs other
 122 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 99 min 96 min
Public transport score 30/100 34/100
Peak arrivals per hour 3.8
7-9am + 5-7pm
 4.5
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 18 min
scheduled, not actual
 1 min
scheduled, not actual
Electric vehicle share 0.4%
postcode 3351
 0.5%
postcode 3358
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 52
postcode 3351
 47
postcode 3358

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 Winter Valley
Car (driver) 75.6% / 79.9%
Smythes Creek — Car (driver): 75.6% Winter Valley — Car (driver): 79.9%
Worked from Home 15.8% / 13.3%
Smythes Creek — Worked from Home: 15.8% Winter Valley — Worked from Home: 13.3%
Car (passenger) 7.5% / 5.2%
Smythes Creek — Car (passenger): 7.5% Winter Valley — Car (passenger): 5.2%
Walked Only 0.8% / 1.1%
Smythes Creek — Walked Only: 0.8% Winter Valley — Walked Only: 1.1%
Bus 0.4% / 0.4%
Smythes Creek — Bus: 0.4% Winter Valley — Bus: 0.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (79.9%).

Setting

Smythes Creek Winter Valley
Elevation 408 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 430 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Smythes Creek Winter Valley
Connectivity score 68/100 98/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 54%
1,067 premises
 96%
3,476 premises

Climate

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

Federal electorate

Smythes Creek Winter Valley
Division Ballarat
same for both
Member Catherine King
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

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

Tags

Smythes Creek

Acreage

Winter Valley

Family Large Blocks Young Families

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Smythes Creek

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Other comparisons with Winter Valley

Winter Valley vs Alfredton Winter Valley vs Delacombe Winter Valley vs Lucas Winter Valley vs Bunkers Hill
Full data on Smythes Creek Full data on Winter Valley
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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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