Stawell vs Illawarra

Illawarra is the younger of the two, with a median age of 42 against 47 in Stawell. In both, most households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and about half of households are people living alone. On these figures, Illawarra tends to suit 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

Stawell

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more parks and reserves (31 vs 2)
  • has more childcare (6 vs 0)
  • has more schools inside the suburb (5 vs 0)

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

First-home buyers

Illawarra

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (14% vs 20%)

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Stawell

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($210/wk vs $300/wk)

Weighs rent and rental stress.

Commuting to the city

Stawell

ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (88/100 vs 10/100)
  • has a shorter drive in (162 min vs 170 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (234.9 km vs 241 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Stawell

ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (88/100 vs 10/100)
  • has more GPs (5 vs 0)

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

Investors

Stawell

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (3.1% vs -2.4%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Stawell Illawarra
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.

Stawell Illawarra
Walkability 88 / 10
Stawell — Walkability: 88/100 Illawarra — Walkability: 10/100
Safety 13 / 10
Stawell — Safety: 13/100 Illawarra — Safety: 10/100
Low fire risk 44 / 31
Stawell — Low fire risk: 44/100 Illawarra — Low fire risk: 31/100
Low flood risk 35 / 12
Stawell — Low flood risk: 35/100 Illawarra — Low flood risk: 12/100

Demographics

Stawell has more residents (6,220 vs 80); Illawarra has higher household incomes ($93,132 vs $58,604).

Stawell Illawarra
Population 6,220
+99% vs other
 80
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +3.1% -2.4%
Median age 47 42
Median household income $58,604/yr $93,132/yr
+59% vs other
Median weekly rent $210/wk $300/wk
+43% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Stawell Illawarra
0-4 5.0% / 5.0%
Stawell — 0-4: 5.0% Illawarra — 0-4: 5.0%
5-14 10.3% / 11.2%
Stawell — 5-14: 10.3% Illawarra — 5-14: 11.2%
15-19 4.7% / 3.8%
Stawell — 15-19: 4.7% Illawarra — 15-19: 3.8%
20-24 5.5% / 5.0%
Stawell — 20-24: 5.5% Illawarra — 20-24: 5.0%
25-34 12.6% / 16.2%
Stawell — 25-34: 12.6% Illawarra — 25-34: 16.2%
35-44 9.5% / 18.8%
Stawell — 35-44: 9.5% Illawarra — 35-44: 18.8%
45-54 11.5% / 15.0%
Stawell — 45-54: 11.5% Illawarra — 45-54: 15.0%
55-64 14.7% / 12.5%
Stawell — 55-64: 14.7% Illawarra — 55-64: 12.5%
65-74 14.2% / 15.0%
Stawell — 65-74: 14.2% Illawarra — 65-74: 15.0%
75-84 8.3% / 6.2%
Stawell — 75-84: 8.3% Illawarra — 75-84: 6.2%
85+ 3.6% / —
Stawell — 85+: 3.6% Illawarra — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.8%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Stawell 50.6% lone person
Stawell — Lone Person: 50.6% Stawell — Couple Families: 28.5% Stawell — One Parent Families: 14.3% Stawell — Group Household: 4.8% Stawell — Other Families: 1.8%
Illawarra 50.0% lone person
Illawarra — Lone Person: 50.0% Illawarra — Couple Families: 50.0% Illawarra — One Parent Families: 0.0% Illawarra — Group Household: 0.0% Illawarra — Other Families: 0.0%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Stawell 25.8% renting
Stawell — Owned Outright: 46.0% Stawell — Mortgage: 28.2% Stawell — Renting: 25.8%
Illawarra 0.0% renting
Illawarra — Owned Outright: 41.4% Illawarra — Mortgage: 58.6% Illawarra — Renting: 0.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Stawell Illawarra
Certificate III & IV 16.2% / 12.5%
Stawell — Certificate III & IV: 16.2% Illawarra — Certificate III & IV: 12.5%
Bachelor Degree 6.8% / 21.2%
Stawell — Bachelor Degree: 6.8% Illawarra — Bachelor Degree: 21.2%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 6.4% / 10.0%
Stawell — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.4% Illawarra — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 10.0%
Postgraduate Degree 1.5% / —
Stawell — Postgraduate Degree: 1.5% Illawarra — Postgraduate Degree: not among its largest
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.3% / —
Stawell — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.3% Illawarra — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (21.2%).

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.

Stawell Illawarra
Germany — / 3.8%
Stawell — Germany: not among its largest Illawarra — Germany: 3.8%
England 1.7% / —
Stawell — England: 1.7% Illawarra — England: not among its largest
Philippines 1.6% / —
Stawell — Philippines: 1.6% Illawarra — Philippines: not among its largest
Taiwan 1.3% / —
Stawell — Taiwan: 1.3% Illawarra — Taiwan: not among its largest
India 1.0% / —
Stawell — India: 1.0% Illawarra — India: not among its largest
New Zealand 0.5% / —
Stawell — New Zealand: 0.5% Illawarra — New Zealand: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (3.8%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Stawell 90.2% houses
Stawell — Houses: 90.2% Stawell — Flats / Apartments: 6.0% Stawell — Townhouses: 3.8%
Illawarra 100.0% houses
Illawarra — Houses: 100.0% Illawarra — Flats / Apartments: 0.0% Illawarra — Townhouses: 0.0%
Houses Flats / Apartments Townhouses

Property market

Stawell Illawarra
Median house price $382,000 —
Median unit price $270,000 —
Median land price $150,000 —
Typical days to sell (houses) 43 days
from 75 sales
 —

Zoning mix

Stawell has more rural and farming land (69% vs 57%).

Stawell Illawarra
Rural and farming 69% 57%
Parks and recreation 10% 42%
Residential 8% 0%
Infrastructure and transport 6% 1%
Other and special use 4% 0%
Industrial 2% 0%
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

Stawell Illawarra
New dwellings approved 28
across Northern Grampians
same for both
Approvals change year on year -62%
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.

Stawell Illawarra
Houses 4.9%
$460/wk on $485K
 —
Units 4.1%
$290/wk on $369K
 —

Ranking within VIC

Stawell Illawarra
House price Higher than 4% of VIC —
Income Higher than 19% of VIC Higher than 62% of VIC
Schools Higher than 79% of VIC —
Walkability Higher than 96% of VIC Higher than 71% of VIC
Affordability Higher than 96% of VIC —
EV adoption Higher than 3% of VIC Higher than 23% of VIC
NBN connectivity Higher than 79% of VIC Higher than 28% of VIC
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 97% of VIC —
Rental yield (units) Higher than 12% of VIC —

Liveability

Stawell is more walkable (88 vs 10).

Stawell Illawarra
Grade C —
Score 37/100 —
Socio-economic band below-average income
decile 2/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 4/10

Risk profile

Illawarra carries more flood risk (88 vs 65); Illawarra carries more bushfire risk (69 vs 56).

Stawell Illawarra
Bushfire Moderate
56/100
 Moderate
69/100
Crime High
87/100
 High
90/100
Flood Moderate
65/100
 High
88/100
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 3
within 5 km
 0
within 5 km

Schools

Stawell Illawarra
Inside the suburb 5 0
Rated above peers 2 0
Rated at peers 2 0
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Stawell

  • Stawell Secondary College Government · Secondary above peers
  • Stawell West Primary School Government · Primary above peers
  • St Patrick's School Catholic · Primary at peers
  • Stawell Primary School Government · Primary at peers
  • Skene Street Specialist School Government · Combined · Special school

Schools in Illawarra

No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.

Amenities in the suburb

Stawell Illawarra
Supermarkets 2 0
Cafes & restaurants 2 0
Parks & reserves 31 2
Childcare 6 0
GPs 5 0
Pharmacies 2 0
Hospitals 1 0
Police stations 1 0
Banks & Bank@Post 2 0
Fuel stations 5 0
EV chargers 2 0
Waterways 5 1

Mobility

Illawarra sits further from the CBD (241 km vs 234.9 km).

Stawell Illawarra
Walkability score 88/100 10/100
Distance to Melbourne 234.9 km 241 km
+3% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 162 min 170 min
Electric vehicle share 0.1%
postcode 3380
 0.3%
postcode 3381
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 32
postcode 3380
 44
postcode 3381

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.

Stawell Illawarra
Car (driver) 76.4% / 81.0%
Stawell — Car (driver): 76.4% Illawarra — Car (driver): 81.0%
Worked from Home 8.6% / 7.1%
Stawell — Worked from Home: 8.6% Illawarra — Worked from Home: 7.1%
Bus 0.2% / 11.9%
Stawell — Bus: 0.2% Illawarra — Bus: 11.9%
Car (passenger) 7.9% / —
Stawell — Car (passenger): 7.9% Illawarra — Car (passenger): not among its largest
Walked Only 5.8% / —
Stawell — Walked Only: 5.8% Illawarra — Walked Only: not among its largest
Bicycle 1.2% / —
Stawell — Bicycle: 1.2% Illawarra — Bicycle: not among its largest

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

Setting

Stawell Illawarra
Elevation 228 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 194 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Stawell Illawarra
Connectivity score 69/100 26/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 39%
3,628 premises
 0%
30 premises

Climate

Stawell Illawarra
Annual rainfall 554 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 27.5°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 4.0°C
same for both

Council rates

Stawell Illawarra
Average residential rate $1,730/yr
same for both
Council Northern Grampians
same for both

Federal electorate

Stawell Illawarra
Division Mallee
same for both
Member Anne Webster
same for both
Party The Nationals
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Stawell Illawarra
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Stawell

Acreage Affordable Parks Retirees

Illawarra

Rural

More comparisons

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Stawell vs Great Western Stawell vs Black Range Stawell vs Deep Lead Stawell vs Concongella Stawell vs Bellellen

Other comparisons with Illawarra

Illawarra vs Deep Lead Illawarra vs Lake Lonsdale
Full data on Stawell Full data on Illawarra
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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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