Tawonga vs Mount Beauty

Mount Beauty is the younger of the two, with a median age of 48 against 52 in Tawonga. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Mount Beauty, most households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Tawonga: a median of $790,000, against $535,000 in Mount Beauty, though rent is higher in Mount Beauty. On these figures, Mount Beauty tends to suit people living alone 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

They split

one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here

  • Tawonga is already more of a family suburb (49% vs 35%)
  • Mount Beauty has more parks and reserves (8 vs 4)

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

First-home buyers

Mount Beauty

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper houses ($535,000 vs $790,000)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Tawonga

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • leaves renters under less rental stress (16% vs 27%)
  • has cheaper rent ($220/wk vs $270/wk)
  • But Mount Beauty has a bigger rental market to choose from (27% vs 7%)

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

Commuting to the city

Tawonga

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a shorter drive in (253 min vs 282 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (358.4 km vs 371.7 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Mount Beauty

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has more GPs (2 vs 0)

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

Investors

Mount Beauty

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (10.4% vs -1.0%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Tawonga Mount Beauty
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.

Tawonga Mount Beauty
Walkability 0 / 0
Tawonga — Walkability: 0/100 Mount Beauty — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 79 / 74
Tawonga — Safety: 79/100 Mount Beauty — Safety: 74/100
Low fire risk 3 / 2
Tawonga — Low fire risk: 3/100 Mount Beauty — Low fire risk: 2/100
Low flood risk 100 / 100
Tawonga — Low flood risk: 100/100 Mount Beauty — Low flood risk: 100/100

Demographics

Mount Beauty has more residents (910 vs 568); Tawonga has higher household incomes ($71,500 vs $51,688).

Tawonga Mount Beauty
Population 568 910
+60% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) -1.0% +10.4%
Median age 52 48
Median household income $71,500/yr
+28% vs other
 $51,688/yr
Median weekly rent $220/wk $270/wk
+23% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Tawonga Mount Beauty
0-4 4.0% / 4.2%
Tawonga — 0-4: 4.0% Mount Beauty — 0-4: 4.2%
5-14 11.6% / 11.0%
Tawonga — 5-14: 11.6% Mount Beauty — 5-14: 11.0%
15-19 5.8% / 4.6%
Tawonga — 15-19: 5.8% Mount Beauty — 15-19: 4.6%
20-24 3.3% / 3.8%
Tawonga — 20-24: 3.3% Mount Beauty — 20-24: 3.8%
25-34 6.7% / 10.5%
Tawonga — 25-34: 6.7% Mount Beauty — 25-34: 10.5%
35-44 10.4% / 11.2%
Tawonga — 35-44: 10.4% Mount Beauty — 35-44: 11.2%
45-54 13.2% / 11.4%
Tawonga — 45-54: 13.2% Mount Beauty — 45-54: 11.4%
55-64 21.8% / 14.0%
Tawonga — 55-64: 21.8% Mount Beauty — 55-64: 14.0%
65-74 18.0% / 17.3%
Tawonga — 65-74: 18.0% Mount Beauty — 65-74: 17.3%
75-84 6.2% / 8.2%
Tawonga — 75-84: 6.2% Mount Beauty — 75-84: 8.2%
85+ 2.3% / 3.6%
Tawonga — 85+: 2.3% Mount Beauty — 85+: 3.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (21.8%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Tawonga 44.5% lone person
Tawonga — Lone Person: 44.5% Tawonga — Couple Families: 38.4% Tawonga — One Parent Families: 10.3% Tawonga — Group Household: 2.7% Tawonga — Other Families: 4.1%
Mount Beauty 58.6% lone person
Mount Beauty — Lone Person: 58.6% Mount Beauty — Couple Families: 22.8% Mount Beauty — One Parent Families: 12.6% Mount Beauty — Group Household: 3.9% Mount Beauty — Other Families: 2.1%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Tawonga 7.1% renting
Tawonga — Owned Outright: 57.1% Tawonga — Mortgage: 35.7% Tawonga — Renting: 7.1%
Mount Beauty 27.2% renting
Mount Beauty — Owned Outright: 44.4% Mount Beauty — Mortgage: 28.4% Mount Beauty — Renting: 27.2%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Tawonga Mount Beauty
Certificate III & IV 16.4% / 16.2%
Tawonga — Certificate III & IV: 16.4% Mount Beauty — Certificate III & IV: 16.2%
Bachelor Degree 14.3% / 12.9%
Tawonga — Bachelor Degree: 14.3% Mount Beauty — Bachelor Degree: 12.9%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 7.7% / 7.1%
Tawonga — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.7% Mount Beauty — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.1%
Postgraduate Degree 3.7% / 3.2%
Tawonga — Postgraduate Degree: 3.7% Mount Beauty — Postgraduate Degree: 3.2%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 3.5% / 3.3%
Tawonga — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 3.5% Mount Beauty — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 3.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.4%).

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.

Tawonga Mount Beauty
England 3.3% / 2.7%
Tawonga — England: 3.3% Mount Beauty — England: 2.7%
New Zealand 0.9% / 2.6%
Tawonga — New Zealand: 0.9% Mount Beauty — New Zealand: 2.6%
Canada 0.9% / 1.0%
Tawonga — Canada: 0.9% Mount Beauty — Canada: 1.0%
Scotland 0.5% / 1.1%
Tawonga — Scotland: 0.5% Mount Beauty — Scotland: 1.1%
Germany — / 1.0%
Tawonga — Germany: not among its largest Mount Beauty — Germany: 1.0%
Philippines 0.9% / —
Tawonga — Philippines: 0.9% Mount Beauty — Philippines: not among its largest
Thailand 0.9% / —
Tawonga — Thailand: 0.9% Mount Beauty — Thailand: not among its largest

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

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Tawonga 100.0% houses
Tawonga — Houses: 100.0% Tawonga — Townhouses: 0.0% Tawonga — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Mount Beauty 97.3% houses
Mount Beauty — Houses: 97.3% Mount Beauty — Townhouses: 2.5% Mount Beauty — Flats / Apartments: 0.2%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Tawonga Mount Beauty
Median house price $790,000 $535,000
Median unit price — $585,000
Median land price — $325,000
Typical days to sell (houses) — 70 days
from 7 sales

Zoning mix

Tawonga has more rural and farming land (41% vs 2%).

Tawonga Mount Beauty
Parks and recreation 58% 92%
Rural and farming 41% 2%
Infrastructure and transport 0% 3%
Other and special use 0% 2%
Residential 0% 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

Tawonga Mount Beauty
New dwellings approved 32
across Alpine
same for both
Approvals change year on year -42%
same for both

Ranking within VIC

Tawonga Mount Beauty
House price — Higher than 17% of VIC
Income — Higher than 11% of VIC
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 15% of VIC Higher than 14% of VIC
Affordability — Higher than 40% of VIC
EV adoption Higher than 71% of VIC Higher than 69% of VIC
NBN connectivity Higher than 53% of VIC Higher than 83% of VIC

Liveability

Tawonga scores higher overall (38 vs 29).

Tawonga Mount Beauty
Grade C D
Score 38/100 29/100
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 6/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 4/10

Risk profile

Tawonga Mount Beauty
Bushfire High
97/100
 High
98/100
Crime Low
21/100
 Low
26/100
Flood None
0/100
same for both
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

Tawonga Mount Beauty
Inside the suburb 1 2
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0 1
Rated below peers 1
same for both

Schools in Tawonga

  • Tawonga Primary School Government · Primary below peers

Schools in Mount Beauty

  • Mount Beauty Primary School Government · Primary at peers
  • Mount Beauty Secondary College Government · Secondary below peers

Amenities in the suburb

Tawonga Mount Beauty
Supermarkets 0 1
Cafes & restaurants 0 2
Parks & reserves 4 8
Childcare 2
same for both
GPs 0 2
Pharmacies 0 1
Hospitals 0 1
Police stations 0 1
Banks & Bank@Post 1 3
Fuel stations 0 1
Waterways 5 9

Mobility

Mount Beauty sits further from the CBD (371.7 km vs 358.4 km).

Tawonga Mount Beauty
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Melbourne 358.4 km 371.7 km
+4% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 253 min 282 min
Electric vehicle share 0.8%
postcode 3697
 0.8%
postcode 3699
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 65
postcode 3697
 39
postcode 3699

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.

Tawonga Mount Beauty
Car (driver) 67.3% / 65.3%
Tawonga — Car (driver): 67.3% Mount Beauty — Car (driver): 65.3%
Worked from Home 26.8% / 12.5%
Tawonga — Worked from Home: 26.8% Mount Beauty — Worked from Home: 12.5%
Walked Only 1.5% / 13.2%
Tawonga — Walked Only: 1.5% Mount Beauty — Walked Only: 13.2%
Car (passenger) 4.4% / 5.6%
Tawonga — Car (passenger): 4.4% Mount Beauty — Car (passenger): 5.6%
Bicycle — / 3.3%
Tawonga — Bicycle: not among its largest Mount Beauty — Bicycle: 3.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (67.3%).

Setting

Tawonga Mount Beauty
Elevation 555 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 946 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Tawonga Mount Beauty
Connectivity score 30/100 75/100
Most common technology Fixed wireless Fibre to the premises
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
267 premises
 56%
681 premises

Climate

Tawonga Mount Beauty
Annual rainfall 1,488 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 17.1°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) -2.4°C
same for both

Council rates

Tawonga Mount Beauty
Average residential rate $1,945/yr
same for both
Council Alpine
same for both

Federal electorate

Tawonga Mount Beauty
Division Indi
same for both
Member Helen Haines
same for both
Party Independent
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Tawonga Mount Beauty
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $750,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Tawonga

Retirees Rural

Mount Beauty

Affordable Retirees Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Tawonga

Tawonga vs Bright Tawonga vs Tawonga South Tawonga vs Eskdale Tawonga vs Mitta Mitta Tawonga vs Coral Bank

Other comparisons with Mount Beauty

Mount Beauty vs Tawonga South
Full data on Tawonga Full data on Mount Beauty
Unlock full address-level data — $29/month

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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