Violet Town vs Tarnook
Tarnook is the younger of the two, with a median age of 51 against 57 in Violet Town. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Violet Town, most households are people living alone. In Tarnook, about half of households are people living alone. On these figures, Violet Town tends to suit older residents, while Tarnook suits 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
Tarnook
ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here
- carries lower crime risk (15/100 vs 32/100)
- is already more of a family suburb (50% vs 36%)
- But Violet Town has more parks and reserves (11 vs 0)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Tarnook
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (20% vs 26%)
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
Tarnook
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($0/wk vs $250/wk)
Weighs rent.
Commuting to the city
Violet Town
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- sits closer to the CBD (188 km vs 204.9 km)
- has a shorter drive in (129 min vs 140 min)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here
- Violet Town has more residents already 65 and over (36% vs 11%)
- Tarnook carries lower crime risk (15/100 vs 32/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Tarnook
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (15.7% vs 7.1%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Violet Town and Tarnook 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
Violet Town rents higher ($250/wk vs $0/wk); Violet Town has more residents (936 vs 103).
| Violet Town | Tarnook | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 936 +89% vs other | 103 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +7.1% | +15.7% |
| Median age | 57 | 51 |
| Median household income | $49,660/yr | $80,132/yr +61% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $250/wk (not reported on the other side) | — |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (23.3%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
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 (2.9%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.4%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Violet Town | Tarnook | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $460,000 | — |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | $195,500 | — |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 123 days from 3 sales | — |
Zoning mix
| Violet Town | Tarnook | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 94% | 99% |
| Parks and recreation | 3% | 0% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 2% | 1% |
| Residential | 1% | 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
| Violet Town | Tarnook | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 75 across Strathbogie | 235 across Benalla |
| Approvals change year on year | +167% | +65% |
Ranking within VIC
| Violet Town | Tarnook | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 9% of VIC | — |
| Income | Higher than 9% of VIC | Higher than 47% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 1% of VIC | Higher than 52% of VIC |
| Affordability | Higher than 58% of VIC | — |
| EV adoption | Higher than 62% of VIC | — |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 48% of VIC | Higher than 67% of VIC |
Liveability
| Violet Town | Tarnook | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | D | — |
| Score | 19/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | below-average income decile 2/10 | below-average income decile 3/10 |
Risk profile
Violet Town carries more flood risk (91 vs 0); Violet Town carries more crime risk (32 vs 15).
| Violet Town | Tarnook | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Low 37/100 | Low 23/100 |
| Crime | Low 32/100 | Low 15/100 |
| Flood | High 91/100 | 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
| Violet Town | Tarnook | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 1 | 0 |
Schools in Violet Town
- Peranbin Primary College Government · Primary below peers
Schools in Tarnook
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Violet Town | Tarnook | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 11 | 0 |
| Childcare | 1 | 0 |
| GPs | 1 | 0 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 2 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 21 | 0 |
Mobility
Tarnook sits further from the CBD (204.9 km vs 188 km).
| Violet Town | Tarnook | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Melbourne | 188 km | 204.9 km +9% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 129 min | 140 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.6% postcode 3669 | 0.0% postcode 3670 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 56 postcode 3669 | 69 postcode 3670 |
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 (67.4%).
Setting
| Violet Town | Tarnook | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 170 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 178 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Violet Town | Tarnook | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 30/100 same for both | |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 519 premises | 0% 40 premises |
Climate
| Violet Town | Tarnook | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 484 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Violet Town | Tarnook | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $2,476/yr | $2,119/yr |
| Council | Strathbogie | Benalla |
Federal electorate
| Violet Town | Tarnook | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Indi same for both | |
| Member | Helen Haines same for both | |
| Party | Independent same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Violet Town | Tarnook | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Violet Town
Tarnook
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Violet Town
Other comparisons with Tarnook
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.