Watsons Creek vs Panton Hill

Watsons Creek is the younger of the two, with a median age of 35 against 48 in Panton Hill. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Watsons Creek, about half of households are couple families. In Panton Hill, most households are couple families. On these figures, Watsons Creek tends to suit 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

Panton Hill

ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more parks and reserves (13 vs 0)
  • carries lower crime risk (29/100 vs 93/100)

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

First-home buyers

Too close to call

Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Panton Hill

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($350/wk vs $542/wk)

Weighs rent and rental stress.

Commuting to the city

Panton Hill

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is more walkable (39/100 vs 10/100)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Panton Hill

ahead on 3 of the 4 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (39/100 vs 10/100)
  • carries lower crime risk (29/100 vs 93/100)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (19% vs 9%)

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

Investors

Watsons Creek

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (13.7% vs 0.1%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

Watsons Creek and Panton 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.

Watsons Creek Panton 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.

Watsons Creek Panton Hill
Walkability 10 / 39
Watsons Creek — Walkability: 10/100 Panton Hill — Walkability: 39/100
Safety 7 / 71
Watsons Creek — Safety: 7/100 Panton Hill — Safety: 71/100
Low fire risk 3 / 12
Watsons Creek — Low fire risk: 3/100 Panton Hill — Low fire risk: 12/100
Low flood risk 100 / 100
Watsons Creek — Low flood risk: 100/100 Panton Hill — Low flood risk: 100/100

Demographics

Panton Hill has more residents (1,063 vs 58); Watsons Creek has higher household incomes ($195,000 vs $123,084).

Watsons Creek Panton Hill
Population 58 1,063
+1733% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +13.7% +0.1%
Median age 35 48
Median household income $195,000/yr
+37% vs other
 $123,084/yr
Median weekly rent $542/wk
+35% vs other
 $350/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Watsons Creek Panton Hill
0-4 8.6% / 3.5%
Watsons Creek — 0-4: 8.6% Panton Hill — 0-4: 3.5%
5-14 13.8% / 11.8%
Watsons Creek — 5-14: 13.8% Panton Hill — 5-14: 11.8%
15-19 — / 6.4%
Watsons Creek — 15-19: not among its largest Panton Hill — 15-19: 6.4%
20-24 6.9% / 6.6%
Watsons Creek — 20-24: 6.9% Panton Hill — 20-24: 6.6%
25-34 12.1% / 7.3%
Watsons Creek — 25-34: 12.1% Panton Hill — 25-34: 7.3%
35-44 13.8% / 9.7%
Watsons Creek — 35-44: 13.8% Panton Hill — 35-44: 9.7%
45-54 17.2% / 16.7%
Watsons Creek — 45-54: 17.2% Panton Hill — 45-54: 16.7%
55-64 17.2% / 18.2%
Watsons Creek — 55-64: 17.2% Panton Hill — 55-64: 18.2%
65-74 8.6% / 12.6%
Watsons Creek — 65-74: 8.6% Panton Hill — 65-74: 12.6%
75-84 — / 4.7%
Watsons Creek — 75-84: not among its largest Panton Hill — 75-84: 4.7%
85+ — / 1.3%
Watsons Creek — 85+: not among its largest Panton Hill — 85+: 1.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.2%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Watsons Creek 50.0% couple families
Watsons Creek — Couple Families: 50.0% Watsons Creek — Lone Person: 25.0% Watsons Creek — One Parent Families: 25.0% Watsons Creek — Group Household: 0.0% Watsons Creek — Other Families: 0.0%
Panton Hill 59.1% couple families
Panton Hill — Couple Families: 59.1% Panton Hill — Lone Person: 19.4% Panton Hill — One Parent Families: 16.9% Panton Hill — Group Household: 2.9% Panton Hill — Other Families: 1.7%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Watsons Creek 0.0% renting
Watsons Creek — Owned Outright: 38.5% Watsons Creek — Mortgage: 61.5% Watsons Creek — Renting: 0.0%
Panton Hill 5.2% renting
Panton Hill — Owned Outright: 45.8% Panton Hill — Mortgage: 49.0% Panton Hill — Renting: 5.2%
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.

Watsons Creek Panton Hill
England 8.6% / 4.8%
Watsons Creek — England: 8.6% Panton Hill — England: 4.8%
New Zealand — / 1.4%
Watsons Creek — New Zealand: not among its largest Panton Hill — New Zealand: 1.4%
Germany — / 1.3%
Watsons Creek — Germany: not among its largest Panton Hill — Germany: 1.3%
South Africa — / 0.8%
Watsons Creek — South Africa: not among its largest Panton Hill — South Africa: 0.8%
Canada — / 0.5%
Watsons Creek — Canada: not among its largest Panton Hill — Canada: 0.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (8.6%).

Qualifications

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

Watsons Creek Panton Hill
Bachelor Degree 19.0% / 15.0%
Watsons Creek — Bachelor Degree: 19.0% Panton Hill — Bachelor Degree: 15.0%
Certificate III & IV 13.8% / 15.8%
Watsons Creek — Certificate III & IV: 13.8% Panton Hill — Certificate III & IV: 15.8%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 5.2% / 10.2%
Watsons Creek — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.2% Panton Hill — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 10.2%
Postgraduate Degree 5.2% / 4.3%
Watsons Creek — Postgraduate Degree: 5.2% Panton Hill — Postgraduate Degree: 4.3%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate — / 5.0%
Watsons Creek — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest Panton Hill — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 5.0%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.0%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Watsons Creek 100.0% houses
Watsons Creek — Houses: 100.0% Watsons Creek — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Panton Hill 99.4% houses
Panton Hill — Houses: 99.4% Panton Hill — Flats / Apartments: 0.6%
Houses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Watsons Creek Panton Hill
Median house price — $1,396,500
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) — 32 days
from 5 sales

Zoning mix

Watsons Creek Panton Hill
Environmental 88% 90%
Parks and recreation 6% 7%
Infrastructure and transport 6% 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

Watsons Creek Panton Hill
New dwellings approved 98
across Nillumbik
same for both
Approvals change year on year +8%
same for both

Ranking within VIC

Watsons Creek Panton Hill
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 99% of VIC Higher than 92% of VIC
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 70% of VIC Higher than 84% of VIC
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 89% of VIC Higher than 83% of VIC
NBN connectivity Higher than 34% of VIC Higher than 52% of VIC

Liveability

Panton Hill is more walkable (39 vs 10).

Watsons Creek Panton Hill
Grade — A
Score — 68/100
Socio-economic band very advantaged area
decile 10/10
same for both

Risk profile

Watsons Creek carries more crime risk (93 vs 29).

Watsons Creek Panton Hill
Bushfire High
97/100
 High
88/100
Crime High
93/100
 Low
29/100
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

Watsons Creek Panton Hill
Inside the suburb 0 1
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0 1
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Watsons Creek

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

Schools in Panton Hill

  • Panton Hill Primary School Government · Primary at peers

Amenities in the suburb

Watsons Creek Panton Hill
Cafes & restaurants 1 0
Parks & reserves 0 13
Childcare 0 2
Banks & Bank@Post 0 1
Waterways 1 0

Mobility

Watsons Creek Panton Hill
Walkability score 10/100 39/100
Distance to Melbourne 38.6 km 39.2 km
+2% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 52 min 53 min
Electric vehicle share 1.6%
postcode 3097
 1.2%
postcode 3759
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 56
postcode 3097
 63
postcode 3759

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.

Watsons Creek Panton Hill
Car (driver) 70.4% / 59.7%
Watsons Creek — Car (driver): 70.4% Panton Hill — Car (driver): 59.7%
Worked from Home 29.6% / 34.2%
Watsons Creek — Worked from Home: 29.6% Panton Hill — Worked from Home: 34.2%
Walked Only — / 2.6%
Watsons Creek — Walked Only: not among its largest Panton Hill — Walked Only: 2.6%
Car (passenger) — / 2.2%
Watsons Creek — Car (passenger): not among its largest Panton Hill — Car (passenger): 2.2%
Train — / 1.2%
Watsons Creek — Train: not among its largest Panton Hill — Train: 1.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (70.4%).

Setting

Watsons Creek Panton Hill
Elevation 112 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 159 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 33.9 km 34.3 km

NBN connectivity

Watsons Creek Panton Hill
Connectivity score 28/100 30/100
Most common technology Fixed wireless
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
19 premises
 0%
385 premises

Climate

Watsons Creek Panton Hill
Annual rainfall 777 mm 1,215 mm
Summer max (Jan) 26.9°C 22.9°C
Winter min (Jul) 6.3°C 3.8°C

Air quality (annual mean)

Watsons Creek Panton Hill
PM2.5 —
same for both
PM10 15.5 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ —
same for both

Council rates

Watsons Creek Panton Hill
Average residential rate $2,696/yr
same for both
Council Nillumbik
same for both

Federal electorate

Watsons Creek Panton Hill
Division Casey
same for both
Member Aaron Violi
same for both
Party Liberal
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

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

Tags

Watsons Creek

Family Outer Young Families

Panton Hill

Acreage Outer Parks Premium Quiet

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Watsons Creek

Watsons Creek vs Kangaroo Ground Watsons Creek vs Christmas Hills

Other comparisons with Panton Hill

Panton Hill vs Hurstbridge Panton Hill vs Kangaroo Ground Panton Hill vs St Andrews Panton Hill vs Cottles Bridge Panton Hill vs Christmas Hills Panton Hill vs Smiths Gully
Full data on Watsons Creek Full data on Panton Hill
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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