Data-driven journalism
Insights
What we find in the data we collect — council rates, bushfire history, prices and demographics. Every figure names the source it came from and the year it describes, and every piece shows its working.
How suburbs voted in 2025: degrees split One Nation from the Greens, while age and home ownership mark out the Coalition
We matched polling-day votes at the 2025 federal election to 2,148 suburbs and towns and compared them with each suburb's Census profile. One Nation polled 11.2% in the suburbs with the fewest graduates and 2.0% in those with the most; the Greens went the other way. The Coalition's vote barely changed with education but rose with age and home ownership. Labor did best in the middle.
Data: Australian Electoral Commission, 2025 and 2022 federal election first preferences by polling place; ABS Census 2021
Victorian house prices since 2014: country Victoria nearly doubled, inner Melbourne rose least
Between 2014 and 2024 the median house price rose 91% in country Victoria and 54% in Melbourne. Inland councils such as Moira, Wangaratta and Mildura more than doubled and were still at their highest in 2024; the coast and commuter belt peaked in 2022 and has since fallen back. Inner Melbourne rose least, by 41% to 49% in the City of Melbourne, Stonnington, Port Phillip and Yarra.
Data: Victorian Property Sales Report, Valuer-General Victoria, house sales 2014 to 2024
Who does the housework: in every suburb, women are likelier than men to put in 15 hours a week
At the 2021 Census, 30.9% of women aged 15 and over did 15 or more hours of unpaid housework a week, against 12.8% of men. The gap narrowed a little from 2016, but in each of the 3,562 suburbs and towns we compared, a larger share of women than men did 15 hours or more. Men did the most in semi-rural towns such as Mapleton and Kurrajong; the gap was widest in Dalkeith, Longueville and Trigg.
Data: ABS Census 2021 and 2016, unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census, people aged 15 and over
NSW home break-ins have fallen by 79% since 1998, and by most in inner Sydney
NSW Police recorded 83,190 break-ins at homes in 1998 and 17,866 in 2025, a fall of 79%. Robbery and theft from the person fell even further, and car theft by almost three-quarters, though it has risen since 2021. Shoplifting went the other way, to its highest in 30 years. Inner Sydney suburbs such as Paddington, Leichhardt and Marrickville saw break-ins fall by more than 90%; regional cities fell by less, and now record more break-ins than Sydney.
Data: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, recorded criminal incidents by suburb, 1995 to 2025
Where people volunteer: small country towns lead, and the big cities trail
At the 2021 Census, 15.1% of people aged 15 and over had volunteered for an organisation or group in the past year, down from 20.7% in 2016. In small South Australian towns such as Keith, Robe and Jamestown the rate was above 36%; in parts of Sydney's west and south-west it was under 5%. Hobart and Canberra had the highest rates of the capitals, Sydney and Melbourne the lowest.
Data: ABS Census 2021 and 2016, voluntary work for an organisation or group, people aged 15 and over
Regional Victoria's growth land: room for 188,000 lots, more than half around Geelong and Ballarat
The Victorian Government's Urban Development Program maps growth land in 20 regional towns. It has room for about 188,000 lots, 60% of it on land still waiting for a precinct structure plan. Geelong has 57,000 and Ballarat 43,000; Shepparton, Bacchus Marsh, Warragul and Bendigo follow. Warrnambool and Wodonga have growth zones of their own, outside the program.
Data: Victorian Urban Development Program, regional greenfield land (June 2024); Vicmap Planning zones, October 2026
Queensland's state seats: Brisbane stayed Labor while the regions went LNP
Of Queensland's 93 state districts, 74 were won by the same side in 2020 and 2024. The 19 that changed hands were nearly all Labor seats won by the LNP in 2024, mostly outside Brisbane. Three in four Brisbane residents live in a district Labor won both times; in the rest of the state, more than half live in one the LNP won both times. Aspley was decided by less than a tenth of a percentage point.
Data: Electoral Commission of Queensland results, 2020 and 2024, and by-elections to May 2026; 2021 Census
Where Melbourne's apartment and townhouse projects are: 158,500 homes in the pipeline
The Victorian Government tracks every housing project of 10 or more homes in Melbourne. In 2025 it counted 1,725 projects not yet finished, with about 158,500 homes, 83% of them apartments. 25,371 homes were under construction. Docklands, Southbank and the CBD have the most, and outside the centre Maribyrnong, Footscray, Box Hill and Preston.
Data: Victorian Urban Development Program, major residential redevelopment sites 2025
South Australia's 2026 election, seat by seat: One Nation was in the final count in 31 of 47 districts
At South Australia's March 2026 election Labor won 34 of 47 seats, up from 27, and the Liberals fell from 16 to 5. One Nation won four seats and finished in the final two-candidate count in 31 districts, against 18 for the Liberals. Narungga was decided by less than a quarter of a percentage point.
Data: Electoral Commission of South Australia results, 2022 and 2026
Melbourne's next suburbs: room for about 334,000 lots on the city's edge
The Victorian Government's Urban Development Program maps every piece of growth land on Melbourne's fringe. It has room for about 334,000 lots in seven councils, nearly 40% of it on land that still needs a precinct structure plan. Melton has the most, about 82,000 lots, and the largest unplanned precincts are around Beveridge, Clyde South and Melton East.
Data: Victorian Urban Development Program, metropolitan greenfield land 2025
In some holiday towns, a quarter or more of homes are whole-home Airbnbs
We counted active Airbnb listings in every suburb Inside Airbnb covers. Whole homes listed on Airbnb equal about 23% of the homes in Byron Bay and 21% in Noosa Heads, and more in smaller coastal towns. In the capitals the listings cluster in city centres and beach suburbs; Melbourne's CBD has the most, with 3,056.
Data: Inside Airbnb, June 2026 (Airbnb only); 2021 Census private dwellings
Days over the air pollution limit are in a few towns, not the capitals
We counted the days each of 123 air monitoring stations in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT went over the national limits in 2025. Eight stations, in Stockton, the Upper Hunter, Whyalla, Port Pirie, Wagga Wagga, Brooklyn and Moranbah, account for 44% of the days over the dust limit. No station went over the yearly fine-particle limit.
Data: State air quality monitoring, 2025 (NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, ACT)
The highest rental yields in each capital, for houses and for units
Gross rental yield compares the median advertised rent with the median asking price. Among suburbs with at least 20 rentals advertised, the highest yields for units are about 7% in Melbourne, Darwin and Perth and 5.4% in Brisbane. For houses, they run from 4.6% in Melbourne to 5.5% in Perth.
Data: Advertised rents and asking prices of recent listings, October 2026
Where young professionals live in each capital
We rank suburbs in every capital on the share of residents aged 25 to 34, the share of workers in professional or managerial jobs, public transport and walkability. The top suburbs are St Leonards, Cremorne, Milton, Subiaco, Adelaide, Hobart, Turner and Darwin City, nearly all within a few kilometres of the CBD.
Data: ABS 2021 Census (age, occupation); public transport and walkability scores, October 2026
The top first-home suburbs in every capital, and the stamp duty a first-home buyer pays there
We rank suburbs in each capital for first-home buyers on price, walkability, growth, safety and distance to the CBD. At the median asking price in the top-ranked suburbs, an eligible first-home buyer pays no stamp duty on a unit in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth or Canberra, and nothing on a house in Canberra. In Adelaide, Hobart and Darwin there is no concession for an established home at all.
Data: Asking prices of recent listings, October 2026; first-home duty rules from 1 July 2026
Where Australia's communities live, city by city
Census data shows which suburbs have the largest Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipino, Lebanese, South African, Italian and Greek communities in each capital. Harris Park, Tarneit, Eastwood, Box Hill and Cabramatta lead their cities, and older migrant communities now show more in ancestry than in country of birth.
Data: ABS 2021 Census: ancestry, country of birth and language spoken at home, suburbs with at least 2,000 residents
Rents on new leases are up by about half since 2021 in the states that publish them
Rental bond records show what tenants agreed to pay on new leases, quarter by quarter. In New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania, the typical suburb's rent rose 49% between 2021 and the year to June 2026. Of the 1,402 suburbs and postcodes with figures in both years, rents were higher in 1,396. The data covers only the states that publish it; Victoria, the ACT and the Northern Territory are not included.
Data: Rental bond data: NSW, QLD, SA, TAS from January 2021, WA from March 2023, to June 2026
One Australian address in ten is within 1 km of an industrial site that reports its emissions
We measured 15.1 million addresses against the 3,452 factories, plants, quarries, power stations, depots and treatment works that reported to the National Pollutant Inventory for 2024-25. 1.55 million addresses are within 1 km of one. Within the same city and distance from the CBD, suburbs close to them have lower house prices in 17 of 21 comparisons.
Data: National Pollutant Inventory 2024-25 (released March 2026); G-NAF addresses; house sale prices, past two years
Five states publish what renters actually pay. Victoria's figures are a year old, and the ACT and NT publish none.
Every rental bond records the rent a tenant agreed to. New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia publish those figures within months. Victoria publishes them a year late for groups of suburbs; the ACT and the Northern Territory do not publish them at all. Where the two can be compared, agreed rents were below advertised rents in 367 of 455 suburbs and postcodes, typically by about 4%.
Data: Rental bond data, NSW, QLD, SA, TAS, WA (to Sep 2026); advertised rental listings; state publications (Oct 2026)
Queensland has land set aside for at least 360,000 new homes. Fewer than a third are expected within five years.
The Queensland Government's land supply study maps 19,538 parcels set aside for future housing, with room for at least 361,718 homes. It expects 31% of them within five years. Nearly half are ten or more years away or have no timeframe at all. Ipswich and Logan hold a quarter of the urban land.
Data: Queensland Government, Residential land supply (broadhectare study), as published October 2026
Australians did move to the regions. The capitals grew faster anyway.
In the five years to June 2025, Australia's capital cities grew 8.5% and the rest of the country 6.1%. Over four years the capitals lost a net 133,642 residents to the rest of Australia, but gained 1.26 million from overseas, about nine for every one they lost. Warragul and Drouin grew fastest of 27 regional cities; Mount Isa shrank.
Data: ABS Regional population 2024-25: population at 30 June 2025 and components of change (released March 2026)
A house block in Sydney's new suburbs is 381 m². In its established suburbs it is 604 m².
We measured 8.7 million house blocks in six states and territories from the state land registries' lot boundaries. In every mainland capital, the typical block in a fast-growing new suburb is 32% to 42% smaller than in suburbs that have barely changed.
Data: Six state and territory cadastres (October 2026); G-NAF addresses; 2016 and 2021 Census
Victoria's state seats since 2014: which never change, and which were decided by a few hundred votes
Victoria votes on 28 November. Of its 88 state districts, 65 were won by the same side at the 2014, 2018 and 2022 elections and 14 changed hands. In 2022, Northcote was decided by 184 votes and Bass by 202. In Melbourne, 52.9% of residents live in a district Labor won all three times; in the rest of Victoria, 41.8% live in one the Coalition won all three times.
Data: Victorian Electoral Commission results, 2014, 2018 and 2022, and by-elections to May 2026; 2021 Census
One Canberra address in 17 sits where a bushfire has burned since 2000. In three of its newest suburbs, it is every one.
We checked 14.6 million addresses in six states and territories against the outlines of every recorded bushfire since 2000. 155,745 sit inside one. Canberra's Molonglo Valley suburbs were built on the ground the 2003 fires burned, and Perth's and south-east Queensland's growth estates on land that burned before the houses came.
Data: Geoscience Australia and WA DBCA bushfire boundaries (to 2026); G-NAF addresses
One address in 69 is within 100 metres of an overhead high-voltage line. In Perth it is one in 16.
We measured 14.6 million addresses in six states and territories against Geoscience Australia's map of power lines. 212,111 are within 100 m of an overhead line of 110 kV or more. Perth has by far the most, because it runs 132 kV lines through its suburbs; much of Sydney's high voltage runs under its streets.
Data: Geoscience Australia electricity infrastructure (June 2026); G-NAF addresses
One street in 18 is split between two primary school zones. In Melbourne it is one in ten.
Across 330,945 streets in six states and territories, 17,732 have neighbours zoned for different government primary schools. Melbourne splits the most streets, almost always partway along; in Sydney nearly a quarter of split streets divide down the middle, odd numbers to one school and even numbers to the other.
Data: Government primary school zones for 2026 enrolments (South Australia 2025); G-NAF addresses
In a typical suburb, one road carries a third of the crashes that kill or hospitalise someone. In some country suburbs it is every one of them.
Across 2,003 suburbs in Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales, the median suburb has 33% of its fatal and serious-injury crashes on a single road. In a quarter of them one road carries half or more, and in 25 it carries every one. Busy suburbs spread their crashes out; country suburbs concentrate them.
Data: Fatal and serious-injury road crashes: Victoria 2021 to 2025, Queensland and New South Wales 2020 to 2024
Wollongong has voted Labor at every federal election since 2004, and the Gold Coast's three seats Coalition every time. Which seats never change, and which keep changing.
Of the 143 federal seats that have existed since 2004, 73 have been won by the same side at all eight elections. In regional cities 41.6% of residents live in a seat the Coalition has held every time; in the capitals 35.2% live in one Labor has held every time. Bass and Braddon changed hands five times.
Data: AEC federal election results, 2004 to 2025: members elected and two-party-preferred vote by division
The Gold Coast drew more people from Sydney and Melbourne than from Brisbane. Where Australians who left the capitals went.
About 407,000 people living in regional towns at the 2021 Census had lived in a capital city five years earlier. The Gold Coast took 29,101 from Sydney and Melbourne and 24,517 from Brisbane. In Warragul and Drouin, one resident in five had lived in Melbourne. The towns that took the most, and the largest shares.
Data: 2021 Census, ABS TableBuilder: where people lived in 2016 and 2021
Brisbane has more suburbs than Melbourne. How many suburbs every Australian city and state has.
Australia has 15,335 suburbs and localities, and 687 of them have nobody living in them. Greater Sydney has 921 suburbs, Greater Brisbane 647 and Greater Melbourne 572 — fewer than Brisbane, because Melbourne's suburbs hold more than twice as many people each. The counts for every capital and state, and why you will see other numbers.
Data: ABS Australian Statistical Geography Standard (2021) and the 2021 Census
A Melbourne first home with no stamp duty is a flat near the city or a house 30 km out.
Victorian first home buyers pay no stamp duty up to $600,000 — a saving of $31,070. We checked what that buys across Melbourne. A typical two-bedroom unit qualifies in 107 suburbs, 24 of them within 10 km of the CBD. A typical three-bedroom house qualifies in 17, and the closest is Tarneit, 29.6 km out.
Data: Sales to 20 September 2026; Victorian duty rules verified with the State Revenue Office, September 2026
Australia's EV suburbs and its solar suburbs are different places. Brisbane is where they meet.
We matched every postcode's electric-car registrations against its rooftop solar. The two barely overlap — electric cars follow income, solar follows detached houses — and of the 42 postcodes that lead on both, 19 are in Brisbane. None are in Melbourne or Canberra.
Data: AAA EV Index (January 2025); Clean Energy Regulator installations (July 2026); ABS 2021 Census
Australia's oldest suburbs have the same size houses as its youngest. They just have half a person fewer in them.
Twenty-one Australian suburbs have the emptiest homes in the country. We expected to find families who had shrunk in place. The Census migration data says the opposite — all 21 grew while they aged, because they are coastal towns people retire to, arriving as couples and buying three-bedroom houses.
Data: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 and 2016, at Suburb and Locality (SAL) level
46 Melbourne suburbs have strong schools and strong transport. One of them is affordable.
A commenter on r/melbourne said you cannot have good state schools, good transport and affordability at once. We tested it against 226 Melbourne suburbs. They were right — and the single exception is St Albans.
Data: ACARA My School (NAPLAN, ICSEA); Victorian transport, price and sales data to September 2026
Victoria's 2024-25 rate cap was 2.75%. The average rate rose faster in 44 of 79 councils.
Victorian councils all stayed inside the 2.75% rate cap, and the average rate per property still rose faster than the cap in more than half of them. The cap and your bill are not the same thing. Here is what each of the 79 councils charges.
Data: FY2024-25 Local Government Performance Reporting Framework, published by Local Government Victoria
One NT council raised rates 37% this year. The rest averaged 6%.
We read the 2026-27 rates declarations of all 18 Northern Territory councils we track. Wagait Shire raised its rates 37% in a single year, and the gap between the dearest and cheapest council is more than threefold.
Data: 2026-27 Declarations of Rates and Charges, published by each NT council