Bittern is a suburb in Victoria, 78 km from Melbourne CBD, around 1 hour 10 minutes by car. Population is 4,276; the median age is 46 and the median household income is $83,980 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the middle range nationally. The suburb grew 15.4% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $366 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,842. All 1 school within the suburb boundary rank above the state average, and walkability is moderate.
Is Bittern a good suburb?
Bittern scores a B (53/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — weaker on prices.
Mixed results
1 school · 1 above peer schools
Some car dependence
Walkability 57/100 · 77.9 km · 68 min drive to Melbourne
Above the state median
Median $938K · Less affordable than 81% of VIC
Moderate flood risk
Fire 37/100 · Crime 33/100 · Flood 46/100
Mid-range socio-economic
SEIFA decile 6/10 · median age 46 · 4,276 residents
Liveability Rating
53 / 100 · Ranked #379 in VICEach bar is Bittern's rank among VIC suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better). Scored on 4 of 5 factors: no school data, so the other factors carry its weight.
How do you rate the liveability in Bittern?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
53 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataBittern's house market is moving lower: the median sale price reached $938,000, roughly 12% below where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$938,000
32% above its 4 neighbours (median $708,000)
Based on 71 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 32 days — median across 26 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 6 sales $647K
- 3 bed 26 sales $775K
- 4 bed 30 sales $1.05M
- 5 bed 6 sales $1.18M
Units
$710,000
Based on 17 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
By bedrooms
- 3 bed 11 sales $785K
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Bittern are currently listed at around $1.66 million on average. Based on 14 houses listed in the past six months.
Houses
$1.66M
14 houses listed in the last 6 months.
Units
$645K
3 units listed in the last 6 months.
17 of the suburb's 1,617 dwellings (1.1%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Short-Stay Rentals
8 active Airbnb listings: 8 whole homes and 0 rooms. Whole homes are about 0.5% of the suburb's homes.
Airbnb only, as at Jun 2026; other platforms are not included. Active means reviewed in the past 12 months. The share is against private dwellings at the 2021 Census.
Is Bittern safe? Crime statistics
2026Crime in Bittern sits in the low band, with 105 incidents recorded in 2026 — down roughly 15% on the prior year.
105 offences
15.3% since 2025Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–202514 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital, 1 of them fatal
Where they happened
Crashes are counted where they happened, so a main road through the suburb carries people passing through; this is not a measure of risk to residents. Roads are listed with 3 or more serious crashes.
Schools
One school serve Bittern, and the cohort skews above peer-suburb performance. Bittern Primary School leads the pack.
- • 78 students in one school (avg 78)
Primary
Walkability
Bittern is somewhat walkable on foot — at 57/100, a short cluster of errands work on foot but most trips still benefit from a car.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Bittern.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 12.2 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 5.8 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 4.9 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 16.2 hours
Scheduled service only, based on the 21 October 2026 timetable. Reliability (delays, cancellations) not measured.
NBN connectivity
The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Bittern.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 56%
- Premises covered
- 1,868
NBN Co fixed-line and fixed-wireless premises, as at 30 December 2025. Higher-quality technologies (full fibre) score above copper, wireless, and satellite. Actual speeds depend on your plan.
Amenities
Mornington Peninsula: council population
The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this suburb alone — this suburb's own population is in the census section above.
Socio-economic profile
The ABS scores 10 small areas inside this suburb and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 4 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this suburb rank well above the average and parts well below it.
Bittern is home to about 4,300 residents, with a median age of 46, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $84,000 a year, with unemployment at 3.3%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
4,276
Median Age
46
Median Household Income
$83,980/yr
Census Median Rent
$366/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,842/mo
Avg Household Size
2.5
Median Personal Income
$37,700/yr
Unemployment Rate
3.3%
Unoccupied Dwellings
5.8%
Total Dwellings
1,617
Owner-Occupier Rate
87.3%
Houses
93.6%
Rental Stress
22.7%
Mortgage Stress
26.3%
Work From Home
18.2%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
7 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 3 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 196 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 80.8%
- English Spoken at Home
- 93.6%
- Employment Rate
- 57.3%
- Completed Year 12
- 38.8%
Occupations
Religion
Country of Birth (overseas)
Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.
When They Arrived
Share of all residents by the year they arrived in Australia. Periods cover different numbers of years, so compare the shape rather than the bar widths.
16 residents (0.4%) arrived since 2016. Australia’s borders were closed to most arrivals from March 2020, so the last two years of that period are much smaller than the ones before them — nationally 260,799 people arrived in 2019 against 28,521 in 2021.
Where New Residents Came From
Where residents aged five and over lived five years before the 2021 Census, for those who lived somewhere else.
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 4,040 residents aged five and over. Areas are ABS statistical regions. Small counts are approximate: the ABS adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
Languages Spoken at Home
Top languages other than English, as a share of all residents.
Age Distribution
Family & Household Composition
Commute to Work
2% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (50 of 2,031).
City centre: the ABS area around each capital's CBD, such as Sydney Inner City or Perth City (which takes in Subiaco and Leederville). 2021 Census place of work.
Local Jobs
People who work in this suburb against employed people who live here, 2021 Census.
About 2,415 people work here; 2,031 employed residents live here.
Roughly as many jobs as working residents (1.2 per resident). At least 9% of the people who work here must live elsewhere.
Counts are by place of work and place of usual residence. The ABS counts jobs in zones; where a zone spans several places, its jobs are shared out by land use. The ABS also adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,659 a year through Mornington Peninsula based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Residential 42%
- Rural and farming 36%
- Parks and recreation 10%
- Other and special use 5%
- Infrastructure and transport 5%
- Not zoned 3%
Planning zones cover 98% of the suburb's area. The rest is unzoned land such as water or road reserve.
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 — the property page shows the zone for one address.
Building Approvals: Mornington Peninsula
In the year to August 2026, 791 new dwellings were approved across Mornington Peninsula. That mix is 511 houses and 280 units. Approvals are up 9.2% on the same period a year earlier.
New Homes Planned
New homes planned in this suburb: 29 homes
- Projects firmly planned 11 homes
- Projects likely to go ahead 18 homes
From the Victorian Government's Urban Development Program: growth-area land and approved lots (metropolitan 2025, regional June 2024) and projects of 10 or more homes in Melbourne (2025), by stage. Lots and homes are counted as published; a lot usually becomes one home.
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage
The Registered Aboriginal Party for this area is Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation (appointed 2017).
Registered Aboriginal Parties are appointed by the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 as the primary guardians, keepers and knowledge holders of Aboriginal cultural heritage for their area. They are the body to contact about cultural heritage here.
Climate & Setting
from Cerberus, 3.2 kmModerate rainfall — warm summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 39 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 2.6 km
- Annual rainfall
- 696 mm
- 106 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 24.5°C
- 7 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 6.5°C
- 3 frost days ≤ 0°C
Elevation is the ground at the suburb centre, from Geoscience Australia's National Digital Elevation Model. Approximate — it reads high in dense built-up areas. It is a measure of height above sea level and not an indicator of flood risk, which depends on height above nearby waterways.
Industrial Emissions Nearby
1 facility within 5 km- 4.1 kmSewerage and Drainage ServicesTop reported: Ammonia (total) · Total Phosphorus · Total Nitrogen
EV adoption
In postcode 3918, 35 of 3,714 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.8% (68 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 2.8%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 3918, 914 rooftop-solar systems totalling 5.2 MW have been installed since 2001, against 1,708 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 51 went up in the last year.
Counts every system certified since 2001, so a roof re-fitted with a newer system is counted twice, and small commercial systems are included alongside houses — useful for comparing postcodes, not an estimate of how many homes have working panels today.
2026 covers part of the year only, to 2026-07.
First Home Owner Grant
FY2026-27$10,000 for new homes priced up to $750,000.
The separate First Home Buyer Duty Reduction (stamp-duty concession) runs alongside this grant.
0 first-home grants were paid in postcode 3918 in 2025-26. The most was 35, in 2001-02.
Grants on new and established homes; established homes stopped qualifying in mid-2013.
Mortgage repayments
1 mortgage broker is registered in this suburb.
Land transfer duty at the owner-occupier rate, and it excludes first home buyer concessions — those can cut it substantially or remove it entirely. Excludes legal, inspection and lender fees. Check with State Revenue Office Victoria
The First Home Owner Grant applies to newly built homes only, so it isn't available on an established purchase. A first home buyer building or buying new under $750,000 may qualify for $10,000 — see what qualifies with State Revenue Office Victoria.
At $938,000 this is $188,000 above the $750,000 First Home Owner Grant cap. A first home buyer may qualify for $10,000 on a newly built home — check eligibility with State Revenue Office Victoria.
A deposit under 20% usually attracts Lenders Mortgage Insurance, which this doesn't include.
Principal and interest over 30 years, fixed rate. Excludes fees, offset, redraw and LMI. Default rate is the median comparison rate across 1788 advertised products as at 2026-10-26 — indicative only, and not an offer. Your rate depends on the lender, your deposit and your circumstances. Not financial advice.
Federal Electorate
Currently held by Zoe Mckenzie Liberal
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Zoe Mckenzie | 45.2% | 54.8% | +1.4 |
| 2022 | Zoe Mckenzie | 43.3% | 56.7% | +1.1 |
| 2019 | Greg Hunt | 44.4% | 55.6% | -1.4 |
Results are per division — federal electoral boundaries are redrawn periodically, so the history reflects this division's past, not necessarily the exact suburb's voters across time.
State Electorate
Currently held by Paul Mercurio Australian Labor Party - Victorian Branch
Next state election: 28 November 2026.
| Year | Winner | Won with | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Paul Mercurio ALP | 51.4% | 51.4% | 48.6% |
| 2018 | Neale Burgess LP | 51.1% | 48.9% | 51.1% |
| 2014 | Neale Burgess LP | 51.2% | 42.4% | 57.6% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2021, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this suburb's voters. Results: Victorian Electoral Commission, CC BY 4.0.
Looking at a specific address in Bittern?
Every figure above is a suburb average, and an average smooths over the difference between a street of family homes and a block of flats. Look up one address and you get the census for the few hundred people around it, its own nearest schools and stops, and what the state has mapped for that block.
- The census for a few hundred neighbours, not all 4,276 residents
- Nearest and zoned schools, with the walk from that door
- Flood, bushfire and noise mapping, where the state publishes it
Free to look up. Subscribers see every section in full — $29/month.
Featured in
Nearby suburbs
Hastings VIC 3915
Crib Point VIC 3919
Balnarring VIC 3926
Somers VIC 3927
Hmas Cerberus VIC 3920
Tuerong VIC 3915
Compare Bittern to another suburb
Side-by-side stats for any other VIC suburb — type a name and pick one.
Or jump straight to a nearby comparison:
Common questions about Bittern
Is Bittern a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Bittern is low (33/100, ranked against other VIC suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Bittern?
Bittern has a low recorded bushfire history (37/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). Flood overlays cover a moderate share of it (46/100). These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Bittern a good place to live?
Bittern has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of B (53/100), ranked against other VIC suburbs on school quality (25%), safety (25%), SEIFA socio-economic advantage (25%), walkability (15%) and CBD access (10%). Whether it suits you depends on what you weigh — each of those is on this page.
What is the population of Bittern?
Bittern, VIC had a population of 4,276 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Bittern, VIC?
The postcode for Bittern, VIC is 3918.
How far is Bittern from Melbourne?
Bittern is 78 km from Melbourne CBD by road, about 68 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Bittern?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Bittern was $83,980 a year. It is the most recent suburb-level income figure until 2026 Census results are released in 2027.
What is the median weekly rent in Bittern?
There are too few current rental listings in Bittern for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $366, across all dwelling types.
What is the median age in Bittern?
The median age of residents in Bittern was 46 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Bittern at risk of bushfire?
Bittern has a low recorded bushfire history (37/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the suburb relative to its size, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history. It records where fire has burned, not a bushfire-prone land designation, which your council's planning scheme sets.
How are the schools in Bittern?
There is 1 school inside the Bittern boundary: 1 above similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Bittern walkable?
Bittern scores 57/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it somewhat walkable. The score is a weighted average of public transport, schools, parks, supermarkets, GPs, pharmacies, childcare, and hospitals within walking distance.
What is the weather like in Bittern?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Bittern, Cerberus (3.2 km away), summer days average 24.5°C, winter nights 6.5°C, 696 mm of rain a year over 106 rainy days, and 7 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Bittern?
First-home buyers in VIC may be eligible for $10,000 towards new homes with a purchase price up to $750,000. The grant is administered by State Revenue Office Victoria; confirm current eligibility before signing a contract — state rules and amounts can change.
What council does Bittern belong to?
Bittern sits within the Mornington Peninsula local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Bittern?
The average residential rates bill through Mornington Peninsula is $1,659 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Bittern?
Across Mornington Peninsula, 791 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 9.2% on the same period a year earlier. These are LGA-level totals — every suburb in the council shares the same figure.
Which federal electorate is Bittern in?
Bittern sits within the federal Division of Flinders, currently held by Zoe Mckenzie (Liberal).
Search another suburb or address
Data freshness
- Census · 2021
- Median sale prices · Oct 2026
- For-sale & rental market · Oct 2026
- Council rates · FY 2024–25
- Building approvals · Aug 2026
- Schools · 2025
- Public transport · Oct 2026
- NBN connectivity · Dec 2025
- Crime · 2026
- Road crashes · 2021–2025
- Climate · 2006–2026
- Socio-economic (SEIFA) · 2021
- EV adoption · Jan 2025
- First Home Owner Grant · Sep 2026
- Federal electorate · 2025
- Short-stay rentals · Jun 2026
- State electorate · 2022
- Amenities · Sep 2026
- Health & emergency facilities · Sep 2026
- Industrial emissions (NPI) · 2024/2025
- Coastal erosion · 1988–2025
- Aircraft noise · 2024
Vintages show when each source's data is from. See all data sources.
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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.