Cairnlea VIC 3023
Cairnlea sits 24 km from Melbourne CBD in Victoria, around 28 minutes by car. Census data records 10,038 residents with a median age of 36 and a median household income of $107,224 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the lower-middle tier nationally. The suburb grew 3.9% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $400 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,883. Of 3 schools within the suburb boundary, 1 ranks above the state average, and walkability is high.
Is Cairnlea a good suburb?
Cairnlea scores a B (59/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on schools and transit.
Above the state average
3 schools · 1 above peer schools
Very walkable
Walkability 82/100 · 24.5 km · 28 min drive to Melbourne
Around the state median
Median $959K
Moderate crime risk
Fire 32/100 · Crime 50/100 · Flood 45/100
Below-average income
SEIFA decile 4/10 · median age 36 · 10,038 residents
Liveability Rating
59 / 100 · Ranked #289 in VICEach bar is Cairnlea's rank among VIC suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better).
How do you rate the liveability in Cairnlea?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
59 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataCairnlea's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $959,000, about 8% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$959,000
35% above its 5 neighbours (median $711,500)
Based on 136 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 27 days — median across 83 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 3 bed 42 sales $811K
- 4 bed 62 sales $1M
- 5 bed 21 sales $1.23M
Units
$407,500
21% below its 4 neighbours (median $515,000)
Based on 32 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 32 days — median across 14 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 1 bed 10 sales $328K
- 2 bed 22 sales $417K
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Cairnlea are currently listed at around $1.05 million on average. Based on 12 houses listed in the past six months.
Houses
$1.05M
12 houses listed in the last 6 months.
Units
$460K
4 units listed in the last 6 months.
16 of the suburb's 2,808 dwellings (0.6%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Cairnlea rent for around $710 a week on average, based on 10 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
$710/wk
34% above its 5 neighbours (median $530/wk)
10 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
12 rentals advertised against an estimated 432 rented homes (2.8%) in the last 6 months.
Rental affordability
June quarter 2025130 Acceptable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 23% of its income on the median rent in postcode 3023.
SGS Rental Affordability Index: a score of 100 means rent takes 30% of income, the usual housing-stress line; lower scores are less affordable. "Region" is the capital city or the rest of the state.
Gross rental yield
Indicative$710/week ($37,000 a year) on a $1.05 million median
Gross yield — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. Calculated from median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.
Short-Stay Rentals
3 active Airbnb listings: 3 whole homes and 0 rooms. Whole homes are about 0.1% 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 Cairnlea safe? Crime statistics
2026Crime in Cairnlea sits in the moderate band, with 370 incidents recorded in 2026 — up about 9% on the prior year.
370 offences
8.8% since 2025Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–202521 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital
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
Three schools serve Cairnlea, and the cohort skews above peer-suburb performance. Cairnlea Park Primary School leads the pack.
- • 776 students in one school (avg 776)
- • Largest: Cairnlea Park Primary School (776 students)
Primary
Secondary
Walkability
Cairnlea is very walkable on foot — at 82/100, most daily errands can be done on foot. Within the suburb there are 2 supermarkets, 13 parks and 9 cafes to anchor that walking radius.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Cairnlea.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 73.5 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 60.0 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 41.9 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 17.8 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 Cairnlea.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 52%
- Premises covered
- 2,878
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
Brimbank: 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 19 small areas inside this suburb and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 5 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this suburb rank well above the average and parts well below it.
Cairnlea is home to about 10,000 residents, with a median age of 36, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $107,000 a year, with unemployment at 6.6%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
10,038
Median Age
36
Median Household Income
$107,224/yr
Census Median Rent
$400/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,883/mo
Avg Household Size
3.4
Median Personal Income
$34,216/yr
Unemployment Rate
6.6%
Unoccupied Dwellings
3.7%
Total Dwellings
2,808
Owner-Occupier Rate
84.6%
Houses
88.3%
Rental Stress
19.4%
Mortgage Stress
21.1%
Work From Home
22.0%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
16 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 0 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 420 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 45.3%
- English Spoken at Home
- 27.2%
- Employment Rate
- 58%
- Completed Year 12
- 51.6%
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.
449 residents (4.5%) 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 9,531 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
17% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (821 of 4,701).
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 972 people work here; 4,701 employed residents live here.
Mostly a place people commute from: 0.2 jobs per working resident. At least 79% of employed residents must work outside the suburb.
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 $1,847 a year through Brimbank based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Residential 66%
- Parks and recreation 26%
- Infrastructure and transport 4%
- Industrial 2%
- Commercial 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 — the property page shows the zone for one address.
Building Approvals: Brimbank
In the year to August 2026, 670 new dwellings were approved across Brimbank. That mix is 233 houses and 437 units. Approvals are up 39.7% on the same period a year earlier.
New Homes Planned
New homes planned in this suburb: 70 homes
- Apartment and townhouse projects under construction 70 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 Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation (appointed 2008).
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.
Air Quality
This station does not measure fine particles (PM2.5).
PM10 averaged 23.2 µg/m³. Days over the limit in 2025: PM10 12.
From the Brooklyn monitoring station, 8.7 km away.
Climate & Setting
from Essendon Airport, 11.0 kmModerate rainfall — hot summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 60 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 12.9 km
- Near high-voltage lines
- 1.7% of addresses
- 57 within 100 m of an overhead line of 110 kV or more
- Annual rainfall
- 534 mm
- 85 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 26.7°C
- 13 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 6.5°C
- 2 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
13 facilities within 5 km- 1.5 kmSynthetic Resin and Synthetic Rubber ManufacturingTop reported: Carbon monoxide · Oxides of Nitrogen · Total Volatile Organic Compounds
- 1.6 kmBasic Organic Chemical ManufacturingTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds · Dichloromethane · Xylenes (individual or mixed isomers)
- 1.8 kmHospitals (Except Psychiatric Hospitals)Top reported: Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide · Particulate Matter ≤2.5 µm (PM2.5)
- 2.3 kmBasic Inorganic Chemical ManufacturingTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds · Acetic acid (ethanoic acid)
- 2.3 km
EV adoption
In postcode 3023, 472 of 46,929 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 4.3% (2,023 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 5.3%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 3023, 8,859 rooftop-solar systems totalling 53.6 MW have been installed since 2001, against 20,746 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 446 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.
19 first-home grants were paid in postcode 3023 in 2025-26, rank 53 of 298 Victorian postcodes. The most was 1,186, in 2009-10.
Grants on new and established homes; established homes stopped qualifying in mid-2013.
Mortgage repayments
7 mortgage brokers are registered in this suburb, 49 across postcode 3023.
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 $959,000 this is $209,000 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 Daniel Mulino Australian Labor Party
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Daniel Mulino | 72.0% | 28.0% | +5.5 |
| 2022 | Daniel Mulino | 66.5% | 33.5% | +1.6 |
| 2019 | Daniel Mulino | 64.2% | 35.8% | +5.6 |
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 Natalie Suleyman Australian Labor Party - Victorian Branch
Next state election: 28 November 2026.
| Year | Winner | Won with | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Natalie Suleyman ALP | 59.6% | 59.6% | 40.4% |
| 2018 | Natalie Suleyman ALP | 59.7% | 71.5% | 28.5% |
| 2014 | Natalie Suleyman ALP | 56.4% | 67.5% | 32.5% |
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 Cairnlea?
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 10,038 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.
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Checking the whole city?
Suburbs to avoid in Melbourne There is no list of bad suburbs, but there are hazards the state measures and publishes — recorded crime, bushfire exposure, flood overlays and aircraft noise. Melbourne suburbs ranked on them, with what the numbers do and don't mean.Nearby suburbs
Compare Cairnlea 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 Cairnlea
Is Cairnlea a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Cairnlea is moderate (50/100, ranked against other VIC suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Cairnlea?
Cairnlea has a low recorded bushfire history (32/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). Flood overlays cover a moderate share of it (45/100). These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Cairnlea a good place to live?
Cairnlea has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of B (59/100), 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 Cairnlea?
Cairnlea, VIC had a population of 10,038 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Cairnlea, VIC?
The postcode for Cairnlea, VIC is 3023.
How far is Cairnlea from Melbourne?
Cairnlea is 24 km from Melbourne CBD by road, about 28 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Cairnlea?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Cairnlea was $107,224 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 Cairnlea?
The median advertised rent in Cairnlea is $710 a week for houses (10 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Cairnlea?
The median age of residents in Cairnlea was 36 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Cairnlea at risk of bushfire?
Cairnlea has a low recorded bushfire history (32/100). 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 Cairnlea?
There are 3 schools inside the Cairnlea boundary: 1 above similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Cairnlea walkable?
Cairnlea scores 82/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it very 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 Cairnlea?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Cairnlea, Essendon Airport (11 km away), summer days average 26.7°C, winter nights 6.5°C, 534 mm of rain a year over 85 rainy days, and 13 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Cairnlea?
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 Cairnlea belong to?
Cairnlea sits within the Brimbank local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Cairnlea?
The average residential rates bill through Brimbank is $1,847 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Cairnlea?
Across Brimbank, 670 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 39.7% 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 Cairnlea in?
Cairnlea sits within the federal Division of Fraser, currently held by Daniel Mulino (Australian Labor Party).
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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
- Air quality · 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.