Kangaroo Ground sits 34 km from Melbourne CBD in Victoria, around 46 minutes by car. Census data records 1,208 residents with a median age of 44 and a median household income of $151,268 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the top 20% nationally. Population grew 10.3% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $383 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $3,337. The area shows high bushfire risk. 1 school sits within the suburb boundary, and walkability is low.
Is Kangaroo Ground a good suburb?
Kangaroo Ground scores a B (55/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on community, weaker on safety.
Mixed results
1 school
Some car dependence
Walkability 21/100 · 34 km · 46 min drive to Melbourne
Median available
Median $1.97M
High bushfire risk
Fire 86/100 · Crime 56/100 · Flood 32/100
Very advantaged
SEIFA decile 10/10 · median age 44 · 1,208 residents
Liveability Rating
55 / 100 · Ranked #361 in VICEach bar is Kangaroo Ground'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 Kangaroo Ground?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
55 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataKangaroo Ground's house market is moving lower: the median sale price reached $1.97 million, about 3% below where it sat a year earlier.
$1,970,000
44% above its 6 neighbours (median $1,365,000)
Based on 13 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
By bedrooms
- 4 bed 7 sales $1.85M
Short-Stay Rentals
5 active Airbnb listings: 4 whole homes and 1 room. Whole homes are about 1.1% 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 Kangaroo Ground safe? Crime statistics
2026Crime in Kangaroo Ground sits in the moderate band, with 48 incidents recorded in 2026 — up roughly 129% on the prior year.
48 offences
128.6% since 2025Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–202521 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital, 4 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 Kangaroo Ground, and performance is broadly on par with peer-suburb schools.
- • 203 students in one school (avg 203)
Primary
Walkability
Kangaroo Ground is very car-dependent on foot — at 21/100, nearly all errands require a car.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Kangaroo Ground.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 20.0 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 11.2 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 9.6 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 14.8 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 Kangaroo Ground.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 2%
- Premises covered
- 381
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
Nillumbik: 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
Kangaroo Ground is home to about 1,200 residents, with a median age of 44, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $151,000 a year, with unemployment at 2.8%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
1,208
Median Age
44
Median Household Income
$151,268/yr
Census Median Rent
$383/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$3,337/mo
Avg Household Size
3.1
Median Personal Income
$46,124/yr
Unemployment Rate
2.8%
Unoccupied Dwellings
8.2%
Total Dwellings
341
Owner-Occupier Rate
93.0%
Houses
100.0%
Rental Stress
13.2%
Mortgage Stress
26.5%
Work From Home
42.3%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 80.6%
- English Spoken at Home
- 88.7%
- Employment Rate
- 63.1%
- Completed Year 12
- 54.0%
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.
14 residents (1.2%) 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 1,166 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
9% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (60 of 635).
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.
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $2,696 a year through Nillumbik based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Environmental 92%
- Infrastructure and transport 4%
- Parks and recreation 4%
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: Nillumbik
In the year to August 2026, 98 new dwellings were approved across Nillumbik. That mix is 65 houses and 33 units. Approvals are up 8.3% on the same period a year earlier.
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 15.5 µg/m³. Days over the limit in 2025: PM10 2.
From the Mooroolbark monitoring station, 12.8 km away.
Climate & Setting
from Scoresby Research Institute, 20.3 kmModerate rainfall — hot summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 197 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 29.9 km
- Near high-voltage lines
- 1.9% of addresses
- 9 within 100 m of an overhead line of 110 kV or more
- Annual rainfall
- 777 mm
- 105 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 26.9°C
- 10 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 6.3°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.
EV adoption
In postcode 3097, 22 of 1,400 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 2.1% (29 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 3.6%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 3097, 281 rooftop-solar systems totalling 2.3 MW have been installed since 2001, against 497 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 20 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 3097 in 2025-26. The most was 5, in 2002-03.
Grants on new and established homes; established homes stopped qualifying in mid-2013.
Mortgage repayments
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 $1,970,000 this is $1,220,000 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 2026-10-27 — 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 Kate Thwaites Australian Labor Party
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Kate Thwaites | 62.9% | 37.1% | +0.7 |
| 2022 | Kate Thwaites | 62.4% | 37.6% | -6.5 |
| 2019 | Kate Thwaites | 56.6% | 43.4% | -1.0 |
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 Cindy McLeish Liberal
Next state election: 28 November 2026.
| Year | Winner | Won with | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Cindy McLeish LP | 53.3% | 42.9% | 57.1% |
| 2018 | Cindy McLeish LP | 50.2% | 47.6% | 52.4% |
| 2014 | Cindy McLeish LP | 51.7% | 46.2% | 53.8% |
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 Kangaroo Ground?
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 1,208 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
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
Wonga Park VIC 3115
Hurstbridge VIC 3099
North Warrandyte VIC 3113
Research VIC 3095
Wattle Glen VIC 3096
Panton Hill VIC 3759
Compare Kangaroo Ground 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 Kangaroo Ground
Is Kangaroo Ground a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Kangaroo Ground is moderate (56/100, ranked against other VIC suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Kangaroo Ground?
Kangaroo Ground has a high recorded bushfire history (86/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). Flood overlays cover a low share of it (32/100). These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Kangaroo Ground a good place to live?
Kangaroo Ground has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of B (55/100), 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 Kangaroo Ground?
Kangaroo Ground, VIC had a population of 1,208 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Kangaroo Ground, VIC?
The postcode for Kangaroo Ground, VIC is 3097.
How far is Kangaroo Ground from Melbourne?
Kangaroo Ground is 34 km from Melbourne CBD by road, about 46 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Kangaroo Ground?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Kangaroo Ground was $151,268 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 Kangaroo Ground?
There are too few current rental listings in Kangaroo Ground for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $383, across all dwelling types.
What is the median age in Kangaroo Ground?
The median age of residents in Kangaroo Ground was 44 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Kangaroo Ground at risk of bushfire?
Kangaroo Ground has a high recorded bushfire history (86/100). 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 Kangaroo Ground?
There is 1 school inside the Kangaroo Ground boundary: 1 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Kangaroo Ground walkable?
Kangaroo Ground scores 21/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it very car-dependent. 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 Kangaroo Ground?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Kangaroo Ground, Scoresby Research Institute (20.3 km away), summer days average 26.9°C, winter nights 6.3°C, 777 mm of rain a year over 105 rainy days, and 10 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Kangaroo Ground?
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 Kangaroo Ground belong to?
Kangaroo Ground sits within the Nillumbik local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Kangaroo Ground?
The average residential rates bill through Nillumbik is $2,696 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Kangaroo Ground?
Across Nillumbik, 98 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 8.3% 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 Kangaroo Ground in?
Kangaroo Ground sits within the federal Division of Jagajaga, currently held by Kate Thwaites (Australian Labor Party).
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
- 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.
Was the information on this page useful to you?
Thanks! Anything we could improve?
We hate spam as much as you do — we'll never use your email for marketing, and we might not be able to reply to everyone.
Thanks for your feedback! 🙏
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.