Macleod VIC 3085
Located in Victoria, Macleod sits 19 km from Melbourne CBD, around 30 minutes by car. The suburb has 9,892 residents, a median age of 41, and a median household income of $102,232 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the top 20% nationally. The suburb grew 1.3% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $396 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $2,296. Macleod is characterised by no recorded bushfire exposure. 5 schools sit within the suburb boundary, and walkability is high.
Is Macleod a good suburb?
Macleod scores a A (69/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on transit and community, weaker on schools and prices.
Below the state average
5 schools · Bottom 22% in VIC
Very walkable
Walkability 86/100 · 18.9 km · 30 min drive to Melbourne
Above the state median
Median $1.2M · Less affordable than 76% of VIC
Moderate crime risk
Fire 0/100 · Crime 41/100 · Flood 27/100
Very advantaged
SEIFA decile 10/10 · median age 41 · 9,892 residents
Liveability Rating
69 / 100 · Ranked #165 in VICEach bar is Macleod's rank among VIC suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better).
How do you rate the liveability in Macleod?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
69 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataMacleod's house market is moving lower: the median sale price reached $1.2 million, about 9% below where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$1,195,000
26% above its 7 neighbours (median $948,000)
Based on 113 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 24 days — median across 69 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 6 sales $893K
- 3 bed 61 sales $1.01M
- 4 bed 37 sales $1.56M
- 5 bed 8 sales $1.57M
Units
$725,000
68% above its 6 neighbours (median $432,750)
Based on 43 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 24 days — median across 23 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 27 sales $700K
- 3 bed 14 sales $826K
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Macleod are currently listed at around $1.02 million on average. Based on 58 houses listed in the past six months.
Houses
$1.02M
58 houses listed in the last 6 months.
Units
$715K
12 units listed in the last 6 months.
70 of the suburb's 3,853 dwellings (1.8%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Macleod rent for around $700 a week on average, based on 27 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
Houses
$700/wk
9% above its 6 neighbours (median $645/wk)
27 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Units
$492/wk
7% above its 4 neighbours (median $460/wk)
12 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
39 rentals advertised against an estimated 909 rented homes (4.3%) in the last 6 months.
Rental affordability
June quarter 2025114 Moderately unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 26% of its income on the median rent in postcode 3085.
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$700/week ($36,000 a year) on a $1.02 million median
$492/week ($26,000 a year) on a $715,000 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
10 active Airbnb listings: 5 whole homes and 5 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 Macleod safe? Crime statistics
2026Crime in Macleod sits in the moderate band, with 345 incidents recorded in 2026 — down roughly 16% on the prior year.
345 offences
16.5% since 2025Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20257 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
Five schools serve Macleod, and the cohort is trailing peer-suburb performance.
- • 1,348 students across 3 schools (avg 449)
- • Sectors: 3 Government, 2 Independent
- • ICSEA 930-1082, median 1073 (above the national baseline of 1000)
- • Largest: Charles La Trobe P-12 College (741 students)
Combined
Universities nearby
- 2.7 kmMelbourne (Bundoora) CampusLa Trobe University · 223 courses
- 2.7 kmBundoora Campus, Plenty Road, Bundoora Vic 3083Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology · 111 courses
2.9% of residents here are full-time university students aged 15–24.
Distance is measured to the suburb centre. A campus nearby does not by itself mean a student rental market — most suburbs within a few kilometres of one have a student share close to the national norm, and the figure above is what tells them apart.
Walkability
Macleod is very walkable on foot — at 86/100, most daily errands can be done on foot.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Macleod.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 98.2 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 68.0 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 39.3 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 20.0 hours
- Direct to CBD (peak)
- 7 min wait
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 Macleod.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 46%
- Premises covered
- 4,599
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
Banyule: 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 23 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.
Macleod is home to about 9,900 residents, with a median age of 41, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $102,000 a year, with unemployment at 4.3%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
9,892
Median Age
41
Median Household Income
$102,232/yr
Census Median Rent
$396/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$2,296/mo
Avg Household Size
2.5
Median Personal Income
$47,216/yr
Unemployment Rate
4.3%
Unoccupied Dwellings
8.0%
Total Dwellings
3,853
Owner-Occupier Rate
76.4%
Houses
76.6%
Rental Stress
20.1%
Mortgage Stress
27.0%
Work From Home
42.9%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
60 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 33 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 869 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 72.1%
- English Spoken at Home
- 75.2%
- Employment Rate
- 61.3%
- Completed Year 12
- 55.8%
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.
304 residents (3.1%) 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 9,304 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
23% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (1,165 of 4,995).
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 $1,787 a year through Banyule based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Residential 66%
- Parks and recreation 21%
- Infrastructure and transport 12%
- Zones under 1% 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: Banyule
In the year to August 2026, 722 new dwellings were approved across Banyule. That mix is 246 houses and 476 units. Approvals are down 75.1% 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
CLEANPM2.5 averaged 3.9 µg/m³ in 2025 — below the WHO 2021 annual guideline (5 µg/m³).
From the Macleod monitoring station, 1.1 km away.
Climate & Setting
from Essendon Airport, 14.4 kmModerate rainfall — hot summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 69 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 17.7 km
- Near high-voltage lines
- 1.0% of addresses
- 54 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
7 facilities within 5 km- 1.4 kmHigher EducationTop reported: Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide · Particulate Matter ≤2.5 µm (PM2.5)
- 2.8 kmPrintingTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds · Ethanol
- 4.1 kmHospitals (Except Psychiatric Hospitals)Top reported: Carbon monoxide · Oxides of Nitrogen · Particulate Matter ≤10.0 µm (PM10)
- 4.2 kmHospitals (Except Psychiatric Hospitals)Top reported: Carbon monoxide · Oxides of Nitrogen · Particulate Matter ≤10.0 µm (PM10)
- 4.2 kmCheese and Other Dairy Product ManufacturingTop reported: Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide · Total Volatile Organic Compounds
EV adoption
In postcode 3085, 142 of 9,310 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 3.2% (295 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 4.7%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 3085, 1,405 rooftop-solar systems totalling 7.9 MW have been installed since 2001, against 5,554 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 96 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 3085 in 2025-26. The most was 114, in 2005-06.
Grants on new and established homes; established homes stopped qualifying in mid-2013.
Mortgage repayments
3 mortgage brokers are registered in this suburb, 4 across postcode 3085.
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 $1,195,000 this is $445,000 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 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 Colin Brooks Australian Labor Party - Victorian Branch
Next state election: 28 November 2026.
| Year | Winner | Won with | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Colin Brooks ALP | 50.4% | 62.7% | 37.3% |
| 2018 | Colin Brooks ALP | 56.2% | 67.4% | 32.6% |
| 2014 | Colin Brooks ALP | 52.6% | 62.2% | 37.8% |
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 Macleod?
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 9,892 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.
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
Bundoora VIC 3083
Greensborough VIC 3088
Rosanna VIC 3084
Heidelberg Heights VIC 3081
Watsonia VIC 3087
Heidelberg West VIC 3081
Compare Macleod 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 Macleod
Is Macleod a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Macleod is moderate (41/100, ranked against other VIC suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Macleod?
Macleod has no recorded bushfire history. Flood overlays cover a low share of it (27/100). These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Macleod a good place to live?
Macleod has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of A (69/100), 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 Macleod?
Macleod, VIC had a population of 9,892 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Macleod, VIC?
The postcode for Macleod, VIC is 3085.
How far is Macleod from Melbourne?
Macleod is 19 km from Melbourne CBD by road, about 30 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Macleod?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Macleod was $102,232 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 Macleod?
The median advertised rent in Macleod is $700 a week for houses (27 listings) and $492 a week for units (12 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Macleod?
The median age of residents in Macleod was 41 at the 2021 ABS Census.
How are the schools in Macleod?
There are 5 schools inside the Macleod boundary: 2 below similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Macleod walkable?
Macleod scores 86/100 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 air quality in Macleod?
The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Macleod (Macleod) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 3.9 µg/m³. That puts Macleod below the WHO annual guideline of 5 µg/m³.
What is the weather like in Macleod?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Macleod, Essendon Airport (14.4 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 Macleod?
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 Macleod belong to?
Macleod sits within the Banyule local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Macleod?
The average residential rates bill through Banyule is $1,787 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Macleod?
Across Banyule, 722 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 75.1% 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 Macleod in?
Macleod 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.
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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.