Maffra VIC 3860
Maffra sits 227 km from Melbourne CBD in Victoria, around 2 hours 45 minutes by car. Census data records 5,384 residents with a median age of 42 and a median household income of $66,820 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the lower-middle tier nationally. Population grew 2.0% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $250 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,300. The area shows high bushfire risk and high flood risk. 3 schools sit within the town boundary, and walkability is moderate.
Is Maffra a good town?
Maffra scores a D (18/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on prices, weaker on schools and safety.
Below the state average
3 schools · Bottom 16% in VIC
Some car dependence
Walkability 44/100 · 226.7 km · 166 min drive to Melbourne
More affordable than most
Median $468K · More affordable than 83% of VIC
High bushfire risk
Fire 92/100 · Crime 72/100 · Flood 89/100
Below-average income
SEIFA decile 3/10 · median age 42 · 5,384 residents
Liveability Rating
18 / 100 · Ranked #843 in VICEach bar is Maffra's rank among VIC suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better).
How do you rate the liveability in Maffra?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
18 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataMaffra's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $468,000, about 7% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$467,500
Based on 172 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 37 days — median across 65 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 15 sales $382K
- 3 bed 94 sales $445K
- 4 bed 51 sales $590K
- 5 bed 5 sales $536K
Land
$227,500
Based on 22 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 56 days — median across 17 sales that recorded a listing period
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Maffra are currently listed at around $548,000 on average. Based on 50 houses listed in the past six months.
Houses
$548K
50 houses listed in the last 6 months.
Units
$349K
3 units listed in the last 6 months.
53 of the suburb's 2,130 dwellings (2.5%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Maffra rent for around $500 a week on average, based on 19 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
$500/wk
19 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
20 rentals advertised against an estimated 475 rented homes (4.2%) in the last 6 months.
Rental affordability
June quarter 2025123 Acceptable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 24% of its income on the median rent in postcode 3860.
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$500/week ($26,000 a year) on a $548,000 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.
Is Maffra safe? Crime statistics
2026Crime in Maffra sits in the high band, with 330 incidents recorded in 2026 — up about 2% on the prior year.
330 offences
2.5% since 2025Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20259 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital
Crashes are counted where they happened, so a main road through the town 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 Maffra, and performance is broadly on par with peer-suburb schools.
- • 955 students across 3 schools (avg 318)
- • Sectors: 2 Government, 1 Catholic
- • ICSEA 942-1026, median 979 (below the national baseline of 1000)
- • Largest: Maffra Secondary College (549 students)
Primary
Secondary
Walkability
Maffra is car-dependent on foot — at 44/100, most errands require a car. Within the town there are 4 supermarkets, 4 parks and 5 cafes to anchor that walking radius.
NBN connectivity
The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Maffra.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 42%
- Premises covered
- 2,801
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
Wellington: council population
The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this town alone — this town's own population is in the census section above.
Socio-economic profile
The ABS scores 13 small areas inside this town and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 7 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this town rank well above the average and parts well below it.
Maffra is home to about 5,400 residents, with a median age of 42, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $67,000 a year, with unemployment at 3.8%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
5,384
Median Age
42
Median Household Income
$66,820/yr
Census Median Rent
$250/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,300/mo
Avg Household Size
2.3
Median Personal Income
$34,788/yr
Unemployment Rate
3.8%
Unoccupied Dwellings
9.3%
Total Dwellings
2,130
Owner-Occupier Rate
77.7%
Houses
92.9%
Rental Stress
19.5%
Mortgage Stress
23.3%
Work From Home
10.6%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
65 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 3 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 459 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 86.0%
- English Spoken at Home
- 91.8%
- Employment Rate
- 53%
- Completed Year 12
- 30.4%
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.
86 residents (1.6%) 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.
4.9% of residents (248) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Melbourne (219).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 5,076 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
1% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (12 of 2,305).
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 $1,960 a year through Wellington based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Rural and farming 85%
- Infrastructure and transport 6%
- Residential 5%
- Parks and recreation 4%
- Industrial 1%
Proposed rezonings
- Transport Zone 2 → General Residential Zone · C120well, exhibited Dec 2024 0.6 ha
and 6 smaller changes
Land in this town moved from one zone to another by a planning scheme amendment (Vicmap Planning, CC BY 4.0). Exhibited amendments are proposals and can change or lapse.
Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the town around it — the property page shows the zone for one address.
Building Approvals: Wellington
In the year to August 2026, 209 new dwellings were approved across Wellington. That mix is 180 houses and 29 units. Approvals are up 16.7% on the same period a year earlier.
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage
The Registered Aboriginal Party for this area is Gunaikurnai Land and Waters 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 East Sale, 21.3 kmModerate rainfall — warm summers, cold winters with occasional frost.
- Elevation
- 44 m
- above sea level, at the town centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 45.3 km
- Annual rainfall
- 546 mm
- 82 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 25.5°C
- 7 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 4.0°C
- 12 frost days ≤ 0°C
Elevation is the ground at the town 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
3 facilities within 5 km- 1.4 km
- 2.0 km
- 2.9 kmMilk and Cream ProcessingTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds
EV adoption
In postcode 3860, 16 of 7,357 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.5% (112 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 1.7%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 3860, 1,397 rooftop-solar systems totalling 9.0 MW have been installed since 2001, against 3,417 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 74 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.
5 first-home grants were paid in postcode 3860 in 2025-26, rank 129 of 298 Victorian postcodes. The most was 84, in 2001-02.
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 $467,500 this is under 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 Darren Chester The Nationals
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Darren Chester | 30.6% | 69.4% | +1.2 |
| 2022 | Darren Chester | 29.4% | 70.6% | +3.9 |
| 2019 | Darren Chester | 33.3% | 66.7% | -1.5 |
Results are per division — federal electoral boundaries are redrawn periodically, so the history reflects this division's past, not necessarily the exact town's voters across time.
State Electorate
Currently held by Tim Bull The Nationals
Next state election: 28 November 2026.
| Year | Winner | Won with | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Tim Bull NP | 63.3% | 26.1% | 73.9% |
| 2018 | Tim Bull NP | 56.7% | 32.4% | 67.6% |
| 2014 | Tim Bull NP | 60.4% | 32.1% | 67.9% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2021, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this town's voters. Results: Victorian Electoral Commission, CC BY 4.0.
Looking at a specific address in Maffra?
Every figure above is a town 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 5,384 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.
Nearby suburbs
Compare Maffra 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 Maffra
Is Maffra a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Maffra is high (72/100, ranked against other VIC suburbs on offences per resident). Offences against shops, venues and visitors are divided by the people who live here, so suburbs with large daytime or visitor populations rank higher than living there may feel.
What natural hazards affect Maffra?
Maffra has a high recorded bushfire history (92/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). Flood overlays cover a high share of it (89/100). These are town-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Maffra a good place to live?
Maffra has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (18/100), 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 Maffra?
Maffra, VIC had a population of 5,384 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Maffra, VIC?
The postcode for Maffra, VIC is 3860.
How far is Maffra from Melbourne?
Maffra is 227 km from Melbourne CBD by road, about 166 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Maffra?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Maffra was $66,820 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 Maffra?
The median advertised rent in Maffra is $500 a week for houses (19 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Maffra?
The median age of residents in Maffra was 42 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Maffra at risk of bushfire?
Maffra has a high recorded bushfire history (92/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the town 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 Maffra?
There are 3 schools inside the Maffra boundary: 3 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Maffra walkable?
Maffra scores 44/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it 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 Maffra?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Maffra, East Sale (21.3 km away), summer days average 25.5°C, winter nights 4°C, 546 mm of rain a year over 82 rainy days, and 7 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Maffra?
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 Maffra belong to?
Maffra sits within the Wellington local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Maffra?
The average residential rates bill through Wellington is $1,960 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Maffra?
Across Wellington, 209 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 16.7% 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 Maffra in?
Maffra sits within the federal Division of Gippsland, currently held by Darren Chester (The Nationals).
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
- 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
- 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.