Merrigum VIC 3618
Merrigum sits 195 km from Melbourne CBD in Victoria, around 2 hours 20 minutes by car. Census data records 679 residents with a median age of 47 and a median household income of $53,560 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the bottom 20% nationally. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $180 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,083. The area shows high flood risk and no recorded bushfire exposure. All 1 school within the locality boundary rank above the state average, and walkability is low.
Is Merrigum a good place to live?
Merrigum scores a D (19/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — weaker on transit, safety, and community.
Mixed results
1 school · 1 above peer schools
Car-dependent
Walkability 0/100 · 195.1 km · 139 min drive to Melbourne
Median available
Median $312K
High flood risk
Fire 0/100 · Crime 56/100 · Flood 88/100
Highly disadvantaged
SEIFA decile 1/10 · median age 47 · 679 residents
Liveability Rating
19 / 100 · Ranked #834 in VICEach bar is Merrigum'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 Merrigum?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
19 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataMerrigum's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $312,000, roughly 30% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$312,500
Based on 12 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 87 days — median across 3 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 5 sales $265K
- 3 bed 5 sales $345K
Land
$650,000
Based on only 3 sales — small sample, take as indicative.
Is Merrigum safe? Crime statistics
2026Crime in Merrigum sits in the moderate band, with 27 incidents recorded in 2026 — down roughly 45% on the prior year.
27 offences
44.9% since 2025Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20251 crash
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital, 1 of them fatal
Crashes are counted where they happened, so a main road through the locality 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 Merrigum, and the cohort skews above peer-suburb performance. Merrigum Primary School leads the pack.
- • 15 students in one school (avg 15)
Primary
Walkability
Merrigum is very car-dependent on foot — at 0/100, nearly all errands require a car.
We hold no public transport timetable data for this area, so public transport is not rated here and the score is spread across the remaining components. It is not counted as zero.
NBN connectivity
The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Merrigum.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 0%
- Premises covered
- 309
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
Greater Shepparton: council population
The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this locality alone — this locality's own population is in the census section above.
Socio-economic profile
Merrigum is home to 679 residents, with a median age of 47, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $54,000 a year, with unemployment at 6.7%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
679
Median Age
47
Median Household Income
$53,560/yr
Census Median Rent
$180/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,083/mo
Avg Household Size
2.3
Median Personal Income
$28,964/yr
Unemployment Rate
6.7%
Unoccupied Dwellings
11.5%
Total Dwellings
262
Owner-Occupier Rate
80.0%
Houses
95.8%
Rental Stress
17.5%
Mortgage Stress
24.3%
Work From Home
16.6%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 78.2%
- English Spoken at Home
- 83.7%
- Employment Rate
- 49.8%
- Completed Year 12
- 27.8%
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.
18 residents (2.7%) 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.
5.0% of residents (32) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Melbourne (25).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 646 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 (5 of 290).
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 $2,449 a year through Greater Shepparton based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Rural and farming 97%
- Residential 2%
- Infrastructure and transport 1%
Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the locality around it — the property page shows the zone for one address.
Building Approvals: Greater Shepparton
In the year to August 2026, 649 new dwellings were approved across Greater Shepparton. That mix is 506 houses and 143 units. Approvals are down 23.4% on the same period a year earlier.
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage
The Registered Aboriginal Party for this area is Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation (appointed 2007).
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 Kyabram, 8.6 kmDry climate — hot summers, cold winters with occasional frost.
- Elevation
- 113 m
- above sea level, at the locality centre
- Annual rainfall
- 436 mm
- 58 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 31.1°C
- 25 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 3.8°C
- 14 frost days ≤ 0°C
Elevation is the ground at the locality 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 3618, 0 of 716 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 0.7% (5 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 0.7%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 3618, 202 rooftop-solar systems totalling 1.7 MW have been installed since 2001, against 295 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 13 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 3618 in 2025-26. The most was 10, 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 $312,500 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 Sam Birrell The Nationals
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Sam Birrell | 35.6% | 64.4% | +35.6 |
| 2022 | Sam Birrell | 32.9% | 67.2% | -2.9 |
| 2019 | Damian Drum | 30.0% | 70.0% | -2.5 |
Results are per division — federal electoral boundaries are redrawn periodically, so the history reflects this division's past, not necessarily the exact locality's voters across time.
State Electorate
Currently held by Annabelle Cleeland The Nationals
Next state election: 28 November 2026.
| Year | Winner | Won with | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Annabelle Cleeland NP | 59.9% | 40.1% | 59.9% |
| 2018 | Steph Ryan NP | 59.0% | 34.6% | 65.4% |
| 2014 | Steph Ryan NP | 64.5% | 35.5% | 64.5% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2021, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this locality's voters. Results: Victorian Electoral Commission, CC BY 4.0.
Looking at a specific address in Merrigum?
Every figure above is a locality 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 679 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 Merrigum 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 Merrigum
Is Merrigum a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Merrigum is moderate (56/100, ranked against other VIC suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Merrigum?
Merrigum has no recorded bushfire history. Flood overlays cover a high share of it (88/100). These are locality-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Merrigum a good place to live?
Merrigum has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (19/100), 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 Merrigum?
Merrigum, VIC had a population of 679 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Merrigum, VIC?
The postcode for Merrigum, VIC is 3618.
How far is Merrigum from Melbourne?
Merrigum is 195 km from Melbourne CBD by road, about 139 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Merrigum?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Merrigum was $53,560 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 Merrigum?
There are too few current rental listings in Merrigum for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $180, across all dwelling types.
What is the median age in Merrigum?
The median age of residents in Merrigum was 47 at the 2021 ABS Census.
How are the schools in Merrigum?
There is 1 school inside the Merrigum boundary: 1 above similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
What is the weather like in Merrigum?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Merrigum, Kyabram (8.6 km away), summer days average 31.1°C, winter nights 3.8°C, 436 mm of rain a year over 58 rainy days, and 25 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Merrigum?
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 Merrigum belong to?
Merrigum sits within the Greater Shepparton local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Merrigum?
The average residential rates bill through Greater Shepparton is $2,449 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Merrigum?
Across Greater Shepparton, 649 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 23.4% 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 Merrigum in?
Merrigum sits within the federal Division of Nicholls, currently held by Sam Birrell (The Nationals).
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Data freshness
- Census · 2021
- Median sale prices · 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.
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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.