Patterson Lakes is a suburb in Victoria, 47 km from Melbourne CBD, around 42 minutes by car. Population is 7,793; the median age is 46 and the median household income is $100,464 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the top 20% nationally. Population grew 3.0% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $430 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $2,100. The area shows high flood risk and high crime risk. 1 school sits within the suburb boundary, and walkability is high.
Is Patterson Lakes a good suburb?
Patterson Lakes scores a B (58/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on transit and community, weaker on prices and safety.
Mixed results
1 school
Very walkable
Walkability 74/100 · 46.7 km · 42 min drive to Melbourne
Above the state median
Median $1.34M · Pricier than 75% of VIC
High flood risk
Fire 0/100 · Crime 60/100 · Flood 86/100
Very advantaged
SEIFA decile 9/10 · median age 46 · 7,793 residents
Liveability Rating
58 / 100 · Ranked #300 in VICEach bar is Patterson Lakes'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 Patterson Lakes?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
58 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataPatterson Lakes's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $1.34 million, roughly 15% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$1,338,000
54% above its 6 neighbours (median $870,000)
Based on 131 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 24 days — median across 65 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 3 bed 53 sales $1.09M
- 4 bed 51 sales $1.45M
- 5 bed 21 sales $1.5M
Units
$675,000
11% above its 5 neighbours (median $610,000)
Based on 41 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 31 days — median across 13 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 25 sales $635K
- 3 bed 13 sales $734K
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Patterson Lakes are currently listed at around $1.6 million on average. Based on 75 houses listed in the past six months.
Houses
$1.6M
75 houses listed in the last 6 months.
Units
$679K
22 units listed in the last 6 months.
97 of the suburb's 3,070 dwellings (3.2%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Patterson Lakes rent for around $1,200 a week on average, based on 25 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
Houses
$1,200/wk
76% above its 4 neighbours (median $680/wk)
25 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Units
$620/wk
3 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
28 rentals advertised against an estimated 491 rented homes (5.7%) in the last 6 months.
Rental affordability
June quarter 2025102 Moderately unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 29% of its income on the median rent in postcode 3197.
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$1,200/week ($62,000 a year) on a $1.6 million median
$620/week ($32,000 a year) on a $679,000 median
Based on a small sample (3 listings) — indicative only.
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
20 active Airbnb listings: 19 whole homes and 1 room. Whole homes are about 0.6% 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 Patterson Lakes safe? Crime statistics
2026Crime in Patterson Lakes sits in the moderate band, with 361 incidents recorded in 2026 — down roughly 12% on the prior year.
361 offences
11.5% since 2025Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–202518 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
One school serve Patterson Lakes, and performance is broadly on par with peer-suburb schools.
- • 521 students in one school (avg 521)
Primary
Walkability
Patterson Lakes is very walkable on foot — at 74/100, most daily errands can be done on foot.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Patterson Lakes.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 43.8 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 40.6 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 23.7 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 16.7 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 Patterson Lakes.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 39%
- Premises covered
- 3,612
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
Kingston (Vic.): 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 6 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this suburb rank well above the average and parts well below it.
Patterson Lakes is home to about 7,800 residents, with a median age of 46, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $100,000 a year, with unemployment at 3.8%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
7,793
Median Age
46
Median Household Income
$100,464/yr
Census Median Rent
$430/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$2,100/mo
Avg Household Size
2.5
Median Personal Income
$45,292/yr
Unemployment Rate
3.8%
Unoccupied Dwellings
9.1%
Total Dwellings
3,070
Owner-Occupier Rate
84.0%
Houses
59.9%
Rental Stress
22.3%
Mortgage Stress
25.1%
Work From Home
28.7%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
15 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 9 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 464 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 70.7%
- English Spoken at Home
- 79.7%
- Employment Rate
- 62.9%
- Completed Year 12
- 48.0%
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.
171 residents (2.2%) 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 7,411 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
8% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (336 of 4,120).
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 1,374 people work here; 4,120 employed residents live here.
Mostly a place people commute from: 0.3 jobs per working resident. At least 64% 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 $1,940 a year through Kingston (Vic.) based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Residential 61%
- Infrastructure and transport 24%
- Parks and recreation 9%
- Other and special use 5%
- 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: Kingston (Vic.)
In the year to August 2026, 465 new dwellings were approved across Kingston (Vic.). That mix is 196 houses and 269 units. Approvals are down 36.4% on the same period a year earlier.
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage
The Registered Aboriginal Party for this area is Bunurong Land Council 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.
Air Quality
MODERATEPM2.5 averaged 6.3 µg/m³ in 2025 — below Australia's NEPM annual standard (8 µg/m³), slightly above the stricter WHO guideline (5 µg/m³). 1 day exceeded the daily threshold of 25 µg/m³.
PM10 averaged 20.8 µg/m³ · NO₂ averaged 0.98 pphm. Days over the limit in 2025: PM10 3 · NO₂ 0 · ozone 0.
From the Dandenong monitoring station, 10.5 km away.
Climate & Setting
from Frankston Beach, 9.1 kmwarm summers — mild winters.
- Elevation
- 6 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 2.0 km
- 2.2 km to a named beach
- Annual rainfall
- —
- Summer max (Jan)
- 24.5°C
- 4 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 8.3°C
- 0 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
2 facilities within 5 km- 3.0 kmSewerage and Drainage ServicesTop reported: Total Nitrogen · Total Phosphorus · Ammonia (total)
- 3.3 kmRigid and Semi-Rigid Polymer Product ManufacturingTop reported: Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide · Particulate Matter ≤2.5 µm (PM2.5)
EV adoption
In postcode 3197, 103 of 9,239 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 2.5% (233 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 3.6%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 3197, 1,560 rooftop-solar systems totalling 8.4 MW have been installed since 2001, against 5,348 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 97 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 3197 in 2025-26. The most was 96, in 2001-02.
Grants on new and established homes; established homes stopped qualifying in mid-2013.
Mortgage repayments
5 mortgage brokers are registered in this suburb.
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 $1,338,000 this is $588,000 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 Jodie Belyea Australian Labor Party
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Jodie Belyea | 57.1% | 42.9% | +0.3 |
| 2022 | Peta Murphy | 56.3% | 43.7% | -3.5 |
| 2019 | Peta Murphy | 52.7% | 47.3% | -1.7 |
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 Sonya Kilkenny Australian Labor Party - Victorian Branch
Next state election: 28 November 2026.
| Year | Winner | Won with | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Sonya Kilkenny ALP | 50.0% | 59.9% | 40.1% |
| 2018 | Sonya Kilkenny ALP | 52.7% | 62.0% | 38.0% |
| 2014 | Sonya Kilkenny ALP | 50.7% | 50.7% | 49.3% |
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 Patterson Lakes?
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 7,793 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
Carrum Downs VIC 3201
Seaford VIC 3198
Bonbeach VIC 3196
Chelsea Heights VIC 3196
Carrum VIC 3197
Bangholme VIC 3175
Compare Patterson Lakes 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 Patterson Lakes
Is Patterson Lakes a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Patterson Lakes is moderate (60/100, ranked against other VIC suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Patterson Lakes?
Patterson Lakes has no recorded bushfire history. Flood overlays cover a high share of it (86/100). These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Patterson Lakes a good place to live?
Patterson Lakes has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of B (58/100), 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 Patterson Lakes?
Patterson Lakes, VIC had a population of 7,793 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Patterson Lakes, VIC?
The postcode for Patterson Lakes, VIC is 3197.
How far is Patterson Lakes from Melbourne?
Patterson Lakes is 47 km from Melbourne CBD by road, about 42 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Patterson Lakes?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Patterson Lakes was $100,464 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 Patterson Lakes?
The median advertised rent in Patterson Lakes is $1,200 a week for houses (25 listings) and $620 a week for units (3 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Patterson Lakes?
The median age of residents in Patterson Lakes was 46 at the 2021 ABS Census.
How are the schools in Patterson Lakes?
There is 1 school inside the Patterson Lakes boundary: 1 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Patterson Lakes walkable?
Patterson Lakes scores 74/100 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 Patterson Lakes?
The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Patterson Lakes (Dandenong) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 6.3 µg/m³ and PM10 of 20.8 µg/m³. That puts Patterson Lakes below the Australian NEPM annual standard of 8 µg/m³ but above the stricter WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.
What is the weather like in Patterson Lakes?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Patterson Lakes, Frankston Beach (9.1 km away), summer days average 24.5°C, winter nights 8.3°C, and 4 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Patterson Lakes?
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 Patterson Lakes belong to?
Patterson Lakes sits within the Kingston (Vic.) local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Patterson Lakes?
The average residential rates bill through Kingston (Vic.) is $1,940 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Patterson Lakes?
Across Kingston (Vic.), 465 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 36.4% 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 Patterson Lakes in?
Patterson Lakes sits within the federal Division of Dunkley, currently held by Jodie Belyea (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.