Princes Hill VIC 3054

Located in Victoria, Princes Hill sits 4 km from Melbourne CBD, around 12 minutes by car. The suburb has 2,005 residents, a median age of 39, and a median household income of $115,336 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the top 20% nationally. The suburb fell 5.7% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $462 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $3,000. Princes Hill is characterised by high crime risk and no recorded bushfire exposure. 2 schools sit within the suburb boundary, and walkability is high.

Is Princes Hill a good suburb?

Princes Hill scores a A (81/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on transit and community, weaker on prices and safety.

Schools

Mixed results

2 schools

Transit

Walkable and central

Walkability 97/100 · 4.3 km · 12 min drive to Melbourne

Prices

Above the state median

Median $1.91M · Less affordable than 89% of VIC

Safety

High crime risk

Fire 0/100 · Crime 86/100 · Flood 37/100

Community

Very advantaged

SEIFA decile 10/10 · median age 39 · 2,005 residents

A

Liveability Rating

81 / 100 · Ranked #52 in VIC

Each bar is Princes Hill'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.

Schools quality no data
too few schools to rate
Safety
55
Bushfire None · Crime High · Flood Low
Socio-economic
91
Very advantaged
Walkability
97
Very walkable
CBD access
99
4.3 km · 12 min drive to Melbourne
How it's calculated: Safety rank 55 × 25% + Socio-economic rank 91 × 25% + Walkability rank 97 × 15% + CBD access rank 99 × 10% = 81 / 100. Missing components rebalance the remaining weights.

How do you rate the liveability in Princes Hill?

Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.

Our score

81 / 100

From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.

Residents say

…

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Median House Price

Public listings data

Princes Hill's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $1.91 million, roughly 29% above where it sat a year earlier.

Houses

$1,905,000

last 6 quarters
Pricier than 93% of VIC

51% above its 3 neighbours (median $1,260,000)

↑ +28.8% year-on-year

Based on 45 recorded sales in the last 24 months.

By bedrooms

  • 2 bed 10 sales $1.33M
  • 3 bed 15 sales $1.8M
  • 4 bed 15 sales $2.85M

Units

$690,000

↑ +36.9% year-on-year

Based on only 7 sales — small sample, take as indicative.

Rental Market

Rental affordability

June quarter 2025

87 Unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 34% of its income on the median rent in postcode 3054.

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.

Short-Stay Rentals

14 active Airbnb listings: 11 whole homes and 3 rooms. 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 Princes Hill safe? Crime statistics

2026

Crime in Princes Hill sits in the high band, with 225 incidents recorded in 2026 — down about 3% on the prior year.

225 offences

3.0% since 2025
Theft 132 (58.7%)
Property Damage 23 (10.2%)
Assault 18 (8.0%)
Break & Enter 17 (7.6%)
Drug Offences 12 (5.3%)
Weapons Offences 9 (4.0%)
Robbery 4 (1.8%)
Fraud & Deception 4 (1.8%)
Disorderly Conduct 3 (1.3%)
Harassment & Stalking 2 (0.9%)
Arson 1 (0.4%)

Crime Trend

Serious Road Crashes

2021–2025

9 crashes

where someone was killed or admitted to hospital

Where they happened

Lygon Street 3 (33.3%)
Park Street 3 (33.3%)

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

Two schools serve Princes Hill, and the cohort is trailing peer-suburb performance.

30
out of 100
Weak
2 schools in this suburb
2 below similar
  • • 1,189 students across 2 schools (avg 594)
  • • ICSEA 1147-1152, median 1150 (well above the national baseline of 1000)
  • • Largest: Princes Hill Secondary College (862 students)

Primary

Government · Prep-6 · 327 students
ICSEA 1147 (higher than 95% of Australian schools) · 61% top-SEA students
Below similar

Secondary

Government · 7-12 · 862 students
ICSEA 1152 (higher than 96% of Australian schools) · 63% top-SEA students
Below similar

Universities nearby

5.4% 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

Princes Hill is exceptionally walkable on foot — at 97/100, daily errands don't require a car at all.

97
out of 100
Exceptionally walkable
Top 1% in VIC
Public Transport within 1 km 91
Schools within 1.5 km 100
Parks within 800 m 100
Supermarkets within 1 km 100
GPs within 1 km 100
Pharmacies within 1 km 100
Childcare within 1 km 100
Hospitals within 5 km 100

Public transport

Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Princes Hill.

81
out of 100
Tram
Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
29.0 arrivals/hr
Off-peak weekday
22.1 arrivals/hr
Saturday
18.5 arrivals/hr
Median peak wait
1 min
Span of service
19.4 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 Princes Hill.

100
connectivity score / 100
Top 1% in VIC
Most common
Fibre to the premises
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
100%
Premises covered
1,069
Technology mix
Fibre to the premises (FTTP) 100%

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

Supermarkets
None
Shopping Centres
None
Cafes & Restaurants
None
Parks & Reserves
2 in suburb
Sport & Recreation
None
Beaches
None
Waterways
None
Childcare
2 in suburb
GPs
1 in suburb
Pharmacies
None
Hospitals
None
Police Stations
None
Banks & Bank@Post
1 in suburb
Fuel Stations
None
EV Chargers
None
Pubs & Bars
None
Arts & Culture
None
Places of Worship
None

Yarra: council population

The whole council area, not just Princes Hill · estimated residents
at 30 June 2025
Residents
101,356
+1.4% in a year
Change
+1,434
people since 2024
Density
5,186
people per km² across the council area
What drove the change
Natural increase
+554
births minus deaths
Net internal migration
-1,121
moves within Australia
Net overseas migration
+2,001
arrivals minus departures

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

ABS SEIFA · ranked against every suburb in Australia, and within the state
2021 census
Advantage and disadvantage
10/10
10/10 within VIC
income, education, jobs and housing together
Economic resources
3/10
2/10 within VIC
income against housing cost and household size
Education and occupation
10/10
10/10 within VIC
qualifications and job type, income excluded
How evenly that is spread

The ABS scores 5 small areas inside this suburb and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 2 different deciles — a narrow range, so the average describes the suburb closely.

Princes Hill is home to about 2,000 residents, with a median age of 39, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $115,000 a year, with unemployment at 5.0%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

2,005

5.7% since 2016

Median Age

39

8.3% since 2016

Median Household Income

$115,336/yr

19.4% since 2016
Top 13% in VIC

Census Median Rent

$462/wk

10.0% since 2016

Census Median Mortgage

$3,000/mo

25.9% since 2016

Avg Household Size

2.2

4.3% since 2016

Median Personal Income

$60,112/yr

30.0% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

5.0%

6.4% since 2016

Unoccupied Dwellings

15.0%

32.7% since 2016

Total Dwellings

849

1.0% since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

55.5%

5.1% since 2016

Houses

14.3%

30.9% since 2016

Rental Stress

20.8%

8.0% since 2016

Mortgage Stress

31.2%

5.4% since 2016

Work From Home

52.8%

486.7% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Townhouses 486 (57.2%)
Flats / Apartments 242 (28.5%)
Houses 121 (14.3%)

Property Ownership

Renting 357 (44.5%)
Owned Outright 301 (37.5%)
Mortgage 145 (18.1%)
Of those rentals, social housing 69 (19.3%)

64 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 5 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 357 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.

Demographics

Born in Australia
73.2%
English Spoken at Home
79.9%
Employment Rate
62.3%
4.2% since 2016
Completed Year 12
69.1%

Occupations

Professionals 520 (47.5%)
Managers 170 (15.5%)
Community & Personal Service 108 (9.9%)
Clerical & Administrative 107 (9.8%)
Sales 78 (7.1%)
Technicians & Trades 57 (5.2%)
Labourers 29 (2.7%)
Machinery Operators & Drivers 16 (1.5%)

Religion

No Religion 1,124 (56.1%)
Christianity 591 (29.5%)
Islam 59 (2.9%)
Buddhism 35 (1.7%)
Judaism 19 (0.9%)
Hinduism 11 (0.5%)
Other Religions 8 (0.4%)
Sikhism 3 (0.1%)

Country of Birth (overseas)

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.

England 66 (3.3%)
New Zealand 39 (1.9%)
Italy 31 (1.5%)
Scotland 19 (0.9%)
Germany 18 (0.9%)
Greece 17 (0.8%)
Malaysia 14 (0.7%)
Vietnam 11 (0.5%)

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.

2016-2021 64 (3.2%)
2011-2015 57 (2.8%)
2001-2010 70 (3.5%)
1991-2000 44 (2.2%)
1981-1990 65 (3.2%)
Before 1981 132 (6.6%)

64 residents (3.2%) 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.

Overseas 114 (5.9%)
Melbourne - Inner East 35 (1.8%)
Melbourne - North West 24 (1.2%)

Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 1,925 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.

Italian 28 (1.4%)
Greek 20 (1.0%)
Mandarin 9 (0.4%)
Arabic 8 (0.4%)
Cantonese 7 (0.3%)
Hindi 6 (0.3%)
Turkish 6 (0.3%)
French 5 (0.2%)

Age Distribution

0-4 80 (4.0%)
5-14 175 (8.7%)
15-19 87 (4.3%)
20-24 181 (9.0%)
25-34 390 (19.5%)
35-44 254 (12.7%)
45-54 222 (11.1%)
55-64 219 (10.9%)
65-74 225 (11.2%)
75-84 129 (6.4%)
85+ 48 (2.4%)

Family & Household Composition

Lone Person 276 (45.2%)
Couple Families 171 (28.0%)
Group Household 92 (15.1%)
One Parent Families 60 (9.8%)
Other Families 12 (2.0%)

Commute to Work

Worked from Home 504 (52.8%)
Car (driver) 236 (24.7%)
Bicycle 68 (7.1%)
Walked Only 63 (6.6%)
Tram / Light Rail 50 (5.2%)
Car (passenger) 21 (2.2%)
Train 7 (0.7%)
Bus 6 (0.6%)

42% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (463 of 1,094).

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 359 people work here; 1,094 employed residents live here.

Mostly a place people commute from: 0.3 jobs per working resident. At least 67% 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

Bachelor Degree 560 (27.9%)
Postgraduate Degree 363 (18.1%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 107 (5.3%)
Certificate III & IV 102 (5.1%)
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 89 (4.4%)

Cars per Dwelling

0 cars 142 (16.7%)
1 car 396 (46.7%)
2 cars 251 (29.6%)
3 cars 36 (4.2%)
4+ cars 25 (2.9%)

Council Rates

Yarra
FY 2024-25

Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,937 a year through Yarra based on 2024 figures.

Avg residential rate
$1,937/yr
About the VIC average ($1,937) · median of 79 councils
Rate in the dollar
0.206¢ / $
of property valuation
Valuation basis
Capital Improved Value
land + buildings

How this land is zoned

Share of Princes Hill's area by planning zone
2026-09
  • Residential 87%
  • Parks and recreation 7%
  • Infrastructure and transport 6%

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: Yarra

The whole council area, not just Princes Hill · new residential dwellings
to 2026-08

In the year to August 2026, 1,675 new dwellings were approved across Yarra. That mix is 23 houses and 1,652 units. Approvals are up 645.5% on the same period a year earlier.

Trailing 12 months
1,675dwellings
+645.5% YoY
Houses
23
detached dwellings
Units
1,652
townhouses + apartments

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

MODERATE

PM2.5 averaged 7.9 µg/m³ in 2025 — below Australia's NEPM annual standard (8 µg/m³), slightly above the stricter WHO guideline (5 µg/m³).

From the Melbourne CBD monitoring station, 2.9 km away.

Climate & Setting

from Essendon Airport, 8.0 km

Moderate rainfall — hot summers, mild winters.

Elevation
44 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean
7.3 km
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

19 facilities within 5 km

EV adoption

2.2%
of light vehicles are electric
Up from 0.34% in 2021
+0.8 points this year
Top 5% in VIC

In postcode 3054, 93 of 4,271 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 3.3% (139 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 5.4%.

Electric share, year by year
2021
0.34%
2022
0.46%
2023
0.84%
2024
1.42%
2025
2.18%

Rooftop solar

12
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 5.2 kW each

In postcode 3054, 492 rooftop-solar systems totalling 2.6 MW have been installed since 2001, against 3,994 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 32 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.

Systems installed, year by year
2019
42
2020
36
2021
43
2022
37
2023
37
2024
38
2025
22
2026
23

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 3054 in 2025-26. The most was 46, in 2006-07.

2000-01 to 2025-26

Grants on new and established homes; established homes stopped qualifying in mid-2013.

Verify eligibility with State Revenue Office Victoria

Mortgage repayments

I'm looking for
Deposit
$
%
Monthly repayment
$9,935
Loan amount
$1,524,000
Total interest over 30 years
$2,052,722

2 mortgage brokers are registered in this suburb, 9 across postcode 3054.

Deposit
$381,000
Stamp duty
$104,775
Cash needed at settlement
$485,775

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.

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

Division of Wills

Currently held by Peter Khalil Australian Labor Party

Year Winner 2PP ALP 2PP LNP Swing
2025 Peter Khalil 80.9% 19.1% +3.8
2022 Peter Khalil 75.8% 24.2% -0.1
2019 Peter Khalil 75.8% 24.1% -4.2

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

Brunswick District

Currently held by Tim Read Australian Greens

Next state election: 28 November 2026.

Year Winner Won with 2PP ALP 2PP LNP
2022 Tim Read GRN 55.1% 84.1% 15.9%
2018 Tim Read GRN 50.6% 84.4% 15.6%
2014 Jane Garrett ALP 52.2% 79.4% 20.6%

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 Princes Hill?

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.

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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

Compare Princes Hill to another suburb

Side-by-side stats for any other VIC suburb — type a name and pick one.

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Common questions about Princes Hill

Is Princes Hill a safe place to live?

Recorded crime in Princes Hill is high (86/100, 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 Princes Hill?

Princes Hill has no recorded bushfire history. Flood overlays cover a low share of it (37/100). These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.

Is Princes Hill a good place to live?

Princes Hill has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of A (81/100), 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 Princes Hill?

Princes Hill, VIC had a population of 2,005 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Princes Hill, VIC?

The postcode for Princes Hill, VIC is 3054.

How far is Princes Hill from Melbourne?

Princes Hill is 4 km from Melbourne CBD by road, about 12 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Princes Hill?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Princes Hill was $115,336 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 Princes Hill?

There are too few current rental listings in Princes Hill for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $462, across all dwelling types.

What is the median age in Princes Hill?

The median age of residents in Princes Hill was 39 at the 2021 ABS Census.

How are the schools in Princes Hill?

There are 2 schools inside the Princes Hill boundary: 2 below similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).

Is Princes Hill walkable?

Princes Hill scores 97/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it exceptionally 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 Princes Hill?

The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Princes Hill (Melbourne CBD) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 7.9 µg/m³. That puts Princes Hill 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 Princes Hill?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Princes Hill, Essendon Airport (8 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 Princes Hill?

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 Princes Hill belong to?

Princes Hill sits within the Yarra local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.

How much are council rates in Princes Hill?

The average residential rates bill through Yarra is $1,937 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.

How much is being built near Princes Hill?

Across Yarra, 1,675 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 645.5% 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 Princes Hill in?

Princes Hill sits within the federal Division of Wills, currently held by Peter Khalil (Australian Labor Party).

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