Smythesdale VIC 3351
Smythesdale is a town in Victoria, 134 km from Melbourne CBD, around 1 hour 45 minutes by car. Population is 1,189; the median age is 39 and the median household income is $86,112 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the lower-middle tier nationally. The town grew 15.2% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $300 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,430. Smythesdale is characterised by high bushfire risk. 1 school sits within the town boundary, and walkability is moderate.
Is Smythesdale a good town?
Smythesdale scores a D (30/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — weaker on safety.
Mixed results
1 school
Some car dependence
Walkability 47/100 · 134.2 km · 106 min drive to Melbourne
Around the state median
Median $622K
High bushfire risk
Fire 75/100 · Crime 55/100 · Flood 43/100
Below-average income
SEIFA decile 4/10 · median age 39 · 1,189 residents
Liveability Rating
30 / 100 · Ranked #719 in VICEach bar is Smythesdale'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 Smythesdale?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
30 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataSmythesdale's house market is moving lower: the median sale price reached $622,000, about 2% below where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$622,500
4% above its 5 neighbours (median $600,000)
Based on 32 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 29 days — median across 9 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 3 bed 15 sales $550K
- 4 bed 12 sales $758K
Land
$722,500
Based on only 6 sales — small sample, take as indicative.
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Smythesdale are currently listed at around $664,000 on average. Based on 5 houses listed in the past six months.
$664K
5 houses listed in the last 6 months.
5 of the suburb's 409 dwellings (1.2%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Rental affordability
June quarter 2025110 Moderately unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 27% of its income on the median rent in postcode 3351.
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.
Is Smythesdale safe? Crime statistics
2026Crime in Smythesdale sits in the moderate band, with 46 incidents recorded in 2026 — down roughly 21% on the prior year.
46 offences
20.7% since 2025Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20258 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
One school serve Smythesdale, and performance is broadly on par with peer-suburb schools.
- • 326 students in one school (avg 326)
Primary
Walkability
Smythesdale is car-dependent on foot — at 47/100, most errands require a car.
NBN connectivity
The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Smythesdale.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 0%
- Premises covered
- 424
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
Golden Plains: 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
Smythesdale is home to about 1,200 residents, with a median age of 39, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $86,000 a year, with unemployment at 1.8%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
1,189
Median Age
39
Median Household Income
$86,112/yr
Census Median Rent
$300/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,430/mo
Avg Household Size
2.7
Median Personal Income
$37,284/yr
Unemployment Rate
1.8%
Unoccupied Dwellings
6.8%
Total Dwellings
409
Owner-Occupier Rate
95.4%
Houses
98.3%
Rental Stress
18.1%
Mortgage Stress
19.9%
Work From Home
15.6%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 85.4%
- English Spoken at Home
- 91.6%
- Employment Rate
- 58.7%
- Completed Year 12
- 31.8%
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.
6 residents (0.5%) 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.
6.5% of residents (73) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Melbourne (62).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 1,115 residents aged five and over. Areas are ABS statistical regions. Small counts are approximate: the ABS adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
Age Distribution
Family & Household Composition
Commute to Work
1% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (8 of 552).
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 $2,052 a year through Golden Plains based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Rural and farming 48%
- Parks and recreation 41%
- Residential 4%
- Other and special use 4%
- Zones under 1% 2%
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: Golden Plains
In the year to August 2026, 186 new dwellings were approved across Golden Plains. Almost all of the pipeline is detached houses. Approvals are up 10.0% on the same period a year earlier.
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage
The Registered Aboriginal Party for this area is Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (appointed 2009).
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 Ballarat Aerodrome, 17.0 kmModerate rainfall — warm summers, cold winters with occasional frost.
- Elevation
- 363 m
- above sea level, at the town centre
- Annual rainfall
- 605 mm
- 97 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 25.7°C
- 6 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 3.5°C
- 17 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
1 facility within 5 km- 2.5 kmOther Electricity GenerationTop reported: Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide · Particulate Matter ≤2.5 µm (PM2.5)
EV adoption
In postcode 3351, 41 of 9,674 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.2% (113 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 1.6%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 3351, 1,849 rooftop-solar systems totalling 11.9 MW have been installed since 2001, against 3,535 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.
10 first-home grants were paid in postcode 3351 in 2025-26, rank 91 of 298 Victorian postcodes. The most was 70, in 2021-22.
Grants on new and established homes; established homes stopped qualifying in mid-2013.
Mortgage repayments
2 mortgage brokers are registered in postcode 3351.
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 $622,500 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 Catherine King Australian Labor Party
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Catherine King | 60.7% | 39.3% | -2.3 |
| 2022 | Catherine King | 63.0% | 37.0% | -2.7 |
| 2019 | Catherine King | 61.0% | 39.0% | -3.6 |
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 Martha Haylett Australian Labor Party - Victorian Branch
Next state election: 28 November 2026.
| Year | Winner | Won with | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Martha Haylett ALP | 53.0% | 53.0% | 47.0% |
| 2018 | Louise Staley LP | 50.0% | 50.0% | 50.0% |
| 2014 | Louise Staley LP | 50.8% | 49.2% | 50.8% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2021, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this town's voters. Results: Victorian Electoral Commission, CC BY 4.0.
Looking at a specific address in Smythesdale?
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 1,189 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 Smythesdale 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 Smythesdale
Is Smythesdale a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Smythesdale is moderate (55/100, ranked against other VIC suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Smythesdale?
Smythesdale has a high recorded bushfire history (75/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). Flood overlays cover a moderate share of it (43/100). These are town-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Smythesdale a good place to live?
Smythesdale has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (30/100), 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 Smythesdale?
Smythesdale, VIC had a population of 1,189 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Smythesdale, VIC?
The postcode for Smythesdale, VIC is 3351.
How far is Smythesdale from Melbourne?
Smythesdale is 134 km from Melbourne CBD by road, about 106 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Smythesdale?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Smythesdale was $86,112 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 Smythesdale?
There are too few current rental listings in Smythesdale for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $300, across all dwelling types.
What is the median age in Smythesdale?
The median age of residents in Smythesdale was 39 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Smythesdale at risk of bushfire?
Smythesdale has a high recorded bushfire history (75/100). 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 Smythesdale?
There is 1 school inside the Smythesdale boundary: 1 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Smythesdale walkable?
Smythesdale scores 47/100 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 Smythesdale?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Smythesdale, Ballarat Aerodrome (17 km away), summer days average 25.7°C, winter nights 3.5°C, 605 mm of rain a year over 97 rainy days, and 6 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Smythesdale?
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 Smythesdale belong to?
Smythesdale sits within the Golden Plains local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Smythesdale?
The average residential rates bill through Golden Plains is $2,052 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Smythesdale?
Across Golden Plains, 186 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 10.0% 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 Smythesdale in?
Smythesdale sits within the federal Division of Ballarat, currently held by Catherine King (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
- 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.