Tawonga is a rural locality in Victoria, 358 km from Melbourne CBD, around 4 hours 15 minutes by car. Population is 568; the median age is 52 and the median household income is $71,500 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the middle range nationally. Population fell 1.0% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $220 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,400. The area shows high bushfire risk and no recorded flood exposure. 1 school sits within the locality boundary, and walkability is low.
Is Tawonga a good place to live?
Tawonga scores a C (38/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — weaker on transit and safety.
Mixed results
1 school
Car-dependent
Walkability 0/100 · 358.4 km · 253 min drive to Melbourne
Median available
Median $790K
High bushfire risk
Fire 97/100 · Crime 21/100 · Flood 0/100
Mid-range socio-economic
SEIFA decile 6/10 · median age 52 · 568 residents
Liveability Rating
38 / 100 · Ranked #596 in VICEach bar is Tawonga'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 Tawonga?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
38 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataThe median house sale price in Tawonga sits at $790,000, broadly flat year-on-year. That said, only four sales settled in the quarter, so the median is a noisy signal — treat it as a direction rather than a level.
$790,000
Based on only 4 sales — small sample, take as indicative.
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Tawonga are currently listed at around $955,000 on average. Based on 4 houses listed in the past six months.
$955K
4 houses listed in the last 6 months.
4 of the suburb's 223 dwellings (1.8%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Is Tawonga safe? Crime statistics
2026Crime in Tawonga sits in the low band, with 8 incidents recorded in 2026 — up roughly 300% on the prior year.
8 offences
300.0% since 2025Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20254 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital
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 Tawonga, and the cohort is trailing peer-suburb performance.
- • 50 students in one school (avg 50)
Primary
Walkability
Tawonga 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 Tawonga.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 0%
- Premises covered
- 267
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
Alpine: 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
Tawonga is home to 568 residents, with a median age of 52 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $72,000 a year, with unemployment at 1.9%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
568
Median Age
52
Median Household Income
$71,500/yr
Census Median Rent
$220/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,400/mo
Avg Household Size
2.3
Median Personal Income
$35,828/yr
Unemployment Rate
1.9%
Unoccupied Dwellings
22.0%
Total Dwellings
223
Owner-Occupier Rate
92.9%
Houses
100.0%
Rental Stress
16.0%
Mortgage Stress
23.5%
Work From Home
26.8%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 79.9%
- English Spoken at Home
- 90.8%
- Employment Rate
- 54%
- Completed Year 12
- 41.2%
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.
8 residents (1.4%) 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.
8.8% of residents (48) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Melbourne (38).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 545 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
3% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (9 of 263).
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 $1,945 a year through Alpine based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Parks and recreation 58%
- Rural and farming 41%
- 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 locality around it — the property page shows the zone for one address.
Building Approvals: Alpine
In the year to August 2026, 32 new dwellings were approved across Alpine. That mix is 28 houses and 4 units. Approvals are down 41.7% on the same period a year earlier.
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage
No Registered Aboriginal Party is appointed for this area. About an eighth of Victoria, mostly in the north-east, has no appointment; that is a fact about the register rather than about the Country.
Climate & Setting
from Falls Creek, 21.6 kmHigh rainfall — mild summers, frosty winters.
- Elevation
- 555 m
- above sea level, at the locality centre
- Annual rainfall
- 1,488 mm
- 120 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 17.1°C
- 0 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- -2.4°C
- 137 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 3697, 5 of 593 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 2.2% (13 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 3.0%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 3697, 181 rooftop-solar systems totalling 1.2 MW have been installed since 2001, against 277 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 12 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.
1 first-home grant was paid in postcode 3697 in 2025-26, rank 213 of 298 Victorian postcodes. The most was 5, in 2009-10.
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 $790,000 this is $40,000 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 Helen Haines Independent
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Helen Haines | 43.3% | 56.7% | -1.4 |
| 2022 | Helen Haines | 44.7% | 55.3% | -7.5 |
| 2019 | Helen Haines | 37.3% | 62.7% | +7.7 |
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 Tim McCurdy The Nationals
Next state election: 28 November 2026.
| Year | Winner | Won with | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Tim McCurdy NP | 52.1% | 32.0% | 68.0% |
| 2018 | Tim McCurdy NP | 51.9% | 37.4% | 62.6% |
| 2014 | Tim McCurdy NP | 55.5% | 33.4% | 66.6% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2021, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this locality's voters. Results: Victorian Electoral Commission, CC BY 4.0.
Looking at a specific address in Tawonga?
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 568 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
Bright VIC 3741
Tawonga South VIC 3698
Mount Beauty VIC 3699
Eskdale VIC 3701
Mitta Mitta VIC 3701
Coral Bank VIC 3691
Compare Tawonga 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 Tawonga
Is Tawonga a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Tawonga is low (21/100, ranked against other VIC suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Tawonga?
Tawonga has a high recorded bushfire history (97/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). No mapped flood overlay applies. These are locality-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Tawonga a good place to live?
Tawonga has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of C (38/100), 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 Tawonga?
Tawonga, VIC had a population of 568 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Tawonga, VIC?
The postcode for Tawonga, VIC is 3697.
How far is Tawonga from Melbourne?
Tawonga is 358 km from Melbourne CBD by road, about 253 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Tawonga?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Tawonga was $71,500 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 Tawonga?
There are too few current rental listings in Tawonga for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $220, across all dwelling types.
What is the median age in Tawonga?
The median age of residents in Tawonga was 52 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Tawonga at risk of bushfire?
Tawonga has a high recorded bushfire history (97/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the locality 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 Tawonga?
There is 1 school inside the Tawonga boundary: 1 below similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
What is the weather like in Tawonga?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Tawonga, Falls Creek (21.6 km away), summer days average 17.1°C, winter nights -2.4°C, 1,488 mm of rain a year over 120 rainy days, and 0 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Tawonga?
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 Tawonga belong to?
Tawonga sits within the Alpine local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Tawonga?
The average residential rates bill through Alpine is $1,945 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Tawonga?
Across Alpine, 32 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 41.7% 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 Tawonga in?
Tawonga sits within the federal Division of Indi, currently held by Helen Haines (Independent).
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.
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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.