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Ferntree Gully

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Ferntree Gully, Victoria
ABS Census 2021 Greater Melbourne

About

Ferntree Gully (VIC 3156): population 27,398, median age 40, median household income $1,770/week, SEIFA IRSD decile 6. Victorian suburb guide with housing, jobs and community insights.

Ferntree Gully is a suburb in Knox, Victoria (postcode 3156), located in the Greater Melbourne region. At the ABS Census 2021 it had a population of 27,398 people.

At a glance

Population (2021)
27,398
Median age
40
Household income
$1,770/wk
Weekly rent
$386
Unemployment
4.5%
SEIFA IRSD decile
6 / 10

Age distribution

0-4
5.9%
5-14
11.6%
15-19
5.8%
20-24
5.5%
25-34
13.3%
35-44
14.7%
45-54
13.6%
55-64
12.1%
65-74
9.8%
75-84
5.7%
85+
1.9%

Housing tenure

Owned
33.7%
Mortgage
42.6%
Rented
21.2%
Other
1.5%

Key statistics

IndicatorValue
Postcode3156
Population (2021)27,398
Males13,455 (49.1%)
Females13,942 (50.9%)
Median age40 years
Average household size2.6
Median weekly household income$1,770
Median weekly family income$2,142
Median weekly rent$386
Median monthly mortgage$1,918
Labour force14,632
Unemployment rate4.5%
Participation rate67.2%
Born overseas25.3%
Separate houses84.1%
Worked at home22.9%
SEIFA IRSD decile6 of 10
Bachelor degree or higher41.9%
Completed Year 12 or equivalent61.0%
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander residents0.9%
Residents needing assistance with core activities6.0%
Households with 2+ vehicles62.7%
Distance from Melbourne CBD29.1 km (straight line)

Age profile

Median age: 40 years. Residents under 15: 17.6%. Residents aged 65 and over: 17.4%.

Age groupPeopleShare of population
0-41,6305.9%
5-143,17911.6%
15-191,5875.8%
20-241,5075.5%
25-343,65013.3%
35-444,01614.7%
45-543,73313.6%
55-643,32812.1%
65-742,6969.8%
75-841,5635.7%
85 and over5201.9%

Households and families

Household typeCountShare of households
Total households10,280
Average household size2.6
One person2,46123.9%
Two persons3,35432.6%
Three persons1,81617.7%
Four persons1,78417.4%
Five persons6166.0%
Six or more persons2482.4%
Family typeCountShare of families
Total families7,721
Couples with children3104.0%
Couples without children2,69935.0%
One-parent families1,35917.6%
Other families1171.5%

Children ever born

MeasureValue
Average children per woman aged 15+1.58
Women with no children31.8%
Women with three or more children23.9%

Of the 3,545 couple families with children in Ferntree Gully, 9.9% are step or blended families.

Marital status

Marital status of residents aged 15 and over in Ferntree Gully.

StatusShare of adults
Married (registered marriage)47.1%
Married (de facto)10.9%
Not married42.0%

Housing

DwellingsCountShare of dwellings
Total dwellings10,757
Occupied10,28095.6%
Unoccupied4734.4%
Dwelling structureCountShare of dwellings
Separate house9,04484.1%
Semi-detached or townhouse1,0079.4%
Flat or apartment2001.9%
Other dwelling240.2%
TenureCountShare of households
Owned outright3,46233.7%
Owned with a mortgage4,38442.6%
Rented2,17621.2%
Other tenure1551.5%

Weekly rent

Rent bandShare of renting households
Under $350 per week31.3%
$350 to $549 per week64.8%
$550 or more per week3.8%

13.7% of renting households rent through a state or community housing provider.

Monthly mortgage repayments

Repayment bandShare of mortgaged households
Under $1,00014.9%
$1,000 to $1,79930.1%
$1,800 to $2,99942.2%
$3,000 or more12.9%

Bedrooms per dwelling

BedroomsShare of dwellings
None or one bedroom2.1%
Two bedrooms14.7%
Three bedrooms50.7%
Four or more bedrooms32.5%

Employment

Labour force statusCountShare
Labour force14,632
Employed13,97195.5%
Unemployed6604.5%
Not in the labour force7,148
Unemployment rate4.5%
Participation rate67.2%

36.3% of employed residents work part time, fewer than 35 hours per week.

Household income

Household incomes in Ferntree Gully are distributed across the following weekly bands.

Weekly household incomeShare of households
Under $65015.7%
$650 to $1,49927.7%
$1,500 to $2,99935.0%
$3,000 or more21.6%

For residents aged 15 and over, personal weekly income is distributed as follows.

Weekly personal incomeShare of residents 15+
Under $50035.1%
$500 to $99924.6%
$1,000 to $1,99930.2%
$2,000 or more10.1%

Travel to work

MethodCountShare of workers
Car driver7,78055.7%
Car passenger4823.5%
Train1751.3%
Bus800.6%
Tram30.0%
Bicycle570.4%
Walked only890.6%
Worked at home3,19522.9%

Religious affiliation

ReligionCountShare of residents
Christianity11,04240.3%
No religion12,75946.6%
Islam2841.0%
Hinduism6462.4%
Buddhism7692.8%
Judaism360.1%
Other or not stated1,8626.8%

Socio-economic profile (SEIFA 2021)

SEIFA deciles run from 1 (most disadvantaged) to 10 (least disadvantaged) nationally.

IndexScoreDecilePercentile
IRSD (disadvantage)1028659
IRSAD (advantage and disadvantage)10057
IER (economic resources)10205
IEO (education and occupation)9996

Where residents were born

73.9% of residents were born in Australia and 26.1% were born overseas. The most common overseas birthplaces in Ferntree Gully are listed below.

Country of birthPeopleShare of residents
England1,0333.9%
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)7282.7%
India6322.4%
Sri Lanka4141.6%
Malaysia3611.4%
New Zealand3261.2%

When overseas-born residents arrived

Year of arrivalShare of overseas-born residents
2016 to 20219.9%
2011 to 201515.6%
2001 to 201026.4%
Before 200148.1%

Languages spoken at home

80.7% of residents speak only English at home. The most common other languages in Ferntree Gully are listed below. Across all households, 2.7% of residents speak English not well or not at all.

LanguagePeopleShare of residents
Chinese: Mandarin1,0213.9%
Chinese: Cantonese4171.6%
Indo-Aryan: Sinhalese3361.3%
Italian2120.8%
Persian (excluding Dari)1850.7%
Indo-Aryan: Gujarati1850.7%

Ancestry

Residents of Ferntree Gully most commonly report the following ancestries.

AncestryResponsesShare of responses
English9,77426.4%
Australian9,29725.1%
Irish2,7157.3%
Scottish2,5126.8%
Chinese2,0315.5%
German1,2803.5%

Work and industry

The largest employment sectors for Ferntree Gully residents are listed below.

Industry of employmentWorkersShare of workers
Health Care and Social Assistance1,97714.9%
Construction1,62212.2%
Retail Trade1,47211.1%
Manufacturing1,2429.3%
Education and Training1,1738.8%
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services1,0067.6%

The most common occupations among Ferntree Gully residents are listed below.

OccupationWorkersShare of workers
Professionals2,95221.5%
Technicians and Trades Workers2,28016.6%
Clerical and Administrative Workers2,00114.6%
Managers1,66312.1%
Community and Personal Service Workers1,52811.1%
Sales Workers1,2509.1%

Education

Of residents attending an education institution in Ferntree Gully, 17.5% are at university or higher education, 10.0% are at TAFE or vocational education, and 68.6% are at school.

61.0% of residents aged 15 and over have completed Year 12 or equivalent.

The most common fields of study among Ferntree Gully residents with qualifications are listed below.

Field of studyPeopleShare
Management and Commerce2,52720.0%
Engineering and Related Technologies2,23017.6%
Society and Culture1,59312.6%
Health1,39911.1%
Education1,1579.2%
Architecture and Building9857.8%

Long-term health conditions

51.4% of residents report no long-term health condition. The most commonly reported conditions in Ferntree Gully are listed below.

Health conditionPeopleShare of residents
Mental health condition (including depression or anxiety)2,8109.1%
Asthma2,6408.5%
Arthritis2,5288.2%
Diabetes (excluding gestational diabetes)1,4884.8%
Heart disease (including heart attack or angina)1,1093.6%
Cancer (including remission)8742.8%
Lung condition (including COPD or emphysema)4901.6%
Stroke2600.8%
Kidney disease2160.7%
Dementia (including Alzheimer's)1620.5%

22.8% of residents report one condition, 7.1% report two, and 3.5% report three or more.

Community and care

How residents of Ferntree Gully contribute to their community (share of residents aged 15 and over).

Community activityShare
Volunteers for an organisation or group12.8%
Provides unpaid assistance to a person with a disability or health condition13.9%
Provides unpaid child care56.0%
Does 15 or more hours of unpaid domestic work20.9%
Has served or is serving in the Australian Defence Force2.3%

Moving and stability

MobilityShare of residents
Same address 1 year ago90.2%
Moved within Victoria in the last year8.4%
Moved interstate in the last year0.3%
Moved from overseas in the last year0.3%
Same address 5 years ago68.5%
Moved within Victoria in the last 5 years24.7%
Moved interstate in the last 5 years1.4%
Moved from overseas in the last 5 years2.7%

Photo: Ferntree Gully, Victoria. Credit: Wilson Afonso / CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Crime and safety

Victoria Police recorded 1,521 offences in Ferntree Gully in the 12 months to March 2026.

Offence divisionRecorded offences
A Crimes against the person246
B Property and deception offences1,006
C Drug offences65
D Public order and security offences55
E Justice procedures offences147
F Other offences2

That is a calculated rate of 55.5 recorded offences per 1,000 residents, based on the ABS Census 2021 population. This rate was calculated by My Victoria AU and is not a Crime Statistics Agency figure.

For context, the Knox local government area recorded 6,190 offences per 100,000 residents in the same period. That figure is the official Crime Statistics Agency rate for the LGA.

Five-year trend

2022
1,490
2023
1,700
2024
1,806
2025
1,889
2026
1,521

Recorded offences count crimes reported to Victoria Police in this locality, not crimes committed by or against its residents. Areas with shopping centres, transport hubs, hospitals or entertainment precincts record more offences regardless of how safe they are for people who live there. Counts are revised as investigations progress.

Source: Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, Data tables - Recorded offences, Year ending March 2026. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Rates per 1,000 residents are calculations by My Victoria AU using ABS Census 2021 population and are not CSA figures. View the source dataset.

Location

<iframe src="https://www.openstreetmap.org/export/embed.html?bbox=145.2701%2C-37.8952%2C145.2941%2C-37.8772&layer=mapnik&marker=-37.886175%2C145.282073" width="100%" height="320" style="border:0;border-radius:12px;max-width:100%;" loading="lazy" title="Map of Ferntree Gully, Victoria"></iframe>

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby suburbs

Browse more suburbs in Knox, or explore the wider Greater Melbourne region of Victoria.

Data disclaimer: The statistics on this page are sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Census of Population and Housing 2021 and SEIFA 2021 (ASGS Edition 3), and are used under the ABS CC BY 4.0 licence. This directory is an independent community resource and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the ABS.

Population 27398
Median Age 40
Average Household Size 2.6
Median Weekly Household Income $1770
Median Weekly Rent $386
Median Monthly Mortgage $1918
Unemployment Rate 4.5%
Participation Rate 67.2%
Born Overseas 25.3%
Separate House 84.1%
Worked at Home 22.9%
SEIFA IRSD Decile 6
SEIFA IRSD Percentile 59
SEIFA IRSAD Decile 7
Median Weekly Family Income $2142
Postcode 3156

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Ferntree Gully, Victoria 3156, Australia
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