Heidelberg West, Victoria
ABS Census 2021 Greater Melbourne

About

Heidelberg West (VIC 3081): population 5,252, median age 35, median household income $1,257/week, SEIFA IRSD decile 1. Victorian suburb guide with housing, jobs and community insights.

Heidelberg West is a suburb in Banyule, Victoria (postcode 3081), located in the Greater Melbourne region. At the ABS Census 2021 it had a population of 5,252 people.

At a glance

Population (2021)
5,252
Median age
35
Household income
$1,257/wk
Weekly rent
$306
Unemployment
8.8%
SEIFA IRSD decile
1 / 10

Age distribution

0-4
6.7%
5-14
10.3%
15-19
5.2%
20-24
7.5%
25-34
20.1%
35-44
13.6%
45-54
11.0%
55-64
11.7%
65-74
8.1%
75-84
4.0%
85+
1.6%

Housing tenure

Owned
16.0%
Mortgage
26.4%
Rented
54.0%
Other
1.6%

Key statistics

IndicatorValue
Postcode3081
Population (2021)5,252
Males2,610 (49.7%)
Females2,641 (50.3%)
Median age35 years
Average household size2.3
Median weekly household income$1,257
Median weekly family income$1,682
Median weekly rent$306
Median monthly mortgage$1,900
Labour force2,410
Unemployment rate8.8%
Participation rate59.7%
Born overseas32.4%
Separate houses50.4%
Worked at home23.9%
SEIFA IRSD decile1 of 10
Bachelor degree or higher53.4%
Completed Year 12 or equivalent66.7%
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander residents2.4%
Residents needing assistance with core activities8.6%
Households with 2+ vehicles40.6%
Distance from Melbourne CBD11.0 km (straight line)

Age profile

Median age: 35 years. Residents under 15: 17.0%. Residents aged 65 and over: 13.7%.

Age groupPeopleShare of population
0-43536.7%
5-1454110.3%
15-192755.2%
20-243947.5%
25-341,05620.1%
35-4471613.6%
45-5458011.0%
55-6461411.7%
65-744278.1%
75-842084.0%
85 and over851.6%

Households and families

Household typeCountShare of households
Total households2,088
Average household size2.3
One person72934.9%
Two persons65631.4%
Three persons31915.3%
Four persons22310.7%
Five persons683.3%
Six or more persons934.5%
Family typeCountShare of families
Total families1,229
Couples with children433.5%
Couples without children41133.4%
One-parent families32226.2%
Other families453.7%

Children ever born

MeasureValue
Average children per woman aged 15+1.41
Women with no children44.5%
Women with three or more children21.6%

Of the 454 couple families with children in Heidelberg West, 10.6% are step or blended families.

Marital status

Marital status of residents aged 15 and over in Heidelberg West.

StatusShare of adults
Married (registered marriage)28.0%
Married (de facto)14.6%
Not married57.5%

Housing

DwellingsCountShare of dwellings
Total dwellings2,347
Occupied2,08889.0%
Unoccupied25811.0%
Dwelling structureCountShare of dwellings
Separate house1,18350.4%
Semi-detached or townhouse88237.6%
Flat or apartment301.3%
Other dwelling00.0%
TenureCountShare of households
Owned outright33416.0%
Owned with a mortgage55126.4%
Rented1,12854.0%
Other tenure331.6%

Weekly rent

Rent bandShare of renting households
Under $350 per week60.9%
$350 to $549 per week36.0%
$550 or more per week3.1%

47.4% of renting households rent through a state or community housing provider.

Monthly mortgage repayments

Repayment bandShare of mortgaged households
Under $1,00017.1%
$1,000 to $1,79928.5%
$1,800 to $2,99942.2%
$3,000 or more12.1%

Bedrooms per dwelling

BedroomsShare of dwellings
None or one bedroom9.4%
Two bedrooms38.2%
Three bedrooms41.6%
Four or more bedrooms10.8%

Employment

Labour force statusCountShare
Labour force2,410
Employed2,19691.1%
Unemployed2138.8%
Not in the labour force1,626
Unemployment rate8.8%
Participation rate59.7%

39.1% of employed residents work part time, fewer than 35 hours per week.

Household income

Household incomes in Heidelberg West are distributed across the following weekly bands.

Weekly household incomeShare of households
Under $65027.3%
$650 to $1,49929.4%
$1,500 to $2,99928.0%
$3,000 or more15.3%

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

Weekly personal incomeShare of residents 15+
Under $50043.9%
$500 to $99924.5%
$1,000 to $1,99924.3%
$2,000 or more7.4%

Travel to work

MethodCountShare of workers
Car driver1,05548.0%
Car passenger833.8%
Train170.8%
Bus622.8%
Tram00.0%
Bicycle180.8%
Walked only542.5%
Worked at home52523.9%

Religious affiliation

ReligionCountShare of residents
Christianity1,55129.5%
No religion2,05739.2%
Islam83515.9%
Hinduism911.7%
Buddhism1542.9%
Judaism50.1%
Other or not stated55910.6%

Socio-economic profile (SEIFA 2021)

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

IndexScoreDecilePercentile
IRSD (disadvantage)88217
IRSAD (advantage and disadvantage)9232
IER (economic resources)8491
IEO (education and occupation)10027

Where residents were born

65.4% of residents were born in Australia and 34.6% were born overseas. The most common overseas birthplaces in Heidelberg West are listed below.

Country of birthPeopleShare of residents
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)1633.4%
India1122.3%
New Zealand982.0%
England831.7%
Philippines751.5%
Vietnam691.4%

When overseas-born residents arrived

Year of arrivalShare of overseas-born residents
2016 to 202117.7%
2011 to 201518.8%
2001 to 201020.4%
Before 200143.0%

Languages spoken at home

62.3% of residents speak only English at home. The most common other languages in Heidelberg West are listed below. Across all households, 6.0% of residents speak English not well or not at all.

LanguagePeopleShare of residents
Chinese: Mandarin2204.5%
Arabic1793.7%
Greek1002.1%
Vietnamese931.9%
Chinese: Cantonese801.6%
Italian511.0%

Ancestry

Residents of Heidelberg West most commonly report the following ancestries.

AncestryResponsesShare of responses
English1,29719.9%
Australian1,14917.6%
Irish4597.0%
Chinese4086.3%
Scottish3946.0%
Italian2273.5%

Work and industry

The largest employment sectors for Heidelberg West residents are listed below.

Industry of employmentWorkersShare of workers
Health Care and Social Assistance40619.5%
Education and Training21610.4%
Retail Trade1848.8%
Construction1617.7%
Manufacturing1497.2%
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services1487.1%

The most common occupations among Heidelberg West residents are listed below.

OccupationWorkersShare of workers
Professionals62028.9%
Community and Personal Service Workers31314.6%
Technicians and Trades Workers26712.5%
Labourers22010.3%
Clerical and Administrative Workers2129.9%
Managers2019.4%

Education

Of residents attending an education institution in Heidelberg West, 25.8% are at university or higher education, 11.5% are at TAFE or vocational education, and 56.7% are at school.

66.7% of residents aged 15 and over have completed Year 12 or equivalent.

The most common fields of study among Heidelberg West residents with qualifications are listed below.

Field of studyPeopleShare
Society and Culture41819.2%
Management and Commerce37217.1%
Engineering and Related Technologies28112.9%
Health26712.3%
Education1727.9%
Creative Arts1627.4%

Long-term health conditions

48.9% of residents report no long-term health condition. The most commonly reported conditions in Heidelberg West are listed below.

Health conditionPeopleShare of residents
Mental health condition (including depression or anxiety)71511.7%
Asthma5238.5%
Arthritis4817.8%
Diabetes (excluding gestational diabetes)3155.1%
Heart disease (including heart attack or angina)1953.2%
Lung condition (including COPD or emphysema)1372.2%
Cancer (including remission)1171.9%
Kidney disease701.1%
Stroke661.1%
Dementia (including Alzheimer's)350.6%

20.5% of residents report one condition, 8.0% report two, and 5.4% report three or more.

Community and care

How residents of Heidelberg West contribute to their community (share of residents aged 15 and over).

Community activityShare
Volunteers for an organisation or group10.6%
Provides unpaid assistance to a person with a disability or health condition12.2%
Provides unpaid child care39.7%
Does 15 or more hours of unpaid domestic work15.4%
Has served or is serving in the Australian Defence Force1.5%

Moving and stability

MobilityShare of residents
Same address 1 year ago85.2%
Moved within Victoria in the last year11.7%
Moved interstate in the last year0.5%
Moved from overseas in the last year0.5%
Same address 5 years ago58.8%
Moved within Victoria in the last 5 years25.6%
Moved interstate in the last 5 years2.9%
Moved from overseas in the last 5 years6.0%

Photo: Heidelberg West, Victoria. Credit: Philip Mallis / CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Crime and safety

Victoria Police recorded 1,383 offences in Heidelberg West in the 12 months to March 2026.

Offence divisionRecorded offences
A Crimes against the person173
B Property and deception offences750
C Drug offences139
D Public order and security offences82
E Justice procedures offences236
F Other offences3

That is a calculated rate of 263.3 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 Banyule local government area recorded 8,182 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
949
2023
924
2024
934
2025
1,438
2026
1,383

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=145.0332%2C-37.7482%2C145.0572%2C-37.7302&layer=mapnik&marker=-37.739231%2C145.045220" width="100%" height="320" style="border:0;border-radius:12px;max-width:100%;" loading="lazy" title="Map of Heidelberg West, Victoria"></iframe>

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby suburbs

Browse more suburbs in Banyule, 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 5252
Median Age 35
Average Household Size 2.3
Median Weekly Household Income $1257
Median Weekly Rent $306
Median Monthly Mortgage $1900
Unemployment Rate 8.8%
Participation Rate 59.7%
Born Overseas 32.4%
Separate House 50.4%
Worked at Home 23.9%
SEIFA IRSD Decile 1
SEIFA IRSD Percentile 7
SEIFA IRSAD Decile 2
Median Weekly Family Income $1682
Postcode 3081

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Heidelberg West, Victoria 3081, Australia

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