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West Melbourne, Victoria
ABS Census 2021 Greater Melbourne

About

West Melbourne (VIC 3003): population 8,025, median age 31, median household income $1,788/week, SEIFA IRSD decile 8. Victorian suburb guide with housing, jobs and community insights.

West Melbourne is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (postcode 3003), located in the Greater Melbourne region. At the ABS Census 2021 it had a population of 8,025 people.

At a glance

Population (2021)
8,025
Median age
31
Household income
$1,788/wk
Weekly rent
$388
Unemployment
6.4%
SEIFA IRSD decile
8 / 10

Age distribution

0-4
3.1%
5-14
4.2%
15-19
2.8%
20-24
13.7%
25-34
40.5%
35-44
17.2%
45-54
8.7%
55-64
5.4%
65-74
3.1%
75-84
1.1%
85+
0.2%

Housing tenure

Owned
11.8%
Mortgage
20.6%
Rented
65.2%
Other
1.5%

Key statistics

IndicatorValue
Postcode3003
Population (2021)8,025
Males4,093 (51.0%)
Females3,926 (48.9%)
Median age31 years
Average household size1.9
Median weekly household income$1,788
Median weekly family income$2,406
Median weekly rent$388
Median monthly mortgage$2,106
Labour force5,617
Unemployment rate6.4%
Participation rate79.7%
Born overseas53.5%
Separate houses0.9%
Worked at home38.4%
SEIFA IRSD decile8 of 10
Bachelor degree or higher78.3%
Completed Year 12 or equivalent87.7%
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander residents0.9%
Residents needing assistance with core activities1.6%
Households with 2+ vehicles12.5%
Distance from Melbourne CBD2.8 km (straight line)

Age profile

Median age: 31 years. Residents under 15: 7.3%. Residents aged 65 and over: 4.4%.

Age groupPeopleShare of population
0-42503.1%
5-143364.2%
15-192272.8%
20-241,09813.7%
25-343,24840.5%
35-441,37717.2%
45-546978.7%
55-644355.4%
65-742453.1%
75-84911.1%
85 and over150.2%

Households and families

Household typeCountShare of households
Total households3,853
Average household size1.9
One person1,50439.0%
Two persons1,59141.3%
Three persons47612.4%
Four persons2235.8%
Five persons401.0%
Six or more persons160.4%
Family typeCountShare of families
Total families1,848
Couples with children361.9%
Couples without children1,18964.3%
One-parent families1558.4%
Other families723.9%

Children ever born

MeasureValue
Average children per woman aged 15+0.46
Women with no children74.9%
Women with three or more children4.5%

Of the 433 couple families with children in West Melbourne, 7.9% are step or blended families.

Marital status

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

StatusShare of adults
Married (registered marriage)25.5%
Married (de facto)22.7%
Not married51.8%

Housing

DwellingsCountShare of dwellings
Total dwellings4,968
Occupied3,85377.6%
Unoccupied1,11322.4%
Dwelling structureCountShare of dwellings
Separate house460.9%
Semi-detached or townhouse71814.5%
Flat or apartment3,06661.7%
Other dwelling210.4%
TenureCountShare of households
Owned outright45311.8%
Owned with a mortgage79520.6%
Rented2,51165.2%
Other tenure571.5%

Weekly rent

Rent bandShare of renting households
Under $350 per week30.6%
$350 to $549 per week55.3%
$550 or more per week14.1%

2.5% of renting households rent through a state or community housing provider.

Monthly mortgage repayments

Repayment bandShare of mortgaged households
Under $1,0008.5%
$1,000 to $1,79928.2%
$1,800 to $2,99934.4%
$3,000 or more29.0%

Bedrooms per dwelling

BedroomsShare of dwellings
None or one bedroom33.1%
Two bedrooms49.5%
Three bedrooms14.0%
Four or more bedrooms3.4%

Employment

Labour force statusCountShare
Labour force5,617
Employed5,26293.7%
Unemployed3576.4%
Not in the labour force1,427
Unemployment rate6.4%
Participation rate79.7%

33.9% of employed residents work part time, fewer than 35 hours per week.

Household income

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

Weekly household incomeShare of households
Under $65014.4%
$650 to $1,49926.6%
$1,500 to $2,99935.4%
$3,000 or more23.6%

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

Weekly personal incomeShare of residents 15+
Under $50024.6%
$500 to $99922.8%
$1,000 to $1,99933.4%
$2,000 or more19.2%

Travel to work

MethodCountShare of workers
Car driver86016.3%
Car passenger951.8%
Train2705.1%
Bus380.7%
Tram3115.9%
Bicycle1242.4%
Walked only60811.6%
Worked at home2,02138.4%

Religious affiliation

ReligionCountShare of residents
Christianity1,78822.3%
No religion4,25453.0%
Islam2393.0%
Hinduism4695.8%
Buddhism4145.2%
Judaism240.3%
Other or not stated83710.4%

Socio-economic profile (SEIFA 2021)

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

IndexScoreDecilePercentile
IRSD (disadvantage)1048871
IRSAD (advantage and disadvantage)110010
IER (economic resources)8821
IEO (education and occupation)115010

Where residents were born

43.8% of residents were born in Australia and 56.2% were born overseas. The most common overseas birthplaces in West Melbourne are listed below.

Country of birthPeopleShare of residents
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)85411.2%
India5557.3%
Malaysia2543.3%
England1962.6%
Korea, Republic of (South)1902.5%
New Zealand1592.1%

When overseas-born residents arrived

Year of arrivalShare of overseas-born residents
2016 to 202144.4%
2011 to 201522.3%
2001 to 201019.0%
Before 200114.3%

Languages spoken at home

51.5% of residents speak only English at home. The most common other languages in West Melbourne are listed below. Across all households, 5.2% of residents speak English not well or not at all.

LanguagePeopleShare of residents
Chinese: Mandarin1,08914.7%
Spanish3254.4%
Chinese: Cantonese2693.6%
Indo-Aryan: Hindi1922.6%
Korean1872.5%
Vietnamese1692.3%

Ancestry

Residents of West Melbourne most commonly report the following ancestries.

AncestryResponsesShare of responses
Chinese1,69917.4%
English1,49515.3%
Australian1,14511.8%
Irish6576.7%
Indian5315.5%
Scottish4694.8%

Work and industry

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

Industry of employmentWorkersShare of workers
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services94818.8%
Accommodation and Food Services59311.8%
Health Care and Social Assistance51510.2%
Education and Training4128.2%
Retail Trade4108.1%
Financial and Insurance Services3857.6%

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

OccupationWorkersShare of workers
Professionals2,08740.4%
Managers71913.9%
Clerical and Administrative Workers60411.7%
Community and Personal Service Workers51910.0%
Technicians and Trades Workers4358.4%
Labourers3446.7%

Education

Of residents attending an education institution in West Melbourne, 50.4% are at university or higher education, 18.4% are at TAFE or vocational education, and 21.4% are at school.

87.7% of residents aged 15 and over have completed Year 12 or equivalent.

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

Field of studyPeopleShare
Management and Commerce1,33425.4%
Society and Culture80715.3%
Engineering and Related Technologies62711.9%
Creative Arts5129.7%
Information Technology4628.8%
Health4067.7%

Long-term health conditions

71.1% of residents report no long-term health condition. The most commonly reported conditions in West Melbourne are listed below.

Health conditionPeopleShare of residents
Mental health condition (including depression or anxiety)6798.6%
Asthma5266.7%
Arthritis1772.2%
Diabetes (excluding gestational diabetes)1251.6%
Heart disease (including heart attack or angina)1051.3%
Cancer (including remission)911.2%
Kidney disease360.5%
Lung condition (including COPD or emphysema)280.4%
Stroke180.2%
Dementia (including Alzheimer's)70.1%

15.5% of residents report one condition, 3.3% report two, and 0.7% report three or more.

Community and care

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

Community activityShare
Volunteers for an organisation or group12.6%
Provides unpaid assistance to a person with a disability or health condition6.5%
Provides unpaid child care24.8%
Does 15 or more hours of unpaid domestic work11.6%
Has served or is serving in the Australian Defence Force1.0%

Moving and stability

MobilityShare of residents
Same address 1 year ago55.9%
Moved within Victoria in the last year32.0%
Moved interstate in the last year3.8%
Moved from overseas in the last year2.4%
Same address 5 years ago20.5%
Moved within Victoria in the last 5 years39.3%
Moved interstate in the last 5 years8.9%
Moved from overseas in the last 5 years27.9%

Photo: West Melbourne, Victoria. Credit: Michelle Maria / CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Crime and safety

Victoria Police recorded 1,672 offences in West Melbourne in the 12 months to March 2026.

Offence divisionRecorded offences
A Crimes against the person305
B Property and deception offences1,000
C Drug offences135
D Public order and security offences80
E Justice procedures offences148
F Other offences4

That is a calculated rate of 208.3 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 Melbourne local government area recorded 23,304 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
1,456
2023
1,190
2024
1,198
2025
1,654
2026
1,672

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=144.9189%2C-37.8198%2C144.9429%2C-37.8018&layer=mapnik&marker=-37.810762%2C144.930949" width="100%" height="320" style="border:0;border-radius:12px;max-width:100%;" loading="lazy" title="Map of West Melbourne, Victoria"></iframe>

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby suburbs

Browse more suburbs in Melbourne, 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 8025
Median Age 31
Average Household Size 1.9
Median Weekly Household Income $1788
Median Weekly Rent $388
Median Monthly Mortgage $2106
Unemployment Rate 6.4%
Participation Rate 79.7%
Born Overseas 53.5%
Separate House 0.9%
Worked at Home 38.4%
SEIFA IRSD Decile 8
SEIFA IRSD Percentile 71
SEIFA IRSAD Decile 10
Median Weekly Family Income $2406
Postcode 3003

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West Melbourne, Victoria 3003, Australia
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