BrightonVIC · suburb profile
VIC 3186 · Bayside
Daily life in Brighton is characterized by a strong community feel, with a high percentage of residents working from home (44.9%), which is nearly double the Victorian average. The suburb offers a mix of housing options, with 57.2% of homes being separate houses. Commuting is less car-dependent, with only 33.5% of residents driving to work, while public transport usage is low at 3.9%.
Sales · 12 months to August 2026
What property sold for in Brighton
Units · Brighton is one of the dearest places to buy a unit in Victoria: a median of $830,000 across 88 sales, 44.9% above the Victorian median of $573,000.
This is a varied market — the middle half of units spanned $634,000 to $1,185,000, so the median alone will not tell a buyer much.
Houses
$3.00m
median of 55 sales
9.3% down on the previous twelve months.
Dearer than 100% of the 426 suburbs we cover in Victoria.
Half sold between $2.13m and $3.88m.
Last sold two to four months ago
Units
$830k
median of 88 sales
16.3% down on the previous twelve months.
Dearer than 98% of the 162 suburbs we cover in Victoria.
Half sold between $634k and $1.19m.
Last sold within the past month
Townhouses
$1.79m
median of 29 sales
Too few sales to be reliable — treat as a rough guide
Half sold between $1.35m and $2.15m.
Last sold within the past two weeks
172 sales on record · data to 30 August 2026
Since 2022
How prices have moved
Units · Units peaked earlier in the period: $1,500,000 in 2022 against $830,000 today, 44.7% down.
- Houses
- Units
- Townhouses
Dashed lines and hollow points are part years — incomplete, so a dip may only mean fewer sales have happened yet. A break in a line is a year with no published figure, not a fall to zero.
| Year | Houses | Units | Townhouses |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 · part year | $2.96m | $869k | $1.55m |
| 2025 · part year | $3.25m | $885k | $1.80m |
| 2024 | $3.41m | $1.32m | |
| 2023 | $3.28m | $1.38m | |
| 2022 | $3.47m | $1.50m |
Quarter by quarter
| Quarter | Median | Sales | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Q2 | $2.91m | 7 | -12.3%low confidence7 sales this quarter, 7 the quarter before. Under 30 either side, the movement is mostly which homes happened to sell rather than the market moving. |
| 2026 Q1 | $3.32m | 7 | +8.9%low confidence7 sales this quarter, 39 the quarter before. Under 30 either side, the movement is mostly which homes happened to sell rather than the market moving. |
| 2025 Q4 | $3.05m | 39 | -7.6% |
| Quarter | Median | Sales | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Q2 | $1.22m | 11 | +29.4%low confidence11 sales this quarter, 14 the quarter before. Under 30 either side, the movement is mostly which homes happened to sell rather than the market moving. |
| 2026 Q1 | $943k | 14 | +17.1%low confidence14 sales this quarter, 52 the quarter before. Under 30 either side, the movement is mostly which homes happened to sell rather than the market moving. |
| 2025 Q4 | $805k | 52 | -14.2% |
| Quarter | Median | Sales | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Q4 | $1.80m | 19 |
A change is marked low confidence where either quarter had fewer than 30 sales. The medians are real; with a handful of sales the movement between them is mostly which homes happened to change hands, not the market moving.
Last 12 months
What an extra bedroom costs in Brighton
Houses
In Brighton, over the last 12 months, a four-bedroom house has a median of $3.08 million from 24 sales, while a three-bedroom house has a median of $2.20 million from 20 sales.
| Bedrooms | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | $2.20m | 20 · few |
| 4 | $3.08m | 24 · few |
| 5 | $4.15m | 8 · few |
Units
In Brighton, over the last 12 months, a two-bedroom unit has a median of $805,000 from 65 sales, while a three-bedroom unit has a median of $1.96 million from 14 sales.
| Bedrooms | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $445k | 9 · few |
| 2 | $805k | 65 |
| 3 | $1.96m | 14 · few |
Townhouses
In Brighton, over the last 12 months, a three-bedroom townhouse has a median of $1.61 million from 15 sales, while a four-bedroom townhouse has a median of $2.50 million from 9 sales.
| Bedrooms | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | $1.25m | 5 · few |
| 3 | $1.61m | 15 · few |
| 4 | $2.50m | 9 · few |
Counts with fewer than five sales are left out rather than estimated, and bigger does not always mean dearer — a bedroom count with few sales can be pulled either way by the particular homes that happened to change hands.
8 schools · 2025 figures
Who goes to school in Brighton
All schools · Brighton's 8 schools teach 5,555 students, down 4.7% in ten years — and 7 government catchments cross the suburb.
Schools here
8
5 primary · 1 secondary · 2 Prep-to-12
Students, all schools
5,555
2025 · −4.7% since 2015
At primary schoolsStudents at schools whose type is “Primary”. It excludes children in primary years at a Prep-to-12 college — they are counted in the tile beside this one. This number answers “are the primary schools here filling or emptying?”
−14.7%
1,825 students · five years
Children in primary yearsChildren in Years 1–6 at any school, including Prep-to-12 colleges. This answers “are there still young families here?” — a different question from the tile on the left, which is why the two can move in opposite directions.
Prep and ungraded students are counted separately again; see the chart below.
−9.1%
2,306 · Years 1–6, anywhere
11 years · two ways to read them
Enrolments, 2015–2025
The same students, counted two ways — by the kind of school they attend, and by the year they are in. They answer different questions and can point in different directions. Both views are in the page; the buttons only change which is visible.
Enrolments in Brighton have fallen 4.7% over 10 years, with the movement at the secondary end.
- Primary schools
- Secondary schools
- Prep-to-12 & specialist
Show data table
| Year | Primary schools | Secondary schools | Prep-to-12 & specialist |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2,426 | 1,109 | 2,296 |
| 2016 | 2,460 | 1,103 | 2,301 |
| 2017 | 2,366 | 1,133 | 2,325 |
| 2018 | 2,354 | 1,166 | 2,399 |
| 2019 | 2,247 | 1,174 | 2,427 |
| 2020 | 2,140 | 1,187 | 2,452 |
| 2021 | 2,004 | 1,202 | 2,383 |
| 2022 | 1,903 | 1,194 | 2,399 |
| 2023 | 1,849 | 1,184 | 2,458 |
| 2024 | 1,832 | 1,189 | 2,494 |
| 2025 | 1,825 | 1,204 | 2,526 |
Which schools in Brighton are filling and which are emptying. A school that covers Prep to Year 12 is counted once, in its own line — its primary-age students are not in the primary schools line.
- Years 1–6
- Years 7–12
- Prep & ungradedTwo groups that sit outside the numbered year levels: Prep — the first year of school, which the national data does not number — and ungraded students at specialist schools, who are not placed in a year level at all.
A suburb with a specialist school will have a large line here.
Show data table
| Year | Years 1–6 | Years 7–12 | Prep & ungraded | All students |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2,746 | 2,613 | 472 | 5,831 |
| 2016 | 2,817 | 2,611 | 436 | 5,864 |
| 2017 | 2,779 | 2,687 | 358 | 5,824 |
| 2018 | 2,740 | 2,766 | 413 | 5,919 |
| 2019 | 2,694 | 2,811 | 343 | 5,848 |
| 2020 | 2,538 | 2,884 | 357 | 5,779 |
| 2021 | 2,351 | 2,882 | 356 | 5,589 |
| 2022 | 2,289 | 2,867 | 340 | 5,496 |
| 2023 | 2,334 | 2,844 | 313 | 5,491 |
| 2024 | 2,332 | 2,873 | 310 | 5,515 |
| 2025 | 2,306 | 2,925 | 324 | 5,555 |
This counts children by the year they are in, not by the kind of school they attend — so a Prep-to-12 college contributes to every line. The three add up to every student in the suburb.
2025 · ACARA
All 8 schools in Brighton
Ordered by size, not by results — 3 government, 3 Catholic and 2 independent. Schools with more than one campus are counted once.
What these columns mean
- Type
- Prep-to-12 is one school a child can start and finish at without changing schools. Specialist schools also appear as Prep-to-12.
- 5 yr
- Change in enrolments against five years ago, not against last year. Enrolments move slowly, so a single year is mostly noise.
- VCE median
- The middle study score of that school’s Year 12 students, on a scale of 0–50. The state median in 2025 was 29.0, so a school above that sits above the middle and one below it sits below. The smaller number after it is how many students the figure rests on. Under 30 students we show nothing at all — a small cohort’s result swings from year to year on who happened to sit the exams, which is easily mistaken for the school changing.
| School | Sector | Type | Students | 5 yr | 10 yr | VCE median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brighton Grammar School | Independent | Prep-to-12 | 1,480 | +10.7% | +24.7% | 34 · 294 |
| Star of the Sea College | Catholic | Secondary | 1,204 | +1.4% | +8.6% | 33 · 308 |
| Firbank Grammar School | Independent | Prep-to-12 | 1,046 | −6.2% | −5.7% | 34 · 232 |
| Brighton Primary School | Government | Primary | 550 | −16.5% | −28.6% | — |
| Elsternwick Primary School | Government | Primary | 463 | −13.1% | −26.3% | — |
| St Joan of Arc School | Catholic | Primary | 402 | +7.5% | +8.9% | — |
| Brighton Beach Primary School | Government | Primary | 264 | −29.4% | −36.1% | — |
| St James' School | Catholic | Primary | 146 | −27.0% | −40.7% | — |
3 schools in Brighton reported median VCE study scores of 33 to 34, against a state median of 29.
Government zoning
Which catchments cover Brighton
7 government catchments cover Brighton — 2 secondary and 5 primary — so which one applies depends on the address, not the suburb.
| CatchmentThe area around a government school where living there guarantees your child a place. Boundaries follow streets, not suburb lines, so an address near the edge of a suburb may be zoned elsewhere. They are redrawn each year. | Level |
|---|---|
| Brighton Secondary College | Secondary |
| Elwood College | Secondary |
| Brighton Beach Primary School | Primary |
| Brighton Primary School | Primary |
| Elsternwick Primary School | Primary |
| Gardenvale Primary School | Primary |
| Hampton Primary School | Primary |
The read
What living here is actually like
Brighton is an affluent suburb with a population of 23,248, characterized by a higher median age of 48 compared to the Victorian average of 38. The suburb is predominantly female, with 52.9% of the population being women. Family structures are diverse, with 45.5% of households being couples with children and 41.2% being couples without children. The area is known for its high educational attainment, with 47.7% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher, significantly above the Victorian average of 29.2%.
Buyer fit
Who this suburb suits
One score per buyer type, out of 100, built from the demographic, housing and commute profile. Strongest first.
Buyer-fit score
Brighton · 0–100
Show data table
| Buyer type | Score |
|---|---|
| Professionals | 90 |
| Families | 85 |
| Retirees | 80 |
| Investors | 70 |
| First home buyers | 55 |
Why professionals score highest
The signals doing the work
- High percentage of professionals at 36.7%
- Significant work-from-home culture at 44.9%
- High median personal income at $1,259 weekly
- Proximity to top industries like legal and finance services
Against the state
How Brighton differs from Victoria
Every bar is this suburb. The vertical tick is the Victorian figure — the gap between them is the story.
Housing & movement
What’s built here, and how people leave in the morning
Dwelling mix
Share of occupied private dwellings
Show data table
| Dwelling type | Share |
|---|---|
| Apartments | 19.8% |
| Separate houses | 57.2% |
| Townhouses | 22.4% |
How people get to work
Method of travel, 2021 Census
Show data table
| Method | Share |
|---|---|
| Worked from home | 44.9% |
| Drove a car | 33.5% |
| Public transport | 3.9% |
| Walked only | 2.5% |
| Car passenger | 1.8% |
Costs 2021 Census
Census figures, collected in 2021. Rents and repayments have moved since — for what property is selling for now, see .
Top occupations
Share of the employed workforce
Key highlights
- Highly educated population - 47.7% hold bachelor degrees (vs VIC 29.2%)
- High median household income - $2,710 weekly (vs VIC $1,759)
- Low unemployment rate - 3.7% (vs VIC 5.0%)
- Significant work-from-home culture - 44.9% (vs VIC 25.7%)
- Owner-dominated housing - 45.1% owned outright
Things to be aware of
- Higher property prices may challenge first-home buyers
- Lower percentage of separate houses compared to VIC average
- Limited public transport usage at 3.9%
- Higher median age may not appeal to younger demographics
- High percentage of high-income households may affect affordability
Coming soon to this page
Where the richer profile lands
Schools & catchments
Zoned primary and secondary, NAPLAN bands, distances.
Transport & access
Stations, tram routes, drive time to the CBD, walkability.
Development activity
Permits approved, projects underway, zoning changes.
Want to dig into one address in Brighton?
A suburb page gets you this far. For a specific block you get what homes of that size sell for here, the schools that address is zoned to, any subdivisions proposed within 500 m, plus lot dimensions, easements, planning overlays and true sun aspect — free, no account.
X-Ray an address →Data sources
Demographic figures from the Census of Population and Housing © Australian Bureau of Statistics, used under Creative Commons Attribution.
Cadastral and boundary data contains information © State of Victoria (Vicmap), licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Narrative summaries are AI-generated from the underlying data and may contain errors.
School details, enrolments and senior secondary results from the National Schools Data Collection © Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).
School catchment boundaries contain information © State of Victoria (Department of Education), licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Base map © Mapbox © OpenStreetMap. Improve this map at openstreetmap.org/fixthemap.
Informational only — not financial, legal or planning advice. Verify zoning, overlays and catchments with the relevant council before relying on them. Data vintage: 2021 Census.