Freshwater CreekVIC · suburb profile
VIC 3217 · Surf Coast
Residents of Freshwater Creek enjoy a rural lifestyle with a strong sense of community. The area has a high rate of home ownership, with 49.4% of homes owned outright and 32.1% owned with a mortgage. Commuting is primarily done by car, with 48.0% of residents driving to work. A significant portion of the population, 27.4%, works from home, which is slightly above the Victorian average of 25.7%.
1 school · 2025 figures
Who goes to school in Freshwater Creek
All schools · Freshwater Creek has a single school, with 144 students.
Schools here
1
1 primary
Students, all schools
144
2025 · +25.2% 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?”
+13.4%
144 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.
+20.0%
120 · 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 Freshwater Creek have grown 25.2% over 10 years.
- Primary schools
Show data table
| Year | Primary schools |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 115 |
| 2016 | 113 |
| 2017 | 124 |
| 2018 | 120 |
| 2019 | 116 |
| 2020 | 127 |
| 2021 | 126 |
| 2022 | 127 |
| 2023 | 142 |
| 2024 | 142 |
| 2025 | 144 |
Which schools in Freshwater Creek 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
- 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 | Prep & ungraded | All students |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 96 | 19 | 115 |
| 2016 | 95 | 18 | 113 |
| 2017 | 100 | 24 | 124 |
| 2018 | 95 | 25 | 120 |
| 2019 | 94 | 22 | 116 |
| 2020 | 100 | 27 | 127 |
| 2021 | 101 | 25 | 126 |
| 2022 | 102 | 25 | 127 |
| 2023 | 117 | 25 | 142 |
| 2024 | 117 | 25 | 142 |
| 2025 | 120 | 24 | 144 |
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
The school in Freshwater Creek
Ordered by size, not by results — 0 government, 0 Catholic and 1 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.
| School | Sector | Type | Students | 5 yr | 10 yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freshwater Creek Steiner School | Independent | Primary | 144 | +13.4% | +25.2% |
Government zoning
Which catchments cover Freshwater Creek
4 government catchments cover Freshwater Creek — 2 secondary and 2 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 |
|---|---|
| Grovedale College | Secondary |
| Surf Coast Secondary College | Secondary |
| Bellbrae Primary School | Primary |
| Moriac Primary School | Primary |
The read
What living here is actually like
Freshwater Creek is a small rural community with a total population of 459 people. The median age in the suburb is 45, which is higher than the Victorian average of 38, indicating a mature population. The suburb has a balanced gender distribution with 48.1% males and 51.9% females. Families are a significant part of the community, with 83.1% of households being family households, and a notable 47.3% of these are couples with children. The suburb has a high percentage of separate houses at 94.2%, which is significantly higher than the Victorian average of 73.4%.
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
Freshwater Creek · 0–100
Show data table
| Buyer type | Score |
|---|---|
| Retirees | 80 |
| Families | 78 |
| Professionals | 72 |
| Investors | 60 |
| First home buyers | 55 |
Why retirees score highest
The signals doing the work
- High percentage of homes owned outright at 49.4%
- Quiet, rural lifestyle with a mature population
- Low unemployment rate at 2.7%
- High median age of 45 aligns with retiree demographics
Against the state
How Freshwater Creek 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 |
|---|---|
| Separate houses | 94.2% |
How people get to work
Method of travel, 2021 Census
Show data table
| Method | Share |
|---|---|
| Worked from home | 27.4% |
| Drove a car | 48% |
| Public transport | 2% |
| Walked only | 2.8% |
| Car passenger | 2.8% |
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
- Low unemployment rate at 2.7% compared to VIC 5.0%
- High median household income of $2087 weekly (vs VIC $1759)
- High percentage of separate houses at 94.2% (vs VIC 73.4%)
- Significant work-from-home population at 27.4% (vs VIC 25.7%)
- High percentage of English spoken at home at 91.9%
Things to be aware of
- Higher median age of 45 may not appeal to younger buyers
- Limited public transport usage at 2.0%
- Lower diversity with 85.7% born in Australia (vs VIC 65.0%)
- Limited rental market with only 14.1% of properties rented
- Potential for health conditions with 40.7% reporting conditions
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 Freshwater Creek?
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.