West MelbourneVIC · suburb profile
VIC 3003 · Melbourne
Daily life in West Melbourne is characterized by a high level of convenience and accessibility. With 38.4% of residents working from home, the suburb supports a modern, flexible work lifestyle. Public transport is a popular choice, used by 15.5% of commuters, while 16.3% drive to work. The community feel is cosmopolitan and vibrant, with numerous cafes and restaurants contributing to the local economy. The suburb's high level of education, with 56.2% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, supports a professional and career-oriented environment.
Sales · 12 months to August 2026
What property sold for in West Melbourne
Units · The median unit in West Melbourne went for $553,000 over the 12 months to August 2026 — 3.5% below the Victorian median of $573,000, and much where it sat a year earlier.
The middle half of units sold between $425,000 and $668,000.
Houses
$1.29m
median of 19 sales
Too few sales to be reliable — treat as a rough guide
Half sold between $1.18m and $1.59m.
Last sold one to two months ago
Units
$553k
median of 191 sales
1.7% down on the previous twelve months.
Cheaper than 57% of the 162 suburbs we cover in Victoria.
Half sold between $425k and $668k.
Last sold within the past two weeks
Townhouses
$1.10m
median of 8 sales
Too few sales to be reliable — treat as a rough guide
Half sold between $993k and $1.35m.
Last sold one to two months ago
218 sales on record · data to 30 August 2026
Since 2022
How prices have moved
Units · The longer arc is downward here, $580,000 in 2022 to $553,000 now.
- 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 | $1.28m | $545k | |
| 2025 · part year | $1.46m | $566k | $1.06m |
| 2024 | $1.23m | $570k | |
| 2023 | $1.22m | $624k | |
| 2022 | $580k |
Quarter by quarter
| Quarter | Median | Sales | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Q2 | $1.27m | 10 | -18%low confidence10 sales this quarter, 6 the quarter before. Under 30 either side, the movement is mostly which homes happened to sell rather than the market moving. |
| 2025 Q4 | $1.55m | 6 |
| Quarter | Median | Sales | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Q2 | $535k | 57 | -12.3% |
| 2026 Q1 | $610k | 47 | +6.5% |
| 2025 Q4 | $573k | 59 | +3.2% |
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 West Melbourne
Units · 2-bedroom units, the most common sale here, run about $605,000; moving from 1 to 2 bedrooms adds roughly $201,000.
Houses
| Bedrooms | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | $1.16m | 7 · few |
| 3 | $1.52m | 9 · few |
Units
| Bedrooms | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $404k | 64 |
| 2 | $605k | 110 |
| 3 | $963k | 16 · few |
Townhouses
| Bedrooms | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | $1.33m | 5 · 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.
1 school · 2025 figures
Who goes to school in West Melbourne
All schools · West Melbourne has a single school, with 359 students.
Schools here
1
1 secondary
Students, all schools
359
2025 · −25.8% 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?”
—
no primary school in West Melbourne
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.
0
children in 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 West Melbourne have fallen 25.8% over 10 years.
- Secondary schools
Show data table
| Year | Secondary schools |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 484 |
| 2016 | 455 |
| 2017 | 460 |
| 2018 | 435 |
| 2019 | 426 |
| 2020 | 416 |
| 2021 | 411 |
| 2022 | 410 |
| 2023 | 410 |
| 2024 | 389 |
| 2025 | 359 |
Which schools in West Melbourne 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 7–12
Show data table
| Year | Years 7–12 | All students |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 484 | 484 |
| 2016 | 455 | 455 |
| 2017 | 460 | 460 |
| 2018 | 435 | 435 |
| 2019 | 426 | 426 |
| 2020 | 416 | 416 |
| 2021 | 411 | 411 |
| 2022 | 410 | 410 |
| 2023 | 410 | 410 |
| 2024 | 389 | 389 |
| 2025 | 359 | 359 |
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 West Melbourne
Ordered by size, not by results — 0 government, 1 Catholic and 0 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simonds Catholic College | Catholic | Secondary | 359 | −13.7% | −25.8% | 29 · 100 |
One school in West Melbourne reported a median VCE study score of 29, against a state median of 29.
Government zoning
Which catchments cover West Melbourne
2 government catchments cover West Melbourne — 1 secondary and 1 primary — so which one applies depends on the address, not the suburb. The secondary catchment is University High School.
| 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 |
|---|---|
| University High School | Secondary |
| North Melbourne Primary School | Primary |
The read
What living here is actually like
West Melbourne is a vibrant suburb with a population of 8,019, characterized by a youthful median age of 31, which is notably younger than the Victorian average of 38. The gender distribution is fairly balanced with 51.0% male and 49.0% female residents. The suburb has a significant proportion of residents living in apartments, accounting for 79.6% of housing, and a high rental rate of 65.2%. This reflects a transient and dynamic community, with many residents likely to be young professionals or students. The area is culturally diverse, with 58.4% of the population born overseas, compared to the state average of 35.0%.
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
West Melbourne · 0–100
Show data table
| Buyer type | Score |
|---|---|
| Professionals | 85 |
| Investors | 80 |
| First home buyers | 60 |
| Families | 55 |
| Retirees | 45 |
Why professionals score highest
The signals doing the work
- High percentage of professionals at 39.7%
- Convenient access to public transport and city center
- High level of education with 56.2% holding a bachelor's degree
- Above average income levels support professional lifestyle
Against the state
How West Melbourne 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 | 79.6% |
| Separate houses | 1.2% |
| Townhouses | 18.6% |
How people get to work
Method of travel, 2021 Census
Show data table
| Method | Share |
|---|---|
| Worked from home | 38.4% |
| Drove a car | 16.3% |
| Public transport | 15.5% |
| Walked only | 11.6% |
| Car passenger | 19.3% |
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 - 56.2% hold bachelor degrees (vs VIC 29.2%)
- Above average median personal weekly income of $1,058
- Significant cultural diversity with 58.4% born overseas
- High labour force participation rate at 75.5%
- Predominantly apartment living at 79.6%
Things to be aware of
- High rental market with 65.2% of properties rented
- Unemployment rate slightly above state average at 6.4%
- Low percentage of separate houses at 1.2%
- Median age significantly lower than state average, may not suit all buyers
- High percentage of single-person households at 39.0%
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 West Melbourne?
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.