Carlton North - Princes Hill
Statistical Area - sa2

Carlton North - Princes Hill is positioned among the lower quartile of areas assessed nationally for population growth based on AreaSearch's assessment of recent, and medium term trends

Carlton North - Princes Hill's population was around 8,760 as of Aug 2025. This reflected an increase of 574 people since the 2021 Census, which reported a population of 8,186 people. The change was inferred from the estimated resident population of 8,747 in June 2024 and four additional validated new addresses since the Census date. This level of population resulted in a density ratio of 3,808 persons per square kilometer, placing Carlton North - Princes Hill in the top 10% of national locations assessed by AreaSearch. The area's 7.0% growth since the census was within 1.6 percentage points of the national average (8.6%), indicating competitive growth fundamentals. Population growth for the area was primarily driven by overseas migration, contributing approximately 86.5% of overall population gains during recent periods.

AreaSearch adopted ABS/Geoscience Australia projections for each SA2 area released in 2024 with a base year of 2022. For areas not covered by this data, AreaSearch utilized the VIC State Government's Regional/LGA projections released in 2023, making adjustments using weighted aggregation methods from LGA to SA2 levels. Growth rates by age group were applied across all areas for years 2032 to 2041 based on these aggregations. Considering projected demographic shifts, an above median population growth was projected for the area, with an expected increase of 1,774 persons by 2041 based on the latest population numbers, resulting in a total gain of 20.1% over the 17 years.

The level of residential development activity in Carlton North - Princes Hill is very low in comparison to the average area assessed nationally by AreaSearch

Carlton North - Princes Hill has seen approximately four new homes approved annually. Development approval data is provided by the ABS on a financial year basis. Over the past five financial years, from FY21 to FY25, around 22 homes have been approved, with no approvals recorded so far in FY26. Despite population decline during this period, development activity has been relatively adequate, benefiting buyers.

The average construction cost value of new homes is $1,384,000, indicating a focus on the premium market segment. Commercial development approvals totalled $39.8 million in FY26, demonstrating strong commercial development momentum. Compared to Greater Melbourne, Carlton North - Princes Hill has significantly less development activity, with 93.0% fewer approvals per person. This scarcity typically strengthens demand and prices for existing properties, though recent construction activity has increased. New building activity is currently split evenly between standalone homes (50.0%) and townhouses or apartments (50.0%), offering affordable entry pathways and attracting downsizers, investors, and first-time purchasers. However, this activity favours detached housing more than current patterns suggest (8.0% at Census), indicating robust demand for family homes.

The location has approximately 1291 people per dwelling approval, reflecting an established market. Population forecasts indicate Carlton North - Princes Hill will gain 1761 residents by 2041. If current development rates continue, housing supply may not keep pace with population growth, potentially increasing competition among buyers and supporting stronger price growth.

Carlton North - Princes Hill has very high levels of nearby infrastructure activity, ranking in the top 10% nationally

Changes in local infrastructure significantly impact an area's performance. AreaSearch has identified 17 projects expected to influence the area. Notable initiatives include Piedimonte Supermarket Redevelopment, Edison North Fitzroy, Fitzroy Gasworks Site Redevelopment, and Brenan Place. The following details projects likely to be most relevant.

Professional plan users can use the search below to filter and access additional projects.

The employment landscape in Carlton North - Princes Hill shows performance that lags behind national averages across key labour market indicators

Carlton North - Princes Hill has a highly educated workforce, with the technology sector prominent. Its unemployment rate was 5.8% in June 2025, higher than Greater Melbourne's 4.6%.

Employment growth over the past year was estimated at 5.6%. In June 2025, 5,999 residents were employed, with an unemployment rate of 7.0%, and workforce participation at 73.3%, compared to Greater Melbourne's 64.1%. Key industries include professional & technical (employing 28% of residents), health care & social assistance, and education & training. The area has a specialization in professional & technical jobs, with an employment share twice the regional level.

However, construction employs only 4.0% of local workers, below Greater Melbourne's 9.7%. Over the year to June 2025, employment increased by 5.6%, while labour force grew by 7.0%, causing unemployment to rise by 1.3 percentage points. In contrast, Greater Melbourne saw employment grow by 3.5% and unemployment rise by 0.5 percentage points. State-level data to Sep-25 shows Victoria's employment grew by 1.08% year-on-year, with an unemployment rate of 4.7%. National forecasts from May 2025 project employment growth of 6.6% over five years and 13.7% over ten years. Applying these projections to Carlton North - Princes Hill's employment mix suggests local growth of approximately 7.3% over five years and 14.7% over ten years, though this is a simplified extrapolation for illustrative purposes.

Income metrics indicate excellent economic conditions, with the area achieving higher performance than 75% of national locations assessed by AreaSearch

Carlton North - Princes Hill median taxpayer income was $63,274 with an average of $103,942 according to AreaSearch's postcode level ATO data for financial year 2022. Nationally, these figures are exceptionally high compared to Greater Melbourne's median income of $54,892 and average income of $73,761. By March 2025, estimates suggest median income will be approximately $69,671 and average income $114,451 based on Wage Price Index growth of 10.11% since financial year 2022. Census data shows household, family, and personal incomes all rank highly in Carlton North - Princes Hill, between the 86th and 91st percentiles nationally. The $1,500 - $2,999 income bracket captures 30.6% of the community (2,680 individuals), consistent with broader trends across the broader area showing 32.8% in the same category. Economic strength is evident through 39.1% of households achieving high weekly earnings exceeding $3,000, supporting elevated consumer spending. High housing costs consume 16.4% of income, yet strong earnings place disposable income at the 84th percentile and the area's SEIFA income ranking places it in the 9th decile.

Carlton North - Princes Hill displays a diverse mix of dwelling types, with above-average rates of outright home ownership

In Carlton North - Princes Hill, as per the latest Census, 8.1% of dwellings were houses while 91.9% were other types such as semi-detached homes, apartments, and 'other' dwellings. This differs from Melbourne metropolitan area's figures which stood at 12.8% houses and 87.2% other dwellings. Home ownership in Carlton North - Princes Hill was higher than the Melbourne metro average at 30.9%. The remaining dwellings were either mortgaged (19.4%) or rented (49.8%). The median monthly mortgage repayment in the area was $2,600, above the Melbourne metro average of $2,326. The median weekly rent figure was recorded at $541, compared to Melbourne's $451. Nationally, Carlton North - Princes Hill's mortgage repayments were higher than the Australian average of $1,863, while rents were substantially above the national figure of $375.

Carlton North - Princes Hill features high concentrations of group households, with a higher-than-average median household size

Family households comprise 56.0% of all households, including 18.2% couples with children, 29.5% couples without children, and 6.5% single parent families. Non-family households constitute the remaining 44.0%, with lone person households at 28.3% and group households making up 15.7%. The median household size is 2.3 people, which is larger than the Greater Melbourne average of 2.0.

Carlton North - Princes Hill shows strong educational performance, ranking in the upper quartile nationally when assessed across multiple qualification and achievement indicators

Carlton North - Princes Hill has a significantly higher educational attainment than broader benchmarks. 66.0% of residents aged 15+ have university qualifications, compared to 30.4% nationally and 33.4% in Victoria. Bachelor degrees are the most common at 38.8%, followed by postgraduate qualifications (21.6%) and graduate diplomas (5.6%). Technical qualifications represent 14.1% of educational achievements for residents aged 15+, with advanced diplomas at 7.4% and certificates at 6.7%.

Educational participation is high, with 27.8% of residents currently enrolled in formal education. This includes 13.7% in tertiary education, 5.1% in primary education, and 4.3% pursuing secondary education. The area's 4 schools have a combined enrollment of 1,455 students. Carlton North - Princes Hill demonstrates exceptional educational performance with an ICSEA score of 1150, placing local schools among the most advantaged nationally. Educational provision is split between 2 primary and 2 secondary institutions. The area functions as an education hub with 16.6 school places per 100 residents, significantly above the regional average of 10.3, attracting students from surrounding communities.

Transport servicing is high compared to other areas nationally based on assessment of service frequency, route connectivity and accessibility

Carlton North - Princes Hill has 37 active public transport stops offering a mix of light rail and bus services. These stops are served by 14 different routes that collectively facilitate 7,048 weekly passenger trips. Transport accessibility is rated excellent with residents typically located just 134 meters from the nearest stop.

On average, there are 1,006 daily trips across all routes, equating to approximately 190 weekly trips per individual stop.

Carlton North - Princes Hill's residents are extremely healthy with both young and old age cohorts seeing low prevalence of common health conditions

Analysis of health metrics indicates robust performance across Carlton North - Princes Hill for both younger and older age groups. Prevalence of common health conditions is low, with mental health issues affecting 11.0% and asthma impacting 9.0% of residents. Approximately 69.3% of residents report no medical ailments, compared to 70.6% in Greater Melbourne.

Private health cover stands at approximately 73%, higher than the Greater Melbourne average of 69.8% but lower than the national average of 55.3%. The area has a higher proportion of seniors aged 65 and over, with 16.4% compared to Greater Melbourne's 12.1%. Despite this, health outcomes among seniors in Carlton North - Princes Hill are strong and perform better than the general population in health metrics.

The level of cultural diversity witnessed in Carlton North - Princes Hill was found to be above average when compared nationally for a number of language and cultural background related metrics

Carlton North-Princes Hill had a cultural diversity above average, with 23.4% of its population born overseas and 14.8% speaking a language other than English at home. Christianity was the main religion, comprising 28.4%. Judaism was overrepresented, making up 1.1% compared to 0.8% in Greater Melbourne.

The top three ancestry groups were English (24.7%), Australian (17.9%), and Irish (12.7%). Italian (8.0%) and French (0.8%) were notably overrepresented, while Polish (1.0%) was slightly above the regional average of 0.9%.

Carlton North - Princes Hill hosts a young demographic, positioning it in the bottom quartile nationwide

Carlton North - Princes Hill has a median age of 33, which is younger than Greater Melbourne's figure of 37 and Australia's national average of 38 years. Compared to Greater Melbourne, Carlton North - Princes Hill has a higher proportion of residents aged 25-34 (29.6%), but fewer residents aged 5-14 (5.5%). This concentration of 25-34 year-olds is significantly higher than the national average of 14.5%. Between the 2016 and 2021 Censuses, the area's median age decreased by one year to 33 from 34. During this period, the 25 to 34 age group grew from 26.2% to 29.6%, while the 75 to 84 cohort increased from 4.8% to 6.0%. Conversely, the 45 to 54 age group declined from 10.5% to 8.5%, and the 5 to 14 age group decreased from 7.0% to 5.5%. By 2041, demographic modeling suggests that Carlton North - Princes Hill's age profile will change significantly. The 45 to 54 age cohort is projected to increase by 339 people (46%), from 741 to 1,081. Meanwhile, the number of residents aged 15-24 is expected to decrease by 18.