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This analysis uses ABS Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) boundaries, which can materially differ from Suburbs and Localities (SAL) even when sharing similar names.
SA2 boundaries are defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and are designed to represent communities for statistical reporting (e.g., census and ERP).
Suburbs and Localities (SAL) represent commonly-used suburb/locality names (postal-style areas) and may use different geographic boundaries. For comprehensive analysis, consider reviewing both boundary types if available.
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Sales Activity
Curious about local property values? Filter the chart to assess the volume and appreciation (including resales) trends and regional comparisons, or scroll to the map below view this information at an individual property level.
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Sales Detail
Population
Melbourne CBD - North lies within the top 10% of areas nationally in terms of population growth performance according to AreaSearch analysis of short and medium-term trends
Melbourne CBD - North's population was around 24,296 as of May 2026. This reflected an increase of 7,426 people since the 2021 Census, which reported a population of 16,870. The change was inferred from ABS estimated resident population of 24,296 in June 2025 and an additional 72 validated new addresses since the Census date. This resulted in a density ratio of 43,385 persons per square kilometer, placing Melbourne CBD - North in the top 10% nationally by AreaSearch's assessment. The area's growth rate of 44.0% since the 2021 census exceeded both the state (9.3%) and national averages. Overseas migration contributed approximately 97.9% 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 used VIC State Government's Regional/LGA projections from 2023, adjusting them using weighted aggregation methods to SA2 levels. Growth rates by age group were applied across all areas for years 2032 to 2041. By 2041, Melbourne CBD - North is projected to have a population increase of 9,416 persons based on the latest annual ERP numbers, reflecting an overall increase of 38.8% over the 16-year period.
Frequently Asked Questions - Population
Development
Residential development activity is lower than average in Melbourne CBD - North according to AreaSearch's national comparison of local real estate markets
Melbourne CBD - North has seen approximately six residential properties approved annually. Over the past five financial years, from FY21 to FY25, 32 homes were granted approval, with a further 569 approved in FY26. On average, 162.9 people moved to the area each year for every dwelling built during these years.
This significant demand outpaces supply, putting upward pressure on prices and increasing competition among buyers. Commercial development approvals totalled $76.9 million in this financial year, indicating strong commercial momentum. Compared to Greater Melbourne, North CBD has less development activity, which typically reinforces demand and pricing for existing dwellings.
Population forecasts indicate Melbourne CBD - North will gain 9416 residents by 2041. If current construction levels persist, housing supply may lag population growth, potentially intensifying buyer competition and underpinning price growth.
Frequently Asked Questions - Development
Development applications around Melbourne CBD - North
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SOURCE: Planning portals and council registers, compiled by AreaSearch. Distance & bearing measured from the suburb midpoint.
Infrastructure
Melbourne CBD - North has very high levels of nearby infrastructure activity, ranking in the top 10% nationally
Changes to local infrastructure significantly influence an area's performance. AreaSearch has identified 19 projects that may impact the area. Key projects include Queen Victoria Market Precinct Renewal, Gurrowa Place - QVM Southern Precinct, Queens Place, and Level Crossing Removal Project. The following list details those likely to be most relevant.
Professional plan users can use the search below to filter and access additional projects.
INFRASTRUCTURE SEARCH
Denotes AI-based impression for illustrative purposes only, not to be taken as definitive under any circumstances. Please follow links and conduct other investigations from the project's source for actual imagery. Developers and project owners wishing us to use original imagery please Contact Us and we will do so.
Frequently Asked Questions - Infrastructure
Errol Street Private Hospital
A 10-story private hospital and healthcare facility located in the Parkville Biomedical Precinct. The development features 223 overnight beds, 10 ICU rooms, 7 operating theatres, and 3 basement levels. The project was fast-tracked via the Victorian Government Development Facilitation Program to enhance specialized medical services including imaging and pathology near existing major public hospitals.
Metro Tunnel Project
The Metro Tunnel is a city-shaping 9km twin-tunnel underground rail project featuring five new stations: Arden, Parkville, State Library, Town Hall, and Anzac. The project enables a new end-to-end rail line from Sunbury to Cranbourne/Pakenham, utilizing High Capacity Signalling, platform screen doors, and new High Capacity Metro Trains to support turn-up-and-go services every 2-3 minutes during peak periods. While limited passenger services began on 30 November 2025 as part of a 'Summer Start' program, the project reached full operational integration on 1 February 2026. This 'Big Switch' introduced over 1,000 extra weekly services and a network-wide timetable overhaul, significantly increasing capacity across Melbourne's metropolitan rail network.
Australian Institute for Infectious Disease (AIID)
A $650 million state-of-the-art 15-storey research facility in the Melbourne Biomedical Precinct designed by Wardle. It will house 1,000 researchers and feature high-containment PC3 laboratories, a human infection challenge unit, robotic biobanking, and the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics. The project is a collaboration between the University of Melbourne, Doherty Institute, and Burnet Institute, supported by a $400 million Victorian Government contribution to enhance Australia's sovereign pandemic response.
Level Crossing Removal Project
Victorian Government program to remove 110 dangerous and congested level crossings across metropolitan Melbourne by 2030. The program has removed 88 crossings to date, is rebuilding or upgrading stations and rail infrastructure, and is creating new public open space while improving safety, reducing congestion and making train services more reliable.
Ian Potter State Theatre Refurbishment
A major refurbishment of the heritage-listed State Theatre at Arts Centre Melbourne, renamed the Ian Potter State Theatre following a philanthropic donation from the Ian Potter Foundation. The first significant upgrade since the venue opened in 1984, the works expand the Theatres Building footprint by 16 percent and include new lifts and accessible seating across all three levels, full replacement of seating, refreshed interiors honouring John Truscott's original design, improved acoustics, new state-of-the-art lighting, sound and broadcast technology, and upgraded heating, cooling and fire protection systems. The project also delivers a doubled-size loading dock, a new flexible rehearsal space the same size as the State Theatre stage with an adjoining function room, a new accessible stage door, two new hospitality outlets opening onto the Laak Boorndap urban garden, and four new wheelchair accessible amenities plus two all-gender amenities in the foyers. Construction commenced in March 2024 with Lendlease as principal contractor and NH Architects leading the design. The theatre is now scheduled to reopen in October 2026, six months ahead of the original schedule, as the first completed milestone of the wider 1.7 billion dollar Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation. My Fair Lady will be the first major musical to perform in the refurbished venue from November 2026, with The Australian Ballet and Opera Australia returning as resident companies.
Gurrowa Place - QVM Southern Precinct
Gurrowa Place is a 1.7 billion dollar mixed-use urban renewal project delivered by Lendlease in partnership with the City of Melbourne and Scape. Located in the Queen Victoria Market Southern Precinct, the development features three distinct towers: a 28-level next-generation office building, a build-to-rent tower with approximately 560 units (including affordable housing), and a dedicated student accommodation tower with 1,100 beds. The project integrates the 1.8-hectare Market Square public park, the restoration of the heritage Franklin Street Stores into a retail and dining hub, and a new underground car park for market visitors.
Queen Victoria Market Precinct Renewal
A transformative multi-stage program to modernize Australia's largest 19th-century market. The flagship southern precinct, Gurrowa Place, is a $1.7 billion mixed-use development delivered by Lendlease and Scape. It features three towers providing build-to-rent apartments, student accommodation, and affordable housing. Key elements include the 1.8-hectare Market Square public park replacing the current open-air car park, restoration of the heritage Franklin Street Stores into retail and hospitality, and a new 220-space basement car park. Heritage shed restorations and core trader facilities were largely completed by 2024, with site works for the southern towers commencing in 2026.
Victoria University City Campus - Law Building
Victoria University's heritage law campus housed in the restored former Public Records Office building at 295 Queen Street. Part of ISPT's $385 million City Campus development project completed in 2022, featuring the School of Law, law library, moot courts, and the Sir Zelman Cowen Centre. The heritage-listed building provides specialized legal education facilities in Melbourne's CBD legal precinct.
Employment
Employment conditions in Melbourne CBD - North demonstrate exceptional strength compared to most Australian markets
Melbourne CBD - North has an educated workforce with strong professional services representation. Its unemployment rate was 2.7% in the past year, with estimated employment growth of 5.0%. As of December 2025, there were 16,913 residents employed, with an unemployment rate of 2.0%, below Greater Melbourne's 4.8%.
Workforce participation was 73.1%, compared to Greater Melbourne's 69.9%. Census responses showed 32.8% worked from home, considering Covid-19 lockdown impacts. Key industries were accommodation & food, professional & technical, and retail trade. Accommodation & food had a particularly strong presence with an employment share of 3.8 times the regional level, while construction had limited presence at 2.9%.
There were 1.6 workers for every resident, indicating it functions as an employment hub attracting workers from surrounding areas. Between December 2024 and December 2025, employment levels increased by 5.0% and labour force grew by 4.9%, leaving unemployment broadly flat. This contrasted with Greater Melbourne where employment rose by 2.4%, labour force grew by 2.8%, and unemployment rose by 0.3 percentage points. Jobs and Skills Australia's national employment forecasts from May-25 project national employment growth of 6.6% over five years and 13.7% over ten years, with differing rates across industry sectors. Applying these projections to Melbourne CBD - North's employment mix suggests local employment should increase by 6.8% over five years and 13.6% over ten years, though this is a simple weighting extrapolation for illustrative purposes and does not account for localised population projections.
Frequently Asked Questions - Employment
Income
Income metrics place the area in the bottom 10% of locations nationally according to AreaSearch analysis
AreaSearch reports that based on its aggregation of postcode level ATO data released for financial year 2023, Melbourne CBD - North SA2 had a median taxpayer income of $29,650 and an average income of $46,562. These figures are below the national averages of $57,688 and $75,164 respectively for Greater Melbourne. Considering Wage Price Index growth of 9.62% since financial year 2023, current estimates suggest a median income of approximately $32,502 and an average income of $51,041 as of March 2026. According to the 2021 Census, household, family, and personal incomes in Melbourne CBD - North fall between the 6th and 17th percentiles nationally. The largest income segment comprises 26.5% earning $800-$1,499 weekly (6,438 residents), differing from broader area patterns where $1,500-$2,999 dominates with 32.8%. Housing affordability pressures are severe, with only 70.0% of income remaining after housing costs, ranking at the 3rd percentile nationally. The area's SEIFA income ranking places it in the 7th decile.
Frequently Asked Questions - Income
Housing
Melbourne CBD - North features a more urban dwelling mix with significant apartment living, with a higher proportion of rental properties than the broader region
Dwelling structure in Melbourne CBD - North, as per the latest Census, consisted of 0.0% houses and 100.0% other dwellings (semi-detached, apartments, 'other' dwellings), contrasting with Melbourne metro's 67.9% houses and 32.1% other dwellings. Home ownership in Melbourne CBD - North stood at 10.4%, with mortgaged dwellings at 9.3% and rented ones at 80.3%. The median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,725, lower than the Melbourne metro average of $2,000. Median weekly rent in the area was $361, compared to Melbourne metro's $390. Nationally, Melbourne CBD - North's mortgage repayments were below the Australian average of $1,863, and rents were less than the national figure of $375.
Frequently Asked Questions - Housing
Household Composition
Melbourne CBD - North features high concentrations of group households and lone person households, with a lower-than-average median household size
Family households constitute 32.0% of all households, including 3.4% couples with children, 21.9% couples without children, and 2.6% single parent families. Non-family households comprise the remaining 68.0%, with lone person households at 47.7% and group households comprising 20.2%. The median household size is 1.7 people, which is smaller than the Greater Melbourne average of 2.6.
Frequently Asked Questions - Households
Local Schools & Education
Educational attainment in Melbourne CBD - North aligns closely with national averages, showing typical qualification patterns and performance metrics
Educational attainment in Melbourne CBD - North shows significant surpassing of broader benchmarks. As of the latest data, 59.4% of residents aged 15 years and above hold university qualifications, compared to Australia's national average of 30.4% and Victoria's state average of 33.4%. This substantial educational advantage positions the area strongly for knowledge-based opportunities. Bachelor degrees are the most prevalent at 37.5%, followed by postgraduate qualifications at 19.9% and graduate diplomas at 2.0%.
Vocational pathways account for 16.3% of qualifications among those aged 15 years and above, with advanced diplomas making up 10.4% and certificates accounting for 5.9%. Educational participation is notably high in the area, with 53.5% of residents currently enrolled in formal education. This includes 36.2% in tertiary education, 1.2% in secondary education, and 1.1% pursuing primary education.
Frequently Asked Questions - Education
Schools Detail
Nearby Services & Amenities
Transport
Transport servicing is high compared to other areas nationally based on assessment of service frequency, route connectivity and accessibility
Public transport analysis indicates 34 active stops operating within Melbourne CBD - North. These include a mix of light rail and bus services, with 66 individual routes providing a total of 37,911 weekly passenger trips. Transport accessibility is rated excellent, with residents typically located 95 meters from the nearest stop. Most residents commute outward due to its residential nature. Walking is common at 28%, while train usage stands at 25%. Vehicle ownership averages 0.0 per dwelling, below regional average.
As of the 2021 Census, 32.8% of residents work from home, potentially influenced by COVID-19 conditions. Service frequency across all routes averages 5,415 trips daily, equating to approximately 1,115 weekly trips per stop.
Frequently Asked Questions - Transport
Transport Stops Detail
Health
Melbourne CBD - North's residents boast exceedingly positive health performance metrics with very low prevalence of common health conditions across all age groups
Melbourne CBD - North shows excellent health outcomes according to AreaSearch's assessment. Mortality rates and chronic condition prevalence are very low across all age groups. Private health cover is held by approximately 46% of the total population (~11,249 people), lower than Greater Melbourne's 56.7% and the national average of 55.7%.
Mental health issues affect 5.8% of residents, while asthma impacts 4.3%. 88.1% report being completely clear of medical ailments, higher than Greater Melbourne's 72.6%. The area has 2.7% (643 people) aged 65 and over, lower than Greater Melbourne's 15.0%. Seniors' health outcomes align with the general population, ranking nationally in line with them.
Frequently Asked Questions - Health
Cultural Diversity
Melbourne CBD - North is among the most culturally diverse areas in the country based on AreaSearch assessment of a range of language and cultural background related metrics
Melbourne CBD - North has a population where 75.1% speak a language other than English at home, with 82.4% born overseas. Christianity is the predominant religion, comprising 20.7%. Buddhism's representation stands at 13.8%, significantly higher than Greater Melbourne's average of 4.2%.
The top three ancestry groups are Chinese (43.5%), Other (18.4%), and English (8.5%). Notably, Korean (2.8%) Vietnamese (3.1%), and Indian (4.9%) ethnicities have a higher representation compared to regional averages.
Frequently Asked Questions - Diversity
Age
Melbourne CBD - North hosts a very young demographic, ranking in the bottom 10% of areas nationwide
Melbourne CBD - North's median age at 25 years is significantly below the Greater Melbourne average of 37 and the national average of 38. It has a higher concentration of residents aged 25-34 (42.7%) compared to Greater Melbourne but fewer residents aged 5-14 (1.1%). This 25-34 concentration is well above the national average of 14.6%. According to the Census conducted on August 10, 2021, the population aged 25 to 34 grew from 39.9% to 42.7%, while the 15 to 24 age cohort declined from 38.1% to 36.9%. Population forecasts for 2041 indicate significant demographic changes for Melbourne CBD - North, with the 25 to 34 age group projected to expand by 4,570 people (44%) from 10,369 to 14,940.