Surrey Hills (East) - Mont Albert

An assessment of population growth drivers in Surrey Hills (East) - Mont Albert reveals an overall ranking slightly below national averages considering recent, and medium term trends

Surrey Hills (East) - Mont Albert's population is around 10,805 as of Nov 2025. This reflects an increase of 639 people since the 2021 Census, which reported a population of 10,166 people. The change is inferred from the estimated resident population of 10,765 from the ABS as of June 2024 and an additional 29 validated new addresses since the Census date. This level of population equates to a density ratio of 3,244 persons per square kilometer. Surrey Hills (East) - Mont Albert's growth rate of 6.3% since census positions it within 2.0 percentage points of the SA4 region's growth rate of 8.3%. Population growth for the area was primarily driven by overseas migration, contributing approximately 96.2% of overall population gains during recent periods.

AreaSearch is adopting 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 utilises the VIC State Government's Regional/LGA projections released in 2023, with adjustments made employing a method of weighted aggregation of population growth from LGA to SA2 levels. Growth rates by age group are applied across all areas for years 2032 to 2041. Based on the latest annual ERP population numbers, the area is expected to expand by 1,217 persons to 2041, reflecting a gain of 10.9% in total over the 17-year period.

AreaSearch assessment of residential development drivers sees a low level of activity in Surrey Hills (East) - Mont Albert, placing the area among the bottom 25% of areas assessed nationally

Surrey Hills East Mont Albert has granted approximately 32 residential property approvals annually. Over the past five financial years, from FY21 to FY25, a total of 163 homes were approved, with an additional 13 approved in FY26 so far. The average population growth per dwelling built over these years is 0.1 people annually.

New construction has been matching or outpacing demand, offering buyers more options and enabling population growth that could exceed current expectations. The average expected construction cost value of new properties is $586,000, indicating a focus on the premium segment with upmarket properties. In FY26, $7.5 million in commercial development approvals have been recorded, reflecting the area's primarily residential nature. Compared to Greater Melbourne, Surrey Hills East Mont Albert has significantly less development activity, at 64.0% below the regional average per person. This scarcity typically strengthens demand and prices for existing properties.

The new development mix consists of 63.0% detached dwellings and 37.0% medium and high-density housing, with a growing mix of townhouses and apartments providing options across different price points. The area has around 568 people per approval, indicating a mature, established area. According to the latest AreaSearch quarterly estimate, Surrey Hills East Mont Albert is projected to add 1,177 residents by 2041. Building activity is keeping pace with growth projections, though buyers may experience heightened competition as the population grows.

Surrey Hills (East) - Mont Albert has strong levels of nearby infrastructure activity, ranking in the top 40% nationally

Changes to local infrastructure significantly influence an area's performance. AreaSearch has identified 32 projects likely to impact the area. Notable ones include Tunstall Village, Whitehorse Activity Centres Program, Havenwood Townhouses, and Wembley Hill Townhomes. The following details those expected to be most relevant.

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

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Employment conditions in Surrey Hills (East) - Mont Albert demonstrate strong performance, ranking among the top 35% of areas assessed nationally

Surrey Hills East - Mont Albert has a highly educated workforce with strong representation in professional services. Its unemployment rate was 2.9% as of September 2025, which is below Greater Melbourne's rate of 4.7%.

Employment growth over the past year was estimated at 2.8%. As of September 2025, 6300 residents were employed with an unemployment rate of 1.8%, similar to Greater Melbourne's workforce participation rate of 64.1%. Key industries include health care & social assistance, professional & technical services, and education & training. The area has a notable concentration in professional & technical jobs, at 1.6 times the regional average, but construction employment is limited at 5.7% compared to the regional average of 9.7%.

Employment opportunities locally may be limited as indicated by the Census working population count versus resident population. In the 12 months ending September 2025, employment increased by 2.8%, labour force grew by 2.5%, and unemployment fell by 0.3 percentage points. Greater Melbourne recorded employment growth of 3.0% over the same period. State-level data as of 25-Nov-25 shows Victoria's employment grew by 1.13% year-on-year, adding 41,950 jobs, with an unemployment rate of 4.7%. National employment forecasts from Jobs and Skills Australia project national employment growth at 6.6% over five years and 13.7% over ten years. Applying these projections to Surrey Hills East - Mont Albert's employment mix suggests local employment should increase by 7.4% over five years and 14.9% over ten years, though this is a simple extrapolation for illustrative purposes and does not account for localised population projections.

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

AreaSearch's latest postcode level ATO data for financial year 2022 shows that income in Surrey Hills (East) - Mont Albert SA2 is exceptionally high nationally. The median income is assessed at $62,708 while the average income stands at $105,164. This contrasts with Greater Melbourne's figures of a median income of $54,892 and an average income of $73,761. Based on Wage Price Index growth of 12.16% since financial year 2022, current estimates would be approximately $70,333 (median) and $117,952 (average) as of September 2025. Census 2021 income data shows household, family and personal incomes all rank highly in Surrey Hills (East) - Mont Albert, between the 84th and 87th percentiles nationally. Income analysis reveals that the $4000+ earnings band captures 28.8% of the community (3,111 individuals), differing from patterns across the surrounding region where $1,500 - 2,999 dominates with 32.8%. Economic strength is evident through 41.0% of households achieving high weekly earnings exceeding $3,000, supporting elevated consumer spending. After housing costs, residents retain 86.7% of income, reflecting strong purchasing power and the area's SEIFA income ranking places it in the 10th decile.

Surrey Hills (East) - Mont Albert displays a diverse mix of dwelling types, with above-average rates of outright home ownership

The dwelling structure in Surrey Hills (East) - Mont Albert, as per the latest Census, consisted of 60.9% houses and 39.1% other dwellings such as semi-detached homes, apartments, and 'other' dwellings. Comparatively, Melbourne metro had 60.2% houses and 39.8% other dwellings. Home ownership in Surrey Hills (East) - Mont Albert stood at 41.1%, with mortgaged dwellings at 33.0% and rented ones at 25.9%. The median monthly mortgage repayment in the area was $2,600, higher than Melbourne metro's average of $2,300. The median weekly rent figure for Surrey Hills (East) - Mont Albert was $462, compared to Melbourne metro's $412. Nationally, mortgage repayments were significantly higher at $1,863 and rents substantially above the national figure of $375.

Surrey Hills (East) - Mont Albert has a typical household mix, with a fairly typical median household size

Family households account for 73.1% of all households, consisting of 36.0% couples with children, 27.2% couples without children, and 8.5% single parent families. Non-family households comprise the remaining 26.9%, with lone person households at 23.8% and group households making up 3.2%. The median household size is 2.5 people, which aligns with the Greater Melbourne average.

Surrey Hills (East) - Mont Albert demonstrates exceptional educational outcomes, ranking among the top 5% of areas nationally based on AreaSearch's comprehensive analysis of qualification and performance metrics

Educational attainment in Surrey Hills (East) - Mont Albert shows significant surpassing of broader benchmarks. Among residents aged 15+, 55.7% hold university qualifications compared to Australia's national average of 30.4% and Victoria's state average of 33.4%. This educational advantage is reflected in the area's strong position for knowledge-based opportunities. Bachelor degrees are the most common at 33.6%, followed by postgraduate qualifications (16.5%) and graduate diplomas (5.6%).

Vocational pathways account for 18.5% of qualifications among those aged 15+, with advanced diplomas making up 10.5% and certificates 8.0%. Educational participation is notably high, with 30.8% of residents currently enrolled in formal education. This includes 9.1% in tertiary education, 8.4% in primary education, and 8.3% pursuing secondary education.

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

Public transport analysis shows 34 active transport stops operating within Surrey Hills (East) - Mont Albert. These stops offer a mix of train, light rail, and bus services. They are serviced by 8 individual routes, collectively providing 3,598 weekly passenger trips.

Transport accessibility is rated as good, with residents typically located 243 meters from the nearest transport stop. Service frequency averages 514 trips per day across all routes, equating to approximately 105 weekly trips per individual stop.

Surrey Hills (East) - Mont Albert's residents are extremely healthy with very low prevalence of common health conditions across all age groups

Analysis of health metrics shows strong performance throughout Surrey Hills (East) - Mont Albert with very low prevalence of common health conditions across all age groups. The rate of private health cover is exceptionally high at approximately 74% of the total population, which consists of 7,963 people. This compares to 56.0% across Greater Melbourne and 55.3% nationally.

The most common medical conditions in the area are asthma and mental health issues, impacting 7.1 and 7.0% of residents respectively, while 73.0% of residents declare themselves as completely clear of medical ailments compared to 73.9% across Greater Melbourne. The area has 20.2% of residents aged 65 and over, which consists of 2,188 people, higher than the 17.7% in Greater Melbourne. Health outcomes among seniors are particularly strong, performing even better than the general population in health metrics.

The level of cultural diversity witnessed in Surrey Hills (East) - Mont Albert was found to be above average when compared nationally for a number of language and cultural background related metrics

Surrey Hills East-Mont Albert has a higher cultural diversity than most local areas, with 30.8% of its residents born overseas and 25.0% speaking languages other than English at home. Christianity is the predominant religion in Surrey Hills East-Mont Albert, comprising 44.6% of the population. However, Judaism shows an overrepresentation, making up 0.2% compared to the same percentage across Greater Melbourne.

The top three ancestry groups are English (24.5%), Australian (19.6%), and Chinese (13.3%). Notably, Sri Lankan, Greek, and Scottish ethnicities have higher representations than regional averages: Sri Lankan at 0.6% vs 0.8%, Greek at 1.8% vs 3.0%, and Scottish at 8.4% vs 5.8%.

Surrey Hills (East) - Mont Albert's median age exceeds the national pattern

The median age in Surrey Hills (East) - Mont Albert is 42 years, significantly higher than Greater Melbourne's average of 37 years and Australia's national average of 38 years. The 65-74 age group constitutes 10.3% of the population, compared to a lower prevalence of the 25-34 cohort at 11.6%. Post-2021 Census data shows the 75 to 84 age group grew from 5.3% to 7.3%, while the 15 to 24 cohort increased from 13.3% to 14.8%. Conversely, the 65 to 74 cohort declined from 11.2% to 10.3%. Population forecasts for 2041 indicate substantial demographic changes, with the 75 to 84 age group expected to grow by 43%, reaching 1,123 people from 785. Notably, the combined 65+ age groups will account for 53% of total population growth, reflecting the area's aging demographic profile. In contrast, the 0 to 4 and 35 to 44 cohorts are expected to experience population declines.