Melton West

Children under 15 make up 25.7% of the population, which is well above the national figure. This trend helps explain why the area is noticeably younger than Victoria and Australia, while the proportion of seniors is well below the state average.

About 28.8% of residents were born overseas, a figure that has risen nearly 10 percentage points since 2011. While Australian and English are the most common ancestries, there is a notable Indian community.

Language diversity has grown quickly, with 27.2% of people using a language other than English at home—up 13 points since 2011. This is well above the national figure, and includes speakers of Punjabi and Hindi.

Religious affiliation is more common here than in most similar areas, with 33.3% of people reporting no religion, which is well below the Victoria and Australia figures.

Qualifications are lower than the state average, with only 14.1% of adults holding a bachelor degree or higher. However, the proportion of people who completed Year 12 rose 11 points since 2011 to reach 51.8%.

Typical weekly household income is $1,621, which is about the same as the national figure. However, the area has a lower proportion of high earners, with only 13.6% of households earning $3,000 or more a week.

About 27.1% of residents have a long-term health condition, which is around the middle for similar areas. People needing help with daily activities are slightly more common here than in the state or nation.

Unpaid care for children is very common, with 33.1% of people providing this support—well above the national figure. Conversely, volunteering is among the lowest at this level and has fallen since 2011.

The First Nations community is notably young, with a typical age of 20, which is much lower than the state average. Unemployment in this group is 15.4%, well above the national rate.

Homes are larger than usual, with 3.0 people per household and a high rate of one-parent families at 20.4%. This is well above the national figure and consistent with the high number of children in the area.

Detached houses are the norm for 93.8% of residents, and 94.8% of homes have three or more bedrooms. Outright home ownership is much lower than the state average at 21.7%.

Most people rely on cars, with 62.7% of workers driving to work and very few using public transport for their commute. However, 94.9% of homes are within a 10-minute walk of a transit stop.

The area is quite mobile, with 42.8% of residents having moved house in the last five years. This is a little above the national figure.

The unemployment rate is 7.1%, which is a little above the state and national figures. Common industries for local workers include construction, retail trade, and health care.

Overall advantage is low, with the area ranking smaller than about 80% of similar places. This is reflected in lower scores for education and job skills.

The local climate is slightly cooler than the state average, with an average maximum temperature of 19.8 degrees.

The area is mostly car-dependent, as very few homes are within a 15-minute walk of groceries or health services. While parks and schools are easy to reach on foot, overall walkability is far below the state average.