Melbourne · Urban Area
How much of daily life sits within a walk of home — a transparent 0–10 walkability score and the everyday destinations you can reach on foot: shops, public transport, schools, parks and health services, plus the streets and terrain in between.
Health services are the hardest local amenity to reach in Melbourne, though the area remains very walkable overall. Most residents can easily access a wide range of services on foot, with 83.5% of homes sitting within a 15-minute walk of essential needs.
All urban area areas, 2021. The marker is Melbourne — very walkable of areas.
Share of homes (G-NAF addresses) in Melbourne by walking time to the nearest amenity of each type, on an elevation-aware pedestrian network. How we calculate this →
The overall walkability score and how much of daily life is a short walk away.
The area is considered very walkable with a score of 7.2, which is a little above the Victorian figure of 6.4. On average, residents have 6.7 different types of amenities within a 15-minute walk, slightly more than the state average of 6.0.
7.2
Very walkable of urban area areas.
A 0–10 score for how much of daily life sits within an easy walk of the average home — weighing how close groceries, public transport, cafés, parks, health services, schools, culture and everyday services are, and how many of each. Walking times are measured on an elevation-aware pedestrian network, so hills count against reach. The methodology page describes how the score is put together.
6.7
Higher than 99% of urban area areas.
How many of the eight everyday amenity types — groceries, food & drink, health, schools, parks, culture, everyday services and public transport — the average home can reach on foot within 15 minutes, out of 8.
83.5%
Higher than 98% of urban area areas.
Share of local homes that can reach at least five of the eight everyday amenity types within a 15-minute walk — the "15-minute city" test. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
How many homes can walk to groceries, transport, schools, parks and health services.
Access to essentials is well above the state average, particularly for parks (97.9% of homes) and public transport (91.7%). While 82.9% can walk to groceries in 15 minutes, health services are the least accessible, with 73.9% of homes within a 15-minute walk.
82.9%
Higher than 99% of urban area areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of groceries or everyday shopping. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
91.7%
Higher than 84% of urban area areas.
Share of local homes within a 10-minute walk of a public-transport stop — bus, train, tram or ferry. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
88.0%
Higher than 99% of urban area areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of a school. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
97.9%
Higher than 97% of urban area areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of a park or area of open space. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
73.9%
Higher than 99% of urban area areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of health services such as a GP, pharmacy or hospital. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
Amenity density, how well the streets connect, and how hilly the walk is.
The terrain slope is 4.7%, which is about the same as across Victoria. There are 105 intersections per square kilometre, and the number of walkable amenities per 1,000 residents is a little below the Victorian figure.
13.9
Lower than 57% of urban area areas.
Walkable amenities — shops, cafés, parks, health services, schools, cultural and community places, everyday services and public-transport stops — per 1,000 residents. Measures how much is around, apart from how far it is to walk there.
105
Higher than 99% of urban area areas.
Walkable street intersections per square kilometre. Denser, better-connected street grids give more direct routes on foot than winding, cul-de-sac layouts.
4.7%
Lower than 58% of urban area areas.
Average terrain slope across the area, as a percent grade. Steeper ground shortens how far people will walk; it is already folded into the walkability score through the elevation-aware pedestrian network, and is shown here on its own for context.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Walkability in Melbourne [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/sua/2011/melbourne/topic/walkability
