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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Bells Beach is a coastal suburb in Victoria, Australia, with a population of approximately 151, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 88 km from the Melbourne CBD, Bells Beach is a coastal area in Victoria. The median household income is $135,200 per year.
Above-average earnings in Bells Beach support sustained property values. Seaside positioning attracts both owner-occupiers and holiday rental demand.
Official Australia Post postcode for Bells Beach. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
Australia Post Postcode Finder →Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Weekly median rent for occupied homes. Live rental data integration coming soon.
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Estimated 1 school within or near this suburb.
Find schools near Bells Beach on My School →Estimated 1 park and green spaces near this suburb.
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Bells Beach is a smaller community of 151 — about 2% of the Victoria suburb median (7,416) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Median household income of $135,200/year runs 42% above the Victoria suburb median of $95,160, indicating strong purchasing power and the type of demographic profile that tends to sustain premium property prices through market cycles. Rent of $525/week (88% coverage of the $2,600/month median mortgage) leaves a gap of roughly $325/month that a typical investor bridges with negative gearing, depreciation and capital growth. Bells Beach is 88 km from Melbourne, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand. Only 61% of dwellings are separate houses (vs 78% state median), so this is a unit-heavy market where body-corporate decisions and strata supply meaningfully shape investor returns.
How Bells Beach stacks up against the median of all Victoria suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Bells Beach sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Bells Beach | VIC median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 151 | 7,416 | -98% |
| Median household income | $135,200/yr | $95,160/yr | +42% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $525 | $380 | +38% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $2,600 | $1,950 | +33% |
| Distance to CBD | 88 km | 32 km | +175% |
| Separate houses | 61% | 78% | -17pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Bells Beach — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 151 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Victoria market over full cycles.
Strong rental coverage: $525/week (~$2,275/month) covers 88% of the $2,600/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $325/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
Only 61% of dwellings are separate houses (vs 78% VIC median) — this is a unit and townhouse market, where cosmetic flips struggle against body-corporate restrictions, thinner after-reno uplift and competing new supply.
Run the numbers on a Bells Beach property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Bells Beach are modest for 2026 — incomes 42% above the VIC median of $95,160 and a population of 151 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~88% of the typical mortgage ($2,275/month rent vs $2,600/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 56/100 places Bells Beach in the mid tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is balanced heading into the second half of 2026.
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Bells Beach scores 56/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a moderate rating. That score is driven by a population of 151, median household income of $135,200/year and median weekly rent of $525. Whether it fits your portfolio depends on whether you are targeting cash flow, capital growth, or a value-add renovation — all three are scored with suburb-specific numbers elsewhere on this page.
The main demand drivers in Bells Beach are an above-state-median household income of $135,200/year, a dwelling mix that is 61% separate houses, roughly 1 schools and 1 parks within the catchment. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand and are the factors we weight most heavily in the suburb's investment score.
Bells Beach has a usual resident population of approximately 151, compared with a Victoria suburb median of 7,416 — placing it in the lower half of the state's suburbs by size. Population is the clearest proxy for market depth: more residents mean more transactions and typically a shorter average days-on-market on resale.
Bells Beach sits 88 km straight-line from the Melbourne CBD. This is a regional market where CBD distance is only indicative — local industry diversity and commute alternatives matter more.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $525 in Bells Beach, equating to approximately $27,300/year in gross rental income (state median $380/week). Market rents have typically drifted above the recorded figure — verify against current listings on realestate.com.au and Domain before making an offer.
The median monthly mortgage repayment in Bells Beach is $2,600, or approximately $31,200/year (vs $1,950/month state median). Stress-test your own borrowing at rates 1–2 percentage points above today's to make sure you can still service the loan through an RBA tightening cycle.
A median weekly rent of $525 works out to $2,275/month, covering 88% of the median mortgage repayment of $2,600/month. That leaves a $325/month shortfall (around $3,900/year before tax benefits), so a typical owner-occupier-priced property here is negatively geared. Actual cash flow depends on your deposit, loan terms, ownership costs and marginal tax rate — run the full numbers in our rental yield calculator.
The main risks are a thin buyer pool (151 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $2,600 median mortgage, the broader Victoria market cycle. Each of these is covered in the Risk Factors section above with suburb-specific numbers rather than generic warnings.
Every number on this page comes from the ABS 2021 Census of Population and Housing, Australia Post postcode reference data, and OpenStreetMap amenity tiles. The investment score, strategy verdicts, and comparison table are computed deterministically from those inputs — no opinion, no estimation. See our full methodology and the data sources and licences for the formulas we use.