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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Briar Hill is a well-established middle-ring suburb of Melbourne, Australia, with a population of approximately 3,220, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 18 km from the Melbourne CBD, Briar Hill is a middle ring area in Victoria. The median household income is $100,620 per year.
Above-average earnings in Briar Hill support sustained property values.
Official Australia Post postcode for Briar Hill. 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 Briar Hill 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.
Briar Hill is a smaller community of 3,220 — about 43% of the Victoria suburb median (7,416) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Households here earn $100,620/year on average — 6% above the VIC suburb median of $95,160 — a modest premium that supports resilient owner-occupier demand. Rent of $411/week (82% coverage of the $2,167/month median mortgage) leaves a gap of roughly $386/month that a typical investor bridges with negative gearing, depreciation and capital growth. 18 km from Melbourne places Briar Hill in the middle commuter belt, close enough for daily trips by car or rail but at a materially lower price point than inner suburbs.
This suburb suits long-term investors looking for a balance of rental yield and capital growth. Schools and transport underpin family demand. Local rents consume roughly 21% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How Briar Hill stacks up against the median of all Victoria suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Briar Hill sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Briar Hill | VIC median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 3,220 | 7,416 | -57% |
| Median household income | $100,620/yr | $95,160/yr | +6% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $411 | $380 | +8% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $2,167 | $1,950 | +11% |
| Distance to CBD | 18 km | 32 km | -44% |
| Separate houses | 81% | 78% | +3pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Briar Hill — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Moderate buy-and-hold potential: Briar Hill's 3,220-person market and $100,620 median household income work for investors who are selective on street location and property quality rather than counting on a suburb-wide rerating.
Moderate rental coverage: rent of $411/week covers 82% of a $2,167/month mortgage, leaving a $386/month gap that an investor bridges with equity, depreciation and tax benefits.
With 81% houses in a 3,220-person market, renovation margins depend on individual street and aspect rather than any suburb-wide story — do comparable-sales analysis before committing capital.
Run the numbers on a Briar Hill property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Briar Hill are modest for 2026 — incomes 6% above the VIC median of $95,160 and a population of 3,220 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~82% of the typical mortgage ($1,781/month rent vs $2,167/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 74/100 places Briar Hill in the upper-middle tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is constructive heading into the second half of 2026.
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Briar Hill scores 74/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a good rating. That score is driven by a population of 3,220, median household income of $100,620/year and median weekly rent of $411. 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 Briar Hill are proximity to Melbourne (18 km), an above-state-median household income of $100,620/year, a dwelling mix that is 81% 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.
Briar Hill has a usual resident population of approximately 3,220, 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.
Briar Hill sits 18 km straight-line from the Melbourne CBD. This is comfortable commuter territory, with reasonable rail and road access to the city.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $411 in Briar Hill, equating to approximately $21,372/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 Briar Hill is $2,167, or approximately $26,004/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 $411 works out to $1,781/month, covering 82% of the median mortgage repayment of $2,167/month. That leaves a $386/month shortfall (around $4,632/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 (3,220 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $2,167 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.