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Suburb Insights · VIC 3186

Brighton, VIC 3186 Property Profile

ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026

Suburb Overview

Brighton is an outer-metropolitan suburb of Melbourne, Australia, with a population of approximately 23,252, making it a sizeable community. Located approximately 11 km from the Melbourne CBD, Brighton is a outer metro area in Victoria. The median household income is $140,920 per year.

Investment Score

80 / 100 Good

Strong household incomes in Brighton underpin solid property demand. Close CBD access strengthens tenant appeal and resale value.

Location

Melbourne
Brighton
Victoria · 3186
11 km from Melbourne CBD
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Key Indicators

Postcode
3186

Official Australia Post postcode for Brighton. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.

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Population
23,252

Usual resident population at the most recent census.

Median weekly rent
$600/wk

Weekly median rent for occupied homes. Live rental data integration coming soon.

Median household income
$140,920/yr

Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.

Distance to CBD
11 km

Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.

Lifestyle & Amenities

Schools nearby
6

Estimated 6 schools within or near this suburb.

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Parks & green spaces
9

Estimated 9 parks and green spaces near this suburb.

Median monthly mortgage
$3,467/mo

Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.

Home type
50% houses

Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.

Why People Like Living in Brighton

Who Brighton Suits

👨‍👩‍👧FamiliesSchool count or dwelling mix is lighter here.
📊InvestorsRental coverage trails the state average.
🏡First-home buyersPrices sit above the Victoria median — stretch goal.
💼ProfessionalsAround 11 km from the CBD with good access.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Rent sits within an affordable share of local incomes, supporting tenant demand.
  • Access to several schools nearby (around 6).
  • Local parks and reserves (around 9) add to liveability.
  • Solid transport links into employment hubs.

Cons

  • Median mortgage sits above the Victoria state median — entry costs are stretched.
  • Traffic can build during peak hours, especially on arterial roads.

Investment Insight

With 23,252 residents, Brighton is one of Victoria's more populous suburbs — roughly 3.1× the state median of 7,416 — giving it a deep buyer and tenant pool that typically supports higher transaction volumes and shorter average days on market. Median household income of $140,920/year runs 48% 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 $600/week (75% coverage of the $3,467/month median mortgage) leaves a gap of roughly $867/month that a typical investor bridges with negative gearing, depreciation and capital growth. 11 km from Melbourne places Brighton in the middle commuter belt, close enough for daily trips by car or rail but at a materially lower price point than inner suburbs. Only 50% 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.

Investment Tip

This suburb suits long-term investors due to steady population growth and affordable entry prices. Look for established streets close to schools and shops rather than raw new-estate land. Local rents consume roughly 22% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.

Brighton vs Victoria Median

How Brighton stacks up against the median of all Victoria suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Brighton sits above the state median; negative means below.

MetricBrightonVIC medianΔ vs state
Population23,2527,416+214%
Median household income$140,920/yr$95,160/yr+48%
Median rent (weekly)$600$380+58%
Median mortgage (monthly)$3,467$1,950+78%
Distance to CBD11 km32 km-66%
Separate houses50%78%-28pp

Investor Checklist

Pre-inspection briefing for Brighton — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.

Investment Strategy

Buy & Hold

Strong buy-and-hold fundamentals: household incomes run 48% above the Victoria suburb median ($140,920 vs $95,160), and the 11 km CBD distance keeps this suburb in the primary demand zone. In Victoria, suburbs with this profile have historically clustered in the upper tercile of 10-year capital growth.

⚠️
Rental Yield

Moderate rental coverage: rent of $600/week covers 75% of a $3,467/month mortgage, leaving a $867/month gap that an investor bridges with equity, depreciation and tax benefits.

Renovation / Flip

Only 50% 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.

Risk Factors

Run the numbers on a Brighton property

Full Property Analysis

30-year projections for Brighton

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2026 Outlook

Growth: Strong Rental Demand: Strong Investor Sentiment: Strong

Brighton enters 2026 with a demographic tailwind — household incomes 48% above the Victoria suburb median of $95,160 and a population of 23,252 give it the depth and purchasing power to outperform the wider VIC market over the next 12–18 months. Rental coverage runs at ~75% of the typical mortgage ($2,600/month rent vs $3,467/month repayment), leaving a manageable top-up for most investors. The EquitySight investment score of 80/100 places Brighton 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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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Brighton a good suburb for investment?

Brighton scores 80/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a good rating. That score is driven by a population of 23,252, median household income of $140,920/year and median weekly rent of $600. 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.

What drives property demand in Brighton?

The main demand drivers in Brighton are proximity to Melbourne (11 km), an above-state-median household income of $140,920/year, a dwelling mix that is 50% separate houses, roughly 6 schools and 9 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.

What is the population of Brighton?

Brighton has a usual resident population of approximately 23,252, compared with a Victoria suburb median of 7,416 — placing it in the upper 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.

How far is Brighton from the Melbourne CBD?

Brighton sits 11 km straight-line from the Melbourne CBD. This is comfortable commuter territory, with reasonable rail and road access to the city.

What is the median rent in Brighton?

The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $600 in Brighton, equating to approximately $31,200/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.

What is the typical mortgage repayment in Brighton?

The median monthly mortgage repayment in Brighton is $3,467, or approximately $41,604/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.

Is Brighton cash-flow positive for investors?

A median weekly rent of $600 works out to $2,600/month, covering 75% of the median mortgage repayment of $3,467/month. That leaves a $867/month shortfall (around $10,404/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.

What are the main risks of investing in Brighton?

The main risks are interest-rate sensitivity on the $3,467 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.

How we built this Brighton profile

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.

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Victoria Property Resources