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Suburb Insights · VIC 3126

Canterbury, VIC 3126 Property Profile

ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026

Suburb Overview

Canterbury is a well-established middle-ring suburb of Melbourne, Australia, with a population of approximately 7,800, making it a smaller community. Located approximately 10 km from the Melbourne CBD, Canterbury is a middle ring area in Victoria. The median household income is $149,604 per year.

Investment Score

79 / 100 Good

Canterbury benefits from a high-income resident base, supporting premium property pricing. Close CBD access strengthens tenant appeal and resale value.

Location

Melbourne
Canterbury
Victoria · 3126
10 km from Melbourne CBD
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Key Indicators

Postcode
3126

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

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Population
7,800

Usual resident population at the most recent census.

Median weekly rent
$515/wk

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

Median household income
$149,604/yr

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

Distance to CBD
10 km

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

Lifestyle & Amenities

Schools nearby
2

Estimated 2 schools within or near this suburb.

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Parks & green spaces
3

Estimated 3 parks and green spaces near this suburb.

Median monthly mortgage
$3,500/mo

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

Home type
58% houses

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

Why People Like Living in Canterbury

Who Canterbury 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 10 km from the CBD with good access.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Rent sits within an affordable share of local incomes, supporting tenant demand.
  • Local parks and reserves (around 3) add to liveability.
  • Solid transport links into employment hubs.
  • Short distance to the CBD makes commuting straightforward.

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

7,800 residents places Canterbury squarely in the middle of the Victoria suburb size distribution (state median 7,416), with market depth comparable to most VIC localities. Median household income of $149,604/year runs 57% 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. Median rent of $515/week (~$2,232/month) covers only 64% of the median mortgage of $3,500/month — the remaining $1,268/month must be funded from other income, so this suburb tilts toward capital growth rather than yield. At 10 km from the Melbourne CBD, Canterbury sits inside the high-demand inner ring — properties here compete directly with the city's employment, transport and amenity networks. Only 58% 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 looking for a balance of rental yield and capital growth. Schools and transport underpin family demand. Local rents consume roughly 18% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.

Canterbury vs Victoria Median

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

MetricCanterburyVIC medianΔ vs state
Population7,8007,416+5%
Median household income$149,604/yr$95,160/yr+57%
Median rent (weekly)$515$380+36%
Median mortgage (monthly)$3,500$1,950+79%
Distance to CBD10 km32 km-69%
Separate houses58%78%-20pp

Investor Checklist

Pre-inspection briefing for Canterbury — 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 57% above the Victoria suburb median ($149,604 vs $95,160), and the 10 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

Weak cash flow: $515/week rent covers only 64% of the $3,500/month median mortgage — a $1,268/month gap that must be funded from other income. This suburb is a capital-growth play, not a yield play.

Renovation / Flip

Only 58% 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 Canterbury property

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30-year projections for Canterbury

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2026 Outlook

Growth: Strong Rental Demand: Moderate Investor Sentiment: Strong

Canterbury enters 2026 with a demographic tailwind — household incomes 57% above the Victoria suburb median of $95,160 and a population of 7,800 give it the depth and purchasing power to outperform the wider VIC market over the next 12–18 months. Rental coverage runs at ~64% of the typical mortgage ($2,232/month rent vs $3,500/month repayment), leaving a manageable top-up for most investors. The EquitySight investment score of 79/100 places Canterbury 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 Canterbury a good suburb for investment?

Canterbury scores 79/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a good rating. That score is driven by a population of 7,800, median household income of $149,604/year and median weekly rent of $515. 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 Canterbury?

The main demand drivers in Canterbury are proximity to Melbourne (10 km), an above-state-median household income of $149,604/year, a dwelling mix that is 58% separate houses, roughly 2 schools and 3 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 Canterbury?

Canterbury has a usual resident population of approximately 7,800, 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 Canterbury from the Melbourne CBD?

Canterbury sits 10 km straight-line from the Melbourne CBD. This is inner-ring territory — pricing competes directly with established Melbourne employment nodes.

What is the median rent in Canterbury?

The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $515 in Canterbury, equating to approximately $26,780/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 Canterbury?

The median monthly mortgage repayment in Canterbury is $3,500, or approximately $42,000/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 Canterbury cash-flow positive for investors?

A median weekly rent of $515 works out to $2,232/month, covering 64% of the median mortgage repayment of $3,500/month. That leaves a $1,268/month shortfall (around $15,216/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 Canterbury?

The main risks are interest-rate sensitivity on the $3,500 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 Canterbury 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.

Nearby Suburbs

Victoria Property Resources