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Suburb Insights · VIC 3161

Caulfield North, VIC 3161 Property Profile

ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026

Suburb Overview

Caulfield North is an outer-metropolitan suburb of Melbourne, Australia, with a population of approximately 16,903, making it a smaller community. Located approximately 8 km from the Melbourne CBD, Caulfield North is a outer metro area in Victoria. The median household income is $114,660 per year.

Investment Score

78 / 100 Good

Above-average earnings in Caulfield North support sustained property values. The short commute to the city centre is a key demand driver.

Location

Melbourne
Caulfield North
Victoria · 3161
8 km from Melbourne CBD
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Key Indicators

Postcode
3161

Official Australia Post postcode for Caulfield North. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.

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Population
16,903

Usual resident population at the most recent census.

Median weekly rent
$422/wk

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

Median household income
$114,660/yr

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

Distance to CBD
8 km

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

Lifestyle & Amenities

Schools nearby
4

Estimated 4 schools within or near this suburb.

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Parks & green spaces
7

Estimated 7 parks and green spaces near this suburb.

Median monthly mortgage
$2,500/mo

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

Home type
31% houses

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

Why People Like Living in Caulfield North

Who Caulfield North 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 8 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 4).
  • Local parks and reserves (around 7) 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

With 16,903 residents, Caulfield North is one of Victoria's more populous suburbs — roughly 2.3× 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 $114,660/year runs 20% 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 $422/week (73% coverage of the $2,500/month median mortgage) leaves a gap of roughly $671/month that a typical investor bridges with negative gearing, depreciation and capital growth. At 8 km from the Melbourne CBD, Caulfield North sits inside the high-demand inner ring — properties here compete directly with the city's employment, transport and amenity networks. Only 31% 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

Outer-metro suburbs reward careful property selection — aim for homes near infrastructure rather than generic house-and-land packages. Local rents consume roughly 19% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.

Caulfield North vs Victoria Median

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

MetricCaulfield NorthVIC medianΔ vs state
Population16,9037,416+128%
Median household income$114,660/yr$95,160/yr+20%
Median rent (weekly)$422$380+11%
Median mortgage (monthly)$2,500$1,950+28%
Distance to CBD8 km32 km-75%
Separate houses31%78%-47pp

Investor Checklist

Pre-inspection briefing for Caulfield North — 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 20% above the Victoria suburb median ($114,660 vs $95,160), and the 8 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 $422/week covers 73% of a $2,500/month mortgage, leaving a $671/month gap that an investor bridges with equity, depreciation and tax benefits.

Renovation / Flip

Only 31% 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 Caulfield North property

Full Property Analysis

30-year projections for Caulfield North

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2026 Outlook

Growth: Strong Rental Demand: Moderate Investor Sentiment: Strong

Caulfield North enters 2026 with a demographic tailwind — household incomes 20% above the Victoria suburb median of $95,160 and a population of 16,903 give it the depth and purchasing power to outperform the wider VIC market over the next 12–18 months. Rental coverage runs at ~73% of the typical mortgage ($1,829/month rent vs $2,500/month repayment), leaving a manageable top-up for most investors. The EquitySight investment score of 78/100 places Caulfield North 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 Caulfield North a good suburb for investment?

Caulfield North scores 78/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a good rating. That score is driven by a population of 16,903, median household income of $114,660/year and median weekly rent of $422. 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 Caulfield North?

The main demand drivers in Caulfield North are proximity to Melbourne (8 km), an above-state-median household income of $114,660/year, a dwelling mix that is 31% separate houses, roughly 4 schools and 7 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 Caulfield North?

Caulfield North has a usual resident population of approximately 16,903, 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 Caulfield North from the Melbourne CBD?

Caulfield North sits 8 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 Caulfield North?

The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $422 in Caulfield North, equating to approximately $21,944/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 Caulfield North?

The median monthly mortgage repayment in Caulfield North is $2,500, or approximately $30,000/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 Caulfield North cash-flow positive for investors?

A median weekly rent of $422 works out to $1,829/month, covering 73% of the median mortgage repayment of $2,500/month. That leaves a $671/month shortfall (around $8,052/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 Caulfield North?

The main risks are interest-rate sensitivity on the $2,500 median mortgage, a unit-heavy dwelling mix (31% houses) where body-corporate costs and apartment supply affect resale, 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 Caulfield North 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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