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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Cranbourne is a regional centre in Victoria, Australia, with a population of approximately 21,281, making it a sizeable community. Located approximately 43 km from the Melbourne CBD, Cranbourne is a regional area in Victoria. The median household income is $76,804 per year.
Household incomes in Cranbourne sit in a comfortable mid-range for the Victoria market. As a regional location, growth prospects depend on local economic conditions and infrastructure investment.
Official Australia Post postcode for Cranbourne. 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 5 schools within or near this suburb.
Find schools near Cranbourne on My School →Estimated 9 parks 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.
With 21,281 residents, Cranbourne is one of Victoria's more populous suburbs — roughly 2.9× 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. Household income of $76,804/year is 19% below the Victoria median of $95,160, typically translating into lower entry prices and a tenant base more sensitive to rent increases. Median weekly rent of $342 equates to $1,482/month — about 91% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,627/month — meaning rental income covers most of a typical owner's repayment and this is a genuine cash-flow suburb before tax benefits. At 43 km from Melbourne, Cranbourne is an outer-metro location where buyers are typically trading commute time for floor space and a lower entry price.
This suburb suits yield-focused investors who are comfortable with lower liquidity. Employment concentration and local population trends matter more here than in metro markets. Local rents consume roughly 23% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How Cranbourne stacks up against the median of all Victoria suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Cranbourne sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Cranbourne | VIC median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 21,281 | 7,416 | +187% |
| Median household income | $76,804/yr | $95,160/yr | -19% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $342 | $380 | -10% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,627 | $1,950 | -17% |
| Distance to CBD | 43 km | 32 km | +34% |
| Separate houses | 76% | 78% | -2pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Cranbourne — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Moderate buy-and-hold potential: Cranbourne's 21,281-person market and $76,804 median household income work for investors who are selective on street location and property quality rather than counting on a suburb-wide rerating.
Strong rental coverage: $342/week (~$1,482/month) covers 91% of the $1,627/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $145/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
With 76% houses in a 21,281-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 Cranbourne property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Cranbourne are modest for 2026 — incomes 19% below the VIC median of $95,160 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~91% of the typical mortgage ($1,482/month rent vs $1,627/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 45/100 places Cranbourne in the mid tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is cautious heading into the second half of 2026.
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Cranbourne scores 45/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a moderate rating. That score is driven by a population of 21,281, median household income of $76,804/year and median weekly rent of $342. 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 Cranbourne are a median household income of $76,804/year, a dwelling mix that is 76% separate houses, roughly 5 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.
Cranbourne has a usual resident population of approximately 21,281, 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.
Cranbourne sits 43 km straight-line from the Melbourne CBD. This is an outer-metro location; local employment and infrastructure announcements tend to move prices more than CBD connectivity alone.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $342 in Cranbourne, equating to approximately $17,784/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 Cranbourne is $1,627, or approximately $19,524/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 $342 works out to $1,482/month, covering 91% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,627/month. That leaves a $145/month shortfall (around $1,740/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 interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,627 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($76,804 vs $95,160 state median), 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.