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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Darley is a regional centre in Victoria, Australia, with a population of approximately 9,190, making it a smaller community. Located approximately 51 km from the Melbourne CBD, Darley is a regional area in Victoria. The median household income is $101,452 per year.
Strong household incomes in Darley underpin solid property demand. Distance from major centres is a consideration, though regional markets can offer higher rental yields.
Official Australia Post postcode for Darley. 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 2 schools within or near this suburb.
Find schools near Darley on My School →Estimated 4 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.
Darley's population of 9,190 sits 24% above the Victoria suburb median of 7,416, giving it a wider tenant and buyer catchment than the average VIC locality. Households here earn $101,452/year on average — 7% above the VIC suburb median of $95,160 — a modest premium that supports resilient owner-occupier demand. Rent of $320/week (80% coverage of the $1,733/month median mortgage) leaves a gap of roughly $346/month that a typical investor bridges with negative gearing, depreciation and capital growth. Darley is 51 km from Melbourne, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand.
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 16% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How Darley stacks up against the median of all Victoria suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Darley sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Darley | VIC median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 9,190 | 7,416 | +24% |
| Median household income | $101,452/yr | $95,160/yr | +7% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $320 | $380 | -16% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,733 | $1,950 | -11% |
| Distance to CBD | 51 km | 32 km | +59% |
| Separate houses | 89% | 78% | +11pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Darley — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Solid buy-and-hold profile: a population of 9,190 and household income close to the VIC median ($101,452 vs $95,160) give the market enough depth for patient capital growth without the premium entry price of inner suburbs.
Moderate rental coverage: rent of $320/week covers 80% of a $1,733/month mortgage, leaving a $346/month gap that an investor bridges with equity, depreciation and tax benefits.
A dwelling mix skewed to houses (89% vs 78% VIC median) combined with a population of 9,190 creates a deeper market for value-add renovations — older stock, separate titles and stronger buyer competition are the usual pattern here.
Run the numbers on a Darley property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Property values in Darley should track the wider Victoria market through 2026, with the $101,452/year median household income (7% above the $95,160 state median) keeping the suburb firmly mid-pack. Rental coverage runs at ~80% of the typical mortgage ($1,387/month rent vs $1,733/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 56/100 places Darley in the mid tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is balanced heading into the second half of 2026.
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Darley scores 56/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a moderate rating. That score is driven by a population of 9,190, median household income of $101,452/year and median weekly rent of $320. 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 Darley are an above-state-median household income of $101,452/year, a dwelling mix that is 89% separate houses, roughly 2 schools and 4 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.
Darley has a usual resident population of approximately 9,190, 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.
Darley sits 51 km straight-line from the Melbourne CBD. This is a regional market where CBD distance is only indicative — local industry diversity and commute alternatives matter more.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $320 in Darley, equating to approximately $16,640/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 Darley is $1,733, or approximately $20,796/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 $320 works out to $1,387/month, covering 80% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,733/month. That leaves a $346/month shortfall (around $4,152/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 $1,733 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.