Suburb Overview
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.
Location
Key Indicators
Postcode
3340
Postcode for Darley, from a community postcode dataset cross-checked against Australia Post. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
Australia Post Postcode Finder →
Population
9,190
Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Median weekly rent
$320/wk
Median weekly rent recorded at the 2021 Census — market rents have risen since, so treat this as a dated baseline, not a current figure.
Median household income
$101,452
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Distance to CBD
51 km
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Sale prices & yield
Median house price
$600,000
Median house sale price — as at 2025 (preliminary), Valuer-General Victoria (CC BY 4.0).
Median unit price
$436,500
Median unit sale price — as at 2025 (preliminary), Valuer-General Victoria (CC BY 4.0).
Housing
Median monthly mortgage
$1,733/mo
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Home type
89% houses
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Why People Like Living in Darley
- Regional location about 51 km from Melbourne.
- Several schools in the area (around 2), attractive for families.
- Local parks and reserves (around 4) within easy reach.
- Strong transport links into the city and nearby employment hubs.
- Predominantly separate houses (89%) — suburban lifestyle with more land.
Who Darley Suits
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Rent sits within an affordable share of local incomes, supporting tenant demand.
- Mortgage costs are lower than the Victoria median, improving cash-flow margins.
- Local parks and reserves (around 4) add to liveability.
- Solid transport links into employment hubs.
Cons
- Long distance to the CBD (51 km) — plan for commute time or local employment.
- Traffic can build during peak hours, especially on arterial roads.
Investment Insight
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. At the 2021 Census, rent of $320/week covered 80% of the $1,733/month median mortgage recorded at the same Census, leaving a gap of roughly $346/month at the time. Rents and repayments have both risen since — re-run the numbers with current figures before drawing conclusions. Darley is 51 km from Melbourne, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand.
Investment Tip
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. At the 2021 Census, local rents consumed roughly 16% of household income — a dated but useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
Darley vs Victoria Median
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, 2021 Census) | $320 | $380 | -16% |
| Median mortgage (monthly, 2021 Census) | $1,733 | $1,950 | -11% |
| Distance to CBD | 51 km | 32 km | +59% |
| Separate houses | 89% | 78% | +11pp |
Investor Checklist
Pre-inspection briefing for Darley — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
- Market depth: 9,190 residents — 124% of the VIC suburb median (7,416).
- Purchasing power: median household income $101,452/year (+7% vs Victoria suburb median of $95,160).
- Cash-flow coverage (2021 Census): $320/week rent (≈ $1,387/month) covered ~80% of the $1,733/month median mortgage at the 2021 Census — verify against current rents and rates.
- CBD access: 51 km straight-line from Melbourne (state suburb median 32 km).
- Dwelling mix: 89% separate houses — house-dominant market (vs 78% state median).
- Rate stress-test: budget ~$173/month extra for a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise on top of the $1,733/month median repayment.
- Tenant rent burden: 16% of the median household income is spent on rent — comfortably affordable.
Investment Strategy
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 at the 2021 Census: rent of $320/week covered 80% of a $1,733/month mortgage, a $346/month gap bridged with equity, depreciation and tax benefits. Re-check with current rents and rates before committing.
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.
Risk Factors
- Interest-rate sensitivity: the $1,733/month median mortgage in Darley means a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise could add roughly $173/month to repayments, reducing buyer borrowing capacity and cooling prices.
- Commute distance: at 51 km from the nearest CBD, Darley depends on local employment rather than city-driven commuter demand, which amplifies the market's sensitivity to regional industry slowdowns.
- House-dominant stock: 89% of dwellings are separate houses, so value is concentrated in land — weather events, insurance repricing and land-tax changes hit investors here more directly than in a unit-heavy suburb.
- Regulatory risk: changes to Australian tax settings (negative gearing, CGT discount, foreign-buyer surcharges, land-tax thresholds) could reshape after-tax returns in Darley regardless of local market conditions.
- Market cycle risk: property markets are cyclical, so stress-test your projections in Darley with a 10–15% price pullback scenario before committing capital — returns to date are not a guarantee of future performance.
Run the numbers on a Darley property
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Start your first-home journey →2026 Outlook
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. At the 2021 Census, rental coverage ran at ~80% of the typical mortgage ($1,387/month rent vs $1,733/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. Verify against current rents and rates. Overall investor sentiment for Darley is balanced heading into the second half of 2026, based on its income, rent and mortgage profile relative to the Victoria median.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Darley a good suburb for investment?
Whether Darley suits you depends on your strategy, but the fundamentals are concrete: a population of 9,190, a median household income of $101,452/year and median weekly rent of $320. Weigh those against your goal — cash flow, capital growth, or a value-add renovation — each of which we break down with suburb-specific ABS numbers elsewhere on this page.
What drives property demand in Darley?
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. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand.
What is the population of Darley?
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.
How far is Darley from the Melbourne CBD?
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.
What is the median rent in Darley?
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.
What is the typical mortgage repayment in Darley?
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.
Is Darley cash-flow positive for investors?
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.
What are the main risks of investing in Darley?
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.
How we built this Darley profile
The population, postcode, median household income, and dwelling mix on this page are real figures from the ABS 2021 Census (income is the ABS median weekly household income annualised) and Australia Post. Distance to the CBD is calculated from the suburb's ABS centroid. The Census median rent and mortgage repayment are 2021 figures and are clearly labelled as such wherever they appear — they are five years old and have moved substantially since. We do not publish an investment score or school/park counts for this suburb. See our methodology and data sources for exactly what's measured and what's estimated.