Suburb Overview
Doncaster is a well-established middle-ring suburb of Melbourne, Australia, with a population of approximately 25,020, making it a sizeable community. Located approximately 14 km from the Melbourne CBD, Doncaster is a middle ring area in Victoria. The median household income is $82,784 per year.
Location
Key Indicators
Postcode
3108
Postcode for Doncaster, from a community postcode dataset cross-checked against Australia Post. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
Australia Post Postcode Finder →
Population
25,020
Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Median weekly rent
$450/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
$82,784
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Distance to CBD
14 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
$1,392,500
Median house sale price — as at 2025 (preliminary), Valuer-General Victoria (CC BY 4.0).
Median unit price
$577,500
Median unit sale price — as at 2025 (preliminary), Valuer-General Victoria (CC BY 4.0).
Housing
Median monthly mortgage
$2,167/mo
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Home type
46% houses
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Why People Like Living in Doncaster
- Middle-ring location about 14 km from Melbourne — balance of commute and affordability.
- Plenty of schooling options nearby — around 6 schools within reach.
- Good green-space access with around 10 parks and reserves nearby.
- Well-serviced by public transport and major roads.
- Established streets, local shops, and schools within the neighbourhood.
Who Doncaster Suits
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Access to several schools nearby (around 6).
- Local parks and reserves (around 10) add to liveability.
- Solid transport links into employment hubs.
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 25,020 residents, Doncaster is one of Victoria's more populous suburbs — roughly 3.4× 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 $82,784/year is 13% below the Victoria median of $95,160, typically translating into lower entry prices and a tenant base more sensitive to rent increases. At the 2021 Census, median weekly rent of $450 equated to $1,950/month — about 90% of the then-median mortgage repayment of $2,167/month. Both figures have moved substantially since 2021, so treat the ratio as a historical signal that this suburb leaned cash-flow-friendly, and verify against current listings and rates. 14 km from Melbourne places Doncaster in the middle commuter belt, close enough for daily trips by car or rail but at a materially lower price point than inner suburbs. Only 46% 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. At the 2021 Census, local rents consumed roughly 28% of household income — a dated but useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
Doncaster vs Victoria Median
How Doncaster stacks up against the median of all Victoria suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Doncaster sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Doncaster | VIC median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 25,020 | 7,416 | +237% |
| Median household income | $82,784/yr | $95,160/yr | -13% |
| Median rent (weekly, 2021 Census) | $450 | $380 | +18% |
| Median mortgage (monthly, 2021 Census) | $2,167 | $1,950 | +11% |
| Distance to CBD | 14 km | 32 km | -56% |
| Separate houses | 46% | 78% | -32pp |
Investor Checklist
Pre-inspection briefing for Doncaster — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
- Market depth: 25,020 residents — 337% of the VIC suburb median (7,416).
- Purchasing power: median household income $82,784/year (-13% vs Victoria suburb median of $95,160).
- Cash-flow coverage (2021 Census): $450/week rent (≈ $1,950/month) covered ~90% of the $2,167/month median mortgage at the 2021 Census — verify against current rents and rates.
- CBD access: 14 km straight-line from Melbourne (state suburb median 32 km).
- Dwelling mix: 46% separate houses — mixed market (vs 78% state median).
- Rate stress-test: budget ~$217/month extra for a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise on top of the $2,167/month median repayment.
- Tenant rent burden: 28% of the median household income is spent on rent — within normal range.
Investment Strategy
Moderate buy-and-hold potential: Doncaster's 25,020-person market and $82,784 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 at the 2021 Census: $450/week (~$1,950/month) covered 90% of the $2,167/month median mortgage, a shortfall of just $217/month. Both rents and repayments have moved since 2021 — verify current figures, though this suburb has historically leaned cash-flow-friendly.
Only 46% 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
- Interest-rate sensitivity: the $2,167/month median mortgage in Doncaster means a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise could add roughly $217/month to repayments, reducing buyer borrowing capacity and cooling prices.
- Regulatory risk: changes to Australian tax settings (negative gearing, CGT discount, foreign-buyer surcharges, land-tax thresholds) could reshape after-tax returns in Doncaster regardless of local market conditions.
- Market cycle risk: property markets are cyclical, so stress-test your projections in Doncaster with a 10–15% price pullback scenario before committing capital — returns to date are not a guarantee of future performance.
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Start your first-home journey →2026 Outlook
Capital-growth expectations for Doncaster are modest for 2026 — incomes 13% below the VIC median of $95,160 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. At the 2021 Census, rental coverage ran at ~90% of the typical mortgage ($1,950/month rent vs $2,167/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. Verify against current rents and rates. Overall investor sentiment for Doncaster is constructive 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 Doncaster a good suburb for investment?
Whether Doncaster suits you depends on your strategy, but the fundamentals are concrete: a population of 25,020, a median household income of $82,784/year and median weekly rent of $450. 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 Doncaster?
The main demand drivers in Doncaster are proximity to Melbourne (14 km), a median household income of $82,784/year, a dwelling mix that is 46% separate houses. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand.
What is the population of Doncaster?
Doncaster has a usual resident population of approximately 25,020, 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 Doncaster from the Melbourne CBD?
Doncaster sits 14 km straight-line from the Melbourne CBD. This is comfortable commuter territory, with reasonable rail and road access to the city.
What is the median rent in Doncaster?
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $450 in Doncaster, equating to approximately $23,400/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 Doncaster?
The median monthly mortgage repayment in Doncaster is $2,167, or approximately $26,004/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 Doncaster cash-flow positive for investors?
A median weekly rent of $450 works out to $1,950/month, covering 90% of the median mortgage repayment of $2,167/month. That leaves a $217/month shortfall (around $2,604/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 Doncaster?
The main risks are interest-rate sensitivity on the $2,167 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 Doncaster 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.