ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Durham Lead is a regional centre in Victoria, Australia, with a population of approximately 408, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 95 km from the Melbourne CBD, Durham Lead is a regional area in Victoria. The median household income is $99,632 per year.
Above-average earnings in Durham Lead support sustained property values. As a regional location, growth prospects depend on local economic conditions and infrastructure investment.
Official Australia Post postcode for Durham Lead. 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 1 school within or near this suburb.
Find schools near Durham Lead on My School →Estimated 1 park 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.
Durham Lead is a smaller community of 408 — about 6% of the Victoria suburb median (7,416) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Households here earn $99,632/year on average — 5% above the VIC suburb median of $95,160 — a modest premium that supports resilient owner-occupier demand. Median weekly rent of $412 equates to $1,785/month — about 96% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,850/month — meaning rental income covers most of a typical owner's repayment and this is a genuine cash-flow suburb before tax benefits. Durham Lead is 95 km from Melbourne, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand.
How Durham Lead stacks up against the median of all Victoria suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Durham Lead sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Durham Lead | VIC median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 408 | 7,416 | -94% |
| Median household income | $99,632/yr | $95,160/yr | +5% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $412 | $380 | +8% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,850 | $1,950 | -5% |
| Distance to CBD | 95 km | 32 km | +197% |
| Separate houses | 89% | 78% | +11pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Durham Lead — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 408 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Victoria market over full cycles.
Strong rental coverage: $412/week (~$1,785/month) covers 96% of the $1,850/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $65/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
With 89% houses in a 408-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 Durham Lead property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Durham Lead are modest for 2026 — incomes 5% above the VIC median of $95,160 and a population of 408 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~96% of the typical mortgage ($1,785/month rent vs $1,850/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 45/100 places Durham Lead 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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Durham Lead scores 45/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a moderate rating. That score is driven by a population of 408, median household income of $99,632/year and median weekly rent of $412. 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 Durham Lead are an above-state-median household income of $99,632/year, a dwelling mix that is 89% separate houses, roughly 1 schools and 1 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.
Durham Lead has a usual resident population of approximately 408, compared with a Victoria suburb median of 7,416 — placing it in the lower 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.
Durham Lead sits 95 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 $412 in Durham Lead, equating to approximately $21,424/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 Durham Lead is $1,850, or approximately $22,200/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 $412 works out to $1,785/month, covering 96% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,850/month. That leaves a $65/month shortfall (around $780/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 a thin buyer pool (408 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,850 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.