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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Hillside is a well-established middle-ring suburb of Melbourne, Australia, with a population of approximately 17,331, making it a smaller community. Located approximately 224 km from the Melbourne CBD, Hillside is a middle ring area in Victoria. The median household income is $97,500 per year.
Above-average earnings in Hillside support sustained property values. While further from the city, improving transport links could boost future demand.
Official Australia Post postcode for Hillside. 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 4 schools within or near this suburb.
Find schools near Hillside on My School →Estimated 7 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 17,331 residents, Hillside is one of Victoria's more populous suburbs — roughly 2.3× 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. At $97,500/year, household income in Hillside is within 2% of the Victoria median ($95,160), placing the suburb firmly in the state's mainstream demographic band. Median weekly rent of $385 equates to $1,668/month — about 104% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,600/month — meaning rental income covers most of a typical owner's repayment and this is a genuine cash-flow suburb before tax benefits. Hillside is 224 km from Melbourne, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand.
Middle-ring locations like this one historically reward patient holders — focus on homes near catchment-zone schools and major transport. Local rents consume roughly 21% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How Hillside stacks up against the median of all Victoria suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Hillside sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Hillside | VIC median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 17,331 | 7,416 | +134% |
| Median household income | $97,500/yr | $95,160/yr | +2% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $385 | $380 | +1% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,600 | $1,950 | -18% |
| Distance to CBD | 224 km | 32 km | +600% |
| Separate houses | 90% | 78% | +12pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Hillside — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Solid buy-and-hold profile: a population of 17,331 and household income close to the VIC median ($97,500 vs $95,160) give the market enough depth for patient capital growth without the premium entry price of inner suburbs.
Strong rental coverage: $385/week (~$1,668/month) covers 104% of the $1,600/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $0/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
A dwelling mix skewed to houses (90% vs 78% VIC median) combined with a population of 17,331 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 Hillside property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Property values in Hillside should track the wider Victoria market through 2026, with the $97,500/year median household income (close to the $95,160 state median) keeping the suburb firmly mid-pack. Rental coverage runs at ~104% of the typical mortgage ($1,668/month rent vs $1,600/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 63/100 places Hillside in the upper-middle tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is balanced heading into the second half of 2026.
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Hillside scores 63/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a good rating. That score is driven by a population of 17,331, median household income of $97,500/year and median weekly rent of $385. 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 Hillside are an above-state-median household income of $97,500/year, a dwelling mix that is 90% separate houses, roughly 4 schools and 7 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.
Hillside has a usual resident population of approximately 17,331, 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.
Hillside sits 224 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 $385 in Hillside, equating to approximately $20,020/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 Hillside is $1,600, or approximately $19,200/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 $385 works out to $1,668/month, covering 104% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,600/month. That means rent exceeds the median repayment by roughly $68/month, so on these numbers Hillside leans cash-flow-positive before accounting for strata, council rates, insurance and maintenance. 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 $1,600 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.