ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Lake Wendouree is a regional centre in Victoria, Australia, with a population of approximately 2,878, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 104 km from the Melbourne CBD, Lake Wendouree is a regional area in Victoria. The median household income is $101,556 per year.
Strong household incomes in Lake Wendouree underpin solid property demand. Regional positioning means lower entry costs but potentially longer hold periods for capital gains.
Official Australia Post postcode for Lake Wendouree. 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 Lake Wendouree 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.
Lake Wendouree is a smaller community of 2,878 — about 39% 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 $101,556/year on average — 7% above the VIC suburb median of $95,160 — a modest premium that supports resilient owner-occupier demand. Median rent of $321/week (~$1,391/month) covers only 66% of the median mortgage of $2,106/month — the remaining $715/month must be funded from other income, so this suburb tilts toward capital growth rather than yield. Lake Wendouree is 104 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 Lake Wendouree stacks up against the median of all Victoria suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Lake Wendouree sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Lake Wendouree | VIC median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 2,878 | 7,416 | -61% |
| Median household income | $101,556/yr | $95,160/yr | +7% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $321 | $380 | -16% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $2,106 | $1,950 | +8% |
| Distance to CBD | 104 km | 32 km | +225% |
| Separate houses | 70% | 78% | -8pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Lake Wendouree — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 2,878 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Victoria market over full cycles.
Moderate rental coverage: rent of $321/week covers 66% of a $2,106/month mortgage, leaving a $715/month gap that an investor bridges with equity, depreciation and tax benefits.
With 70% houses in a 2,878-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 Lake Wendouree property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Lake Wendouree are modest for 2026 — incomes 7% above the VIC median of $95,160 and a population of 2,878 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~66% of the typical mortgage ($1,391/month rent vs $2,106/month repayment), leaving a manageable top-up for most investors. The EquitySight investment score of 46/100 places Lake Wendouree 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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Lake Wendouree scores 46/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a moderate rating. That score is driven by a population of 2,878, median household income of $101,556/year and median weekly rent of $321. 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 Lake Wendouree are an above-state-median household income of $101,556/year, a dwelling mix that is 70% 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.
Lake Wendouree has a usual resident population of approximately 2,878, 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.
Lake Wendouree sits 104 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 $321 in Lake Wendouree, equating to approximately $16,692/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 Lake Wendouree is $2,106, or approximately $25,272/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 $321 works out to $1,391/month, covering 66% of the median mortgage repayment of $2,106/month. That leaves a $715/month shortfall (around $8,580/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 (2,878 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $2,106 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.