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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Lakes Entrance is a regional centre in Victoria, Australia, with a population of approximately 5,145, making it a smaller community. Located approximately 267 km from the Melbourne CBD, Lakes Entrance is a regional area in Victoria. The median household income is $45,032 per year.
Lower income levels in Lakes Entrance typically translate to more affordable entry points for investors. As a regional location, growth prospects depend on local economic conditions and infrastructure investment.
Official Australia Post postcode for Lakes Entrance. 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 Lakes Entrance on My School →Estimated 2 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.
Lakes Entrance is a smaller community of 5,145 — about 69% of the Victoria suburb median (7,416) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Lakes Entrance's median household income of $45,032/year is 53% below the Victoria suburb median ($95,160) — this is an affordability play where returns lean on yield and patient capital growth rather than demographic premium. Rent of $252/week (89% coverage of the $1,227/month median mortgage) leaves a gap of roughly $135/month that a typical investor bridges with negative gearing, depreciation and capital growth. Lakes Entrance is 267 km from Melbourne, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand. Only 61% 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.
Regional property can deliver strong cash-flow yields but liquidity is tighter — plan for longer hold periods and verify local employment stability. Local rents consume roughly 29% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How Lakes Entrance stacks up against the median of all Victoria suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Lakes Entrance sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Lakes Entrance | VIC median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 5,145 | 7,416 | -31% |
| Median household income | $45,032/yr | $95,160/yr | -53% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $252 | $380 | -34% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,227 | $1,950 | -37% |
| Distance to CBD | 267 km | 32 km | +734% |
| Separate houses | 61% | 78% | -17pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Lakes Entrance — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: household incomes 53% below the VIC median ($45,032 vs $95,160) means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Victoria market over full cycles.
Strong rental coverage: $252/week (~$1,092/month) covers 89% of the $1,227/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $135/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
Only 61% 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.
Run the numbers on a Lakes Entrance property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Lakes Entrance are modest for 2026 — incomes 53% below the VIC median of $95,160 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~89% of the typical mortgage ($1,092/month rent vs $1,227/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 37/100 places Lakes Entrance in the lower tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is cautious heading into the second half of 2026.
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Lakes Entrance scores 37/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a weak rating. That score is driven by a population of 5,145, median household income of $45,032/year and median weekly rent of $252. 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 Lakes Entrance are a median household income of $45,032/year, a dwelling mix that is 61% separate houses, roughly 1 schools and 2 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.
Lakes Entrance has a usual resident population of approximately 5,145, 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.
Lakes Entrance sits 267 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 $252 in Lakes Entrance, equating to approximately $13,104/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 Lakes Entrance is $1,227, or approximately $14,724/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 $252 works out to $1,092/month, covering 89% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,227/month. That leaves a $135/month shortfall (around $1,620/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 interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,227 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($45,032 vs $95,160 state median), 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.