Suburb Overview
St Arnaud is a regional centre in Victoria, Australia, with a population of approximately 2,318, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 202 km from the Melbourne CBD, St Arnaud is a regional area in Victoria. The median household income is $47,840 per year.
Location
Key Indicators
Postcode
3478
Postcode for St Arnaud, from a community postcode dataset cross-checked against Australia Post. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
Australia Post Postcode Finder →
Population
2,318
Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Median weekly rent
$188/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
$47,840
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Distance to CBD
202 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
$300,000
Median house sale price — as at 2025 (preliminary), Valuer-General Victoria (CC BY 4.0).
Housing
Median monthly mortgage
$867/mo
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Home type
81% houses
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Why People Like Living in St Arnaud
- Regional location about 202 km from Melbourne.
- Predominantly separate houses (81%) — suburban lifestyle with more land.
- Country-town feel with lower density and slower pace of life.
Who St Arnaud Suits
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Rent sits within an affordable share of local incomes, supporting tenant demand.
- Mortgage costs are lower than the Victoria median, improving cash-flow margins.
- Lower purchase prices and more land for the money.
Cons
- Long distance to the CBD (202 km) — plan for commute time or local employment.
- Transport options are limited — car dependency is likely.
- Fewer schools inside the suburb itself — verify catchments for neighbouring areas.
Investment Insight
St Arnaud is a smaller community of 2,318 — about 31% of the Victoria suburb median (7,416) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. St Arnaud's median household income of $47,840/year is 50% 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. At the 2021 Census, median weekly rent of $188 equated to $815/month — about 94% of the then-median mortgage repayment of $867/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. St Arnaud is 202 km from Melbourne, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand.
Investment Tip
Regional property can deliver strong cash-flow yields but liquidity is tighter — plan for longer hold periods and verify local employment stability. At the 2021 Census, local rents consumed roughly 20% of household income — a dated but useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
St Arnaud vs Victoria Median
How St Arnaud stacks up against the median of all Victoria suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean St Arnaud sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | St Arnaud | VIC median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 2,318 | 7,416 | -69% |
| Median household income | $47,840/yr | $95,160/yr | -50% |
| Median rent (weekly, 2021 Census) | $188 | $380 | -51% |
| Median mortgage (monthly, 2021 Census) | $867 | $1,950 | -56% |
| Distance to CBD | 202 km | 32 km | +531% |
| Separate houses | 81% | 78% | +3pp |
Investor Checklist
Pre-inspection briefing for St Arnaud — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
- Market depth: 2,318 residents — 31% of the VIC suburb median (7,416).
- Purchasing power: median household income $47,840/year (-50% vs Victoria suburb median of $95,160).
- Cash-flow coverage (2021 Census): $188/week rent (≈ $815/month) covered ~94% of the $867/month median mortgage at the 2021 Census — verify against current rents and rates.
- CBD access: 202 km straight-line from Melbourne (state suburb median 32 km).
- Dwelling mix: 81% separate houses — house-dominant market (vs 78% state median).
- Rate stress-test: budget ~$87/month extra for a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise on top of the $867/month median repayment.
- Tenant rent burden: 20% of the median household income is spent on rent — comfortably affordable.
Investment Strategy
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 2,318 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Victoria market over full cycles.
Strong rental coverage at the 2021 Census: $188/week (~$815/month) covered 94% of the $867/month median mortgage, a shortfall of just $52/month. Both rents and repayments have moved since 2021 — verify current figures, though this suburb has historically leaned cash-flow-friendly.
With 81% houses in a 2,318-person market, renovation margins depend on individual street and aspect rather than any suburb-wide story — do comparable-sales analysis before committing capital.
Risk Factors
- Interest-rate sensitivity: the $867/month median mortgage in St Arnaud means a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise could add roughly $87/month to repayments, reducing buyer borrowing capacity and cooling prices.
- Income vulnerability: household incomes in St Arnaud are 50% below the Victoria median ($47,840 vs $95,160), which tends to compress rent growth and increases exposure to local unemployment shocks.
- Liquidity risk: with 2,318 residents, St Arnaud has a thinner pool of buyers and tenants than larger suburbs. Expect longer days-on-market on resale and budget for potential vacancy gaps between tenancies.
- Commute distance: at 202 km from the nearest CBD, St Arnaud depends on local employment rather than city-driven commuter demand, which amplifies the market's sensitivity to regional industry slowdowns.
- Regulatory risk: changes to Australian tax settings (negative gearing, CGT discount, foreign-buyer surcharges, land-tax thresholds) could reshape after-tax returns in St Arnaud regardless of local market conditions.
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Start your first-home journey →2026 Outlook
Capital-growth expectations for St Arnaud are modest for 2026 — incomes 50% below the VIC median of $95,160 and a population of 2,318 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. At the 2021 Census, rental coverage ran at ~94% of the typical mortgage ($815/month rent vs $867/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. Verify against current rents and rates. Overall investor sentiment for St Arnaud is cautious 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 St Arnaud a good suburb for investment?
Whether St Arnaud suits you depends on your strategy, but the fundamentals are concrete: a population of 2,318, a median household income of $47,840/year and median weekly rent of $188. 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 St Arnaud?
The main demand drivers in St Arnaud are a median household income of $47,840/year, a dwelling mix that is 81% separate houses. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand.
What is the population of St Arnaud?
St Arnaud has a usual resident population of approximately 2,318, 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.
How far is St Arnaud from the Melbourne CBD?
St Arnaud sits 202 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.
What is the median rent in St Arnaud?
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $188 in St Arnaud, equating to approximately $9,776/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 St Arnaud?
The median monthly mortgage repayment in St Arnaud is $867, or approximately $10,404/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 St Arnaud cash-flow positive for investors?
A median weekly rent of $188 works out to $815/month, covering 94% of the median mortgage repayment of $867/month. That leaves a $52/month shortfall (around $624/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 St Arnaud?
The main risks are a thin buyer pool (2,318 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $867 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($47,840 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.
How we built this St Arnaud 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.