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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Waratah Bay is a regional centre in Victoria, Australia, with a population of approximately 48, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 146 km from the Melbourne CBD, Waratah Bay is a regional area in Victoria. The median household income is $73,112 per year.
Waratah Bay has a solid income profile that supports reliable occupancy rates. Regional positioning means lower entry costs but potentially longer hold periods for capital gains.
Official Australia Post postcode for Waratah Bay. 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 Waratah Bay 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.
Waratah Bay is a smaller community of 48 — about 1% of the Victoria suburb median (7,416) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Waratah Bay's median household income of $73,112/year is 23% 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. Median weekly rent of $2,358 equates to $10,218/month — about 511% of the median mortgage repayment of $2,000/month — meaning rental income covers most of a typical owner's repayment and this is a genuine cash-flow suburb before tax benefits. Waratah Bay is 146 km from Melbourne, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand. Only 21% 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.
How Waratah Bay stacks up against the median of all Victoria suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Waratah Bay sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Waratah Bay | VIC median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 48 | 7,416 | -99% |
| Median household income | $73,112/yr | $95,160/yr | -23% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $2,358 | $380 | +521% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $2,000 | $1,950 | +3% |
| Distance to CBD | 146 km | 32 km | +356% |
| Separate houses | 21% | 78% | -57pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Waratah Bay — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 48 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Victoria market over full cycles.
Strong rental coverage: $2,358/week (~$10,218/month) covers 511% of the $2,000/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $0/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
Only 21% 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 Waratah Bay property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Waratah Bay are modest for 2026 — incomes 23% below the VIC median of $95,160 and a population of 48 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~511% of the typical mortgage ($10,218/month rent vs $2,000/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 37/100 places Waratah Bay 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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Waratah Bay scores 37/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a weak rating. That score is driven by a population of 48, median household income of $73,112/year and median weekly rent of $2,358. 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 Waratah Bay are a median household income of $73,112/year, a dwelling mix that is 21% 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.
Waratah Bay has a usual resident population of approximately 48, 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.
Waratah Bay sits 146 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 $2,358 in Waratah Bay, equating to approximately $122,616/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 Waratah Bay is $2,000, or approximately $24,000/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 $2,358 works out to $10,218/month, covering 511% of the median mortgage repayment of $2,000/month. That means rent exceeds the median repayment by roughly $8,218/month, so on these numbers Waratah Bay 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 a thin buyer pool (48 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $2,000 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($73,112 vs $95,160 state median), a unit-heavy dwelling mix (21% houses) where body-corporate costs and apartment supply affect resale, 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.