Dandenong, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Dandenong is the council seat of the City of Greater Dandenong, about 29 kilometres south-east of Melbourne's CBD. The Greater Dandenong LGA (LGA22670) had a population of 158,208 at the 2021 Census (ABS 2021 Census QuickStats, LGA22670). 63.4% of LGA residents were born overseas — more than twice the Victorian average of 35.0%. 77.9% have both parents born overseas (Victoria: 41.3%). English is the only language at home in 29.3% of households (Victoria: 67.2%). Vietnamese is spoken in 11.9% of households, Khmer in 6.1%, Punjabi in 3.4%, Mandarin in 3.9%. Birthplace countries beyond Australia: Vietnam (9.3%), India (7.5%), Cambodia (5.5%), Sri Lanka (4.0%). Buddhism is practised by 15.9% — five times the Victorian average; Islam by 14.2%, three times the Victorian figure. No religion is reported by only 20.8% (Victoria: 38.8%). The workforce is industrial and logistics-heavy: Labourers at 17.3% of employed residents (Victoria: 8.8%); Machinery Operators and Drivers at 12.2% (Victoria: 5.9%). Median weekly personal income: $618 (Victoria: $803); median household income: $1,453 (Victoria: $1,759). Unemployment: 7.3% (Victoria: 5.0%). No formal educational attainment is reported by 5.1% — four times the Victorian rate of 1.1% — reflecting language barriers, credential non-recognition, and recent arrival dynamics, not permanent disadvantage.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Dandenong is more socio-economically advantaged than about 7% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 870, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Is Dandenong a good place to live?
There’s no single answer — it depends on what matters to you. So instead of one mystery number, we break it down: a transparent score on each part of life we can back with public data, and an honest “not yet” on the parts we can’t.
Below the national middle on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 3 components we can score for Dandenong from public data. It sits alongside — and reconciles with — the socio-economic Suburb Score above; it is a transparent read, not a complete verdict.
Socio-economic advantage
7/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (7/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
39/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $319 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 39% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Amenities & access
92/100Plenty mapped nearby
About 217 everyday places (cafés, shops, services and more) mapped within ~1.2 km of the centre. · OpenStreetMap
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Green spaceNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap green-space mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- TransportNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap public-transport mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- SchoolsNot scored yet — school performance (ACARA / ICSEA) needs a data-reuse licence cleared before we can publish it.
- SafetyNot scored yet — Australia has no single open crime dataset and safety data carries defamation and legal care, so it is gated pending a go/no-go and will be data-only when added.
- CommunityNot scored yet — we won't reduce community to a number from a proxy. We'd rather leave it open than publish an invented value judgement.
A transparent read on public data, not a verdict — and not a measure of any person or community. See our methodology for how each component is worked out and why some aren’t scored yet.
Dandenong at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 30,127
- Median age
- 33
- Median weekly household income
- $1,267
- SEIFA score
- 870
- Local government area
- Greater Dandenong
- Coordinates
- -37.9858, 145.2122
Map of Dandenong
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Dandenong
What it costs to live in Dandenong and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $319
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,517
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 43%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 53%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Dandenong demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Dandenong demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Dandenong using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is young adults (25–44) at 36% and 66% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 5,710 | 19% |
| Youth (15–24) | 3,726 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 10,966 | 36% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 5,893 | 20% |
| Seniors (65+) | 3,835 | 13% |
Share of the 30,130 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,930 | 20% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 2,300 | 23% |
| Rented | 5,175 | 53% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 4,058 | 41% |
| Townhouses & semis | 3,827 | 39% |
| Flats & apartments | 1,891 | 19% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 9,809 occupied private dwellings in Dandenong.
- Average household size
- 2.8 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,413
- Median weekly personal income
- $596
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 18,230 (66%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 19,991 (74%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 152 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 12,697 (54%)
- Labour-force participation
- 51.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 9.4%
- Employed full-time
- 6,758
- Employed part-time
- 3,965
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Weather and climate in Dandenong
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Dandenong is January (average daytime high around 26.6°C) and the coolest is July (around 12.8°C). The area receives roughly 898 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26.6°C | 14.9°C | 64 mm |
| Feb | 25.3°C | 14.3°C | 44 mm |
| Mar | 23.5°C | 13.6°C | 58 mm |
| Apr | 19.7°C | 11.1°C | 72 mm |
| May | 15.9°C | 9.1°C | 81 mm |
| Jun | 13.4°C | 7.1°C | 81 mm |
| Jul | 12.8°C | 6.7°C | 71 mm |
| Aug | 13.6°C | 6.8°C | 85 mm |
| Sep | 16.2°C | 7.9°C | 83 mm |
| Oct | 19.3°C | 9.3°C | 95 mm |
| Nov | 21.2°C | 11°C | 96 mm |
| Dec | 24.2°C | 12.7°C | 68 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Places in and around Dandenong
Amenities mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre, from OpenStreetMap. A guide to what's nearby — not a complete directory.
Eat & drink
78 nearbyMcDonald's · KFC · Hungry Jacks · Red Rooster · The Dandenong Pavilion · Domino's
Parks & recreation
44 nearbyDoherty's Gym Dandenong · F45 Training · Apex Playground · Hemmings Park · Dandenong Park · Greaves Reserve
Shops & groceries
45 nearbyColes · Woolworths · Aldi · Milk Bar · Fiji Bula Shop · Amyan Halal Butcher
Healthcare
26 nearbyChemist Warehouse · South East Colorectal · Iron Supplements · Pharmasave · Dandenong Central Pharmacy · Dr. Ranjith Bandula Jayasinghe
Schools & education
15 nearbyGoodstart Early Learning Centre · Health Arts College · Complex Institute Of Education · Dandenong West Pre-School · Bri Training · Angel Institute of Education
Things to do
9 nearbyDrum Theatre · Reading Cinema · Rotary fountain · Heritage Hill Museum & Gardens · Dandenong Library · Walker St Gallery & Arts Centre
Eat & drink in and around Dandenong
Cafés, restaurants, pubs and takeaway mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre. Listings are drawn from OpenStreetMap and shown as plain data — we don't rank or rate them.
Own a café, restaurant or pub around here?
Claim your listing to feature it at the top of this section. Placement is paid advertising, clearly labelled — never editorial opinion.
Claim this listing- AB Bakery DandenongCafé201-203 Lonsdale Streetabbakery.com.au
- Abra KebabRestaurant
- AddictionsCafé222
- Afghan Fish & ChiosTakeaway
- Afghan Tasty FoodRestaurant365
- Albion HotelPub
- ARZ Lebanese CusiineRestaurant
- Asian BarRestaurant
- Biryani PlaceRestaurant
- BMNCCafé
- Cafe LeadsCafé325 Thomas Street
- Calcutta SweetsRestaurant
- CardensRestaurant
- ColomboRestaurant3
- Dandenong Charcoal ChickenTakeaway
- Domino'sTakeawaydominos.com.au
- Dosa PlazaRestaurant
- Foster St CafeCafé
- Fresh NoodleRestaurant
- Gibe AfricanRestaurant
- Hungry JacksTakeawayhungryjacks.com.au
- Jahan's Best FoodRestaurant
- Jebena CafeCafé
- Jimmyz KebabsTakeaway
- Kabul Roundabout Pizza & TakeawayTakeaway
- KFCTakeawaykfc.com.au
- Lakhsmi VilasRestaurant
- Lalumba Restaurant & CafeRestaurant
- Marina Shisha Lounge & CafeCafé
- MarkettoCafé
- Mary's Courtyard CafeCafé
- McDonald'sTakeawaymcdonalds.com.au
- Munch BrunchCafé129
- Navin TakeawayRestaurant
- Nu HotelPub
- PakwanRestaurant
- Persian Darbar CafeCafé
- Pizza HutRestaurantpizzahut.com.au
- Preeti Creations CoffeeCafé
- Red RoosterTakeawayredrooster.com.au
- Royal Golden ReceptionRestaurant
- Sahar TakeawayTakeaway
- Salang Restaurant & CafeRestaurant
- Seasoning CafeCafé
- SetaeshRestaurant
- Shahi TadkaRestaurant
- Shams RestaurantRestaurant
- Siam BasilRestaurant195 Tho
- Sky PizzaTakeaway
- SubwayTakeawaysubway.com.au
- TabaqRestaurant
- Taste Of Paradise Halal PizzaTakeaway
- The Coffee BarCafé
- The Dandenong PavilionPubdpav.com.au
- The Mango TreeTakeaway
- The Public's CornerPub
- VillaCafé
- Viva La VidaCafé
- Walkers KitchenRestaurant
- ZapataRestaurant363
Showing 60 mapped places; more may exist that aren't yet on OpenStreetMap.
Listings © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Own a venue here? Suggest a correction.
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Common questions about Dandenong
Is Dandenong a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage, housing affordability and amenities, Dandenong rates 36/100 overall (Below the national middle on the data we score). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Dandenong?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Dandenong was $319, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,517. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Dandenong?
Dandenong is a suburb of Victoria, Australia, in the Greater Dandenong local government area.
What is the population of Dandenong?
At the 2021 Census, Dandenong had a population of about 30,127.
Is Dandenong an advantaged area?
Dandenong has an ABS SEIFA score of 870, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 7 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 7% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Dandenong?
Dandenong has average daytime highs of about 19.3°C and overnight lows of about 10.4°C, with roughly 898 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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