Elwood, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Elwood is a fashionable bayside suburb about eight kilometres south-east of central Melbourne, in the City of Port Phillip, prized for its beach, its leafy plane-lined streets and its wealth of period architecture. The Yalukit Willam, one of the five clans of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin nation, are the traditional owners of the area; they long drew shellfish, eels and wildfowl from its coastal wetlands. For much of the nineteenth century the low-lying land was swamp, and it was only after the cutting of the Elwood Canal, linking Elster Creek to the bay, that the suburb could be built up. Graceful houses from the 1920s and 1930s, many with art deco touches, soon followed. Today cafes and shops cluster in Elwood Village, and many streets carry the names of poets and the sea.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Elwood is more socio-economically advantaged than about 97% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1117, 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.
Elwood at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 15,153
- Median age
- 38
- Median weekly household income
- $2,096
- SEIFA score
- 1117
- Coordinates
- -37.8810, 144.9856
Elwood demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Elwood 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 41%, 51% of homes are rented, and 28% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,976 | 13% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,238 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 6,142 | 41% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 4,180 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,614 | 11% |
Share of the 15,150 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,513 | 21% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,897 | 26% |
| Rented | 3,731 | 51% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,035 | 14% |
| Townhouses & semis | 987 | 14% |
| Flats & apartments | 5,239 | 72% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 7,268 occupied private dwellings in Elwood.
- Median weekly rent
- $415
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,300
- Average household size
- 1.9 people
- Median weekly family income
- $3,210
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,364
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 4,037 (28%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 2,217 (16%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 55 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 10,368 (81%)
- Labour-force participation
- 74.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.1%
- Employed full-time
- 6,136
- Employed part-time
- 2,736
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 Elwood
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Elwood is January (average daytime high around 25.9°C) and the coolest is July (around 13.2°C). The area receives roughly 800 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25.9°C | 15.5°C | 60 mm |
| Feb | 24.9°C | 15°C | 40 mm |
| Mar | 23.4°C | 14.2°C | 51 mm |
| Apr | 19.9°C | 11.6°C | 68 mm |
| May | 16.3°C | 9.6°C | 70 mm |
| Jun | 13.8°C | 7.5°C | 68 mm |
| Jul | 13.2°C | 7.1°C | 59 mm |
| Aug | 13.8°C | 7.3°C | 76 mm |
| Sep | 16.4°C | 8.4°C | 70 mm |
| Oct | 19.3°C | 9.8°C | 84 mm |
| Nov | 21.1°C | 11.7°C | 86 mm |
| Dec | 23.7°C | 13.4°C | 68 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Elwood
Where is Elwood?
Elwood is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Elwood?
At the 2021 Census, Elwood had a population of about 15,153.
Is Elwood an advantaged area?
Elwood has an ABS SEIFA score of 1117, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 97 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 97% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Elwood?
Elwood has average daytime highs of about 19.3°C and overnight lows of about 10.9°C, with roughly 800 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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