Essendon, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Essendon is an established suburb about eight kilometres north-west of central Melbourne, in the City of Moonee Valley. Its recognised traditional owners are the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. The suburb takes its name from the village of Essendon in Hertfordshire, England; an early settler, Richard Green, named the district after his birthplace, where his family had been connected with the local mill. Growth followed the gold rush of the 1850s, with the post office opening in 1856, a railway to the city in 1871 and an electric tramway in 1906. The grand 1890 mansion Earlsbrae Hall now houses Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School. Essendon is the home of the Essendon Football Club, one of the most successful clubs in the VFL and AFL, and the birthplace of the singer Judith Durham.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Essendon is more socio-economically advantaged than about 94% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1092, 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 Essendon 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.
Strong on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 3 components we can score for Essendon 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
94/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (94/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
23/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $380 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 23% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Amenities & access
92/100Plenty mapped nearby
About 300 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.
Essendon at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 21,240
- Median age
- 39
- Median weekly household income
- $2,132
- SEIFA score
- 1092
- Local government area
- Moonee Valley
- Coordinates
- -37.7492, 144.9089
Map of Essendon
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Essendon
What it costs to live in Essendon and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $380
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $2,275
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 62%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 36%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Essendon demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Essendon demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Essendon 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 29% and 26% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 3,177 | 15% |
| Youth (15–24) | 2,813 | 13% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 6,238 | 29% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 5,657 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 3,365 | 16% |
Share of the 21,250 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 2,760 | 32% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 2,527 | 30% |
| Rented | 3,037 | 36% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 4,019 | 47% |
| Townhouses & semis | 1,671 | 20% |
| Flats & apartments | 2,810 | 33% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 8,530 occupied private dwellings in Essendon.
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,946
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,067
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 5,251 (26%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 5,037 (25%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 86 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 12,777 (74%)
- Labour-force participation
- 69%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.2%
- Employed full-time
- 7,358
- Employed part-time
- 3,834
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 Essendon
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Essendon is January (average daytime high around 27°C) and the coolest is July (around 12.9°C). The area receives roughly 724 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27°C | 14.9°C | 62 mm |
| Feb | 25.8°C | 14.1°C | 32 mm |
| Mar | 24°C | 13.3°C | 47 mm |
| Apr | 20°C | 10.5°C | 62 mm |
| May | 16°C | 8.4°C | 63 mm |
| Jun | 13.4°C | 6.5°C | 63 mm |
| Jul | 12.9°C | 6.1°C | 50 mm |
| Aug | 13.7°C | 6.2°C | 59 mm |
| Sep | 16.3°C | 7.3°C | 65 mm |
| Oct | 19.6°C | 8.8°C | 76 mm |
| Nov | 21.6°C | 10.8°C | 79 mm |
| Dec | 24.5°C | 12.6°C | 66 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Places in and around Essendon
Amenities mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre, from OpenStreetMap. A guide to what's nearby — not a complete directory.
Eat & drink
23+ nearbyLincolnshire Arms Hotel · The Royal Hotel · Hey Jude's · Andy's Yum Cha House · Assembly Ground · Flippin Fish and Chips
Parks & recreation
251+ nearbyHammerhouse Gym Essendon · Essendon Football Ground · Lincoln Park · Buckley Park · Napier Park · Nipper Jordan Oval
Shops & groceries
6+ nearbyToo Good Bakers · Foodworks · IGA · Coles
Healthcare
7+ nearbyChemist Warehouse · SIA Medical Centre · Lincoln Rd Dental · Dental One Essendon · SaiMed Specialist Centre
Schools & education
13+ nearbyCasa Bambini · Journey Early Learning Essendon · Buckley Park College · Essendon Maternal and Child Care Centre · Ave Maria College · Essendon North Primary School
Eat & drink in and around Essendon
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- Andy's Yum Cha HouseRestaurant
- Assembly GroundCafé
- Charcoal ChickenTakeaway
- CrustTakeaway4-6 Napier Streetcrust.com.au
- Domino'sTakeaway
- Dumplings DelightRestaurant
- Flippin Fish and ChipsTakeaway
- Godfather'sRestaurant
- Goofy's PizzaRestaurant
- Hey Jude'sCafé
- Indian TukkaRestaurant
- La ValleeRestaurant
- Lincolnshire Arms HotelPub
- Little FletcherCafé55 Fletcher Street
- My Goodness TreatsCafé
- North & EightCafé
- Parisian BakerCafé19 Keilor Road
- Ten one ateCafé1018 Mount Alexander Roadtenoneate.com.au
- The Royal HotelPub873 Mount Alexander Roadroyalhotelessendon.com.au
- Tony's PiesTakeaway
- West Essendon Fish 'n' ChipperyTakeaway
- Woodstock PizzaRestaurantwoodstockpizza.com.au
Showing 22 mapped places; more may exist that aren't yet on OpenStreetMap.
Listings © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Own a venue here? Suggest a correction.
Share your local knowledge of Essendon
Lived here or spent time in Essendon? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Essendon
Is Essendon 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, Essendon rates 76/100 overall (Strong 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 Essendon?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Essendon was $380, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,275. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Essendon?
Essendon is a suburb of Victoria, Australia, in the Moonee Valley local government area.
What is the population of Essendon?
At the 2021 Census, Essendon had a population of about 21,240.
Is Essendon an advantaged area?
Essendon has an ABS SEIFA score of 1092, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 94 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 94% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Essendon?
Essendon has average daytime highs of about 19.6°C and overnight lows of about 10°C, with roughly 724 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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