Footscray, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Footscray is a lively, multicultural suburb about 5 km west of central Melbourne. The area is described as a meeting place of the lands of the Yalukit-willam, Marin-balluk and Wurundjeri peoples of the Kulin nation. Curiously, its name comes from Foots Cray, a place on the River Cray in London. Built up as a gritty industrial district from the late 1800s, it drew successive waves of migrants — Greek, Italian and Yugoslav, then Vietnamese and East African — who reshaped its streets. Today Footscray is best known for that diversity: a dense mix of Vietnamese, African and other eateries, busy markets, bars and a growing arts scene.
More advantaged than the national average
Footscray is more socio-economically advantaged than about 74% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1030, 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 Footscray 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.
Around the national middle
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Footscray 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
74/100More advantaged than the national average
More advantaged than the national average — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (74/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
28/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $355 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 28% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- 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.
Footscray at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 17,131
- Median age
- 34
- Median weekly household income
- $1,763
- SEIFA score
- 1030
- Local government area
- Maribyrnong
- Coordinates
- -37.8008, 144.8948
Map of Footscray
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Footscray
What it costs to live in Footscray and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $355
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,940
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 41%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 56%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Footscray demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Footscray demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Footscray 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 49% and 45% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,812 | 11% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,892 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 8,339 | 49% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 3,213 | 19% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,878 | 11% |
Share of the 17,134 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,054 | 14% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,988 | 27% |
| Rented | 4,123 | 56% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 2,325 | 32% |
| Townhouses & semis | 1,127 | 15% |
| Flats & apartments | 3,856 | 52% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 7,373 occupied private dwellings in Footscray.
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,296
- Median weekly personal income
- $916
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 7,132 (45%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 6,674 (42%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 124 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 10,991 (73%)
- Labour-force participation
- 68.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.6%
- Employed full-time
- 5,905
- Employed part-time
- 3,275
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 Footscray
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Footscray 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).
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Common questions about Footscray
Is Footscray a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, Footscray rates 59/100 overall (Around the national middle). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Footscray?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Footscray was $355, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,940. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Footscray?
Footscray is a suburb of Victoria, Australia, in the Maribyrnong local government area.
What is the population of Footscray?
At the 2021 Census, Footscray had a population of about 17,131.
Is Footscray an advantaged area?
Footscray has an ABS SEIFA score of 1030, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 74 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 74% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Footscray?
Footscray 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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