Glen Waverley, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Glen Waverley lies about 19 km south-east of central Melbourne and is the council seat of the City of Monash. Once orchard and farming country settled from the mid-nineteenth century, its post office opened in 1885 under the name Black Flat before the suburb was renamed Glen Waverley in 1921; the 'Waverley' is borrowed from a Sir Walter Scott novel. Rapid post-war development through the 1950s to 1970s filled it with houses on generously sized blocks, many now being renewed through subdivision. It was also home to Victoria's first McDonald's, opened in 1973 and for a time the longest-surviving in the country. Today Glen Waverley is a busy commercial and transport hub, anchored by The Glen shopping centre and the terminus of the Glen Waverley railway line.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Glen Waverley is more socio-economically advantaged than about 92% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1079, 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 Glen Waverley 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 5 components we can score for Glen Waverley 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
92/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (92/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
7/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $480 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 7% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Amenities & access
92/100Plenty mapped nearby
About 230 everyday places (cafés, shops, services and more) mapped within ~1.2 km of the centre. · OpenStreetMap
Green space
55/100Some green space nearby
About 4.2% of the area within ~1.2 km of the centre is mapped as green space — parks, reserves, sportsgrounds and the like. An area estimate from a radius around the centre, not the suburb boundary. · OpenStreetMap
Transport
90/100Well served by public-transport stops
About 49 public-transport stops (bus, train, tram or ferry) mapped within ~1.2 km of the centre. Stop coverage, not timetable frequency. · 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.
- 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.
Glen Waverley at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 42,642
- Median age
- 40
- Median weekly household income
- $1,918
- SEIFA score
- 1079
- Local government area
- Monash
- Coordinates
- -37.8823, 145.1698
Map of Glen Waverley
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Glen Waverley
What it costs to live in Glen Waverley and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $480
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $2,500
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 69%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 27%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Glen Waverley demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Glen Waverley demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Glen Waverley 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 26% and 61% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 7,081 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 5,799 | 14% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 10,891 | 26% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 10,450 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 8,423 | 20% |
Share of the 42,644 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 5,928 | 41% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 4,092 | 28% |
| Rented | 3,914 | 27% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 11,428 | 79% |
| Townhouses & semis | 1,534 | 11% |
| Flats & apartments | 1,469 | 10% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 14,443 occupied private dwellings in Glen Waverley.
- Average household size
- 2.8 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,158
- Median weekly personal income
- $707
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 25,032 (61%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 25,919 (63%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 70 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 25,745 (76%)
- Labour-force participation
- 57.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.9%
- Employed full-time
- 11,484
- Employed part-time
- 6,820
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 Glen Waverley
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Glen Waverley 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 Glen Waverley
Amenities mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre, from OpenStreetMap. A guide to what's nearby — not a complete directory.
Eat & drink
75 nearbyMcDonald's · Circuz Restaurant · PJ Malaysian Cuisine · PJ Malaysia l · Hugo Cafe · Kimchi Hut
Parks & recreation
71 nearbyAnytime Fitness · Bogong Reserve · Glen Waverley Bowls Club · Larpent Reserve · Hinkler Reserve · Brynor Playground
Shops & groceries
16 nearbyWoolworths · Coles · Bakers Delight · French's IGA X-Press · Kerrie Road Butchers · Kerrie Road Fruit Market
Healthcare
52 nearbyGlen Waverley Pharmacy · Specialist Medical Centre · Kerrie Road Pharmacy · The Glen Endoscopy Centre · Dr Uday Dixit · One Smile
Schools & education
10 nearbyGlen Allen School - Reception · Victoria Police Academy · Glen Waverley Secondary College · Glen Waverley Primary School · Mount View Primary School · Glenallen School
Things to do
6 nearbyVillage Cinemas Century City · Kerrie Neighbourhood House · Blackflat Community Centre · Glen Waverley Public Library · Mount Street Neighbourhood House
Eat & drink in and around Glen Waverley
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- 5 and 2Restaurant
- Airstream CafeRestaurant
- Bon Chicken & BarRestaurant91 Kingsway, Glen Waverley
- Circuz RestaurantRestaurantcircuz.com.au
- Crazy WingRestaurant
- East EmpressRestaurant
- Glen Village Fish ShopTakeaway
- Glen Waverley PizzaTakeaway
- Glenny KebabsTakeaway
- Gloria Jean'sCafé95 Kingsway
- Gong ChaCafé
- Grill'dTakeaway89 Kingsway, Glen Waverley
- Happy CupCafé
- Hugo CafeCafé63 Kingsway, Glen Waverley
- ICHI KATSURestaurant
- Infusion RestaurantRestaurant
- J.G Dumpling RestaurantRestaurant
- Kerrie Road Bakery CafeCafé
- Kerrie Road Fish and ChipsTakeaway
- Kimchi HutRestaurant
- Laksa KingRestaurant
- Little Caeser's Pizza and PastaRestaurant
- Lukumama DessertsTakeaway
- Maguro BarRestaurant
- Manchurian KitchenRestaurant
- Marble YakinikuRestaurant
- McDonald'sTakeawaymcdonalds.com.au
- MeegaRestaurant
- Meet FreshRestaurant
- Miss PickleRestaurant
- Mountain View HotelPub
- Mrs NoodleRestaurant
- Niku ShikiRestaurantL009 Springvale Roadnikushiki.com.au
- O TownRestaurant
- OMIRestaurantomiwagyu.com.au
- Paik's NoodleRestaurant
- Papa John'sTakeaway
- PJ Malaysia lRestaurant171 Coleman Parade, Glen Waverley
- PJ Malaysian CuisineRestaurant
- Platform 7Café
- Ricy BoatRestaurant
- Saigon OrchidRestaurant
- SchnitzTakeaway
- Scusa Mi! ItalianoRestaurant
- Shine CafeRestaurant
- Shira NuiRestaurant
- ShujinkoRestaurant
- Steak MinistryRestaurant
- Sushi JiroRestaurant
- Thai YimRestaurant
- The Boiling CrabRestaurant
- The Grand TofuRestaurant
- Uni Boom BoomRestaurant
- UnnamedRestaurant
- Waverley Original Charcoal ChickenTakeaway
- WayaRestaurant93 Kingsway
- Workshop BrosCafé97 Kingsway
- XJ Hot PotRestaurant
- Yo My Good NessCafé65 Kingsway, Glen Waverley
- Yoon's KitchenRestaurant
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 Glen Waverley
Is Glen Waverley 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, amenities, green space and transport, Glen Waverley rates 71/100 overall (Strong on the data we score). Schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Glen Waverley?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Glen Waverley was $480, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,500. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Glen Waverley?
Glen Waverley is a suburb of Victoria, Australia, in the Monash local government area.
What is the population of Glen Waverley?
At the 2021 Census, Glen Waverley had a population of about 42,642.
Is Glen Waverley an advantaged area?
Glen Waverley has an ABS SEIFA score of 1079, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 92 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 92% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Glen Waverley?
Glen Waverley 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).
How big is Glen Waverley?
Glen Waverley is one of the most populous suburbs in Victoria — the 9th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 42,642 usual residents).
Where Glen Waverley ranks
Glen Waverley appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Largest suburbs in Victoria#9 of 25
- Largest suburbs in Australia#12 of 25
Nearby suburbs in Victoria
More suburb guides in Victoria
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.