Hawthorn (Vic.), VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Hawthorn is a leafy, affluent inner suburb in Melbourne's east, about six kilometres from the city centre within the City of Boroondara. Its name — gazetted in 1840 as 'Hawthorne' — is thought to have come from a remark by Charles La Trobe that the native shrubs resembled flowering hawthorn bushes, though it may instead derive from 'The Hawthorns', a bluestone house of the 1840s that still stands. The suburb expanded rapidly in the 1880s land boom, when grand Victorian houses on subdivisions like the Grace Park Estate gave it an upper-class air, reinforced by its many independent schools and grand churches. The 1889 town hall, designed by John Beswicke, has been restored as the Hawthorn Arts Centre, and the Glenferrie Road strip remains a busy shopping and dining street. Hawthorn is also the spiritual home of its famous AFL football club.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Hawthorn (Vic.) is more socio-economically advantaged than about 98% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1128, 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 Hawthorn (Vic.) 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 Hawthorn (Vic.) 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
98/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (98/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
20/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $400 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 20% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Amenities & access
92/100Plenty mapped nearby
About 297 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.
Hawthorn (Vic.) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 22,322
- Median age
- 34
- Median weekly household income
- $2,145
- SEIFA score
- 1128
- Local government area
- Boroondara
- Coordinates
- -37.8259, 145.0304
Map of Hawthorn (Vic.)
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Hawthorn (Vic.)
What it costs to live in Hawthorn (Vic.) and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $400
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $2,259
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 52%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 46%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Hawthorn (Vic.) demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Hawthorn (Vic.) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Hawthorn (Vic.) 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 37% and 29% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 2,746 | 12% |
| Youth (15–24) | 3,505 | 16% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 8,167 | 37% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 4,709 | 21% |
| Seniors (65+) | 3,200 | 14% |
Share of the 22,327 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 2,602 | 27% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 2,422 | 25% |
| Rented | 4,423 | 46% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 2,361 | 24% |
| Townhouses & semis | 1,558 | 16% |
| Flats & apartments | 5,741 | 59% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 9,704 occupied private dwellings in Hawthorn (Vic.).
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $3,279
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,207
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 6,319 (29%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 4,643 (22%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 56 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 16,052 (85%)
- Labour-force participation
- 70.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.7%
- Employed full-time
- 8,227
- Employed part-time
- 4,143
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 Hawthorn (Vic.)
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Hawthorn (Vic.) 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 Hawthorn (Vic.)
Amenities mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre, from OpenStreetMap. A guide to what's nearby — not a complete directory.
Eat & drink
76+ nearbyOsso · Subway · Picaso's · Bay City Burito · Joli · Cafe 727
Parks & recreation
176+ nearbyOak Lawn · Sunken Garden · Rose Garden · Central Lawn · Hitchmough Grasslands Garden · Orange Theory Fitness
Shops & groceries
13+ nearbyRitchies IGA · Woolworths Metro · Ferguson Plarre · Kenny Tran Bakery · Soy · The Cookie Box
Healthcare
9+ nearbyPulse Pharmacy · Power Street Pharmacy · Hawthorn Dental Care · Chemist Warehouse · TerryWhite Chemmart · Boroondara Health & Wellness
Schools & education
11+ nearbySwinburne College · Scotch College · St Kevin's College · The University of Melbourne, Burnley Campus · Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School Hawthorn Campus · St Kevin's College Glendalough Campus
Things to do
12+ nearbyMelbourne Tram Museum · Boroondara Youth Hub · National Communications Museum · Swinburne Library · Burnley Library Building (914) · Hawthorn Early Years
Eat & drink in and around Hawthorn (Vic.)
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- An KitchenRestaurant
- AXIL COFFEE ROASTERSCafé
- Batchy CoffeeCafé
- Bay City BuritoRestaurant838 Glenferrie Road, Hawthornbaycityburrito.com
- Cafe 727Café
- Cafe GomezCafé
- Cha ChaCafé
- Chaplin's OfficeCafé5 St Columbs Street
- ChatimeCafé
- Choi'sRestaurant
- CoCo ChickenTakeaway
- Colin's Catch Fish & ChipperyTakeaway104 Burwood Road, Hawthorn
- Cones Ice CreamTakeaway836 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn
- Ding TeaCafé
- Dr. BrunchCafé
- El Churro CafeRestaurant
- Elly'sTakeaway
- FishbowlTakeaway
- FondaRestaurant651 Glenferrie Road, Hawthornfondamexican.com.au
- Gamsa Korean BBQRestaurant625 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorngamsakbbq.com.au
- Gong ChaCafé
- Guzman Y GomezRestaurant
- Haddon's CafeCafé
- Hawthorn HotelPub479-487 Burwood Road, Hawthorn
- hey! iam yogostTakeaway
- HookedRestaurant669 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn
- HuxtaburgerTakeaway
- Jane&Co CafeCafé616 Glenferrie Road
- JoliRestaurant
- KebabjiTakeaway
- Knead BakersCafé
- Kong Flavour Noodle & RiceRestaurant
- Krispy KremeTakeaway
- LaurentCafé
- Machi machiCafé
- Malay Cottage Asian CuisineRestaurant
- Master Roll VietnamRestaurant
- Mile End BagelsTakeaway
- Nan Yang ExpressRestaurant
- nene chickenRestaurant
- Oakberry AçaíRestaurant
- OssoCafé
- Picaso'sRestaurant
- RococcoRestaurant
- Sabi SoundsCafé
- Saint Helen CafeCafé173 Riversdale Road
- SchnitzTakeaway
- Sinjeon K-Street Food HawthornRestaurant367 Burwood Roadglobalsinjeon.com
- Spice LoungeRestaurant438 Burwood Road, Hawthorn
- SubwayTakeaway
- Sushi MatsuriRestaurant
- Sushi QuokinRestaurant
- Sushi SushiRestaurant
- TapaCafé
- The Resistance Bar and BurgersRestaurant
- Triple Taste Dumpling & NoodleRestaurant
- UDLECaféudle.org
- Urban KitchenRestaurant529 Burwood Road
- WatmiRestaurant
- ZambreroRestaurant
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 Hawthorn (Vic.)
Is Hawthorn (Vic.) 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, Hawthorn (Vic.) rates 77/100 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 Hawthorn (Vic.)?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Hawthorn (Vic.) was $400, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,259. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Hawthorn (Vic.)?
Hawthorn (Vic.) is a suburb of Victoria, Australia, in the Boroondara local government area.
What is the population of Hawthorn (Vic.)?
At the 2021 Census, Hawthorn (Vic.) had a population of about 22,322.
Is Hawthorn (Vic.) an advantaged area?
Hawthorn (Vic.) has an ABS SEIFA score of 1128, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 98 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 98% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Hawthorn (Vic.)?
Hawthorn (Vic.) 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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