Lalor, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Lalor is a suburb about 17 kilometres north of central Melbourne, in the City of Whittlesea. It is named after Peter Lalor, a leader of the 1854 Eureka Stockade and later a member of the Victorian parliament, by way of the Peter Lalor Home Building Co-operative Society. Once part of neighbouring Thomastown, Lalor was conceived in the late 1940s as a low-cost housing scheme for returned servicemen: the co-operative bought farmland east of the present railway station, and the town planner Saxil Tuxen laid it out as a garden suburb. The first post office opened in 1949, and primary and secondary schools followed through the 1950s and 1960s as the population grew. Darebin Creek and Merri Creek mark the suburb's eastern and western edges, and the historic German village of Westgarthtown lies partly within its bounds.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Lalor is more socio-economically advantaged than about 17% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 918, 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 Lalor 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.
Below the national middle on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 3 components we can score for Lalor 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
17/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (17/100) 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 $351 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 28% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Amenities & access
92/100Plenty mapped nearby
About 161 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.
Lalor at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 23,219
- Median age
- 37
- Median weekly household income
- $1,348
- SEIFA score
- 918
- Local government area
- Whittlesea
- Coordinates
- -37.6674, 145.0102
Map of Lalor
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Lalor
What it costs to live in Lalor and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $351
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,775
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 69%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 27%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Lalor demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Lalor demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Lalor 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 30% and 50% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 4,257 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 2,760 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 6,856 | 30% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 5,067 | 22% |
| Seniors (65+) | 4,286 | 18% |
Share of the 23,226 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 3,088 | 39% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 2,402 | 30% |
| Rented | 2,167 | 27% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 7,016 | 89% |
| Townhouses & semis | 384 | 5% |
| Flats & apartments | 493 | 6% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 7,903 occupied private dwellings in Lalor.
- Average household size
- 2.8 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,489
- Median weekly personal income
- $542
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 11,041 (50%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 14,449 (66%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 196 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 9,910 (54%)
- Labour-force participation
- 51.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 7.5%
- Employed full-time
- 5,171
- Employed part-time
- 3,219
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 Lalor
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Lalor 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 Lalor
Amenities mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre, from OpenStreetMap. A guide to what's nearby — not a complete directory.
Eat & drink
15 nearbyRochdale Fish and Chippery · Jimmyz Kebabs · Candoo Confectionary · Chú Quý · Rooster Rock · Ferguson Plarre
Parks & recreation
91 nearbyPartridge Street Reserve · Lalor Recreation Reserve · Gillwell Park · V. R Michael Reserve · Huskisson Recreation Reserve · Stockade Park
Shops & groceries
26 nearbyLalor Mini Mart · Indian and Sri Lankan · G&R Meats · Swagat Grocery · Coles · Zahra Grocery
Healthcare
15 nearbyClinique Mediterranean · Stella Dental · Lalor Mediplex · Kingsway Drive Medical Clinic · Supreme Dental Lalor · Edgars Road Dental
Schools & education
11 nearbyPeter Lalor Vocational College · Thomastown Secondary College · Lalor Gardens Primary School · Jacaranda Preschool · St Catherine's Primary School · Northern School for Autism Lalor Campus
Things to do
3 nearbyFrench Street Hall · Lalor Library
Eat & drink in and around Lalor
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- Afghan Kebab HouseTakeaway334
- Candoo ConfectionaryCafé
- Chú QuýRestaurant
- Ferguson PlarreCafé
- Golden DragonRestaurant
- Jimmyz KebabsTakeaway
- McDonald'sTakeawaymcdonalds.com.au
- Nacool's PizzaTakeaway
- Rochdale Fish and ChipperyTakeaway
- Rooster RockTakeaway
- The Cake BoxCafé314
- The Cake ShopTakeaway
- Vĩnh LongRestaurant
Showing 13 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 Lalor
Lived here or spent time in Lalor? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Lalor
Is Lalor 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, Lalor rates 39/100 overall (Below the national middle 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 Lalor?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Lalor was $351, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,775. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Lalor?
Lalor is a suburb of Victoria, Australia, in the Whittlesea local government area.
What is the population of Lalor?
At the 2021 Census, Lalor had a population of about 23,219.
Is Lalor an advantaged area?
Lalor has an ABS SEIFA score of 918, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 17 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 17% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Lalor?
Lalor 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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