Malvern East, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Malvern East is an established, leafy suburb in Melbourne's south-east, within the City of Stonnington and about thirteen kilometres from the central business district. It is best known as the home of the Chadstone Shopping Centre, one of the largest retail complexes in the southern hemisphere, which sits on the suburb's eastern edge near Warrigal Road. Away from the shops, Malvern East is a quiet residential area threaded with popular open spaces, among them Central Park, the Urban Forest Reserve and the heritage-protected Hedgeley Dene Gardens, a gentle landscaped valley followed by a winding ornamental creek. The suburb is also home to the Buddhist Society of Victoria, founded in the nineteen-fifties and regarded as the oldest such institution in the state. Several railway stations on the Glen Waverley line, along with tram routes, link the area to the city.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Malvern East 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 Malvern East 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 Malvern East 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
14/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $421 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 14% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Amenities & access
92/100Plenty mapped nearby
About 176 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.
Malvern East at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 22,296
- Median age
- 38
- Median weekly household income
- $2,383
- SEIFA score
- 1128
- Local government area
- Stonnington
- Coordinates
- -37.8782, 145.0693
Map of Malvern East
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Malvern East
What it costs to live in Malvern East and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $421
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $2,944
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 67%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 31%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Malvern East demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Malvern East demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Malvern East 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 27% and 31% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 3,548 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 3,219 | 14% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 6,083 | 27% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 5,622 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 3,818 | 17% |
Share of the 22,290 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 2,964 | 36% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 2,603 | 31% |
| Rented | 2,574 | 31% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 4,432 | 53% |
| Townhouses & semis | 1,960 | 24% |
| Flats & apartments | 1,787 | 21% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 8,322 occupied private dwellings in Malvern East.
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $3,288
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,060
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 6,608 (31%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 5,667 (26%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 65 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 14,425 (81%)
- Labour-force participation
- 67.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.1%
- Employed full-time
- 7,158
- Employed part-time
- 4,097
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 Malvern East
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Malvern East is January (average daytime high around 25.9°C) and the coolest is July (around 13.2°C). The area receives roughly 800 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25.9°C | 15.5°C | 60 mm |
| Feb | 24.9°C | 15°C | 40 mm |
| Mar | 23.4°C | 14.2°C | 51 mm |
| Apr | 19.9°C | 11.6°C | 68 mm |
| May | 16.3°C | 9.6°C | 70 mm |
| Jun | 13.8°C | 7.5°C | 68 mm |
| Jul | 13.2°C | 7.1°C | 59 mm |
| Aug | 13.8°C | 7.3°C | 76 mm |
| Sep | 16.4°C | 8.4°C | 70 mm |
| Oct | 19.3°C | 9.8°C | 84 mm |
| Nov | 21.1°C | 11.7°C | 86 mm |
| Dec | 23.7°C | 13.4°C | 68 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Places in and around Malvern East
Amenities mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre, from OpenStreetMap. A guide to what's nearby — not a complete directory.
Eat & drink
21 nearbySatsuki · Cilantro Hearth's Inheritance · Little Oak Eatery · Ped's Kafe · The Diner · Kamu
Parks & recreation
121 nearbyPilates · Waverley Park · Watson Park · Darling Park · Boyd Park · Urban Forest
Shops & groceries
11 nearbyWoolworths · The Valley · ALDI · Hao's Asian Grocer · Green Onions · Loafers Bakery Deli
Healthcare
11 nearbySunspot Skin Cancer Clinic · Priceline Pharmacy · Ultimate Chiropractic · Carnegie Central · The Dentist · Naturopath
Schools & education
11 nearbyMalvern East Family Day Care · Solway Primary School · Holmesglen Institute Chadstone Campus · Murrumbeena Primary School · Lloyd Street Primary School · Malvern Valley Primary School
Things to do
1 nearbyPhoenix Park Library
Eat & drink in and around Malvern East
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- Bamboo BeanCafé301 Waverley Road
- Cilantro Hearth's InheritanceRestaurant472-480 Waverley Road, Malvern Eastcilantrohearthsinheritance.com.au
- Clancy's BakehouseCafé278 Waverley Road
- House of SkewersRestaurant305 Waverley Road
- Jake & the Beans TalkCafé
- KamuRestaurant
- Little Oak EateryRestaurant
- Malvern Eats Charcoal ChickenRestaurant334 Waverley Road
- McDonald'sTakeawaymcdonalds.com.au
- Ocean DelightsTakeaway285 Waverley Road
- Ozzie KebabsTakeaway
- Ped's KafeRestaurant
- SatsukiCafé
- Shanghai Taste RestaurantRestaurant310 Waverley Road
- Spice VillageRestaurant
- Tandoori CottageRestaurant
- Terminus LnCafé274 Waverley Road
- The DinerRestaurant
- Tuan KitchenRestaurant330 Waverley Road
- Wine Coffee DeliRestaurant340 Waverley Road
Showing 20 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 Malvern East
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Common questions about Malvern East
Is Malvern East 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, Malvern East 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 Malvern East?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Malvern East was $421, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,944. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Malvern East?
Malvern East is a suburb of Victoria, Australia, in the Stonnington local government area.
What is the population of Malvern East?
At the 2021 Census, Malvern East had a population of about 22,296.
Is Malvern East an advantaged area?
Malvern East 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 Malvern East?
Malvern East has average daytime highs of about 19.3°C and overnight lows of about 10.9°C, with roughly 800 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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