Mount Waverley, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Mount Waverley lies about 16 kilometres south-east of central Melbourne in the City of Monash. Assistant Surveyor Eugene Bellairs set out the district, then part of the Parish of Mulgrave, on a grid of straight roads exactly a mile apart in 1853, and the post office followed in 1905. The suburb is known for heritage streets laid out in the 1930s, among them the ambitious Glen Alvie estate near Mount Waverley Village, which was planned as a country-club garden suburb with tennis courts, a bowling green and palm-lined Sherwood Park; its original streets were laid in concrete rather than asphalt and survive much as they were. The Great Depression stalled building, and houses only rose in earnest from the early 1950s as Melbourne spread eastward. The much-loved Melbourne street directory Melway was first produced in a Mount Waverley garage in 1966. Today the suburb is a hub for electronics and IT firms, has a strong Chinese, Greek and Italian community, and keeps generous bushland reserves along Damper and Scotchmans Creeks.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Mount Waverley is more socio-economically advantaged than about 94% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1092, 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 Mount 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 Mount 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
94/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (94/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
8/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $476 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 8% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Amenities & access
92/100Plenty mapped nearby
About 173 everyday places (cafés, shops, services and more) mapped within ~1.2 km of the centre. · OpenStreetMap
Green space
66/100A good amount of green space nearby
About 8.1% 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
78/100A good number of stops nearby
About 33 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.
Mount Waverley at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 35,340
- Median age
- 40
- Median weekly household income
- $2,066
- SEIFA score
- 1092
- Local government area
- Monash
- Coordinates
- -37.8784, 145.1285
Map of Mount Waverley
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Mount Waverley
What it costs to live in Mount Waverley and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $476
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $2,600
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 73%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 24%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Mount 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.
Mount Waverley demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Mount 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 49% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 5,994 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 4,724 | 13% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 9,098 | 26% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 8,941 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 6,580 | 19% |
Share of the 35,337 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 5,232 | 42% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 3,932 | 31% |
| Rented | 3,025 | 24% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 8,561 | 69% |
| Townhouses & semis | 1,227 | 10% |
| Flats & apartments | 2,681 | 21% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 12,476 occupied private dwellings in Mount Waverley.
- Average household size
- 2.7 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,383
- Median weekly personal income
- $810
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 16,866 (49%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 17,582 (51%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 77 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 21,394 (77%)
- Labour-force participation
- 61.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.4%
- Employed full-time
- 10,127
- Employed part-time
- 5,946
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 Mount Waverley
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Mount 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 Mount 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
9 nearbyCafe Vermeer · Nuts-Chan · Purple Orange Cafe · Golden Ocean · Son of Tuccii · The Chicken Experts
Parks & recreation
134 nearbyValley Conservation Reserve · Scotchman's Creek Linear Park · Fairway Reserve · Mount Waverley Bowling Club · Damper Creek Reserve · Holy Family Tennis Club
Shops & groceries
10 nearbyWoolworths · Ritchies · The Swiss Bakehouse · Best Price Butcher Seafood 2 · Mace Butcher · Sam's Fruit World
Healthcare
7 nearbyMount Waverley Clinic · Beovich's Guardian Pharmacy · Chemist Warehouse · Wong and Bendixen Pharmacy · Mount Waverley Pharmacy · Waverley Road Dental
Schools & education
7 nearbyMount Waverley Secondary College · Avila College · Holy Family School · Mount Waverley Primary School · Huntingtower School
Things to do
6 nearbyMt Waverley Youth Centre · Mt Waverley Library · Monash Historic Society · Mount Waverley Secondary College Senior Library · Mount Waverley Community Centre
Eat & drink in and around Mount 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- Cafe VermeerCafé9-11 Hamilton Place
- Golden OceanRestaurantHamilton Place
- Marisa Pizza & PastaRestaurant
- Matsuki japanese restaurantRestaurant
- Nuts-ChanRestaurant4 The Highway
- Proud PeacockRestaurant28 Hamilton Place, Mount Waverleyproudpeacock.com.au
- Purple Orange CafeCafé
- Son of TucciiCafé
- The Chicken ExpertsTakeaway
Listings © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Own a venue here? Suggest a correction.
Share your local knowledge of Mount Waverley
Lived here or spent time in Mount Waverley? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Mount Waverley
Is Mount 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, Mount Waverley rates 72/100 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 Mount Waverley?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Mount Waverley was $476, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,600. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Mount Waverley?
Mount Waverley is a suburb of Victoria, Australia, in the Monash local government area.
What is the population of Mount Waverley?
At the 2021 Census, Mount Waverley had a population of about 35,340.
Is Mount Waverley an advantaged area?
Mount Waverley has an ABS SEIFA score of 1092, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 94 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 94% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Mount Waverley?
Mount 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 Mount Waverley?
Mount Waverley is one of the most populous suburbs in Victoria — the 15th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 35,340 usual residents).
Where Mount Waverley ranks
Mount Waverley appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Largest suburbs in Victoria#15 of 25
- Largest suburbs in Australia#24 of 25
Nearby suburbs in Victoria
More suburb guides in Victoria
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.