Murrumbeena, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Murrumbeena is a leafy, established suburb in Melbourne's south-east, within the City of Glen Eira and around thirteen kilometres from the central business district. The Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation are recognised as the traditional owners of the area, and the suburb's name is said to derive from an Aboriginal word whose meaning is now uncertain, variously recorded as land of frogs or moss on decayed wood. The name was adopted when the railway station opened in 1879. At its centre, the heritage-protected Murrumbeena Village gathers cafes, shops and services around Neerim Road and the station. The suburb is celebrated above all for its artistic heritage: the Boyd family of painters and potters gathered at their property, Open Country, and ran the Arthur Merric Boyd Pottery nearby, leaving a legacy now traced through local parks, murals and a dedicated heritage walk.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Murrumbeena is more socio-economically advantaged than about 95% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1096, 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 Murrumbeena 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 2 components we can score for Murrumbeena 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
95/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (95/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
21/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $386 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 21% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- 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.
Murrumbeena at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 9,996
- Median age
- 37
- Median weekly household income
- $2,057
- SEIFA score
- 1096
- Local government area
- Glen Eira
- Coordinates
- -37.8961, 145.0693
Map of Murrumbeena
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Murrumbeena
What it costs to live in Murrumbeena and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $386
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $2,167
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 62%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 36%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Murrumbeena demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Murrumbeena demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Murrumbeena 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 33% and 35% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,613 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,166 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 3,290 | 33% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 2,494 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,426 | 14% |
Share of the 9,989 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,205 | 30% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,311 | 32% |
| Rented | 1,487 | 36% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,859 | 46% |
| Townhouses & semis | 1,035 | 25% |
| Flats & apartments | 1,176 | 29% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 4,083 occupied private dwellings in Murrumbeena.
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,767
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,035
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 3,450 (35%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 3,130 (32%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 28 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 6,375 (79%)
- Labour-force participation
- 71%
- Unemployment rate
- 4%
- Employed full-time
- 3,532
- Employed part-time
- 1,819
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 Murrumbeena
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Murrumbeena 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).
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Common questions about Murrumbeena
Is Murrumbeena a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, Murrumbeena rates 70/100 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 Murrumbeena?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Murrumbeena was $386, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,167. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Murrumbeena?
Murrumbeena is a suburb of Victoria, Australia, in the Glen Eira local government area.
What is the population of Murrumbeena?
At the 2021 Census, Murrumbeena had a population of about 9,996.
Is Murrumbeena an advantaged area?
Murrumbeena has an ABS SEIFA score of 1096, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 95 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 95% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Murrumbeena?
Murrumbeena 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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