StreetScout

Northcote, VIC

By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·

Northcote is an established inner-northern suburb of Melbourne, about six kilometres north-east of the city in the City of Darebin, on the land of the Wurundjeri Willam people of the Kulin nation. Its high ground around Ruckers Hill takes its name from a mansion built there in the 1840s by the early settler William Rucker. The suburb itself was named after the British parliamentarian Sir Stafford Northcote, and grew quickly through the gold-rush decades along its spine of High Street. The Northcote Picture Theatre, which opened in 1912, is among the oldest surviving cinemas in Victoria and now serves as a live-music venue. Nearby stands a handsome Carnegie library of 1911, one of only a handful built in Australia. The Victorian premiers John Cain, father and son, both came from the suburb.

97/100
Suburb Score

Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs

Northcote is more socio-economically advantaged than about 97% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1117, 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 Northcote 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.

74/100
Livability

Strong on the data we score

A weighted blend of the 3 components we can score for Northcote 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

97/100

Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs

Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (97/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021

Housing affordability

8/100

Among the more expensive suburbs

Median weekly rent was $475 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 8% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021

Amenities & access

92/100

Plenty mapped nearby

About 241 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.

Northcote at a glance

Population (2021)
25,276
Median age
37
Median weekly household income
$2,287
SEIFA score
1117
Local government area
Darebin
Coordinates
-37.7723, 145.0009

Map of Northcote

© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map

Housing & property in Northcote

What it costs to live in Northcote and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.

Median rent
$475
per week
Median mortgage
$2,400
per month
Owner-occupied
60%
of dwellings
Rented
37%
of dwellings

The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Northcote demographics section below.

How we treat property data. StreetScout shows official ABS housing figures and nothing more — no sale-price estimates, no real-estate agent referrals or lead capture, and we never pass your details to anyone. Just the public data, so you can read Northcote for yourself.

Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.

Northcote demographics (2021 Census)

The figures below profile Northcote 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 36% and 25% of residents were born overseas.

Age profile

Age groupPeopleShare
Children (0–14)3,78915%
Youth (15–24)2,52310%
Young adults (25–44)9,18536%
Mid-life (45–64)6,45926%
Seniors (65+)3,32113%

Share of the 25,277 people counted by age.

Housing and households

TenureDwellingsShare
Owned outright3,08130%
Owned with a mortgage3,09130%
Rented3,83837%
Dwelling typeDwellingsShare
Houses5,02349%
Townhouses & semis2,80127%
Flats & apartments2,33323%

Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 10,236 occupied private dwellings in Northcote.

Average household size
2.3 people
Median weekly family income
$3,181
Median weekly personal income
$1,166

Community and culture

Born overseas
6,167 (25%)
Speaks a language other than English at home
4,904 (20%)
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
151 (1%)

Work and education

Completed Year 12
16,496 (80%)
Labour-force participation
72.3%
Unemployment rate
4%
Employed full-time
9,125
Employed part-time
4,922

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 Northcote

Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Northcote 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.

MonthAvg highAvg lowRain
Jan27°C14.9°C62 mm
Feb25.8°C14.1°C32 mm
Mar24°C13.3°C47 mm
Apr20°C10.5°C62 mm
May16°C8.4°C63 mm
Jun13.4°C6.5°C63 mm
Jul12.9°C6.1°C50 mm
Aug13.7°C6.2°C59 mm
Sep16.3°C7.3°C65 mm
Oct19.6°C8.8°C76 mm
Nov21.6°C10.8°C79 mm
Dec24.5°C12.6°C66 mm

Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).

Places in and around Northcote

Amenities mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre, from OpenStreetMap. A guide to what's nearby — not a complete directory.

Eat & drink

101 nearby

Ferdinand · Launder It · The Peacock Hotel · Primo · Spit Jack · Kaféz

Parks & recreation

76 nearby

Yoga Jivana · Clowning Around · Jetts Fitness · Northcote Cricket Club · Northside Pilates · Sunnyfields Community Garden

Shops & groceries

19 nearby

Coles · ALDI · Bakers Delight · Fresh and Best · Romatino Quality Meat · Best Baked

Healthcare

22 nearby

Pulse Pharmacy · Westgarth Pharmacy · Darebin Community Health · Chemist Warehouse · Northcote Medical · Croxton Medical Centre

Schools & education

11 nearby

Annie Dennis Children's Centre · Guardian · Bright Institute · Northcote High School · Santa Maria College · Westgarth Kindergarten

Things to do

12 nearby

Northcote Library · Ruckers Hill View of City Skyline · Dance 2003 · Northcote Gorge Lookout · WeCycle · Black Spark Cultural Centre

Eat & drink in and around Northcote

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.

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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 Northcote

Is Northcote 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, Northcote rates 74/100 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 Northcote?

At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Northcote was $475, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,400. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.

Where is Northcote?

Northcote is a suburb of Victoria, Australia, in the Darebin local government area.

What is the population of Northcote?

At the 2021 Census, Northcote had a population of about 25,276.

Is Northcote an advantaged area?

Northcote has an ABS SEIFA score of 1117, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 97 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 97% of Australian suburbs.

What is the weather like in Northcote?

Northcote 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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