Reservoir (Vic.), VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Reservoir sits about twelve kilometres north of central Melbourne, within the City of Darebin. The land was first surveyed by Robert Hoddle in 1837 and drew its boundaries from the earlier Jika Jika and Keelbundoora parishes. The Rose Shamrock Hotel opened on Plenty Road in 1854, and a post office followed around 1921, by which time Reservoir had taken shape as a suburb. Its name comes from a trio of water reservoirs first built in 1863 and known collectively as the Preston Reservoir, which still helps supply Melbourne's inner and western suburbs; the Maroondah Aqueduct was added between 1886 and 1891 to feed them. In 1914 Thomas Dyer Edwardes gave the City of Preston some thirty-four acres of land, later developed into Edwardes Lake Park. Today the suburb mixes established brick and weatherboard homes with newer developments, and is served by the Edwardes Street and Broadway shopping strips.
Around the national middle
Reservoir (Vic.) is more socio-economically advantaged than about 51% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 988, 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.
Reservoir (Vic.) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 51,096
- Median age
- 38
- Median weekly household income
- $1,541
- SEIFA score
- 988
- Coordinates
- -37.7124, 145.0023
Reservoir (Vic.) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Reservoir (Vic.) 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 34%, 36% of homes are rented, and 38% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 7,962 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 5,228 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 17,484 | 34% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 11,602 | 23% |
| Seniors (65+) | 8,831 | 17% |
Share of the 51,107 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 6,267 | 31% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 5,885 | 29% |
| Rented | 7,383 | 36% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 12,804 | 63% |
| Townhouses & semis | 6,582 | 32% |
| Flats & apartments | 786 | 4% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 20,258 occupied private dwellings in Reservoir (Vic.).
- Median weekly rent
- $360
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,986
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,983
- Median weekly personal income
- $741
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 18,158 (38%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 20,740 (43%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 687 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 25,833 (62%)
- Labour-force participation
- 60.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.9%
- Employed full-time
- 14,308
- Employed part-time
- 8,314
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 Reservoir (Vic.)
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Reservoir (Vic.) 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).
Common questions about Reservoir (Vic.)
Where is Reservoir (Vic.)?
Reservoir (Vic.) is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Reservoir (Vic.)?
At the 2021 Census, Reservoir (Vic.) had a population of about 51,096.
Is Reservoir (Vic.) an advantaged area?
Reservoir (Vic.) has an ABS SEIFA score of 988, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 51 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 51% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Reservoir (Vic.)?
Reservoir (Vic.) 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).
How big is Reservoir (Vic.)?
Reservoir (Vic.) is one of the most populous suburbs in Australia — the 6th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 51,096 usual residents).
Where Reservoir (Vic.) ranks
Reservoir (Vic.) appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Largest suburbs in Australia#6 of 25
- Largest suburbs in Victoria#6 of 25
Nearby suburbs in Victoria
More suburb guides in Victoria
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.