Tarneit, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Tarneit is a rapidly growing outer suburb of Melbourne, about 25 km west of the city centre in the City of Wyndham. The Boonwurrung people of the Kulin nation were the first inhabitants of the area. European settlers used the land for grazing from the 1830s, and the name — recorded when the district was surveyed in 1839–1840 — is said to come from a Wathaurong word for the colour white. Tarneit stayed rural and sparsely settled until large-scale residential subdivision began in the early 2000s, with much of today's arterial road network still following an early square-mile grid. One of the few colonial-era landmarks is Doherty's House, a bluestone homestead built in the 1870s, whose walls and chimney survive a later fire. The suburb's growth was transformed by the Regional Rail Link, which opened in 2015 with a new Tarneit station offering a faster route into the city than the older Werribee line.
More advantaged than the national average
Tarneit is more socio-economically advantaged than about 63% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1010, 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.
Tarneit at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 56,370
- Median age
- 30
- Median weekly household income
- $2,103
- SEIFA score
- 1010
- Coordinates
- -37.8364, 144.6595
Tarneit demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Tarneit 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 42%, 29% of homes are rented, and 60% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 16,346 | 29% |
| Youth (15–24) | 6,637 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 23,515 | 42% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 7,521 | 13% |
| Seniors (65+) | 2,362 | 4% |
Share of the 56,381 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,513 | 10% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 8,845 | 57% |
| Rented | 4,583 | 29% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 13,914 | 90% |
| Townhouses & semis | 1,571 | 10% |
| Flats & apartments | 41 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 15,543 occupied private dwellings in Tarneit.
- Median weekly rent
- $380
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,950
- Average household size
- 3.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,081
- Median weekly personal income
- $850
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 32,147 (60%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 36,210 (69%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 220 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 28,899 (76%)
- Labour-force participation
- 69.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 7.3%
- Employed full-time
- 15,524
- Employed part-time
- 8,502
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 Tarneit
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Tarneit is January (average daytime high around 26.6°C) and the coolest is July (around 12.9°C). The area receives roughly 658 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26.6°C | 14.8°C | 57 mm |
| Feb | 25.5°C | 14.2°C | 29 mm |
| Mar | 23.8°C | 13.3°C | 42 mm |
| Apr | 19.9°C | 10.8°C | 57 mm |
| May | 16.1°C | 8.6°C | 53 mm |
| Jun | 13.4°C | 6.8°C | 58 mm |
| Jul | 12.9°C | 6.2°C | 46 mm |
| Aug | 13.6°C | 6.3°C | 52 mm |
| Sep | 16.2°C | 7.3°C | 57 mm |
| Oct | 19.4°C | 8.8°C | 71 mm |
| Nov | 21.5°C | 10.7°C | 70 mm |
| Dec | 24.2°C | 12.5°C | 66 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Tarneit
Where is Tarneit?
Tarneit is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Tarneit?
At the 2021 Census, Tarneit had a population of about 56,370.
Is Tarneit an advantaged area?
Tarneit has an ABS SEIFA score of 1010, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 63 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 63% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Tarneit?
Tarneit has average daytime highs of about 19.4°C and overnight lows of about 10°C, with roughly 658 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
How big is Tarneit?
Tarneit is one of the most populous suburbs in Australia — the 3rd-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 56,370 usual residents).
Where Tarneit ranks
Tarneit appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Largest suburbs in Australia#3 of 25
- Largest suburbs in Victoria#3 of 25
Nearby suburbs in Victoria
More suburb guides in Victoria
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.