Best suburbs in Melbourne for families
Safety, schools, parks per resident, kinders and childcare, house prices for the size and transit — weighted, and shown.
Eltham North (86/100), Briar Hill (84/100), Montmorency (82/100) lead this ranking of 216 Melbourne suburbs.
By BestSuburbs research · Updated October 2026
Part of Melbourne suburb rankings · all Melbourne lists
Which Melbourne suburbs are best for families?
How do the top 25 compare, measure by measure?
| # | Suburb | Families score | Safety | Schools (govt data) | Green space | Transit | Median house price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Eltham North | 86 | 99 | 4 | 86 | 16 | $1,218,900 |
| 2 |  Briar Hill | 84 | 98 | 2 | 45 | 75 | $996,000 |
| 3 |  Montmorency | 82 | 100 | 4 | 54 | 38 | $1,180,000 |
| 4 |  Seabrook | 81 | 96 | 1 | 81 | 64 | $811,000 |
| 5 |  Blackburn North | 79 | 92 | 3 | 54 | 56 | $1,465,000 |
| 6 |  Keilor Lodge | 79 | 97 | 1 | 74 | 30 | $1,090,500 |
| 7 |  Seaholme | 78 | 66 | 1 | 82 | 59 | $1,350,000 |
| 8 |  Macleod | 77 | 91 | 3 | 72 | 29 | $1,101,000 |
| 9 |  Avondale Heights | 77 | 93 | 2 | 86 | 27 | $1,085,000 |
| 10 |  Sydenham | 77 | 73 | 3 | 64 | 52 | $752,000 |
| 11 |  Clarinda | 76 | 88 | 3 | 64 | 44 | $1,098,500 |
| 12 |  Viewbank | 75 | 97 | 2 | 92 | 5 | $1,295,500 |
| 13 |  Templestowe Lower | 75 | 95 | 4 | 50 | 41 | $1,378,000 |
| 14 |  St Helena | 75 | 91 | 1 | 84 | 37 | $1,320,000 |
| 15 |  Keilor Downs | 75 | 63 | 4 | 60 | 32 | $891,000 |
| 16 |  Greensborough | 74 | 62 | 8 | 76 | 41 | $996,900 |
| 17 |  Diamond Creek | 74 | 90 | 4 | 47 | 6 | $1,060,000 |
| 18 |  Strathmore | 74 | 84 | 4 | 72 | 42 | $1,450,000 |
| 19 |  Gowanbrae | 74 | 99 | 0 | 58 | 44 | $960,000 |
| 20 |  Kew East | 73 | 72 | 3 | 76 | 41 | — |
| 21 |  Blackburn South | 73 | 79 | 3 | 52 | 67 | $1,360,500 |
| 22 |  Keilor | 73 | 82 | 3 | 54 | 4 | $1,203,000 |
| 23 |  Essendon West | 72 | 80 | 1 | 93 | 21 | $1,350,000 |
| 24 |  Kings Park | 72 | 81 | 2 | 62 | 63 | $669,000 |
| 25 |  Yallambie | 71 | 97 | 1 | 56 | 25 | $1,026,800 |
Showing the top 25 of 216 ranked suburbs. Scores are percentiles against every other suburb in Melbourne: 100 is the best in the city, 50 is mid-table. Click any suburb for its full profile.
Why are these the 10 best Melbourne suburbs for families? (October 2026)
Updated 14 October 2026 · one sentence of real reasons per suburb, from the data on this page.
- Eltham North ★ 86
#1 Eltham North — a recorded crime rate of about 14 offences per 1,000 residents (safety score 99/100), plus 100% of it within 400 m of a park, and 3 government primary schools and 1 secondary inside the suburb.
- Briar Hill ★ 84
Briar Hill takes #2 on a recorded crime rate of about 16 offences per 1,000 residents (safety score 98/100), with 96% of it within 400 m of a park, and 2 government primary schools inside the suburb.
- Montmorency ★ 82
At #3, Montmorency combines a recorded crime rate of about 13 offences per 1,000 residents (safety score 100/100) and 89% of it within 400 m of a park, and 3 government primary schools and 1 secondary inside the suburb.
- Seabrook ★ 81
What lifts Seabrook to #4 is a recorded crime rate of about 24 offences per 1,000 residents (safety score 96/100); it also has 100% of it within 400 m of a park, and 4.1 ha of parkland per 1,000 residents.
- Blackburn North ★ 79
Blackburn North takes #5 on a recorded crime rate of about 26 offences per 1,000 residents (safety score 92/100), with 89% of it within 400 m of a park, and 3 government primary schools inside the suburb.
- Keilor Lodge ★ 79
Keilor Lodge ranks #6: a recorded crime rate of about 17 offences per 1,000 residents (safety score 97/100), 100% of it within 400 m of a park, and 1 secondary inside the suburb.
- Seaholme ★ 78
Seaholme ranks #7: 98% of it within 400 m of a park, a recorded crime rate of about 47 offences per 1,000 residents (safety score 66/100), and 6.5 ha of parkland per 1,000 residents.
- Macleod ★ 77
Macleod takes #8 on a recorded crime rate of about 29 offences per 1,000 residents (safety score 91/100), with 90% of it within 400 m of a park, and 2 government primary schools and 2 secondary inside the suburb.
- Avondale Heights ★ 77
Avondale Heights (#9) scores on a recorded crime rate of about 26 offences per 1,000 residents (safety score 93/100) and 98% of it within 400 m of a park, and 11.3 ha of parkland per 1,000 residents.
- Sydenham ★ 77
Sydenham ranks #10: 98% of it within 400 m of a park, a recorded crime rate of about 40 offences per 1,000 residents (safety score 73/100), and 2 government primary schools and 1 secondary inside the suburb.
Why each of the top 10 suburbs for families in Melbourne ranks where it does
Written from this page's own data: each figure below is the suburb's own value, set against the Melbourne median where we hold one.
1. Eltham North
Eltham North is #1 of 216 ranked Melbourne suburbs on this list, with a score of 86/100. Its strongest family components are safety 99, green space 97, schools 96 (each out of 100). The trade-off: it scores 16/100 for public transport, so it is weaker there. It covers 4 km² with about 6,830 residents (census).
2. Briar Hill
Briar Hill is #2 of 216 ranked Melbourne suburbs on this list, with a score of 84/100. Its strongest family components are house price for the size 100, safety 98, schools 97 (each out of 100). The trade-off: it scores 7/100 for cafés, so it is weaker there. It covers 1.3 km² with about 3,220 residents (census).
3. Montmorency
Montmorency is #3 of 216 ranked Melbourne suburbs on this list, with a score of 82/100. Its strongest family components are safety 100, schools 92, house price for the size 86 (each out of 100). The trade-off: it scores 38/100 for public transport, so it is weaker there. It covers 3.8 km² with about 9,250 residents (census).
4. Seabrook
Seabrook is #4 of 216 ranked Melbourne suburbs on this list, with a score of 81/100. Its strongest family components are house price for the size 100, safety 96, green space 85 (each out of 100). The trade-off: it scores 7/100 for cafés, so it is weaker there. It covers 1.5 km² with about 4,952 residents (census).
5. Blackburn North
Blackburn North is #5 of 216 ranked Melbourne suburbs on this list, with a score of 79/100. Its strongest family components are safety 92, schools 88, kinders and childcare 88 (each out of 100). The trade-off: it scores 20/100 for activity, so it is weaker there. It covers 2.5 km² with about 7,627 residents (census).
6. Keilor Lodge
Keilor Lodge is #6 of 216 ranked Melbourne suburbs on this list, with a score of 79/100. Its strongest family components are green space 98, safety 97, house price for the size 95 (each out of 100). The trade-off: it scores 7/100 for cafés, so it is weaker there. It covers 0.7 km² with about 1,668 residents (census).
7. Seaholme
Seaholme is #7 of 216 ranked Melbourne suburbs on this list, with a score of 78/100. Its strongest family components are kinders and childcare 95, schools 91, green space 86 (each out of 100). The trade-off: it scores 7/100 for cafés, so it is weaker there. It covers 0.9 km² with about 2,067 residents (census).
8. Macleod
Macleod is #8 of 216 ranked Melbourne suburbs on this list, with a score of 77/100. Its strongest family components are house price for the size 94, safety 91, schools 82 (each out of 100). The trade-off: it scores 22/100 for activity, so it is weaker there. It covers 4.4 km² with about 9,892 residents (census).
9. Avondale Heights
Avondale Heights is #9 of 216 ranked Melbourne suburbs on this list, with a score of 77/100. Its strongest family components are house price for the size 95, safety 93, green space 90 (each out of 100). The trade-off: it scores 4/100 for activity, so it is weaker there. It covers 5.4 km² with about 12,388 residents (census).
10. Sydenham
Sydenham is #10 of 216 ranked Melbourne suburbs on this list, with a score of 77/100. Its strongest family components are house price for the size 100, kinders and childcare 99, schools 80 (each out of 100). The trade-off: it scores 7/100 for cafés, so it is weaker there. It covers 3.6 km² with about 10,578 residents (census).
How do these suburbs compare head to head?
What else do people ask about suburbs for families in Melbourne?
What are the best suburbs in Melbourne for families?
On our October 2026 data the top five are Eltham North (86/100), Briar Hill (84/100), Montmorency (82/100), Seabrook (81/100), Blackburn North (79/100), out of 216 ranked Melbourne suburbs.
How is this ranking calculated?
Families score v2 (10 September 2026): safety 30%, schools 25% (schools per 1,000 residents from government school-location data where available, plus a primary within 800 m and a secondary within 2 km), parks and green space per 1,000 residents 15%, kinders and childcare per 1,000 10%, house price for the size 10% (median house price against the city median, gently), and public transport 10%. Weights are renormalised where a city lacks a component. v1 penalised dense inner suburbs for park hectares and leaned on OpenStreetMap school points; see the honesty note below. 216 of 216 Melbourne suburbs had enough data to be ranked. Updated October 2026.
Is this ranking sponsored?
No. No ranking on this site is sold or sponsored. It is computed from open data: GPS activity traces, official crime statistics, the ABS census and OpenStreetMap.
What other Melbourne rankings are there?
Sources: open GPS activity traces, official crime statistics, ABS census,
OpenStreetMap (ODbL). Sale prices: Victorian Property Sales Report, October–December 2025 quarter — © State of Victoria (Department of Transport and Planning / Valuer-General Victoria), Victorian Property Sales Report, CC BY 4.0. Quarterly median of sales settled in the quarter, per suburb. Figures marked as low-volume rest on fewer than 10 sales that quarter. No ranking on this site is sold or sponsored.
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