Best suburbs in Melbourne for public transport
How well connected each suburb actually is.
Ripponlea (100/100), Prahran (99/100), Windsor (99/100) lead this ranking of 216 Melbourne suburbs.
By BestSuburbs research · Updated October 2026
Part of Melbourne suburb rankings · all Melbourne lists
Which Melbourne suburbs have the best public transport?
How do the top 25 compare, measure by measure?
| # | Suburb | Transit score | Median house price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ripponlea | 100 | $2,000,000 |
| 2 |  Prahran | 99 | $1,472,500 |
| 3 |  Windsor | 99 | $1,635,000 |
| 4 |  Armadale | 98 | $2,535,500 |
| 5 |  Balaclava | 98 | $1,267,500 |
| 6 |  East Melbourne | 97 | $3,125,000 |
| 7 |  Cremorne | 97 | $1,250,000 |
| 8 |  Huntingdale | 97 | $1,280,000 |
| 9 |  Fitzroy | 96 | $1,342,500 |
| 10 |  Carlton | 96 | $1,690,000 |
| 11 |  St Kilda West | 95 | $2,950,000 |
| 12 |  Seddon | 95 | $1,020,000 |
| 13 |  Fitzroy North | 94 | $1,788,000 |
| 14 |  Kingsville | 94 | $1,098,800 |
| 15 |  Brunswick | 93 | $1,335,300 |
| 16 |  Melbourne | 93 | — |
| 17 |  Collingwood | 92 | $1,336,500 |
| 18 |  Middle Park | 92 | $2,940,000 |
| 19 |  North Melbourne | 91 | $1,361,000 |
| 20 |  Docklands | 91 | — |
| 21 |  South Kingsville | 91 | $1,660,000 |
| 22 |  Brunswick West | 90 | $1,366,000 |
| 23 |  St Kilda | 90 | $1,750,000 |
| 24 |  South Yarra | 89 | $1,980,000 |
| 25 |  Southbank | 89 | — |
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 do these 10 Melbourne suburbs lead on public transport? (October 2026)
Updated 14 October 2026 · one sentence of real reasons per suburb, from the data on this page.
- Ripponlea ★ 100
At #1, Ripponlea combines 23 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 100 and 93% of it within 400 m of a park, and 2 cafés.
- Prahran ★ 99
#2 Prahran — 95% of it within 400 m of a park, plus 85 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 99, and 1 government primary school inside the suburb.
- Windsor ★ 99
Windsor (#3) scores on 100% of it within 400 m of a park and 29 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 99, and 1 secondary inside the suburb.
- Armadale ★ 98
Armadale ranks #4: 99 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 98, 3 government primary schools and 2 secondary inside the suburb, and 69% of it within 400 m of a park.
- Balaclava ★ 98
At #5, Balaclava combines 32 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 98 and 69% of it within 400 m of a park, and 5 cafés.
- East Melbourne ★ 97
At #6, East Melbourne combines 100% of it within 400 m of a park and 72 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 97, and 13.0 ha of parkland per 1,000 residents.
- Cremorne ★ 97
Cremorne takes #7 on 30 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 97, with 9 cafés, and 75% of it within 400 m of a park.
- Huntingdale ★ 97
#8 Huntingdale — 20 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 97, plus 3 cafés, and a median house price of $1.28m (Oct–Dec 2025).
- Fitzroy ★ 96
#9 Fitzroy — 47 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 96, plus 88% of it within 400 m of a park, and 43 cafés.
- Carlton ★ 96
What lifts Carlton to #10 is 100% of it within 400 m of a park; it also has 56 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 96, and 61 cafés.
Why each of the top 10 suburbs for public transport 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. Ripponlea
Ripponlea is #1 of 216 ranked Melbourne suburbs on this list, with a score of 100/100. It has 23 public transport stops inside its boundary, for a transit score of 100/100. The trade-off: it scores 24/100 for parks, so it is weaker there. It covers 0.3 km² with about 1,532 residents (census).
2. Prahran
Prahran is #2 of 216 ranked Melbourne suburbs on this list, with a score of 99/100. It has 85 public transport stops inside its boundary, for a transit score of 99/100. The trade-off: it scores 6/100 for safety, so it is weaker there. It covers 1.5 km² with about 12,203 residents (census).
3. Windsor
Windsor is #3 of 216 ranked Melbourne suburbs on this list, with a score of 99/100. It has 29 public transport stops inside its boundary, for a transit score of 99/100. The trade-off: it scores 12/100 for safety, so it is weaker there. It covers 0.5 km² with about 7,273 residents (census).
4. Armadale
Armadale is #4 of 216 ranked Melbourne suburbs on this list, with a score of 98/100. It has 99 public transport stops inside its boundary, for a transit score of 98/100. The trade-off: it scores 24/100 for parks, so it is weaker there. It covers 2.1 km² with about 9,368 residents (census).
5. Balaclava
Balaclava is #5 of 216 ranked Melbourne suburbs on this list, with a score of 98/100. It has 32 public transport stops inside its boundary, for a transit score of 98/100. The trade-off: it scores 4/100 for activity, so it is weaker there. It covers 0.8 km² with about 5,392 residents (census).
6. East Melbourne
East Melbourne is #6 of 216 ranked Melbourne suburbs on this list, with a score of 97/100. It has 72 public transport stops inside its boundary, for a transit score of 97/100. The trade-off: it scores 4/100 for safety, so it is weaker there. It covers 1.8 km² with about 4,896 residents (census).
7. Cremorne
Cremorne is #7 of 216 ranked Melbourne suburbs on this list, with a score of 97/100. It has 30 public transport stops inside its boundary, for a transit score of 97/100. The trade-off: it scores 8/100 for activity, so it is weaker there. It covers 0.7 km² with about 2,158 residents (census).
8. Huntingdale
Huntingdale is #8 of 216 ranked Melbourne suburbs on this list, with a score of 97/100. It has 20 public transport stops inside its boundary, for a transit score of 97/100. The trade-off: it scores 0/100 for parks, so it is weaker there. It covers 0.5 km² with about 1,949 residents (census).
9. Fitzroy
Fitzroy is #9 of 216 ranked Melbourne suburbs on this list, with a score of 96/100. It has 47 public transport stops inside its boundary, for a transit score of 96/100. The trade-off: it scores 4/100 for safety, so it is weaker there. It covers 1 km² with about 10,431 residents (census).
10. Carlton
Carlton is #10 of 216 ranked Melbourne suburbs on this list, with a score of 96/100. It has 56 public transport stops inside its boundary, for a transit score of 96/100. The trade-off: it scores 4/100 for value for rent, so it is weaker there. It covers 1.3 km² with about 16,055 residents (census).
How do these suburbs compare head to head?
What else do people ask about suburbs for public transport in Melbourne?
What are the best suburbs in Melbourne for public transport?
On our October 2026 data the top five are Ripponlea (100/100), Prahran (99/100), Windsor (99/100), Armadale (98/100), Balaclava (98/100), out of 216 ranked Melbourne suburbs.
How is this ranking calculated?
The transit score: access to train stations, tram and bus stops within the suburb boundary, weighted by mode and normalised against the city. 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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