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Cairnlea

Ranked #7 of 216 Melbourne suburbs for green space. Every number below comes from open data — official crime statistics, ABS census and GPS activity traces — not opinion.

By BestSuburbs research · Updated October 2026 · Melbourne
Cairnlea suburb score card: safety, activity, value and other scores, Melbourne
Green space88#7 of 216
Safety74#57 of 216
Value70#66 of 216
Parks70#52 of 216

Cairnlea suburb profile: score breakdown

Active
8
#208 of 216
Safety
74
#57 of 216
Wealth
52
#105 of 216
Value
70
#66 of 216
Parks
70
#52 of 216
Cafés
28
#166 of 216
Transit
11
#193 of 216
Green space
88
#7 of 216
Active & healthy
34
#182 of 216
Schools nearby (OSM)
53
#110 of 216

Cairnlea crime rate, rent, prices and other numbers

Population10,038
Area4.36 km²
Postcode3023
Median household income$2,062/wk
Median rent$400/wk
Median house price (Oct–Dec 2025)$981,500 (23 sales this quarter; up 12.8% YoY, up 2.9% QoQ)
Median unit price (Oct–Dec 2025)$402,500 (low volume: 8 sales; down 3.7% YoY, down 1.2% QoQ)
Crime rate39.5 incidents per 1,000 people — 84% of offences are against property, 16% against the person
Parks23 (10.58 ha per 1,000 people)
Schools (government data)2 — 1 primary, 1 secondary; nearest primary 0.52 km, secondary 0.47 km
Families score69/100 (safety 30 · schools 25 · parks per 1,000 15 · kinders 10 · price-for-size 10 · transit 10)
Within 400m of a park99.8% of the suburb
Cafés2
Gyms & sport venues11
Public transport stops26 (26 bus stops)
Nearest parkrunBrimbank parkrun (5.16 km)
Schools nearby (OSM, not catchment zoning)2 schools in the suburb, plus 2 kindergartens — nearest is Cairnlea Park Primary School (0.28 km)

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.

Who lives in Cairnlea

Population
10,038
Median age
36 years
Median household income
$2,062/wk
Median rent
$400/wk
Median house price (Oct–Dec 2025)
$981,500
Median unit price (Oct–Dec 2025)
$402,500

Source: ABS Census 2021; sale prices Victorian Property Sales Report, October–December 2025 quarter. We do not hold a suburb-level renter/owner split, families-with-children rate, born-overseas rate or dwelling-type breakdown for Cairnlea — the fields above are everything the census data behind this site currently carries.

Common questions about Cairnlea

What is the postcode for Cairnlea?

The postcode for Cairnlea, Melbourne is 3023.

Is Cairnlea a good suburb?

There is no single invented "overall" score here -- Cairnlea is measured on 10 separate categories rather than blended into one number. Its strongest is green space, ranking #7 of 216 Melbourne suburbs, and it ranks in the top half of Melbourne for 5 of the 10 categories measured here. The full breakdown is above.

Is Cairnlea safe?

Yes — it is one of the safer parts of Melbourne, scoring 74/100 for safety and ranking #57 of 216 suburbs. Recorded offences run at 40 per 1,000 residents. That score is recorded offences per 1,000 residents from official crime statistics, as a percentile against every other suburb in the city.

Is Cairnlea good for families?

It rates well on the family measures we can compute — safety 74/100, parks 70/100 and green space 88/100, with a median age of 36. It has 2 schools in the suburb, with the nearest primary 0.5 km from its centre. School counts and distances feed the families score; catchment zoning and school results do not (we cannot publish those) — see our Melbourne families ranking for the full method.

Is Cairnlea expensive to live in?

The median house sale price was $981,500 in Oct–Dec 2025 (Victorian Property Sales Report), up 12.8% YoY, up 2.9% QoQ. Median rent is $400 a week, and household income ranks #105 of 216 in Melbourne. Against what the suburb offers, it scores 70/100 for value.

Does Cairnlea have good public transport?

It scores 11/100 for transit, #193 of 216 in Melbourne. That measures train, tram and bus access within the suburb boundary, weighted by mode.

Are there parks in Cairnlea?

100% of the suburb is within walking distance of a park, at 10.6 hectares per 1,000 residents — 88/100 for green space.

Is Cairnlea good for running?

The nearest parkrun is Brimbank parkrun, 5.2 km away, and GPS activity traces put it at 8/100 for how much walking, running and riding actually happens there.

Scores are percentiles against every other suburb in Melbourne: 100 is the best in the city, 50 is mid-table. Updated October 2026 (last updated 2026-10-12). Sources: open GPS activity traces, official crime statistics, ABS census, OpenStreetMap.
About this data: every number on this page is computed from public sources — it is not an opinion or a sponsored placement. See how we rank suburbs for the full method.
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