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Northcote

Ranked #40 of 216 Melbourne suburbs for cafés. 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
Northcote suburb score card: safety, activity, value and other scores, Melbourne
Cafés80#40 of 216
Transit80#43 of 216
Schools nearby (OSM)80#23 of 216
Wealth78#47 of 216

Northcote suburb profile: score breakdown

Active
16
#197 of 216
Safety
50
#108 of 216
Wealth
78
#47 of 216
Value
49
#110 of 216
Parks
32
#156 of 216
Cafés
80
#40 of 216
Transit
80
#43 of 216
Green space
42
#137 of 216
Active & healthy
45
#138 of 216
Schools nearby (OSM)
80
#23 of 216

Northcote crime rate, rent, prices and other numbers

Population25,276
Area5.8 km²
Postcode3070
Median household income$2,287/wk
Median rent$475/wk
Median house price (Oct–Dec 2025)$1,601,000 (78 sales this quarter; up 1.7% YoY, down 5.8% QoQ)
Median unit price (Oct–Dec 2025)$670,000 (88 sales this quarter; up 8.1% YoY, down 3.6% QoQ)
Crime rate60.3 incidents per 1,000 people — 91% of offences are against property, 9% against the person
Parks24 (1.71 ha per 1,000 people)
Schools (government data)6 — 3 primary, 2 secondary; nearest primary 0.26 km, secondary 0.37 km
Families score56/100 (safety 30 · schools 25 · parks per 1,000 15 · kinders 10 · price-for-size 10 · transit 10)
Within 400m of a park84.0% of the suburb
Cafés28
Gyms & sport venues29
Public transport stops127 (6 train stations, 31 tram/light-rail stops, 90 bus stops)
Nearest parkrunKirkdale Reserve parkrun (1.39 km)
Schools nearby (OSM, not catchment zoning)7 schools in the suburb, plus 4 kindergartens — nearest is Northcote Primary School (0.25 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 Northcote

Population
25,276
Median age
37 years
Median household income
$2,287/wk
Median rent
$475/wk
Median house price (Oct–Dec 2025)
$1,601,000
Median unit price (Oct–Dec 2025)
$670,000

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 Northcote — the fields above are everything the census data behind this site currently carries.

Common questions about Northcote

What is the postcode for Northcote?

The postcode for Northcote, Melbourne is 3070.

Is Northcote a good suburb?

There is no single invented "overall" score here -- Northcote is measured on 10 separate categories rather than blended into one number. Its strongest is cafés, ranking #40 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 Northcote safe?

It is around the middle of the pack for Melbourne, scoring 50/100 for safety and ranking #108 of 216 suburbs. Recorded offences run at 60 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 Northcote good for families?

It rates below average on the family measures we can compute — safety 50/100, parks 32/100 and green space 42/100, with a median age of 37. It has 6 schools in the suburb, with the nearest primary 0.3 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 Northcote expensive to live in?

The median house sale price was $1,601,000 in Oct–Dec 2025 (Victorian Property Sales Report), up 1.7% YoY, down 5.8% QoQ. Median rent is $475 a week, and household income ranks #47 of 216 in Melbourne. Against what the suburb offers, it scores 49/100 for value.

Does Northcote have good public transport?

It scores 80/100 for transit, #43 of 216 in Melbourne. That measures train, tram and bus access within the suburb boundary, weighted by mode.

Are there parks in Northcote?

84% of the suburb is within walking distance of a park, at 1.7 hectares per 1,000 residents — 42/100 for green space.

Is Northcote good for running?

The nearest parkrun is Kirkdale Reserve parkrun, 1.4 km away, and GPS activity traces put it at 16/100 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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