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West Melbourne

Ranked #45 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
West Melbourne suburb score card: safety, activity, value and other scores, Melbourne
Cafés80#45 of 216
Active & healthy42#154 of 216
Active40#143 of 216
Parks40#142 of 216

West Melbourne suburb profile: score breakdown

Active
40
#143 of 216
Safety
12
#191 of 216
Wealth
27
#159 of 216
Value
35
#140 of 216
Parks
40
#142 of 216
Cafés
80
#45 of 216
Transit
25
#163 of 216
Green space
15
#198 of 216
Active & healthy
42
#154 of 216
Schools nearby (OSM)
12
#196 of 216

West Melbourne crime rate, rent, prices and other numbers

Population8,025
Area6.55 km²
Postcode3003
Median household income$1,788/wk
Median rent$388/wk
Median house price (Oct–Dec 2025)$1,520,000 (low volume: 7 sales; up 52.8% YoY, up 25.6% QoQ)
Median unit price (Oct–Dec 2025)$572,500 (75 sales this quarter; up 10.6% YoY, up 4.1% QoQ)
Crime rate152.0 incidents per 1,000 people — 83% of offences are against property, 17% against the person
Parks15 (1.22 ha per 1,000 people)
Schools (government data)0 — 0 primary, 0 secondary; nearest primary 1.45 km, secondary 2.26 km
Families score27/100 (safety 30 · schools 25 · parks per 1,000 15 · kinders 10 · price-for-size 10 · transit 10)
Within 400m of a park43.5% of the suburb
Cafés15
Gyms & sport venues10
Public transport stops56 (2 train stations, 6 tram/light-rail stops, 48 bus stops)
Nearest parkrunParkville parkrun (3.94 km)
Schools nearby (OSM, not catchment zoning)1 school in the suburb — nearest is Docklands Primary School (0.97 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 West Melbourne

Population
8,025
Median age
31 years
Median household income
$1,788/wk
Median rent
$388/wk
Median house price (Oct–Dec 2025)
$1,520,000
Median unit price (Oct–Dec 2025)
$572,500

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

Common questions about West Melbourne

What is the postcode for West Melbourne?

The postcode for West Melbourne, Melbourne is 3003.

Is West Melbourne a good suburb?

There is no single invented "overall" score here -- West Melbourne is measured on 10 separate categories rather than blended into one number. Its strongest is cafés, ranking #45 of 216 Melbourne suburbs, and it ranks in the top half of Melbourne for 1 of the 10 categories measured here. The full breakdown is above.

Is West Melbourne safe?

It is on the less safe side of Melbourne, scoring 12/100 for safety and ranking #191 of 216 suburbs. Recorded offences run at 152 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 West Melbourne good for families?

Mixed, and the weak spot is safety and green space. Here are the family measures we can compute — safety 12/100, parks 40/100 and green space 15/100, with a median age of 31. It has 0 schools in the suburb, with the nearest primary 1.4 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 West Melbourne expensive to live in?

The median house sale price was $1,520,000 in Oct–Dec 2025 (Victorian Property Sales Report), up 52.8% YoY, up 25.6% QoQ. Median rent is $388 a week, and household income ranks #159 of 216 in Melbourne. Against what the suburb offers, it scores 35/100 for value.

Does West Melbourne have good public transport?

It scores 25/100 for transit, #163 of 216 in Melbourne. That measures train, tram and bus access within the suburb boundary, weighted by mode.

Are there parks in West Melbourne?

44% of the suburb is within walking distance of a park, at 1.2 hectares per 1,000 residents — 15/100 for green space.

Is West Melbourne good for running?

The nearest parkrun is Parkville parkrun, 3.9 km away, and GPS activity traces put it at 40/100 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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