Belgrave, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Belgrave is a leafy town on the outer eastern fringe of Melbourne, about thirty-six kilometres from the city in the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges and the Shire of Yarra Ranges. It lies on the country of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation and was settled by Europeans from 1851. The name was borrowed from an 1840s chapel in Leeds, Yorkshire, carried out to Victoria by the Benson family, whose sons settled the district in the 1870s; the town was called 'Monbulk' until its railway station was renamed Belgrave in 1904. Its great drawcard is Puffing Billy, the heritage narrow-gauge steam railway that volunteers reopened in 1962 and which winds through cool mountain forest to Gembrook. Main Street's galleries and bookshops and the mid-winter Lantern Parade round out its village character.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Belgrave is more socio-economically advantaged than about 85% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1054, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Belgrave at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 3,894
- Median age
- 38
- Median weekly household income
- $2,202
- SEIFA score
- 1054
- Coordinates
- -37.9110, 145.3559
Belgrave demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Belgrave using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is young adults (25–44) at 29%, 7% of homes are rented, and 19% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 781 | 20% |
| Youth (15–24) | 408 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,136 | 29% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,064 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 507 | 13% |
Share of the 3,896 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 452 | 32% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 841 | 60% |
| Rented | 101 | 7% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,403 | 99% |
| Townhouses & semis | 9 | 1% |
| Flats & apartments | 3 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,415 occupied private dwellings in Belgrave.
- Median weekly rent
- $401
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,863
- Average household size
- 2.7 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,496
- Median weekly personal income
- $959
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 724 (19%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 272 (7%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 16 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 2,026 (68%)
- Labour-force participation
- 71.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.7%
- Employed full-time
- 1,200
- Employed part-time
- 774
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Weather and climate in Belgrave
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Belgrave is January (average daytime high around 26.6°C) and the coolest is July (around 12.8°C). The area receives roughly 898 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26.6°C | 14.9°C | 64 mm |
| Feb | 25.3°C | 14.3°C | 44 mm |
| Mar | 23.5°C | 13.6°C | 58 mm |
| Apr | 19.7°C | 11.1°C | 72 mm |
| May | 15.9°C | 9.1°C | 81 mm |
| Jun | 13.4°C | 7.1°C | 81 mm |
| Jul | 12.8°C | 6.7°C | 71 mm |
| Aug | 13.6°C | 6.8°C | 85 mm |
| Sep | 16.2°C | 7.9°C | 83 mm |
| Oct | 19.3°C | 9.3°C | 95 mm |
| Nov | 21.2°C | 11°C | 96 mm |
| Dec | 24.2°C | 12.7°C | 68 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Belgrave
Where is Belgrave?
Belgrave is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Belgrave?
At the 2021 Census, Belgrave had a population of about 3,894.
Is Belgrave an advantaged area?
Belgrave has an ABS SEIFA score of 1054, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 85 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 85% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Belgrave?
Belgrave has average daytime highs of about 19.3°C and overnight lows of about 10.4°C, with roughly 898 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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