Lalor, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Lalor is a suburb about 17 kilometres north of central Melbourne, in the City of Whittlesea. It is named after Peter Lalor, a leader of the 1854 Eureka Stockade and later a member of the Victorian parliament, by way of the Peter Lalor Home Building Co-operative Society. Once part of neighbouring Thomastown, Lalor was conceived in the late 1940s as a low-cost housing scheme for returned servicemen: the co-operative bought farmland east of the present railway station, and the town planner Saxil Tuxen laid it out as a garden suburb. The first post office opened in 1949, and primary and secondary schools followed through the 1950s and 1960s as the population grew. Darebin Creek and Merri Creek mark the suburb's eastern and western edges, and the historic German village of Westgarthtown lies partly within its bounds.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Lalor is more socio-economically advantaged than about 17% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 918, 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.
Lalor at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 23,219
- Median age
- 37
- Median weekly household income
- $1,348
- SEIFA score
- 918
- Coordinates
- -37.6674, 145.0102
Lalor demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Lalor 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 30%, 27% of homes are rented, and 50% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 4,257 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 2,760 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 6,856 | 30% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 5,067 | 22% |
| Seniors (65+) | 4,286 | 18% |
Share of the 23,226 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 3,088 | 39% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 2,402 | 30% |
| Rented | 2,167 | 27% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 7,016 | 89% |
| Townhouses & semis | 384 | 5% |
| Flats & apartments | 493 | 6% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 7,903 occupied private dwellings in Lalor.
- Median weekly rent
- $351
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,775
- Average household size
- 2.8 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,489
- Median weekly personal income
- $542
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 11,041 (50%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 14,449 (66%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 196 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 9,910 (54%)
- Labour-force participation
- 51.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 7.5%
- Employed full-time
- 5,171
- Employed part-time
- 3,219
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 Lalor
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Lalor is January (average daytime high around 27°C) and the coolest is July (around 12.9°C). The area receives roughly 724 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27°C | 14.9°C | 62 mm |
| Feb | 25.8°C | 14.1°C | 32 mm |
| Mar | 24°C | 13.3°C | 47 mm |
| Apr | 20°C | 10.5°C | 62 mm |
| May | 16°C | 8.4°C | 63 mm |
| Jun | 13.4°C | 6.5°C | 63 mm |
| Jul | 12.9°C | 6.1°C | 50 mm |
| Aug | 13.7°C | 6.2°C | 59 mm |
| Sep | 16.3°C | 7.3°C | 65 mm |
| Oct | 19.6°C | 8.8°C | 76 mm |
| Nov | 21.6°C | 10.8°C | 79 mm |
| Dec | 24.5°C | 12.6°C | 66 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Lalor
Where is Lalor?
Lalor is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Lalor?
At the 2021 Census, Lalor had a population of about 23,219.
Is Lalor an advantaged area?
Lalor has an ABS SEIFA score of 918, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 17 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 17% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Lalor?
Lalor has average daytime highs of about 19.6°C and overnight lows of about 10°C, with roughly 724 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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