Mount Waverley, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Mount Waverley lies about 16 kilometres south-east of central Melbourne in the City of Monash. Assistant Surveyor Eugene Bellairs set out the district, then part of the Parish of Mulgrave, on a grid of straight roads exactly a mile apart in 1853, and the post office followed in 1905. The suburb is known for heritage streets laid out in the 1930s, among them the ambitious Glen Alvie estate near Mount Waverley Village, which was planned as a country-club garden suburb with tennis courts, a bowling green and palm-lined Sherwood Park; its original streets were laid in concrete rather than asphalt and survive much as they were. The Great Depression stalled building, and houses only rose in earnest from the early 1950s as Melbourne spread eastward. The much-loved Melbourne street directory Melway was first produced in a Mount Waverley garage in 1966. Today the suburb is a hub for electronics and IT firms, has a strong Chinese, Greek and Italian community, and keeps generous bushland reserves along Damper and Scotchmans Creeks.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Mount Waverley is more socio-economically advantaged than about 94% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1092, 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.
Mount Waverley at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 35,340
- Median age
- 40
- Median weekly household income
- $2,066
- SEIFA score
- 1092
- Coordinates
- -37.8784, 145.1285
Mount Waverley demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Mount Waverley 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 26%, 24% of homes are rented, and 49% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 5,994 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 4,724 | 13% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 9,098 | 26% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 8,941 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 6,580 | 19% |
Share of the 35,337 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 5,232 | 42% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 3,932 | 31% |
| Rented | 3,025 | 24% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 8,561 | 69% |
| Townhouses & semis | 1,227 | 10% |
| Flats & apartments | 2,681 | 21% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 12,476 occupied private dwellings in Mount Waverley.
- Median weekly rent
- $476
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,600
- Average household size
- 2.7 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,383
- Median weekly personal income
- $810
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 16,866 (49%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 17,582 (51%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 77 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 21,394 (77%)
- Labour-force participation
- 61.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.4%
- Employed full-time
- 10,127
- Employed part-time
- 5,946
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 Mount Waverley
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Mount Waverley 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 Mount Waverley
Where is Mount Waverley?
Mount Waverley is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Mount Waverley?
At the 2021 Census, Mount Waverley had a population of about 35,340.
Is Mount Waverley an advantaged area?
Mount Waverley has an ABS SEIFA score of 1092, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 94 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 94% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Mount Waverley?
Mount Waverley 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).
How big is Mount Waverley?
Mount Waverley is one of the most populous suburbs in Victoria — the 15th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 35,340 usual residents).
Where Mount Waverley ranks
Mount Waverley appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Largest suburbs in Victoria#15 of 25
- Largest suburbs in Australia#24 of 25
Nearby suburbs in Victoria
More suburb guides in Victoria
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.