Preston (Vic.), VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Preston is an established suburb about 9 km north-east of central Melbourne, within the City of Darebin. The area was first surveyed by Robert Hoddle in 1837, and its earliest settlement — named Irishtown after its first permanent resident arrived in 1841 — grew along High Street. When Edward Wood opened a store in 1850, members of a Baptist congregation meeting there chose to rename the district after Preston, a village in Sussex they remembered fondly. A post office followed in 1856. Preston developed a strong industrial character through the later nineteenth century, with tanneries, potteries, brickworks and bacon-curing factories drawing on local clay and farmland. The railway reached the suburb in 1889 and a tram line to the city opened in 1920, and Preston was proclaimed a city in 1926. The Northland Shopping Centre opened in 1966. Today Preston is known for its diverse, creative community — it inspired Courtney Barnett's song 'Depreston' and is home to 3KND, an Aboriginal-managed community radio station.
More advantaged than the national average
Preston (Vic.) is more socio-economically advantaged than about 79% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1040, 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.
Preston (Vic.) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 33,790
- Median age
- 37
- Median weekly household income
- $1,844
- SEIFA score
- 1040
- Coordinates
- -37.7418, 145.0071
Preston (Vic.) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Preston (Vic.) 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 37%, 40% of homes are rented, and 34% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 5,065 | 15% |
| Youth (15–24) | 3,441 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 12,613 | 37% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 8,152 | 24% |
| Seniors (65+) | 4,518 | 13% |
Share of the 33,789 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 3,711 | 27% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 4,110 | 30% |
| Rented | 5,472 | 40% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 7,600 | 56% |
| Townhouses & semis | 3,397 | 25% |
| Flats & apartments | 2,498 | 18% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 13,645 occupied private dwellings in Preston (Vic.).
- Median weekly rent
- $392
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,000
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,345
- Median weekly personal income
- $872
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 10,947 (34%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 11,418 (35%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 325 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 19,837 (71%)
- Labour-force participation
- 67.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.5%
- Employed full-time
- 10,756
- Employed part-time
- 6,304
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 Preston (Vic.)
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Preston (Vic.) 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 Preston (Vic.)
Where is Preston (Vic.)?
Preston (Vic.) is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Preston (Vic.)?
At the 2021 Census, Preston (Vic.) had a population of about 33,790.
Is Preston (Vic.) an advantaged area?
Preston (Vic.) has an ABS SEIFA score of 1040, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 79 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 79% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Preston (Vic.)?
Preston (Vic.) 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).
How big is Preston (Vic.)?
Preston (Vic.) is one of the most populous suburbs in Victoria — the 17th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 33,790 usual residents).
Where Preston (Vic.) ranks
Preston (Vic.) appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Largest suburbs in Victoria#17 of 25
Nearby suburbs in Victoria
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