Surrey Hills, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Surrey Hills is a leafy residential suburb about eleven kilometres east of central Melbourne, spread across the City of Boroondara and the City of Whitehorse. The land was bought from the Crown by Henry Elgar in 1841, and the suburb took shape after the railway reached the district in 1882, when estates of brick and weatherboard homes in Victorian, Federation and Edwardian styles were laid out. Many streets carry regal names such as Empress, Windsor and Balmoral, and are lined with now-mature plane and pin oak trees. A small enclave between Canterbury and Riversdale Roads, the English Counties District, has streets named for Norfolk, Durham, Kent and other shires. The suburb's modest shopping strip runs along Union Road, and parks include Surrey Gardens and South Surrey Park.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Surrey Hills is more socio-economically advantaged than about 98% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1138, 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.
Surrey Hills at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 13,655
- Median age
- 42
- Median weekly household income
- $2,503
- SEIFA score
- 1138
- Coordinates
- -37.8253, 145.1004
Surrey Hills demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Surrey Hills 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 mid-life (45–64) at 29%, 22% of homes are rented, and 28% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 2,259 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,977 | 14% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 2,924 | 21% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 3,923 | 29% |
| Seniors (65+) | 2,570 | 19% |
Share of the 13,653 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 2,091 | 42% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,736 | 35% |
| Rented | 1,079 | 22% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 3,349 | 67% |
| Townhouses & semis | 1,025 | 20% |
| Flats & apartments | 615 | 12% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 5,006 occupied private dwellings in Surrey Hills.
- Median weekly rent
- $462
- Median monthly mortgage
- $3,000
- Average household size
- 2.6 people
- Median weekly family income
- $3,339
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,081
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 3,674 (28%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 2,792 (21%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 45 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 8,871 (83%)
- Labour-force participation
- 66.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.2%
- Employed full-time
- 4,232
- Employed part-time
- 2,619
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 Surrey Hills
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Surrey Hills 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 Surrey Hills
Where is Surrey Hills?
Surrey Hills is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Surrey Hills?
At the 2021 Census, Surrey Hills had a population of about 13,655.
Is Surrey Hills an advantaged area?
Surrey Hills has an ABS SEIFA score of 1138, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 98 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 98% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Surrey Hills?
Surrey Hills 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).
Where Surrey Hills ranks
Surrey Hills appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
Nearby suburbs in Victoria
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