Thomastown, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Thomastown is a northern suburb of Melbourne, about 16 kilometres from the central business district, in the City of Whittlesea. The suburb dates to 1848, when the family of John Honniball Thomas bought land here for market gardening; two years later William Westgarth acquired the ground to the north and set it aside for German settlers, whose farming community of Westgarthtown survives as a heritage precinct. A post office opened in 1862, and for many years the district was given over to farms and horse-racing. The Epping railway line reached Thomastown in 1889, and dairying flourished from the 1930s. After the Second World War the suburb grew quickly, drawing Italian, Macedonian and Greek families alongside the earlier German settlers. Today Thomastown centres on its High Street shops and railway station, and is home to one of Select Harvests' almond processing plants.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Thomastown is more socio-economically advantaged than about 12% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 900, 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.
Thomastown at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 20,234
- Median age
- 39
- Median weekly household income
- $1,225
- SEIFA score
- 900
- Coordinates
- -37.6832, 145.0067
Thomastown demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Thomastown 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%, 29% of homes are rented, and 54% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 3,156 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 2,330 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 5,900 | 29% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 4,441 | 22% |
| Seniors (65+) | 4,411 | 22% |
Share of the 20,238 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 3,135 | 43% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,842 | 25% |
| Rented | 2,105 | 29% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 6,192 | 84% |
| Townhouses & semis | 699 | 10% |
| Flats & apartments | 445 | 6% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 7,349 occupied private dwellings in Thomastown.
- Median weekly rent
- $350
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,690
- Average household size
- 2.6 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,387
- Median weekly personal income
- $502
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 10,430 (54%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 13,269 (69%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 159 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 8,606 (52%)
- Labour-force participation
- 49.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 8%
- Employed full-time
- 4,422
- Employed part-time
- 2,869
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 Thomastown
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Thomastown 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 Thomastown
Where is Thomastown?
Thomastown is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Thomastown?
At the 2021 Census, Thomastown had a population of about 20,234.
Is Thomastown an advantaged area?
Thomastown has an ABS SEIFA score of 900, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 12 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 12% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Thomastown?
Thomastown 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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