Preston (East area)
Victoria · Darebin - North, Melbourne - North East
Live · ABS ERP June 2025
Children under 15 are 13.8% of residents, against 17.5% in the middle Victoria area (Census 2021). The median house price in Preston (East area) is $1.25M, about 48% above the middle Victoria area ($842k). The weekday morning train from Bell Railway Station reaches the CBD in 23 min, against 40 min from the middle Victoria area with a timetabled station.
Preston (East area) has 8 schools (5 government, 3 non-government; ACARA School Profile 2025) and 29 NQS-rated childcare services (ACECQA register). Population is 23,403 (ABS ERP June 2025); the AM-peak train journey to the CBD takes 23 min (Transport Victoria (PTV) incl. V/Line, static GTFS, timetable from 22 Oct 2026).
Preston (East area) at a glance
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Boundaries: ABS Suburbs & Localities 2021. School pins are ACARA's published locations. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors, © CARTO. Open the full VIC map →
How the Family-Fit score is built78/100
Family-Fit score
Method published in fullVery strong for families - strongest on childcare & early years, weakest on families already here.
- Schools in the area · 20% of the score
- 92/100
- Childcare & early years · 15% of the score
- 100/100
- Everyday amenities · 15% of the score
- 81/100
- Getting around · 15% of the score
- 95/100
- Housing affordability · 15% of the score
- 50/100
- Families already here · 10% of the score
- 44/100
- Socio-economic profile · 10% of the score
- 67/100
VIC median 75/100
8 schools in this SA2 · average government-school ICSEA 1062
VIC median 100/100
29 NQS-rated services nearby
VIC median 78/100
15 parks · 1 GP · 5 supermarkets · 11 playgrounds
VIC median 60/100
23 min to the CBD by train from Bell Railway Station
VIC median 46/100
Paying over 30% of income on housing: 13.8% of mortgage-holding households, 29.1% of renting households
VIC median 67/100
13.8% of residents are children aged 0–14 · 38.8% of families are couples with children
VIC median 56/100
SEIFA IRSAD decile 7 of 10 nationally
The grey marker on each bar is the median across the 500 Victoria areas we publish a score for (state median overall: 65/100). It is context, not a pass mark.
How this score is calculated
Each published figure for the Preston - East SA2 is mapped onto 0–100 by fixed thresholds, then weighted. Inputs with no data here are dropped and the rest rescaled - never scored as zero. Every threshold and weight →
School results, crime and flood or bushfire overlays are not graded into this score. Limits of the score →
What families notice
What families notice
- This address is zoned to Preston South Primary School (government, no fees).
- Recorded incidents are down 19% on the year before.
- At least one nearby government school has an above-average ICSEA intake profile (1127 vs. 1000 national average).
- Property figures are from Q4 2025, the most recent Valuer-General release we have - prices may have moved since.
Living in Preston - East: family snapshot
Living in Preston - East
A large suburb. Growing quickly - population is up 4.1% in the past year. Many childcare options nearby - 29 NQS-rated services. About a 23-minute train to the CBD.
Preston (East area) compared with Victoria10 measures
| Measure | Preston - East | VIC average | Against VIC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Children aged 0 to 4 | 5.0% | 5.8% | About the same |
| Children aged 5 to 14 | 8.8% | 12.2% | Lower |
| Couple families with children | 38.8% | 45.2% | Lower |
| One-parent families | 16.0% | 15.3% | About the same |
| Homes owned outright | 24.6% | 32.5% | Lower |
| Homes owned with a mortgage | 30.2% | 37.8% | Lower |
| Homes rented | 43.9% | 28.0% | Higher |
| Separate houses | 53.9% | 75.6% | Lower |
| Flats and apartments | 23.5% | 10.5% | Higher |
| Born overseas | 33.8% | 30.0% | Higher |
Source: ABS Census 2021. The VIC figure is the population-weighted average of the 520 VIC areas with a published value. "Higher" and "Lower" describe the number only.
About this area and its boundary
Preston - East is a locality in the Darebin - North area of Victoria. This profile draws on ABS population and Census figures, the ACARA school register and ACECQA childcare ratings for the Preston - East SA2.
23,403 residents - 13.8% are children under 15, median age 36.
Why “Preston - East”? The ABS divides the larger suburb of Preston into several statistical areas (SA2s); this profile covers one part of it. Other parts are listed further down. SA2 boundaries don’t always match suburb boundaries. It covers the gazetted suburb of Preston, drawn separately on the map above.
Property market
The median house price is $1,250,000, up 5.4% in a year, and a 3-bedroom house rents for a median $720 a week in the Preston rental area.
Source: Valuer-General VIC Q4 2025 · Homes Victoria (DFFH) Rental Report, year ending Jun 2026
Homes and households
Source: ABS Census 2021. Where the shares do not add to 100%, the rest is "other" or "not stated".
Housing cost pressuremortgage and rent against income
Housing cost pressure
In Preston - East, 29.1% of renting households spend more than 30% of their income on rent, and 13.8% of households with a mortgage spend more than 30% on repayments - the ABS's stretched-household threshold (Census 2021).
ABS published figures, not our calculation.
- Mortgage over 30% of income
- 13.8%
- Rent over 30% of income
- 29.1%
VIC avg 15.4%
Share of households WITH a mortgage whose repayments take more than 30% of income. That's 353 of 2,365 households with a stated repayment.
VIC avg 30.9%
Share of RENTING households whose rent takes more than 30% of income. That's 1,088 of 3,423 households with a stated rent.
The two figures cover different households (mortgage-holding vs renting), so never add them. How the ABS counts these → Grey marker: VIC average (509 for mortgage and 508 for rent). Census 2021 - housing costs have moved since. Not financial advice.
What's being built herenew homes approved, year by year
What's being built here
214 new homes were approved in Preston - East in the year to June 2025. Councils approved 1,796 new dwellings here across the 6 years to June 2025 - an approval is permission to build, not a home that exists yet.
Approved in the year to June 2025
Middle VIC area: 44
Separate houses
Private sector, over these 6 years
Townhouses & apartments
Private sector, over these 6 years
Counts are for the whole Preston - East statistical area. What these counts include → Dashed line: the median of 491Victoria areas.
About the rent figure
Homes Victoria publishes rent for rental areas, not single suburbs. This is the median for the Preston rental area: 3-bedroom houses with a lease that started in the year ending June 2026.
Source: Homes Victoria (Department of Families, Fairness and Housing), Rental Report, from Residential Tenancies Bond Authority bond lodgements. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Figures are as published; we have not adjusted them.
Schools and childcare
8 schools are located in the area, and the centre of the area is zoned to Preston South Primary School. 29 childcare services are on the national register, 27 rated Meeting the National Quality Standard or above.
Preston South Primary School
The government school your child can attend for free by living in Preston - East.
This is the zoned government school for the centre of Preston - East (VIC catchment data) - addresses elsewhere in the suburb may be zoned to a different school.
See the catchment on the mapMedian VCE study score (2025): 29 · 99% satisfactory VCE completions - one measure, not a ranking.
Pathways: VCE, VCE VM · 59 VCE/VM/VET studies (Units 3-4)
© Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority; reproduced with permission. For current versions and related content visit http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au
The government Year 7 zone for the centre of Preston - East (VIC catchment data) - addresses elsewhere in the suburb may be zoned to a different school.
Fee-paying schools can’t be enrolled in by zone - they’re shown for context, not as the area’s school quality.
We show school intake context, catchments and, for Victorian government secondary schools, the VCE figures the VCAA publishes. We don’t publish a school ranking.
All school zones in the Darebin council area →
To look beyond Preston - East, every Victoria school is on the Australian schools and catchment zones map.
Find the school zone for an address in Preston
Type a street address in Victoria, NSW or Queensland. We show the government primary and secondary school zones it is in, from the official zone maps.
Your address goes from your browser straight to OpenStreetMap's address search to find it on the map. We never see it or store it. Address search © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Schools in Preston - East
- Students
- 397
- ICSEA
- 1127
- Students
- 1,275
- ICSEA
- 1104
- Students
- 733
- ICSEA
- 976
- Students
- 367
- ICSEA
- 1060
- Students
- 345
- ICSEA
- 1066
- Students
- 201
- ICSEA
- 955
- Students
- 117
- ICSEA
- 1090
- ICSEA
- not published
ICSEA reflects student intake context, not teaching quality (1000 = national average). Source: ACARA School Profile 2025. All VIC schools →
Victorian Senior Secondary Completion and Achievement data source: Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA).
The VCAA is not associated with SuburbRadar and does not endorse any of the views or recommendations of SuburbRadar. The VCAA's assessment data for a given year cannot be used to predict results for schools or students in subsequent years. Each year's assessment results will vary due to different assessments being used and different populations of students participating in the assessment.
Childcare: 29 services
National Quality Standard ratings from the ACECQA register, refreshed Oct 2026. Services are matched by suburb name.
Childcare services, ratings and fees29 services
- Exceeding NQSGuardian Childcare & Education Preston WestCentre-Based Care · 141 places · PrestonRated Dec 2024
- Exceeding NQSNara Community Early Learning CentreCentre-Based Care · 68 places · PrestonRated Jun 2023 · over 3 years old, check for a more recent assessment
- Meeting NQSTeamKids - Bell PrimaryCentre-Based Care · 200 places · PrestonRated Nov 2025
- Meeting NQSNewlands Out of School Hours ProgramCentre-Based Care · 195 places · PrestonRated Oct 2025
- Meeting NQSPreston West Primary School BASCPCentre-Based Care · 195 places · PrestonRated Dec 2024
- Meeting NQSPreston Primary School OSHCCentre-Based Care · 180 places · PrestonRated Dec 2024
- Meeting NQSINSPIRE EARLY LEARNING JOURNEY PRESTONCentre-Based Care · 130 places · PrestonRated May 2025
- Meeting NQSLittle Bright Starz Preston.Centre-Based Care · 130 places · PrestonRated Mar 2023 · over 3 years old, check for a more recent assessment
- Meeting NQSGoodstart Early Learning Preston – Dalgety StreetCentre-Based Care · 122 places · PrestonRated Oct 2023 · over 3 years old, check for a more recent assessment
- Meeting NQSNino Early Learning Adventures - PrestonCentre-Based Care · 122 places · PrestonRated Dec 2023
- Meeting NQSTeamKids - Preston South PrimaryCentre-Based Care · 120 places · PrestonRated Jul 2024
- Meeting NQSGuardian Childcare & Education PrestonCentre-Based Care · 110 places · PrestonRated May 2026
+ 17 more services in this area.
- Centre-based day care
- $14.55/hr
- Outside school hours care
- $10.87/hr
Mean hourly fee across CCS-approved services, December quarter 2025 - Dept of Education, © Commonwealth of Australia, CC BY 4.0. Published at SA3 level (a wider area than this suburb's SA2), so it's an average across Darebin - North and surrounds, not this specific service list.
Verify locations before visiting. A rating over 3 years old is flagged. What the NQS ratings mean → Childcare places per child, by suburb →
Who lives here
More rented homes than Victoria overall: 43.9% of homes, against 28.0% statewide.
Ages of people here
Share of residents in each age band, in years. Source: ABS Census 2021.
How the area is changingCensus 2011 to 2021
Each line is drawn on its own scale, so compare the numbers, not the heights. Source: ABS Census 2011, 2016 and 2021; Victoria in Future 2023, Victorian Department of Transport and Planning forecast, published for the council area, not the suburb.
Census trends against the middle VIC areafull charts
Which way this area is moving
The 2011, 2016 and 2021 Censuses for Preston - East, counted on today's boundaries.
Since 2011, Preston - East has seen a smaller share of children and fewer residents speaking another language at home.
- People counted
- +2,316 people since 2011
- Median age
- +1 year since 2011
- Children aged 0–14
- −2.0 pts since 2011
- Born overseas
- −1.9 pts since 2011
- Speak another language at home
- −8.9 pts since 2011
Usual residents counted on Census night.
Half the residents are older than this, half younger.
Share of all residents. The clearest signal of families arriving or moving on.
Share of all residents born outside Australia.
Share of residents who stated a language, speaking one other than English at home.
The dashed line is the median across the Victoria areas we profile. How the three Censuses line up →
How many people will live around hereofficial forecast
How many people will live around here
The rest of this page looks backwards. This is the one number that looks forward - and it is the state government's own, not ours. Victoria in Future 2023 (Vic. Dept of Transport and Planning) projects the Darebin council area, which contains Preston - East along with its neighbouring suburbs, to grow to 189,180 people by 2036: 38,850 more people than the 150,330 counted in 2021.
This is the council area, not Preston - East. Darebin is a whole local government area covering many suburbs, and neither state publishes a projection for a single suburb. Growth is never spread evenly across a council - a greenfield estate and an established street inside the same council will move very differently - so read this as the direction of the wider area a suburb sits in, not as a forecast for its own streets. Only the years the publisher itself lists are plotted: nothing is filled in between them, and nothing is carried past 2036. A projection is an assumption about the future, not a measurement of it, and it will be revised - this one was released September 2023. These figures sit on the projection's own series, so they are not directly comparable with the ABS resident-population and Census counts elsewhere on this page, which use different geographies and different years.
Where this year's population change came from+4.10% in a year
Where did the gain come from?
+930Reading the streams: overseas arrivals were the dominant force - more came from abroad than the suburb grew on its own.
Ages against the state average, band by band
Ages of people here
8.8% of people here are school-age children (5–14) - fewer than the Victoria average of 12.2%, and 5% are under 5. The median age is 36.
- 0–4 years · before school
- 5%
- 5–14 years · school age
- 8.8%
- 15–19 years · teens
- 4%
- 20–34 years
- 28.2%
- 35–54 years
- 31.4%
- 55–64 years
- 9.8%
- 65 years and over
- 12.8%
VIC avg 5.8%
VIC avg 12.2%
VIC avg 5.6%
VIC avg 21.3%
VIC avg 26.8%
VIC avg 11.5%
VIC avg 16.8%
Share of all residents of Preston - East (ABS Statistical Area 2) at the 2021 Census; the grey marker is the Victoria average. How the bands and averages work →
Households and families
Households and families
55% of families here have children living at home - fewer than the Victoria average of 61%. The largest overseas-born communities are China (3.2%), Greece (3.1%) and Vietnam (2.8%). 44% of homes are rented.
Family make-up
Share of all families in the area. A small "other family" group the ABS also counts is not shown.
- Couple with children
- 38.8%
- One-parent family
- 16%
- Couple, no children
- 41.5%
VIC avg 45.2%
VIC avg 15.3%
VIC avg 37.8%
What people live in
Share of occupied private dwellings. Other and unstated structures are not shown.
- Separate house
- 53.9%
- Semi-detached / townhouse
- 21.4%
- Flat or apartment
- 23.5%
VIC avg 75.6%
VIC avg 13.5%
VIC avg 10.5%
Owned or rented
Share of occupied private dwellings. Other and unstated tenures are not shown.
- Owned outright
- 24.6%
- Owned with a mortgage
- 30.2%
- Rented
- 43.9%
VIC avg 32.5%
VIC avg 37.8%
VIC avg 28%
Figures describe Preston - East (ABS Statistical Area 2) at the 2021 Census; the grey marker is the Victoria average. How these are counted →
Birthplaces, languages and communities
Who lives in Preston - East
Top 5 overseas birthplaces shown · 85.9% born in Australia or a country not in the top five.
- China · established by 2016
- 3.2%
- Greece · established by 2016
- 3.1%
- Vietnam · established by 2016
- 2.8%
- United Kingdom · established by 2016
- 2.6%
- India · established by 2016
- 2.4%
VIC avg 2.3%
VIC avg 0.4%
VIC avg 1%
VIC avg 3%
VIC avg 3.9%
- Co-located communities
- Preston - East is home to established China, Greece, Vietnam, United Kingdom and India communities - each is 2% or more of residents born overseas here, not a ranking of one against another.
- Nearby
- Reservoir - South East, Preston - West and Heidelberg West also have an established China community.
- Settlement pattern
- Of overseas-born residents who stated when they arrived, 19% arrived in the last 5 years (2016–2021) (VIC avg 17.5%) and 51.3% arrived before 2001 (VIC avg 47.4%).
- English at home
- Of residents who speak a language other than English at home and stated their English proficiency, 20.6% report speaking English “not well” or “not at all” (VIC avg 14.1%) - a self-reported ABS figure across all languages combined, not a judgement of any one community.
Figures describe Preston - East (ABS Statistical Area 2) at the 2021 Census. The ABS publishes only the five largest communities per area, so a missing name did not rank in the top five. How these are counted →
Socio-economic index (SEIFA)decile 7 of 10
- Decile (1 lowest, 10 highest)
- Decile 7 of 10
- Where this sits in VIC
- top 40% of Victoria areas
A relative comparison of the whole area against all of Australia - not a safety, liveability, or school-quality measure. What IRSAD measures → Source: ABS SEIFA 2021, IRSAD index (SA2).
Getting around and lifestyle
The morning-peak train from Bell Railway Station reaches the city in 23 minutes, and the nearest emergency department is Austin Hospital, 4.1 km away in a straight line.
Mapped inside the Preston - East boundary. A zero can mean "not mapped" rather than "not there". Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Train to the city and nearest emergency department
Train to the city
Timetable published23 min from Bell Railway Station
Median scheduled weekday morning-peak travel time to the central-city terminus, from the closest station to the middle of this area (1.4 km away in a straight line). Train leg only.
Nearest emergency department
MappedAustin Hospital · 4.1 km
Straight-line distance from the middle of this area - not a drive time. In an emergency call 000; do not plan around this figure.
Community and recreation
Out with a baby
Public-toilet facilities recorded on the National Public Toilet Map - not every place in the area that will let you change a baby.
About this data
Counts of features tagged in OpenStreetMap inside the Preston - East boundary. “Middle VIC area”: the median of 518 Victoria areas. How these counts and times are made →
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors · baby-facility counts from the National Public Toilet Map (Continence Foundation of Australia, funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, CC BY 3.0 AU) · Transport Victoria (PTV) incl. V/Line, static GTFS, timetable from 22 Oct 2026
Crime & safety in Preston - East
Police recorded 4,580 incidents in Preston - East in the year ending June 2026, down 19% on the year before. This is a raw count, not a rate or a rating.
LGA rate, as published: 12,704 recorded incidents and 7,808.3 per 100,000 people across the whole Darebin council area, which is larger than Preston - East. The rate is the agency's own figure - we do not calculate rates. Source: Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, year ending June 2026, released September 2026.
Largest offence categories
Is Preston - East safe? Here's what police recorded
Police recorded 4,580 criminal incidents in Preston - East in the year ending June 2026 (Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, released September 2026). Darebin council area, which includes Preston - East, had 7,808.3 recorded incidents per 100,000 people (LGA rate, as published: Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, year ending June 2026, released September 2026). Counts are often higher where many people visit (shopping centres, stations, nightlife), not only where many people live. SuburbRadar does not rate suburbs as safe or unsafe.
How much crime is recorded in Preston - East?
4,580 incidents in the year ending June 2026, against 5,660 the year before. The largest offence categories were Property and deception offences (3,223), Crimes against the person (505), Justice procedures offences (468). These are raw counts as published, not adjusted for population. Source: Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, released September 2026. Counts are often higher where many people visit (shopping centres, stations, nightlife), not only where many people live. SuburbRadar does not rate suburbs as safe or unsafe.
Police-recorded incident counts (Years ending June; latest = year ending June 2026). Raw counts, not a rate, and not a judgement about the suburb. Counts are often higher where many people visit (shopping centres, stations, nightlife), not only where many people live. SuburbRadar does not rate suburbs as safe or unsafe. Source: Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, released September 2026. More on crime & safety →
Crime Statistics Agency Victoria data, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU. Suburb totals are added up from published figures.
Risks
4 of the 7 planning and hazard records we hold show something in this area: flooding, heritage controls, traffic noise and land contamination checks.
Flooding
In an official overlay6.4% of the area
Heritage controls
In an official overlay6.3% of the area
Traffic noise
Freeway or highway presentBell Street · Albert Street · St Georges Road
Land contamination checks
In an official overlay5.9% of the area
Each line is the extent of an official record across the whole Preston - East area - not a risk rating, and a specific address may or may not be affected. Not financial or insurance advice.
All 9 checks and what each one means
Flooding
In an official overlay6.4% of the area
Part of this area sits inside a Victorian planning-scheme flood overlay - Land Subject to Inundation, Floodway, or Special Building (overland stormwater). Whether a specific address is affected depends on the property.
Bushfire
Not designatedNeither the Victorian Bushfire Management Overlay nor the state’s wider designated Bushfire Prone Area covers any part of this area. Both are reviewed and can change, so check the current maps before building.
Heritage controls
In an official overlay6.3% of the area
Part of this area sits inside the Victorian Heritage Overlay, so changes to buildings there - extensions, demolition, sometimes even paint colours - need planning approval. It applies property by property: most homes in an area with an overlay are not in it, and being in one is a protection as much as a restriction.
Traffic noise
Freeway or highway presentBell Street · Albert Street · St Georges Road
3 named roads through this area carry OpenStreetMap's highest classification - a freeway, motorway or major highway, whatever the road is called locally, alongside 10 named main roads. Roads are counted by name, not by mapped segment. Where a home sits relative to them matters far more than the count - a street two blocks back can be quiet.
Aircraft noise
Not in the overlayNo Victorian Airport Environs Overlay (including the Melbourne Airport one) intersects this area. The overlays cover land close to an airport under a mapped noise contour - aircraft still fly over areas outside them, including on flight paths.
Land contamination checks
In an official overlay5.9% of the area
Part of this area sits inside the Victorian Environmental Audit Overlay - land where a past use such as a service station, dry cleaner, factory or landfill means an environmental audit must be completed before it can be used for housing, childcare or a school. It flags land that must be checked, not land found to be contaminated, and it applies parcel by parcel.
Acid sulfate soils
None mappedVictoria's coastal acid sulfate soil mapping covers coastal and estuarine land only, and none is mapped in this area. These soils form in low-lying coastal sediments, so away from the coast and the estuaries there is nothing to map - read this as outside the mapped zone rather than as a soil test.
Recorded crime
Official counts published4,580 incidents
Police-recorded criminal incidents in Years ending June; latest = year ending June 2026, down 19% on the prior year. A count, not a rate - busier areas with more shops, stations and visitors record more incidents than quiet ones of the same size. Full breakdown ↑
Social housing
Census figure5.7% rented from a state or territory housing authority · 1.0% from a community housing provider
Share of occupied private dwellings here with a stated tenure (Census 2021). The middle VIC area is 1.0% public and 0.3% community, across 513 areas. Listed because families ask; it is a fact about who owns the homes, not a judgement about the people in them.
About this data
Every line is an official published record for the Preston - East area - we don't rate, score or rank any of them. Where a line is missing, treat it as not checked rather than clear. What each line covers and does not →
Source: Vicmap Planning, © The State of Victoria, Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action - CC BY 4.0 · Designated Bushfire Prone Area, © State of Victoria, Department of Transport and Planning - CC BY 4.0 · Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, released September 2026 · ABS Census 2021 (G37 tenure and landlord type) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) - road classification
Nearby suburbs
- Reservoir (South East area) 1.7 km
- Thornbury 2.0 km
- Preston (West area) 2.2 km
- Heidelberg West 2.7 km
- Reservoir (South West area) 2.9 km
- Kingsbury 3.7 km
The six closest profiled areas in Victoria, by distance between area centres.
Other areas in Darebin - Northsorted by growth in one year
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