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Whether you’re looking to buy a new home in Melbourne, your next investment property, or even apply for a new rental, it’s very important to suss out how safe the area is as part of your suburb research.
Is Melbourne a safe place to live?
In short, yes.
Melbourne’s low crime rates and security have seen it rank among the top leading 10 cities across the world in all four editions of the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU)’s safe cities index.
In its latest 2021 edition, Melbourne ranked as the 8th safest city in the world – 4th for health security, 8th for digital security, 15th for infrastructure security, 18th for personal security, and 25th for environmental security.
Those are some impressive rankings.
Although hardly unsurprising given that even amid the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and continuous lockdowns, Melbourne still ranked highly as one of the world’s most liveable cities and also the world’s best city to work from home.
The top 5 Melbourne regions (the percentage of suburbs that have lower than average risk) are the outer east (29%), northeast (23%), northwest (14%), southeast (14%), and west (7%).
But where are the safest suburbs in Melbourne specifically?
Here we’ve broken it down.
Melbourne’s suburbs with the lowest crime rates
Crime statistics compiled by Find My Rates look at data on the total number of criminal incidents recorded per 100 people in suburbs with a population of 1,500 or greater as of September 2022.
Criminal incidents means any crimes against a person, property, drug offenses, public order and security offenses, and justice procedures offenses.
The list includes anything from assault, stalking, and theft to arson, drug dealing or manufacture, and even breaches of orders.
| Suburb | Criminal incidents Recorded / 100 People |
| Teesdale | 1.213 |
| North Warrandyte | 1.222 |
| Sandhurst | 1.382 |
| Yallambie | 1.394 |
| Eltham North | 1.42 |
| Warranwood | 1.494 |
| Warrandyte | 1.498 |
| Metung | 1.527 |
| Somers | 1.562 |
| Croydon Hills | 1.571 |
1. Teesdale
Number of incidences recorded for the year ending September 2022: 28
Population: 2,308
Criminal incidents recorded per 100 people: 1.213
While technically not a suburb located within the city, Teesdale – a small town in the Golden Plains Shire near Geelong – is less than 100km west of Melbourne’s CBD.
And with just 28 criminal incidents recorded in the year to September 2022, which is 6 less than the previous year, Teesdale takes the crown as the safest suburb in our southern state.
The number of burglary incidents increased by 100% to 2 criminal incidents in the year ending Sep 2022 while the number of theft incidents dropped 50% to just 5 incidents in the same period.
There were no criminal incidents of homicide or robbery during that time period.
2. North Warrandyte
Number of incidences recorded for the year ending September 2022: 37
Population: 3,027
Criminal incidents recorded per 100 people: 1.222
As a Melbourne suburb just 25km northeast of Melbourne’s CBD, North Warrandyte has an exceptionally low crime rate of just 37 incidents over the year, which is a 23% decrease from the year prior.
The number of burglary incidents decreased by 50% to 1 criminal incident in the year ending Sep 2022 while the number of theft incidents increased 167% to 8 incidents over the same period.
There were no criminal incidents of homicide or robbery during that time period.
3. Sandhurst
Number of incidences recorded for the year ending September 2022: 72
Population: 5,211
Criminal incidents recorded per 100 people: 1.382
Located 37 km southeast of Melbourne’s CBD, Sandhurst had 72 criminal incidents in the year to September 2022 (a 7% increase), which while higher, is representative of the suburb’s higher population.
The number of burglary incidents increased 150% to 10 for the year, while there were 26 theft incidents (a 13% increase).
Arson, deception, property damage, and breaches or orders also accounted for another 18 of the total.
There were no criminal incidents of homicide or robbery recorded.
4. Yallambie
Number of incidences recorded for the year ending September 2022: 58
Population: 4,161
Criminal incidents recorded per 100 people: 1.394
The Melbourne suburb of Yallambie is just 15km northeast of the CBD and has a crime rate of just 58 incidents over the period, that’s a 61% decrease from the previous year.
The number of burglary incidents dropped 25% to 3 for the year and the number of theft incidents dropped 61% to 15.
Assault incidents were the only data set to increase over the period, to 10 incidents, from 8 the year before.
There were no criminal incidents of homicide or robbery recorded.
5. Eltham North
Number of incidences recorded for the year ending September 2022: 97
Population: 6,830
Criminal incidents recorded per 100 people: 1.42
The 5th safest Melbourne suburb is Eltham North, which is 21km northeast of the CBD, with 97 incidents recorded over the year to September 2022 – that’s a 31% decrease year-on-year.
The number of burglary incidents dropped 46% to 7 and the number of theft incidents dropped 28% to 31 over the 12-month period.
Increases were noted in categories of crimes against the person – stalking, harassment, and negligence – and public order, breaches or orders accounting for 14 incidents and 18 incidents respectively.
There were no criminal incidents of homicide or robbery recorded.
6. Warranwood
Number of incidences recorded for the year ending September 2022: 72
Population: 4,820
Criminal incidents recorded per 100 people: 1.494
The next Melbourne suburb to make the list is Warranwood, located 34km east of Melbourne’s CBD, with 72 incidents among its 4,820-strong population, a 1% decrease year-on-year.
The number of burglary incidents dropped 33% to 4 and the number of theft incidents dropped 43% to 12 over the 12-month period.
The decreases accounted for increased incidents in the crimes against the period category, property damage, deception, and disorderly and offensive conduct – most notably there were 16 assault incidents and 8 incidents of property damage over the period.
There were no criminal incidents of homicide or robbery recorded.
7. Warrandyte
Number of incidences recorded for the year ending September 2022: 83
Population: 5,541
Criminal incidents recorded per 100 people: 1.498
In Melbourne’s Warrandyte suburb – of postcode 3113 north-east of the CBD – 83 incidents were recorded over the time period, which is a 17% decrease from the previous year.
The number of burglary incidents dropped 36% to 14 and the number of theft incidents dropped 36% to 23 over the 12-month period.
Again, an increase in the number of incidents of stalking, harassment, property damage, and deception offset some of the decreases elsewhere.
There were no criminal incidents of homicide or robbery recorded.
8. Metung
Number of incidences recorded for the year ending September 2022: 29
Population: 1,899
Criminal incidents recorded per 100 people: 1.527
The suburb of Metung – another regional Victorian suburb with a small 1,899 population – makes the list thanks to a 38% decrease in the number of incidents recorded over the year.
The number of theft incidents increased by 50% to 6, while there was also a very small uptick in the number of property damage, deception, and negligent acts.
However, there were no criminal incidents of burglary, homicide, or robbery recorded.
9. Somers
Number of incidences recorded for the year ending September 2022: 29
Population:1,856
Criminal incidents recorded per 100 people: 1.562
On the Mornington Peninsula, just 46km from Melbourne’s CBD, is the coastal suburb of Somers and its notably low crime rate.
There were just 29 incidents over the 12-month period, a 26% decrease year-on-year.
The number of burglary incidents dropped 71% to 2 and the number of theft incidents dropped 7% to 13 over the 12-month period.
There were no criminal incidents of homicide or robbery recorded.
10. Croydon Hills
Number of incidences recorded for the year ending September 2022: 76
Population: 4,839
Criminal incidents recorded per 100 people: 1.571
Last on the list is Melbourne’s Croydon Hills with 76 offenses recorded over the period, a 24% decrease from the year before.
The number of incidents of burglary remained remarkably low at just 2, while theft incidents dropped 30% to 16 over the period.
There was an increase of ‘other crimes against the person’ to 32, from just 2 recorded the year prior – this accounted for nearly half the incidents recorded.
There were no criminal incidents of homicide or robbery recorded.
Investment-grade properties are key
These suburbs have all been identified as being “low risk” when it comes to crime statistics, but that doesn’t necessarily mean properties in these locations are automatically a strong investment prospect.
There are more than 10.5 million dwellings in Australia, and they’re not all created equal.
In fact, in my mind, fewer than 4% of the properties on the market at any given time are what I would call “investment grade”.
We’ve written plenty of articles and voiced many podcasts over time to share what we consider an investment-grade property is (more here and here if you’d like to explore), so I won’t go into the characteristics of a great investment or the type of properties that fit these criteria.
Instead, I encourage you to consider:
- What are your investment goals are
- Why do you want to invest in property
- And how real estate can help you reach your goals?
Your property journey might involve a Melbourne-based property. It could involve two. It may even involve 10! Or it could include none.
The right investment strategy for you is personal and based on your own unique risk profile, income, expenses, and goals.
Taking all of these into consideration to work out your “goal” is key because once you know what you’re aiming for, it becomes much easier to plan the steps you need to take to get there.
