South Melbourne
Housing rental payments
In South Melbourne, 42.5% of renting households were paying $450 or more per week in rent in 2021.
Rental payments can be a better measure of the cost of housing in South Melbourne than mortgage repayments because they are not contingent on length of occupancy or equity in the dwelling.
High rental payments may indicate desirable areas with mobile populations who prefer to rent, or a housing shortage, or gentrification. Low rental payments may indicate public housing (check Tenure Type), or areas where low income households move by necessity for a lower cost of living.
Rental payments are not directly comparable over time because of inflation. For comparison of rental payments over time, go to Housing Rental Quartiles.
Further reading: How can Councils influence affordable housing.
Derived from the Census questions:
'How much does your household pay for this dwelling?' and 'Is this dwelling (owned outright, owned with a mortgage etc.)'
Households renting their dwelling
| Weekly housing rental payments | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Melbourne - Households (Enumerated) | 2021 | ||||||
| Weekly rental amount | Number | % | St Kilda West % | ||||
| Less than $100 | 61 | 2.8 | 0.7 | 25950 | |||
| $100-$149 | 255 | 11.6 | 1.1 | 26000 | |||
| $150-$199 | 120 | 5.4 | 1.9 | 26001 | |||
| $200-$249 | 119 | 5.4 | 3.8 | 26002 | |||
| $250-$299 | 82 | 3.7 | 8.3 | 26003 | |||
| $300-$349 | 148 | 6.7 | 15.5 | 26004 | |||
| $350-$399 | 171 | 7.7 | 21.0 | 26005 | |||
| $400-$449 | 203 | 9.2 | 11.7 | 26006 | |||
| $450-$499 | 168 | 7.6 | 8.6 | 26007 | |||
| $500-$549 | 144 | 6.5 | 5.2 | 26008 | |||
| $550-$649 | 222 | 10.1 | 6.7 | 26009 | |||
| $650-$749 | 139 | 6.3 | 2.9 | 26010 | |||
| $750-$849 | 88 | 4.0 | 2.3 | 26011 | |||
| $850+ | 176 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 26012 | |||
| Not stated | 111 | 5.0 | 2.7 | 26013 | |||
| Total households renting | 2,207 | 100.0 | 100.0 | ||||
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing (opens a new window) 2021. Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id (opens a new window)(informed decisions).
(Enumerated data)
Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id (informed decisions).
Dominant groups
Analysis of the weekly housing rental payments of households in South Melbourne compared to St Kilda West shows that there was a larger proportion of households paying high rental payments ($450 per week or more), as well as a larger proportion of households with low rental payments (less than $250 per week).
Overall, 42.5% of households were paying high rental payments, and 25.1% were paying low payments, compared with 33.3% and 7.5% respectively in St Kilda West.
The major differences between the housing rental payments of South Melbourne and St Kilda West were:
- A larger percentage of $100-$149 (11.6% compared to 1.1%)
- A smaller percentage of $350-$399 (7.7% compared to 21.0%)
- A smaller percentage of $300-$349 (6.7% compared to 15.5%)
- A smaller percentage of $250-$299 (3.7% compared to 8.3%)