Top 20 safest suburbs to live in Melbourne

• Most suburbs were in affluent outer ring suburbs.
• Many were located in the Yarra Ranges.
• Melbourne played second fiddle to Sydney in EIU's safe cities

Melbourne is on track to take over Sydney as the largest Australian city by population, however it is still being outdone by its harbour city counterpart for safety.

According to The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Safe Cities Index 2021, Sydney was ranked third overall, while Melbourne came equal eighth with Hong Kong. Melbourne was also behind Sydney on digital security, Melbourne was eighth while Sydney was first, however Melbourne ranked fourth for health security while Sydney was at tenth.

Melbourne was much lower on the list for the categories of infrastructure security, personally security and environmental security, ranked equal fifteenth, eighteenth, and twenty fifth respectively. Sydney scored much higher on these three categories.

We’ve brought together data from several sources, with not all of them lining up perfectly because each considers or accounts for slightly different metrics.

Read the safest Sydney suburbs here.

Melbourne’s safest postcodes

Melbourne’s postcodes with the lowest crime rates, according to Budget Direct are:

1. 3328, Teesdale
2. 3462, Green Gully, Joyces Creek, Muckleford South, Newstead, Sandon, Welshmans Reef
3. 3698, Tawong South
4. 3115, Wonga Park
5. 3749, Yackandandah, Bruarong
6. 3792, The Patch
7. 3898, Anglers Rest, Bingo, Bingo Munjie, Bundara, Cassilis, Cobungra, Dinner Plain, Glen Valley, Glen Wills, Hinnomunjie, Omeo, Shannonvale, Omeo Valley
8. 3563, Lockington
9. 3289, Gazette, Penhurst, Purdeet, Tabor, Gerrigerrup
10. 3567, Horfield, Leitchville
11. 3446, Drummond North, Malmsbury
12. 3720, Bonnie Doon
13. 3699, Falls Creek, Nelse, Bogong, Mount Beauty
14. 3675, Boweya, Boweya North, Glenrowan, Glenrowan West, Greta South, Hansonville, Mount Bruno, Taminick, Greta, Greta West
15. 3735, Bowmans Forest, Whorouly, Whorouly East, Whorouly South
16. 3453, Harcourt, Harcourt North, Ravenswood, Ravenswood South
17. 3379, Bornes Hill, Chatsworth, Mafeking, Stavely, Wickliffe, Willaura, Willaura North, Berrambool, Watgania
18. 3814, Cora Lynn, Garfield, Gafield North, Vervale
19. 3685, Boorhaman North, Brimin, Browns Plaions, Gooramadda, Great Southern, Lake Moodemere, Rutherglen, Carlyle, Dugays Bridge, Norong Central, Prentice North
20. 3318, Connewirricoo, Charam, Edenhope, Kadnook, Langloop, Patyah, Ullswater, Jallakin, Meereek

Melbourne’s safest suburbs

According to OpenAgent and Canstar, using Victorian Government’s Crime Statistics Agency, the lowest crime rates were in:

1. The Patch
2. Park Orchards
3. Ferny Creek
4. Selby
5. Kallista
6. Warrandyte
7. Montmorency
8. Donvale
9. Sassafras
10. Black Rock, Beaumaris

The Patch

Located 40 kilometres east of Melbourne’s CBD within the shire of Yarra Ranges, the suburb is a picturesque vignette of rural splendour just outside of Melbourne.

Asking prices for postcode 3792

Asking prices for homes in this area are above $1.2 million a piece, with property prices dramatically spiking to over $2.3 million in March last year, according to SQM Research.

Homes here aren’t homes – they are quintessential holiday homes of splendiferous magnificence. Hillside homes overlooking the rollicking and undulating lush greenery below, it is now wonder homes here command such a price despite being far from the main CBD.

Crime rates here were 1.03 per 100 residents.

Park Orchards

A tad closer to the Melbourne CBD, the suburb is located 23 kilometres north east of Melbourne.

With a population of above 3,800, according to the latest census, the suburb asking prices are currently almost $1.9 million, and peaked around April last year at above $2.3 million, according to SQM.

Asking prices for postcode 3114

Crime rates here were 1.33 per 100 residents.

Ferny Creek

Another outer ring suburb, Ferny Creek is yet another picture-perfect corner of the bustling and hip Melbourne. Located 33 kilometres south east of the main CBD and also in the Shire of Yarra Ranges, the suburb is home to some of the most spectacular architectural delights.

This mansion was inspired by a fusion of Asian, European, and contemporary architecture and includes a Japanese Onsen bathhouse was listed for sale in mid-2021 and went for a hair under $3 million ($2.95 million), sold by Fletchers.

Crime rates here were 1.38 per 100 residents.

Selby

Located some 40 kilometres east of Melbourne’s CBD, the suburb is home to the Selby Trestle Bridge, a famed attraction that sees tourists travel over on the Puffing Billy Train, with legs dangling out the side.

The suburb asking prices are hovering around the $1 million mark, with the latest figures a hair under $900.000.

Asking prices for postcode 3159

Crime rates here were 1.47 per 100 residents.

Kallista

Rounding out the top five is nearby Kallista, equally gorgeous for tourists and locals calling this gem home.

House prices here have been up and down, according to SQM data, with the latest asking prices seeing homes go for around $870,000, but have been as high as $1.3 million.

Asking prices for postcode 3791

Crime rates here were 1.53 per 100 residents.

How is crime in Melbourne?

The latest data from Crime Statistics Agency in Victoria has found that the criminal incident rate per 100,000 population has fallen 4.3 per cent. It was 5,217.5 per 100,000 people in September 2022, down from 5,450.8 in September 2021.

Offence rate per 100,000 population was also down, in September 2021 it was 7,572 per 100,000, with September 2022 recording 7,196.4 per 100,000.

Please note that some of the above data have been provided without further analysis or context, which may materially skew the outcome of any rankings and analysis.