10 safest Melbourne suburbs in 2023

If you’re looking for a place to settle down in Victoria’s capital, you may well be wondering, what are the safest suburbs in Melbourne?

When deciding whether to rent or buy in an area, it’s important to get an idea of the character of the neighbourhood, which can include crime data. If a move to Melbourne is on the cards, then you might want to know which areas are the safest, in terms of criminal activity. 

According to Crime Statistics Victoria, there were 34,372 offences recorded in the Melbourne local government area in the year ending March 2023, which was down very slightly from the 34,461 recorded in the year to March 2022. 

The majority of these were street, laneway or footpath-based crimes, with theft being the most commonly-recorded offence. Drug possession and stealing from motor vehicles were also among the five most commonly-recorded offences. 

What are the safest suburbs in Melbourne?

While it’s hard to definitely state which suburbs are the ‘safest’ by taking into account all variables, Canstar research has compiled a list of the ten suburbs in the greater Melbourne region that have the lowest crime rate relative to population. For the year ending March 2023, the list of suburbs (along with their offence rate per 1000 people) is as follows:

1. Ferny Creek (10.6 / 1000 people)
2. St Andrews (10.9 / 1000 people)
3. Merricks, Point Leo, Shoreham (11.6 / 1000 people)
4. Wattle Glen (12.1 / 1000 people)
5. Warrandyte, North Warrandyte (12.9 / 1000 people)
6. Yarrambat (12.9 / 1000 people)
7. Panton Hill (15.0 / 1000 people)
8. The Patch (15.5 / 1000 people)
9. Beaconsfield, Upper Dewhurst (12.1 / 1000 people)
10. Gembrook (16.1 / 1000 people)

Source: www.canstar.com.au. Prepared on 29/08/2023. Based on number of offences recorded by postcode (for postcodes with 1,000 or more residents) for all offences from the Victorian Crime Statistics Agency. Offence Rate calculated based on the postcodes’ population at the end of June 2021. Population is estimated by taking the ABS Census 2021 Population by Postcode and applying the appropriate Statistical Area Level 2’s increase in population from 2021 to 2022.

If you are interested in buying in Melbourne, then you may also wish to have a look at Canstar’s list of the 10 best suburbs to invest in Melbourne, prepared as part of our annual Rising Stars property market report..

Which Melbourne suburbs have the highest crime rates?

On the other side of the coin, you may well be curious to know which Melbourne suburbs have the highest rates of crime. Per Canstar research, these suburbs that had the highest number of crimes in the year to March 2023 (again with their offence rate per 1000 people)   are:

1. Melbourne, Windsor (413.1 / 1000 people)
2. Fitzroy (350.5 / 1000 people)
3. Carlton, Melbourne (329.1 / 1000 people)
4. Campbellfield (251.2 / 1000 people)
5. St Kilda, St Kilda West (210.0 / 1000 people)
6. South Melbourne (209.0 / 1000 people)
7. Clifton Hill, Collingwood (206.7 / 1000 people)
8. Moorabbin (193.8  / 1000 people)
9. Broadmeadows, Dallas, Jacana (193.3  / 1000 people)
10. Windsor, Prahran (191.9  / 1000 people)

Source: www.canstar.com.au. Prepared on 29/08/2023. Based on number of offences recorded by postcode (for postcodes with 1,000 or more residents) for all offences from the Victorian Crime Statistics Agency. Offence Rate calculated based on the postcodes’ population at end of June 2021. Population is estimated by taking the ABS Census 2021 Population by Postcode and applying the appropriate Statistical Area Level 2’s increase in population from 2021 to 2022.

Which Melbourne suburbs have the highest burglary rates?

Castar research also analysed the data for the suburbs in Melbourne that experienced the highest burglary rates in the year to March 2023. The suburbs in greater Melbourne that experienced the most residential burglaries (again with their offence rate per 1000 people) are:

1. Collingwood (11.0 / 1000 people)
2. Broadmeadows, Dallas, Jacana (9.5 / 1000 people)
3. Fitzroy (9.0 / 1000 people)
4. Toorak (8.5 / 1000 people)
5. Carlton (8.0 / 1000 people)

Source: www.canstar.com.au. Prepared on 29/08/2023. Based on number of offences recorded by postcode for aggravated burglary and non-aggravated burglary from the Victorian Crime Statistics Agency. Burglary Rate calculated based on the postcodes’ population at end of June 2021. Population is estimated by taking the ABS Census 2021 Population by Postcode and applying the appropriate Statistical Area Level 2’s increase in population from 2021 to 2022.

How can a suburb’s ‘safety’ impact the cost of home and contents insurance?

In addition to potential safety concerns, living in a high-crime neighbourhood could also have an impact on your hip pocket. According to home insurance provider Guild Insurance, if an area is statistically shown to be prone to more crime or damage to homes, this can impact how much it costs an insurer to provide home and contents insurance. This can result in higher premiums for customers in these areas.

However, Guild Insurance says this is just one aspect of how it calculates premiums and that other factors, such as whether your suburb is susceptible to natural disasters like floods and bushfires, are typically more important in determining cost.

If you do live in a high crime area, one way you may be able to reduce premiums could be by installing additional security measures. Security features such as deadlocks and monitored alarms can reduce the risk of crime-related claims and will generally be reflected in a lower insurance premium, Guild Insurance told Canstar.

Cover image source: f11photo/Shutterstock.com