Richmond: Inner-City Professionals, Vietnamese Heritage and High-Rise Young Workers

Richmond is an inner-city suburb of 26,400 with a median age of 34 and household incomes of $2,250 per week. Only 49.7% of households are families, with the rest split between singles, couples and sharehouses. The workforce is 84% white collar, with professionals making up 49.5% and managers 19.8%. Science and technical services (20.5%) and health (14.7%) dominate employment. A full 31.7% hold university degrees.

The suburb is 68.0% Australian-born with 78% speaking English at home. Asians make up 10.7% of the origin mix, followed by Northern and Western Europeans at 5.8%. Public housing is high at 8.1%, creating a visible social mix. Commute times are short at 11 minutes by public transport and 16 minutes by car. With 20 nightclubs and a hip score of 78, Richmond is one of Melbourne's prime entertainment hubs. Walking (7.3%) and cycling (2.8%) rates are well above the city average.

The Vietnamese and Asian community of Richmond concentrates around the public housing towers on Elizabeth St and Church St. Around Anderson Ct and Church St, Asians make up 54.2% of the population, with just 31.0% Australian-born. The Church St and Elizabeth St intersection shows 50.2% Asian. Median ages here reach 45 to 48, with household incomes of just $570 to $612 per week, reflecting the concentration of public housing tenants.

The wealthy professional core sits to the south and west. Amsterdam St and Barkly Avenue leads at $3,618 per week household income, with 85.6% Australian-born and a median age of 34. Bridge Rd ($3,328, 80.8% Australian), Swan St ($3,071, 76.3%) and Albert Pl and Bellevue St ($3,050, 82.4%) form the premium residential belt. These are renovated Victorian terraces and new townhouses filled with dual-income professional couples.

Northern and Western Europeans cluster in the leafy streets south of Bridge Rd. The Alfred St and Fear St area has 10.5% Northern and Western European, and Swan St sits at 7.4%. These areas combine high incomes with median ages of 31 to 33, pointing to British, Irish and Northern European young professionals.

The most Australian-born pockets sit around Alban St and Berry St (87.2%) and Allowah Tce and Bridge Rd (82.9%). The younger pockets around Appleton St and Burnley St (median age 29) and Baker St and Church St (median age 29) attract recent graduates and first-time renters. The Southern European heritage shows up around Bliss St and Boland St (5.8%) and Bennett St and Buckingham St (5.5%), remnants of Richmond's Greek and Italian past.

Richmond votes strongly left at 67.1%, with just 24.2% on the right and a conservatism score of only 17.7%. This makes it one of Melbourne's most progressive suburbs. The combination of young professionals, university graduates and inner-city renters drives the left-leaning trend. The seat falls within the Greens-Labor battleground of inner Melbourne.