Nothing's more important than family. Much is made of capital growth and other financial factors, but many members of the Microburbs community are simply looking for a safe, happy home for themselves and their children. Convenience, hipness and lifestyle can take a back seat compared to a good environment for your kids to grow up in.
The Microburbs family score is a major statistical undertaking, involving several areas which are weighted and combined to give a final number. NAPLAN rankings of nearby schools are considered, for private options as well as government school catchments. Family amenities are considered, like parks and swimming pools. There are demographic considerations to check if there are young families in the area and if they're mostly moving in or desperate to get out. Lastly, we undertake surveys to validate that our algorithms and data models reflect the way real families feel about types of areas.
Now that you're an expert on the science of family scores, let's explore Australia's biggest cities for the top ranked suburbs for families.
Sydney
Sydney has around 200 suburbs with Family Score of 10, and a city average of 8.3. That may seem like a lot of family burbs, but remember Sydney is a sprawling metropolis with over 650 suburbs. The top of the top scorers are in the North Shore and Northern Beaches areas, and certainly come at a price. The average of the median house prices in our top 10 family areas for Sydney is around 2 million dollars - more than double the already steep citywide median price.
| Rank | Suburb | Family Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Turramurra | 10 |
| 2 | Willoughby East | 10 |
| 3 | St Ives Chase | 10 |
| 4 | Beecroft | 10 |
| 5 | Middle Cove | 10 |
| 6 | Balgowlah Heights | 10 |
| 7 | Castlecrag | 10 |
| 8 | North Balgowlah | 10 |
| 9 | Curl Curl | 10 |
| 10 | Naremburn | 10 |
Melbourne
Melbourne has 94 suburbs with family score 10. The citywide average for family score is 8.1, trailing Sydney only slightly. As with Sydney, however, the city's top family burbs come at a premium, with the top 10 averaging a cool $1.5 million median price. Most of the top scorers are in the inner East or North East, with the exception of coastal Beaumaris.
| Rank | Suburb | Family Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alphington | 10 |
| 2 | Beaumaris | 10 |
| 3 | Camberwell | 10 |
| 4 | Eaglemont | 10 |
| 5 | Balwyn | 10 |
| 6 | Blackburn | 10 |
| 7 | Ivanhoe East | 10 |
| 8 | Ivanhoe | 10 |
| 9 | Mont Albert North | 10 |
| 10 | Surrey Hills | 10 |
Brisbane
Brisbane lags the other state capitals somewhat in the family score stakes. There are 40 suburbs in Brisbane with a family score of 10, which is plenty to choose from, but nowhere near Melbourne's 94 or Sydney's 200. Brisbane's average family score, at 7.8, also lags behind the other big cities. Still, the differences are slight, and Brisbane is still a great city for families with lots of exceptional family suburbs.
| Rank | Suburb | Family Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bardon | 10 |
| 2 | Fig Tree Pocket | 10 |
| 3 | Chelmer | 10 |
| 4 | Graceville | 10 |
| 5 | Ashgrove | 10 |
| 6 | Chapel Hill | 10 |
| 7 | Seven Hills | 10 |
| 8 | Pinjarra Hills | 10 |
| 9 | Pullenvale | 10 |
| 10 | Upper Brookfield | 10 |
Perth
Perth scores very well across the board for Microburbs family score. There are 65 suburbs in Perth with a top family score, or around a quarter. The citywide average is a family score of 8.2, which means you can't go too far wrong in terms of locating your family in Perth. With rents having dropped 13% in Perth, there's a lot to recommend it for the relocating family. Our top burbs for families mostly line the river, with Cottesloe, Swanbourne and Dalkeith on the North side and East Fremantle, Alfred Cove, Rossmoyne and Mt Pleasant on the South.
| Rank | Suburb | Family Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Floreat | 10 |
| 2 | Wembley Downs | 10 |
| 3 | Swanbourne | 10 |
| 4 | Dalkeith | 10 |
| 5 | Nedlands | 10 |
| 6 | Alfred Cove | 10 |
| 7 | Claremont | 10 |
| 8 | Mount Pleasant | 10 |
| 9 | Cottesloe | 10 |
| 10 | Rossmoyne | 10 |
Adelaide
In total, there are 49 Adelaide suburbs with the top family score of 10, against a respectable city average of 8.0. With the exception of Heathpool and Marryatville in nearby City of Norwood, the top family burbs of Adelaide are found in the affluent Inner Eastern City of Burnside area.
| Rank | Suburb | Family Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tusmore | 10 |
| 2 | Mount Osmond | 10 |
| 3 | Heathpool | 10 |
| 4 | Marryatville | 10 |
| 5 | Hazelwood Park | 10 |
| 6 | Leabrook | 10 |
| 7 | Linden Park | 10 |
| 8 | Burnside | 10 |
| 9 | Beaumont | 10 |
| 10 | Toorak Gardens | 10 |
Regional Recommendations
Some honourable mentions are the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Central Coast in NSW and Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria. All are regional coastal areas near the state capital which, on average, score higher for families than the capital. If you're looking for a family area and frustrated with the big smoke, these may be regions to explore.
Microburbs Report - Family Score
The Family Score panel of each microburbs report includes the performance of all classes of local schools, along with catchment boundaries and travel times. For a limited time, we're offering a comprehensive family scores report for all Australian suburbs, which we can send you instantly:
For press enquiries about this article, please call Microburbs Founder Luke Metcalfe on 0414 183 210.
