Donnybrook: what changed since the 2021 Census
722 homes at the last Census. 6,992 addresses today. +678% against the national rate, and the Census map redrawn around it.
By Luke Metcalfe, Founder & Chief Data Scientist, 15+ years in property data analytics · September 2026Donnybrook, on Melbourne's northern edge, held 722 homes at the 2021 Census. It now carries about 7,000 addresses, the second-fastest change in the country against the national rate, and the Census map has gone from 24 areas to 124.
Left, Donnybrook as the 2021 Census saw it, photographed 2021-01-10. Right, the same ground on 2026-09-01. Both from the European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 satellite.
The numbers
That is not a suburb growing. That is a suburb appearing.
What this means if you are buying here. Any 2021 Census figure you are shown for Donnybrook is describing a place that has since been carved into 124 areas and has 6,270 more addresses than it did. The suburb average is the wrong tool. The Donnybrook suburb report is built from today's addresses and sales, and it is the one to read before you offer.
For developers: the same answer as a request
Everything on this page comes from data built for the Microburbs API. The API already resolves any address and returns its mesh block today. Three Census requests are specified and being built on top of it; they are not live yet, and this page will say so until they are. Access and plans are on the API access page.
| Request, coming | What it will answer |
|---|---|
GET /v1/census/resolve?gnaf_pid=GAVIC720355173 | Which Census area this address is in, for 2021 and for 2026, and whether it changed. |
GET /v1/census/lineage?mesh_block_2021=21327400000 | What an old area became, with the ABS's own population-weighted shares. This one returns 43 rows. |
GET /v1/census/releases | Which Census data exists today and which is still to come, with dates. |
Read the API documentation for what is live today, or see worked examples of the three Census requests as they will answer.
Addresses from the national address file. 2021 counts from the Bureau of Statistics' 2021 mesh blocks. 2026 areas from the Bureau's ASGS Edition 4 boundaries and correspondence. Listings from our own records since 2022.
Census 2026 on Microburbs: Where the Census is up to · The places that changed most · Clyde North · Melonba · Tarneit · Donnybrook · Will my 2021 analysis still work? · For developers
Read Donnybrook as it is today
The suburb report is built from today's addresses and sales, not a count taken five years ago.
Donnybrook suburb reportUse the API