How much it costs to live in Melbourne’s 10 most liveable suburbs

Home buyers looking to buy in Melbourne’s most liveable suburbs can expect to shell out more than $1 million to secure a house, thanks to the suburbs’ proximity to the city and other sought-after services.

Fitzroy North was crowned the most liveable suburb in Melbourne by the PwC CityPulse 2025 report, based on its safety and closeness to education, health and other essential services.

The median house price in Fitzroy North was $1.4 million, on Domain data. Next was the western part of Surrey Hills and Canterbury, where the median prices were $2.15 million and $2,935,000, respectively, then Flemington with a median price of $1.06 million.

No suburb in the PwC report’s top 10 had a house median below $1 million, though unit medians varied between $850,000 in Surrey Hills and $401,500 in Flemington.

PwC Australia managing partner Suji Kanagalingam said analysts used AI to help determine the rankings, which helped them consider different aspects of liveability. He wasn’t surprised to see Fitzroy North top the list, which was first reported by the Herald Sun.

“Where it’s located it has proximity to economic hubs, the airport, shopping centres and it has access to childcare centres for families as well,” Kanagalingam said. “All the things that drive, for lack of a better term, quality of life.”

Quantify Strategic Insights head of data and insights Angie Zigomanis said inner suburbs tended to be more expensive and liveable, and the added demand to live in a postcode considered comfortable and safe kept prices high.

“When you start throwing things like proximity to transport and employment, the inner suburbs are going to win out,” he said. “When you look at open space, then it might be a bit of a difference [compared with outer suburbs], but when you look at those inner and middle-eastern suburbs, part of that is lack of density as well. A lot of the good educational institutions are located in that area as well.”

Fitzroy North resident Sudhan Mistry said it came as no surprise that the popular inner north suburb was considered highly liveable. He said the closeness to parks and other gathering places helped create a community feel.

“The great thing about taking the dogs to the park is it’s a great way to connect to the community,” he said. “I’ve met a lot of people, and you generally know them by their dogs’ names. We’ve known a lot of people over 15 years by connecting through the dog park; it’s not something you can get from a lot of areas.”

Fitzroy North resident Sudhan Mistry walks his dog Cola through his neighbourhood.Credit: Joe Armao

The tech worker and his family also enjoyed the walkable neighbourhood, schools, public transport and the area’s character.

Mistry is selling his Park Street house, which he had renovated during his 19-year stay in the suburb. He, his wife and three children are regretfully moving further north for more space.

“Having three kids and a dog, they’re growing up and really into a lot of sporting activities, and with all the equipment, it’s just got to a place where it’s not scalable at all,” he said. “We’re very sad about having to move.”

Mistry isn’t surprised Fitzroy North was ranked Melbourne’s most liveable suburb.Credit: Joe Armao

His selling agent, Nelson Alexander’s Paul Rodighiero, said the area’s perceived liveability added to its popularity and, therefore, pricing.

“Young professionals, but also downsizers, want the proximity to the city, the proximity to public transport and being able to walk to a park and walk to a coffee shop. That’s what the inner north offers buyers.”

Heavyside director Tim Heavyside said Surrey Hills was in demand from families due to its school zones, amenities and community feel.

Drawcards include sporting facilities, parkland, tram lines and the upgraded train station, plus cafes, restaurants and strip shops, he said.

“A lot of families are attracted to Surrey Hills and the median house price is still reasonable compared to some of the others – Middle Park or Toorak and South Yarra, Deepdene – Surrey Hills is still reasonable value,” he said.

Heavyside said buyers could occasionally find a one-bedroom apartment under $400,000, but the record is $7.25 million.

Zigomanis said a lack of affordable properties for families in liveable areas affected Melbourne’s economy.

“It makes it more difficult for the city to function,” he said. “You have key workers who aren’t on as high incomes … who all of a sudden have to live very far away from where they might be working,” he said.

“This causes problems for traffic and infrastructure provisions to accommodate all this movement. It categorises the city by income, and you don’t get equality across the city.”

Kanagalingam said affordability and cost-of-living pressures could cause Melbourne’s outer areas to become more liveable out of necessity, as buyers became priced out of the most popular areas and a growing population supported improved amenities in outer suburbs.