suburb.guide

VIC · Murrindindi Council

Thornton, 3712

Est. population · Jun 2025

312

Growth (1 yr)

+0.3%

Growth (5 yr)

+2.3%

Median age

55

Median income

$1,048/wk

Employment rate

50.7%

Languages at home

2.7%non-English

Mostly English at home

2021 Census · usual residence

Desirability score

31.3/100
Below average

1032nd in VIC

Verified 78% confidence

How this score is calculated
  • Green suburb
  • Excellent transport
  • Education hub
  • National parks
  • High desirability
What Thornton is known for: Green suburb, Excellent transport, Education hub, National parks, High desirability

Suburb profile

Thornton offers a slower smaller community life in Murrindindi Council, with open surrounds and a close-knit community feel. Retirees and empty-nesters are well represented here, with multiple generations sharing the same neighbourhood. The pace is unhurried, with local businesses and community spots doing the heavy lifting.

Parks and open space are a real strength relative to many regional towns, easy for walks, sport and weekend downtime. Day-to-day life is more car-oriented here, with buses covering longer trips across the wider area. Homes are relatively cheap compared with the wider market, which keeps entry costs lower.

Crime trends have improved of late compared with the previous period. Occasional new builds add variety while most of the suburb keeps its established look.

Versus similar regional towns, the suburb reads below average on desirability, chiefly because community and employment trail behind. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.

At a glance

Thornton snapshot

A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk

Median house price

—

No data available

Median rent

—

No data available

Population (ERP)

312

+0.3% annual growth

Dwelling vacancy

23.4%

Census unoccupied dwellings

Livability profile

Desirability pillars vs the peer median (50th percentile)

How it compares

Relative standing using percentiles, ranks, and national deciles

Desirability

#264

among Country & regional · Mature

Safety

49th

percentile in state (higher = safer)

Pop. growth

49th

percentile in VIC

Advantage (IRSAD)

3/10

national SEIFA decile

Population growth

Recent ERP change over 1 and 5 years

Housing mix

Dwelling types from the 2021 Census

Risks & flags

Quick scan — open a section below for full context

Living here

Desirability

Ranks & confidence
Desirability score
31.3/100 — Below average
National rank
5355th in Australia
State rank
1032nd in VIC
Peer rank
#264 among Country & regional · Mature suburbs
Cohort rank
#534 among Country & regional suburbs
Data confidence
78%

Data sources & freshness

  • Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated

Population

Estimated resident population

312(June 2025)

+0.3% annual · +2.3% over 5 years · 49th percentile in VIC

Growth figures & methodology
Annual growth
+0.3%
5-year growth
+2.3%
Change in 1 year
+1
Change in 5 years
+7
Growth rank in VIC
49th percentile

ABS Estimated Resident Population allocated to this suburb from SA2-level data. Not an official ABS suburb count.

Methodology

Figures are allocated from ABS Estimated Resident Population at Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2), using 2021 Census share within overlapping SA2 regions. Where Census data is unavailable, area overlap is used instead.

The dashed chart line is a simple growth-trend estimate to June 2030 (~300), extrapolated at +0.7% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.

2021 Census figures

2021 Census

Population
311
Median age
55
Median household income / week
$1,048
Dwelling vacancy
23.4%
Unoccupied private dwellings
44 of 188
Median monthly mortgage
$867
Employment rate
50.7%
Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
123 / 0 / 0 (+ 17 other)

Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)

Employment, household income and age diversity (2021 Census)

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

    The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.

  • Estimated Resident Population — Australian Bureau of Statistics · 2025 · Updated · SA2 ERP allocated to suburb boundaries

Community & culture

No 2021 Census cultural diversity data for this suburb yet.

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

    The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.

Crime & safety

Reported offences decreased compared with the previous period.

Offence counts & rates
Total offences (2026)
16
Against the person
5
Against property
5
Rate per 1,000 residents
51.3
Person-crime prevalence
About 1 in 62 residents
State safety percentile
48.9th (lower crime is better)
Decrease (daily rate)
-33.3%

Most common offence types

  • A211 Fv Serious Assault1
  • A231 Fv Common Assault2
  • B21 Criminal Damage2
  • C12 Drug Trafficking2
  • C32 Drug Possession2

Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)

Crime rate and year-on-year trend

Data sources & freshness

Family & Lifestyle

Schools & preschools

Schools within 2 km
1
School list

Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)

School and preschool counts, median school ICSEA

Data sources & freshness

Public transport

4 public transport stops in this suburb

  • Taggerty-Thornton Rd/Goulburn Valley Hwy
  • Taggerty-Thornton Rd/Goulburn Valley Hwy
  • Taggerty-Thornton Rd/Goulburn Valley Hwy
  • Taggerty-Thornton Rd/Goulburn Valley Hwy

Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)

Public transport stop coverage

Data sources & freshness

Amenities

4 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km

Local character & venue list

Local character

  • Limited walkable amenities nearby
  • Great for outdoor family life — 3 parks mapped in suburb
Walkability proxy
6/100
Cafés per 1,000 residents
0
Food & drink per 1,000 residents
0
Parks per 1,000 residents
9.65
Community(1)
  • Thornton Memorial HallTownhall
Sport & outdoors(1)
  • Sports field
Other(2)
  • Public toilets
  • Recreation Ground

Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe). Transport stops are summarised by type rather than listed individually.

Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)

Food, shopping, recreation and sport (OpenStreetMap)

Data sources & freshness

  • Local amenity insights — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
  • OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated

Parks & reserves

2 parks and public open space in this suburb

  • Point Hill ReservePark
  • Walnuts ReservePark

Data sources & freshness

Green cover

Parks & woodland (OSM)
7
Parks (OSM)
3

OpenStreetMap parks and natural woodland features mapped within the suburb boundary.

Contributes to desirability score · Environment (10%)

Parks and green cover (OpenStreetMap)

Data sources & freshness

Health access

Nearest hospital
Alexandra District Health (11.4 km)
Nearest hospital type
Hospital
Nearest hospital emergency
Emergency department

Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)

Hospitals and GP clinics

Data sources & freshness

NDIS participation

NDIS participants (31 March 2026)
7
Participants per 1,000 residents
22.4

Active NDIS participants allocated from NDIA Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2, ASGS 2016) counts to this suburb boundary. Not an official suburb-level NDIS figure · as at 31 March 2026.

For NDIS spend and service-demand exploration by SA2 or postcode, see the Care Sector Demand Map.

Data sources & freshness

Weather

Typical conditions by season for suburbs in the same ~44 km climate area. Rainfall totals are summed from monthly WorldClim layers; rainy-day counts are approximate.

Summer (Dec–Feb)

Usual max / min
28° / 11°
Rainfall
176 mm · ~22 rainy days

Autumn (Mar–May)

Usual max / min
21° / 7°
Rainfall
233 mm · ~29 rainy days

Winter (Jun–Aug)

Usual max / min
12° / 2°
Rainfall
385 mm · ~48 rainy days

Spring (Sep–Nov)

Usual max / min
19° / 6°
Rainfall
295 mm · ~37 rainy days

Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)

Temperature and humidity comfort

Data sources & freshness

  • Seasonal climate normals — WorldClim 2.1 · Updated

Future & Planning

Planning & development

Development applications from PPARS statewide register (lodged 2020–2022). Free public PPARS MapServer — applications through ~2022 (service last updated Feb 2024).

19 planning-related records

2021· 12 proposals

  • August 2021

  • Liquor Licence Use of land for a Liquor Licence (General)
    3 BACK EILDON ROAD THORNTON 3712Permit issued by a delegate of the RA
  • Place of Assembly/Worship Use and development of land for a Place of Assembly
    969 GOULBURN VALLEY HIGHWAY THORNTON 3712Refusal issued by the Resp. Authority
  • Place of Assembly/Worship Use and development of land for a Place of Assembly
    969 GOULBURN VALLEY HIGHWAY THORNTON 3712Withdrawn

  • July 2021

  • Place of Assembly/Worship (Alts & Adds) Development of Land for Storage Shed and Driving Range Stalls
    82 Rollasons RoadPermit issued by a delegate of the RA
  • Tourist Development Use and Development of land for group accommodation
    225 THOMS LANE THORNTON 3712Permit issued by a delegate of the RA

  • June 2021

  • Liquor Licence and Place of Assembly/Worship Amend Permit Preamble to include Market (up to four per year) and amend conditions to allow increased hours of operation, visitors and to allow live music
    3 BACK EILDON ROAD THORNTON 3712NOD issued by the Resp. Authority
  • Signs Installation of a Promotion Sign
    1 BACK EILDON ROAD THORNTON 3712Permit issued by a delegate of the RA

  • May 2021

  • Farm Building Development of land for a Farm Shed
    837 Taggerty-Thornton RoadPermit issued by a delegate of the RA
  • Tourist Development Use and Development of Land for Group Accommodation
    3 BACK EILDON ROAD THORNTON 3712NOD issued by the Resp. Authority

  • March 2021

  • Farm Building Development of land for a Shed
    360 Swamp Creek RoadPermit issued by a delegate of the RA
  • Garages/Carports/Outbuildings Development of land for a shed (container)
    1021 Taggerty-Thornton RoadPermit issued by a delegate of the RA
  • Tourist Development (Extensions) and Tourist Development (Alterations) Use and development of land for Group Accommodation, Function Centre, Restaurant, Day Spa and Liquor license, Extension to existing shed, Installation of business identification signage and alterations to land in a Road Zone
    1270 GOULBURN VALLEY HIGHWAY THORNTON 3712In progress
2020· 7 proposals

  • December 2020

  • Single Dwelling Use and development of the land for a (replacement) dwelling
    349 Back Eildon RoadPermit issued by a delegate of the RA

  • November 2020

  • Single Dwelling and Garages/Carports/Outbuildings Construction and use of a dwelling and shed
    1 Back Eildon RoadPermit issued by a delegate of the RA

  • July 2020

  • Farm Building Construction of a farm shed
    1021 Taggerty-Thornton RoadPermit issued by a delegate of the RA
  • Change or extension of use Use of the land for a Cafe
    3 Back Eildon RoadPermit issued by the RA

  • April 2020

  • Place of Assembly/Worship Use of land for the purpose of a place of assembly (music festival) annually for 5 years
    969 Goulburn Valley HighwayRefusal issued by the Resp. Authority

  • February 2020

  • Farm Building Construction of a farm shed
    1680 Goulburn Valley HighwayPermit issued by a delegate of the RA

  • January 2020

  • Creation or Removal of Easement Removal of Easement
    1093 Taggerty-Thornton RoadPermit issued by a delegate of the RA

Contributes to desirability score · Future Growth (7%)

Development and planning activity

Data sources & freshness

Hazards

Bushfire planning zone
No overlay at centroid

Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via Victorian Bushfire Management Overlay mapping.

Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)

Bushfire hazard overlays

Data sources & freshness

  • Hazard planning overlays — State government hazard layers · current · Updated

Politics & representation

Federal electorate
Indi
Member of Parliament
Helen HAINES (Independent)
Results from
2025 federal election
Electorate enrolment (2025)
120,774
Turnout (2025)
92.8%
Swing since 2022 (2025)
-1.4 pp toward Coalition

Two-party preferred (2025)

Coalition 56.7%Labor 43.3%

Estimated suburb voting profile

Estimated from 8 nearby ordinary polling places (up to 33.9 km away).

Coalition 66.8%Labor 33.3%

10.1 percentage points more Coalition-leaning than the electorate

Estimated swing since 2022: -4.9 pp toward Coalition

Nearest polling places

  • ThorntonLabor 31.5% · Coalition 68.5% TPP (2025)2.3 km away
  • EildonLabor 45.9% · Coalition 54.1% TPP (2025)9.3 km away
  • TaggertyLabor 43.9% · Coalition 56.1% TPP (2025)10.6 km away
  • AlexandraLabor 41.2% · Coalition 58.8% TPP (2025)13.3 km away
  • MarysvilleLabor 45.5% · Coalition 54.5% TPP (2025)27.2 km away

Federal electorate from AEC federal division boundaries (2025 redistribution). Division-level results are official AEC figures from the latest general election, with by-election updates where applicable. The estimated suburb profile blends up to eight nearest ordinary polling booths in the same electorate using inverse-distance weighting from the suburb centroid — an approximation, not official AEC data. Nearest polling places are shown for reference.

Data sources & freshness

Socio-economic

IRSAD decile (2021)
3/10
IRSD decile (2021)
5/10

ABS Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), 2021 release — the latest available, derived from the 2021 Census. Deciles rank suburbs nationally from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest).

What do IRSAD and IRSD measure?

IRSAD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage. Combines indicators of advantage (e.g. high income, skilled occupations) and disadvantage. Higher decile = more advantaged relative to other Australian areas.

IRSD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage. Focuses on disadvantage only (e.g. low income, unemployment, limited education). Higher decile = less disadvantage nationally.

A new SEIFA edition typically follows each census; the ABS has not announced a release date beyond 2021.

Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)

Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD decile)

Data sources & freshness

Compare with

Similar suburbs to weigh up side by side — scores, safety, schools, and lifestyle.

More in Murrindindi Council

Other suburbs in the same local government area.

Comparable suburbs

Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Victoria.