Income, Housing and Transportation

Hume City faces socio-economic challenges. It ranks as the third most socio-economically disadvantaged local government area in Greater Melbourne, based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics SEIFA (Socio-economic Economic Indexes For Areas) Index of Disadvantage— which includes measures such as unemployment, low income, and low education levels. The most disadvantaged suburbs in Hume—and the top five across Greater Melbourne with populations over 500—are Meadow Heights, Campbellfield, Coolaroo, Dallas, Broadmeadows.

As at the 2021 Census, the median weekly household income in Hume City was $1,703 which is lower when compared to Greater Melbourne at $1,901. Nearly half (47.0%) of households in Hume City fall into the bottom 40% of the income distribution, compared to 36.6% in Greater Melbourne. This represents the third-highest rate of low-income households in Greater Melbourne.

A significant number of Hume residents rely on welfare support to meet their basic needs and maintain their quality of life. For these individuals and families, government assistance plays a crucial role in providing essential resources such as financial aid for housing, healthcare, and daily living expenses.

Low-income welfare dependent families – 6.4% of families in Hume City are low income, welfare dependent families with children. This is almost double that of Greater Melbourne at 3.4%. Together with Melton City it is the highest rate across all metropolitan LGAs.

Disability support pension – 5.2% of persons aged 16-64 years in Hume City receive a disability support pension. This is higher compared to Greater Melbourne at 3.6% and the third highest rate across all metropolitan LGAs.

JobSeeker payment – 7.4% of persons aged 22-64 years in Hume City receive JobSeeker payment. This is higher compared to Greater Melbourne at 4.3% and the second highest amongst metropolitan LGAs.

Youth allowance – 4.4% of persons aged 16-21 years in Hume City receive Youth Allowance. This is double that of Greater Melbourne at 2.2% and the highest rate across all metropolitan LGAs.

Long-term unemployment benefits – 5.6% of persons aged 16-64 years in Hume City have been receiving a JobSeeker Payment or Youth Allowance for six months or more. This is higher compared to Greater Melbourne at 3.2% and the second highest rate across all metropolitan LGAs.

Health care card holders – 8.4% of persons aged 0-64 years in Hume City are Health Care Card holders. This is higher compared to Greater Melbourne at 5.7%. It is the second highest rate across all metropolitan Melbourne local government areas.

Proportions of persons or families receiving support

The VCOSS (Victorian Council of Social Service) report, Mapping Poverty in Victoria, provides a comprehensive analysis of poverty across the state of Victoria. It examines the distribution and impact of poverty, highlighting areas with the highest levels of economic disadvantage. The report presents data on income levels, housing affordability, and access to essential services, offering insights into how poverty affects different regions and demographics.

According to the most recent report, Hume City has the highest rate of poverty overall across Victoria at 20.6% compared to 13.3% for Victoria. Compared to Victoria, Hume’s poverty rates are higher across all age groups, gender, household composition, housing tenure (excl. public rentals) and employment status. Hume’s poverty rates rank as the highest in Victoria amongst males, females, full-time employed persons, and households with a mortgage. Hume is also amongst the top three ranking local government areas for those aged 15-24 years, 25-64 years, couples (with or without children), lone parents with children, part-time employed persons, and unemployed persons.

VCOSS Poverty rates by demographic

Family households are the leading household type in Hume City. Hume has a higher proportion of family households with children at 58% (both couples and one parent families) compared to Greater Melbourne at 46% and a lower proportion of lone person households at 16%. The percentage of lone person households however, has increased slightly from 2016 to 2021. Suburbs with higher proportions of lone person households include Tullamarine, Campbellfield, Westmeadows and Coolaroo.

More than two-thirds of households in Hume City either fully own their home (23.5%) or are paying off a mortgage (45.3%). The proportion of households paying a mortgage in Hume City is significantly higher than Greater Melbourne (35.6%). In the new growth areas of Kalkallo and Mickleham around two in three households have a mortgage. Around one in four households across Hume City are renting (24.2%), less than compared to Greater Melbourne (29.2%). The proportion of households across Hume City renting social or community housing (2.3%) is the same as that of Greater Melbourne, however, in suburbs such as Broadmeadows, Meadow Heights, and Coolaroo, the rates are significantly higher (13.4%, 7.7% and 7.5%, respectively).

Hume City is considered a reasonably affordable area to buy or rent. In 2023 the median house price was $657,000 (compared to $860,000 for metropolitan Melbourne) while the median unit/apartment price was $470,000 (compared to $615,000 for metropolitan Melbourne). The median weekly rent for a 2-bedroom unit/apartment in Hume City in the March Quarter 2024 was $420 compared to $600 for metropolitan Melbourne and the median rent for a 3-bedroom house was $470 vs $530. Overall, 14.6% of new lettings in Hume City during the March Quarter 2024 were considered as affordable, versus 6.3% for metropolitan Melbourne.

While Hume City is considered somewhat affordable, a significant proportion of households experience housing stress, spending more than 30% of their household income on mortgage or rent payments. As at the 2021 Census around one in five households with a mortgage (20.4%) report paying more than 30% of their household income on mortgage repayments, compared to 16.8% across Greater Melbourne. Similarly, for those households renting, over one third (37.1%) report paying more than 30% of their household income on rent payments, compared with 30.9% for Greater Melbourne. Across all households in Hume almost one in five (19.0%) are experiencing household stress, whether mortgage or rental stress, compared to 15.5% across all Greater Melbourne households.

Households with a mortgage

Rental households

Of Hume’s total population around one in nine persons are living in crowded dwellings (10.9%), higher than compared to Greater Melbourne (6.7%) and the third highest rate across Victoria. Around 5.7% of dwellings in Hume City are considered too small for the number of people and household types living there, requiring one or more extra bedrooms to be considered suitable. This is slightly higher when compared to Greater Melbourne at 3.4% and is the third highest rate across Victoria.

The estimated number of homeless persons in Hume City was 1,147 people as at the 2021 Census. This equates to 44.3 per 10,000 people, which is lower when compared to Greater Melbourne at 47.7 per 10,000 people. Almost two-thirds of Hume’s homeless persons were living in ‘severely’ crowded dwellings (62.2%) while around one-fifth were living in supported accommodation for the homeless (21.3%).

Hume City has a high rate of motor vehicle ownership in comparison to Greater Melbourne. Three out of five households in Hume City (60.7%) have access to two or more motor vehicles, in comparison to just over half of households across Greater Melbourne (51.4%). Only 4.3% of households in Hume City do not own a motor vehicle compared to 8.2% for Greater Melbourne.

Data from the Victorian Integrated Survey of Travel and Activity (March 2020) shows that the predominant mode of transport in Hume City is the private car either as a driver or as a passenger. For all journey types, 85% of trips are made by car with 10% made on foot and 5% by public transport. During the week, 27% of trips are for work related purposes with 22% to drop off or pick up a passenger and 17% for social or recreational activities. Weekend trips are largely for social or recreational activities (45%), followed by shopping (26%) and to drop off or pick up a passenger (12%).

With two in five (40%) employed residents working within Hume City and 56% commuting outside the municipality for work, data from the 2021 ABS Census shows that close to two-thirds are travelling to work in a private car (63.8%), in comparison to only 49.7% across Greater Melbourne.