Average council rates in Melbourne, 31 councils ranked
Every council covering Melbourne, ranked by what it levies on average per rateable property. The result that most people get wrong is at the top of the page rather than buried: Melbourne councils charge less than the Victorian median, not more.
Across the 31 councils covering Melbourne, the median charges $1,880 per property assessment and the mean is $1,940, for 2024-25. The range runs from $1,516 in Whitehorse City to $2,696 in Nillumbik Shire, a spread of $1,180, so the dearest council charges 1.8 times the cheapest. Melbourne sits $57 below the median across all 79 Victorian councils. The figure is indicator FIM-E4, the average rate per rateable property each council reports and has audited. It is not an individual rates notice, it excludes waste charges, and it is not comparable with New South Wales or Queensland.
Key statistics
- Councils ranked
- 31
- Median council
- $1,880
- Mean council
- $1,940
- Cheapest
- $1,516
- Most expensive
- $2,696
- Victorian median
- $1,937
Melbourne is not where Victoria's dearest rates are
The median Melbourne council charges $1,880. Across all 79 Victorian councils the median is $1,937. Melbourne is $57 below the state, which is the opposite of what the housing market would suggest and the opposite of the pattern in Sydney.
Grouping councils the way the Victorian Government does shows where the money actually is.
| Group | Councils | Median rate |
|---|---|---|
| Regional City | 10 | $2,124 |
| Large Shire | 19 | $1,979 |
| Interface (Melbourne) | 9 | $1,880 |
| Metro (Melbourne) | 22 | $1,880 |
| Small Shire | 19 | $1,828 |
Regional City councils carry the highest median in the state at $2,124. Melbourne is 39 per cent of Victoria's councils and holds 35 per cent of its 20 most expensive, so it is not absent from the top, but it does not dominate it either.
The mechanism is the same one that governs rates everywhere. A council divides the revenue it needs by the rateable value available to it. A metropolitan council with dense, valuable land raises what it needs at a lower average per property than a shire with fewer properties spread over more ground and a longer road network to maintain. A high rates figure is a statement about a council's revenue base, not about how well it is run.
Metro and Interface councils charge almost the same
Melbourne here means the 22 Metro councils plus the 9 Interface councils, the growth-area municipalities on the city's edge. The usual assumption is that the outer councils charge noticeably less. They do not.
| Group | Councils | Median | Mean | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metro | 22 | $1,880 | $1,936 | $1,516 to $2,677 |
| Interface | 9 | $1,880 | $1,950 | $1,659 to $2,696 |
The two medians sit at the same figure, which is as close as two groups of councils are likely to get. The spread inside each group is far wider than the gap between them, so where a Melbourne council sits in this ranking has very little to do with whether it is inner or outer.
The middle of the table is tight. 19 of the 31 councils sit within $200 of the median, so for most of Melbourne the difference between one council and the next is small enough to be swamped by the size of the property. The $1,180 range is set by the handful at each end rather than by any broad spread, which is also why the mean sits $60 above the median with only 11 of the 31 councils charging more than it.
Every Melbourne council ranked
Ordered most to least expensive. The last column is where that council sits among all 79 Victorian councils on the same indicator.
| # | Council | Rate | vs Melbourne median | Group | Victorian rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nillumbik Shire | $2,696 | $816 above | Interface | 1st of 79 |
| 2 | Hobsons Bay City | $2,677 | $797 above | Metro | 2nd of 79 |
| 3 | Maribyrnong City | $2,450 | $570 above | Metro | 4th of 79 |
| 4 | Melbourne City | $2,345 | $465 above | Metro | 7th of 79 |
| 5 | Boroondara City | $2,253 | $373 above | Metro | 13th of 79 |
| 6 | Yarra Ranges Shire | $2,161 | $281 above | Interface | 17th of 79 |
| 7 | Greater Dandenong City | $2,123 | $243 above | Metro | 20th of 79 |
| 8 | Bayside City | $2,086 | $206 above | Metro | 22nd of 79 |
| 9 | Moonee Valley City | $2,027 | $147 above | Metro | 27th of 79 |
| 10 | Manningham City | $2,000 | $120 above | Metro | 30th of 79 |
| 11 | Wyndham City | $1,997 | $117 above | Interface | 31st of 79 |
| 12 | Kingston City | $1,940 | $60 above | Metro | 39th of 79 |
| 13 | Yarra City | $1,937 | $57 above | Metro | 40th of 79 |
| 14 | Merri-bek City | $1,914 | $34 above | Metro | 41st of 79 |
| 15 | Whittlesea City | $1,899 | $19 above | Interface | 43rd of 79 |
| 16 | Cardinia Shire | $1,880 | at the median | Interface | 46th of 79 |
| 17 | Brimbank City | $1,847 | $33 below | Metro | 50th of 79 |
| 18 | Frankston City | $1,795 | $85 below | Metro | 54th of 79 |
| 19 | Banyule City | $1,787 | $93 below | Metro | 56th of 79 |
| 20 | Melton City | $1,779 | $101 below | Interface | 57th of 79 |
| 21 | Casey City | $1,767 | $113 below | Interface | 58th of 79 |
| 22 | Port Phillip City | $1,765 | $115 below | Metro | 59th of 79 |
| 23 | Darebin City | $1,764 | $116 below | Metro | 60th of 79 |
| 24 | Knox City | $1,732 | $148 below | Metro | 63rd of 79 |
| 25 | Hume City | $1,715 | $165 below | Interface | 66th of 79 |
| 26 | Maroondah City | $1,715 | $165 below | Metro | 66th of 79 |
| 27 | Monash City | $1,697 | $183 below | Metro | 69th of 79 |
| 28 | Mornington Peninsula Shire | $1,659 | $221 below | Interface | 72nd of 79 |
| 29 | Stonnington City | $1,647 | $233 below | Metro | 73rd of 79 |
| 30 | Glen Eira City | $1,577 | $303 below | Metro | 76th of 79 |
| 31 | Whitehorse City | $1,516 | $364 below | Metro | 78th of 79 |
Why this list and the Victoria list disagree about the dearest council
This page ranks 31 councils, Metro plus Interface. The Victoria ranking reports Melbourne as the 22 Metro councils alone, which is the narrower and more common definition.
The difference matters at exactly one point. Nillumbik Shire is an Interface council, so it does not appear in a Metro-only list, and on that narrower definition the dearest council in Melbourne is Hobsons Bay City at $2,677 rather than Nillumbik Shire at $2,696. Both statements are true of their own scope. Neither is a correction of the other, and this page uses the wider definition because the Interface councils are where most of Melbourne's growth is happening.
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Methodology
Indicator. FIM-E4, Average rate per property assessment. General rates, municipal charges and supplementary rates leviable on rateable properties as at 1 July, divided by the number of rateable properties as at 1 July. Excludes service rates and service charges, so waste is not in it. Audited.
Source. Local Government Performance Reporting Framework full council data set, November 2025 final release, sheet Indicators 2024-25. Definition from the Local Government Better Practice Guide, Performance Reporting Indicator Guide 2026-27, FIM-E4, p123. Local Government (Planning and Reporting) Regulations 2020 Schedule 3.
Year. 2024-25, which is the most recent audited year. The same workbook carries councils' own forecasts out to 2028-29, and they are deliberately not published here: they are Financial Plan estimates made in November 2025, before the 2.75 per cent cap for 2026-27 was set, so they forecast a cap that did not yet exist.
The cap. Victoria runs the Fair Go Rates System, set by the Minister for Local Government, on Essential Services Commission advice, before 31 December each year. It applies to the council's average rate per rateable property, not an individual rates notice, covers general rates and municipal charges, and sits outside waste and other service charges, special rates and charges, the fire services levy. The cap for 2026-27 is 2.75 per cent. Glen Eira City has an approved higher cap of 5 per cent.
Scope. Melbourne means the 22 Metro and 9 Interface councils as the Victorian Government groups them, which is 31. The remaining 48 Victorian councils are Regional City, Large Shire and Small Shire, and appear here only in the group comparison and the Victorian rank column.
Not comparable with other states. This is an average across every rateable property, including units and commercial, rather than a residential-only figure. Queensland publishes a minimum general rate for an owner-occupied home, a floor. New South Wales publishes an average residential rate. Three different statistics, never ranked together.
SuburbCost does not publish property prices, medians, valuations as market values or capital growth, here or anywhere else on the site.
Frequently asked questions
How much are council rates in Melbourne?
The median Melbourne council charges $1,880 per property assessment for 2024-25 and the mean across the 31 councils is $1,940. The range runs from $1,516 in Whitehorse City to $2,696 in Nillumbik Shire. This is the average rate per rateable property that each council reports, not an individual rates notice, and it excludes waste charges.
What is the average council rate in Melbourne?
$1,940 per property assessment across the 31 councils covering Melbourne for 2024-25, with a median of $1,880. Melbourne here means the 22 Metro councils plus the 9 Interface councils on the city's growth fringe, which is how the Victorian Government groups them.
Which Melbourne council has the highest rates?
Nillumbik Shire, at $2,696 per property assessment for 2024-25, which is also the highest in Victoria. Hobsons Bay City follows at $2,677 and Maribyrnong City at $2,450. Nillumbik Shire is an Interface council, so a ranking limited to the 22 Metro councils tops out at Hobsons Bay City instead, at $2,677.
Which Melbourne council has the cheapest rates?
Whitehorse City, at $1,516 per property assessment. Glen Eira City is next at $1,577, then Stonnington City at $1,647. A low average rate reflects how much rateable value a council has to spread its revenue across, not how efficiently it is run.
Are Melbourne council rates higher than regional Victoria?
No, and this surprises people. The median Melbourne council charges $1,880 against $1,937 across all 79 Victorian councils, so Melbourne sits $57 below the state median. The dearest group in the state is Regional City, at a median of $2,124. Melbourne is 39 per cent of Victoria's councils and holds 35 per cent of its 20 most expensive.
Can these be compared with Sydney or Brisbane council rates?
No. Victoria reports the average rate per property assessment, an audited figure covering every rateable property. New South Wales reports an average residential rate to the Office of Local Government, and Queensland publishes a minimum general rate for an owner-occupied home, which is a floor rather than an average. The three are different statistics and no ranking on this site mixes them.
Is this council rates or property prices?
Council rates only. SuburbCost never publishes property prices, medians, valuations as market values or capital growth. Every figure here is what a council levies annually per rateable property.
Cite this data
SuburbCost data is free to cite with attribution. Please link to this page as the source.
Every council figure used here is available to reuse. You can take these rates as a CSV under CC BY 4.0 rather than retyping them.
Related studies
- Most expensive council rates in Victoria, all 79 councils ranked on the same indicator.
- Average council rates in Sydney, the 32 Greater Sydney councils on the New South Wales basis.
- How council rates are calculated, why each state's figure means something different.
- Every council we hold, with the rating detail behind these figures.