Northcote flood map & planning overlays

The schematic on this page is a Northcote flood map: the mapped flood overlays drawn over the suburb's terrain and street grid, covering about 11% of the suburb. Flood lines vary block to block, so for a specific property use the free interactive map - search any Northcote address and it shows the flood, zoning and bushfire mapping on the exact lot boundary.

About 11% of Northcote falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 11%. Flood overlays vary block to block, so whether a particular lot is affected needs a property-level check.

Bushfire mapping covers Northcote and little to none of it is mapped as bushfire-prone (the Darebin average is 1%). Always confirm for the exact lot, as mapping can change.

The dominant planning zone in Northcote is General Residential Zone (GRZ2), though the suburb also includes Neighbourhood Residential Zone (NRZ1) and Public Park and Recreation Zone (PPRZ). Zoning sets what you can build and do on a site, and can differ lot by lot.

Northcote has 162 heritage-listed places on record. Heritage listing affects what you can alter or demolish, so confirm whether a specific property is listed or near a heritage place.

Across 15,304 surveyed parcels in Northcote, the median lot size is about 439 m². There are also 1,368 registered easements mapped in the suburb - an easement can restrict where you can build, so always check the title and overlays for the specific lot.

Yes - Northcote has 5 train stations: Croxton Station, Dennis Station, Merri Station, Northcote Station, Westgarth Station. It is also served by 75 bus stops and 29 tram stops.

At the 2021 Census Northcote had 25,276 usual residents, with a median age of 37 and an average household size of 2.3 people. The wider Northcote - East statistical area, which contains Northcote, went from 12,844 people in 2001 to 15,969 in 2025, up 24%. ABS publishes no annual population series for individual suburbs, so that trend describes the surrounding area rather than Northcote alone.

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Northcote scores 1117 and sits in decile 10 of 10 nationally and decile 10 within Victoria - decile 1 being the most disadvantaged tenth of Australian suburbs and decile 10 the least. The national average score is 1000. SEIFA summarises income, education, occupation and housing across the whole suburb, so it describes the area, not any particular household in it.

Median household income in Northcote was $2,287 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,844 for the typical suburb in Darebin. Median rent was $475 a week and the median mortgage repayment $2,400 a month. These are 2021 Census figures and have not been indexed to today.

A Northcote planning report pulls every overlay - zoning, flood, bushfire, heritage, environmental and noise - that touches a single lot, on live council and state data. The interactive map preview is free; the full PDF report is $9.