Areas / Murrindindi / Thornton

Thornton flood map & planning overlays

The VIC Thornton carries Murrindindi's most flood mapping, 32.5%.

A planning-constraint profile of Thornton (Murrindindi, VIC) - 70.21 km², mapped from live council and state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 24 October 2026.

Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Thornton's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Magenta is where aircraft were observed in the sampled period, brightest below 3,000 ft.

Nearby suburbs, nearest first

Aircraft noise and flight paths over Thornton

The ANEF contour is a published planning forecast and observed overflight is what a sampled tracking feed recorded - neither describes any individual property.

Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 24 Oct 2026

Under observed aircraft
37%
of the suburb, at or below 10,000 ft
Below 3,000 ft
0%
of the suburb's area
Lowest measured
4,500 ft
averaging 7,000 ft
Busiest square
~4 a day
±32%
typical observed square 1 a day

Night movements: observed, lowest 7,500 ft - night is sampled as often as day, but night traffic is light, so this is a floor and no rate can be put on it.

How this is measured

Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously, so every figure is a floor: aircraft not captured between samples are not represented. Rates are per 500 m square - the busiest square in the suburb, not a count of flights over the suburb - and a square is only rated where enough traffic was seen to measure it. Altitudes are above mean sea level. Flight paths change with runway use, weather, season and airspace design. This is a record of observed traffic; it is not a noise contour and not a planning control.

Thornton at a glance

Parcels 380 Median lot 13,978 m² Mapped easements 153 Bus stops 2

How Thornton is zoned

Farming Zone (FZ1) 94%
Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ) 4%
Transport Zone (TRZ2) 1%
Rural Living Zone (RLZ4) 1%
Township Zone (TZ1) 0%
Public Park and Recreation Zone (PPRZ) 0%

Selling in Thornton? The zoning and planning overlays on this page are the controls a Section 32 vendor statement discloses.

Across its 70.21 km², Thornton is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 32% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 99% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 4 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Farming Zone (FZ1). The median lot measures about 13,978 m² across 380 parcels.

Who lives in Thornton

Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Thornton suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.

Population
311
usual residents, 2021
Median age
55
years
Median household income
$1,048
per week, Murrindindi suburb typical $1,375
Median rent
$258
per week, Murrindindi suburb typical $264
Median mortgage
$867
per month
Household size
2.0
people, average

Socio-economic standing

ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.

Advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD) Decile 3
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Score 950, and decile 2 within Victoria. The national average is 1000.

Relative disadvantage (IRSD) Decile 5
most disadvantagedleast disadvantaged

Age profile

Share of Thornton's 311 residents in each ABS age band.

0-4 4.7%
5-14 7.0%
15-19 3.3%
20-24 4.3%
25-34 5.3%
35-44 11.6%
45-54 11.6%
55-64 20.3%
65-74 19.6%
75-84 9.3%
85+ 3.0%

Population trend, 2001 to 2025

Estimated resident population of Alexandra, the wider ABS statistical area containing Thornton. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Thornton itself.

6,263 in 2001 to 6,849 in 2025, up 9%.

Source: ABS Census 2021 and SEIFA 2021 (Suburbs and Localities), Regional Population (SA2), CC BY 4.0. Small counts are randomly adjusted by the ABS.

Thornton data sources and coverage

“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.

DatasetCoveragePublisher
Flood mappingMappedVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services
Bushfire-prone mappingMappedVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services
ZoningMappedVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services
Heritage and environmentMapped where publishedVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services
Aircraft noise contours (ANEF)Not heldVicmap Planning and Victorian Government spatial services, Defence
Observed flight pathsObservedadsb.lol, under the Open Database License
DemographicsAvailableAustralian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA)

Profile last materially updated 24 October 2026. See the methodology and full source list. Source data changes over time and critical decisions should be checked with the responsible authority.

Check a specific Thornton address

See exactly which overlays touch a single property - the interactive map is free. Need it on paper? A full planning PDF is just $9.

See what's in the $9 report →

The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.

Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and the indicative soil reactivity range to expect for a Thornton lot.

Thornton planning - frequently asked

Is Thornton flood-prone?

About 32% of Thornton falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 9%.

Is Thornton bushfire-prone?

Around 99% of Thornton is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Murrindindi average of 100%.

Is Thornton under a flight path?

Aircraft were observed over about 37% of Thornton in the period sampled, but only above 3,000 ft - the lowest measured was 4,500 ft. Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously and flight paths change with runway use, weather and season; the ANEF contour is the planning instrument.

What is the zoning in Thornton?

The dominant planning zone in Thornton is Farming Zone (FZ1), though the suburb also includes Public Conservation and Resource Zone (PCRZ) and Transport Zone (TRZ2).

Does Thornton have heritage-listed places?

Thornton has 4 heritage-listed places on record.

What is the typical lot size in Thornton?

Across 380 surveyed parcels in Thornton, the median lot size is about 13,978 m². There are also 153 registered easements mapped in the suburb.

Does Thornton have a train station?

There is no train station inside Thornton itself. The suburb is served by 2 bus stops.

What is the population of Thornton?

At the 2021 Census Thornton had 311 usual residents, with a median age of 55 and an average household size of 2.0 people. The wider Alexandra statistical area, which contains Thornton, went from 6,263 people in 2001 to 6,849 in 2025, up 9%.

Is Thornton an advantaged suburb?

On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Thornton scores 950 and sits in decile 3 of 10 nationally and decile 2 within Victoria (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).

What is the median household income in Thornton?

Median household income in Thornton was $1,048 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,375 for the typical suburb in Murrindindi. Median rent was $258 a week and the median mortgage repayment $867 a month.

Compare nearby suburbs

Nearby suburbDistanceFlood mappedBushfire-prone
Acheron 9.5 km 20% 100%
Taylor Bay 9.8 km 19% 100%
Alexandra 11.0 km 13% 96%
Devils River 11.2 km 7% 100%
Taggerty 11.7 km 6% 100%
Rubicon 12.9 km <1% 100%
Lake Eildon
Mansfield
16.1 km 33% 97%
Maintongoon 16.4 km 0% 100%
Whanregarwen 18.1 km 31% 100%
Eildon 19.0 km 3% 100%

See all Murrindindi suburb profiles →