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What it costs to live in Merri-bek, VIC
Merri-bek council area, Victoria. About 189,108 people lived here in 2025. Here's what rent, power, the pokies and crime look like, and how each one sits against the rest of Victoria.
Rent
Victoria doesn't publish new-lease rents by council in a form we can use yet.
Pokies losses
$418
Lost for every adult in a year. That's 74% of the VIC average.
See pokies losses in Merri-bekElectricity
$1,563
A year on the default offer in the Jemena network area, which covers most of Merri-bek, for 4,000 kWh. That's the most a standing offer can cost. A typical plan here costs $1,453.
See electricity pricesCrime police recorded
Crimes against the person, 2025–26
Police recorded 1,649 of these in Merri-bek. That's 873 for every 100,000 people, or 84% of the VIC average. Five years before, in 2020–21, it was 794, so it has gone up 10%.
See each year
| Year | Recorded | Per 100,000 | VIC per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 | 1,649 | 873 | 1,040 |
| 2024–25 | 1,736 | 918 | 1,067 |
| 2023–24 | 1,592 | 858 | 998 |
| 2022–23 | 1,541 | 854 | 974 |
| 2021–22 | 1,466 | 842 | 968 |
| 2020–21 | 1,377 | 794 | 987 |
| 2019–20 | 1,575 | 875 | 976 |
| 2018–19 | 1,614 | 900 | 965 |
| 2017–18 | 1,462 | 823 | 951 |
| 2016–17 | 1,439 | 822 | 956 |
Property and deception offences, 2025–26
Police recorded 8,048 of these in Merri-bek. That's 4,258 for every 100,000 people, or about the VIC average. Five years before, in 2020–21, it was 3,624, so it has gone up 18%.
See each year
| Year | Recorded | Per 100,000 | VIC per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 | 8,048 | 4,258 | 4,071 |
| 2024–25 | 9,286 | 4,910 | 4,459 |
| 2023–24 | 7,465 | 4,025 | 3,612 |
| 2022–23 | 6,560 | 3,635 | 3,148 |
| 2021–22 | 5,803 | 3,331 | 2,776 |
| 2020–21 | 6,287 | 3,624 | 2,929 |
| 2019–20 | 7,608 | 4,226 | 3,677 |
| 2018–19 | 7,457 | 4,158 | 3,547 |
| 2017–18 | 8,009 | 4,508 | 3,625 |
| 2016–17 | 8,281 | 4,729 | 4,065 |
This is crime that police recorded in the area over a year, July to June. Lots of crime is never reported, and a rise can mean police are looking harder, not just that more crime happened. Each state counts crime its own way, so only compare a council with its own state. Victoria rounds very small numbers of homicide and sexual offences.
Suburbs in Merri-bek
Who lives in each one, their homes and how they get around.
Look further
- Rents across Australia: what tenants really pay by suburb and postcode.
- Pokies losses by council: where the most is lost, in four states.
- Fuel prices: the price cycle and the cheapest day to fill up.
- Compare Merri-bek with another area, side by side.
- Look up another area.
Sources: recorded crime, Crime Statistics Agency, CC BY 4.0. Population: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Regional population, CC BY 4.0. Pokies losses: the state's gambling regulator (see the pokies page for its credit). Electricity: Victorian Default Offer 2026–27: Essential Services Commission, CC BY 4.0; retailers' plans under the Consumer Data Right.