How does Best Schools rank suburbs?

It ranks suburbs by the average ICSEA of their schools, using ACARA school data. Suburbs need at least two schools to be included, so a single high-scoring school does not dominate the list.

What is ICSEA, and does a high score mean better teaching?

ICSEA is the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage. A higher score reflects a more socio-educationally advantaged school community — it is a context measure, not a direct rating of teaching quality or results.

Which states are included?

All states and territories with processed ACARA school data are included. Coverage depends on how many schools are matched to each suburb.

What should I do after opening this ranking?

Use the ranking as a screening step for VIC. Save realistic suburbs to your shortlist, compare the strongest two or three, then use suburb detail pages or the calculator to test the final candidate. On each suburb page you can also see individual schools and which ones operate a published enrolment zone.

← Best Schools

Ranking · VIC · 50 suburbs

Best Schools — VIC

Top 50 suburbs by average school ICSEA (higher = more socio-educationally advantaged community, min 2 schools) in VIC.

Leading suburb

Clifton HillVIC

Leading value

1178

Runner-up

Glen IrisVIC

Updated

31 May 2026

Ranking

Best Schools

Top 50 suburbs by average school ICSEA (higher = more socio-educationally advantaged community, min 2 schools) — VIC

50 results

All NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT

How to read this ranking

Use best schools as a shortlist tool, then verify the finalists in detail.

BEST FOR

Finding which areas deserve a closer look first.

This ranking works best as a first-pass screen in VIC, especially when you need to reduce a wide field quickly.

READ IT AS

One signal in the workflow, not the whole answer.

A rank is useful because it compresses one dimension well, but it never replaces the fuller suburb-level picture.

NEXT STEP

Move into compare or suburb detail once a few names repeat.

Use the ranking to build a shortlist, then confirm whether those finalists still hold up on the rest of the data.

Intent pathway · LIVABILITY-LED

I want safer or higher-quality local context.

Start with area-level safety or school screens, then use suburb pages for services and evidence depth.

Crime, schools, and demographics are area-level signals; verify the suburb page before treating them as local proof.

OPEN SCHOOLS RANKING Reset to intent start

AVAILABLE evidence

Direct source-backed screen

This list ranks suburbs by average school ICSEA from ACARA, a community socio-educational advantage index rather than a teaching-quality measure. Use it to shortlist, then check individual schools and zones on suburb detail.

LIVABILITY-LED

Top candidates are local-quality ideas.

Use compare to test whether the livability signal still works once rent and income are included.

Shortlist flow

Use #1 Clifton Hill and #2 Glen Iris as the first compare pair.

Rankings are strongest when they hand you a shortlist quickly. Compare the top two first, then open suburb detail if the head-to-head result still feels narrow.

Compare top 2Open #1 detail Open #2 detail

# ▲	SUBURB	STATE	AVG ICSEA	SCHOOLS
1	Clifton Hill	VIC	1178	2	6,606
2	Glen Iris	VIC	1175	6	26,131
3	Armadale	VIC	1173	3	9,368
4	Toorak	VIC	1169	4	12,817
5	Fitzroy North	VIC	1166	5	12,781
6	Burwood	VIC	1163	3	15,147
7	Ivanhoe	VIC	1161	5	13,374
8	Canterbury	VIC	1160	6	7,800
9	Kew	VIC	1160	11	24,499
10	Surrey Hills	VIC	1159	4	13,655
11	Alphington	VIC	1155	3	5,702
12	Ashburton	VIC	1152	3	7,952
13	Brunswick East	VIC	1152	3	13,279
14	Hawthorn	VIC	1152	8	22,322
15	South Yarra	VIC	1152	6	25,028
16	Murrumbeena	VIC	1151	2	9,996
17	Malvern	VIC	1150	3	9,929
18	Camberwell	VIC	1149	5	21,965
19	Hawthorn East	VIC	1149	4	14,834
20	Brighton East	VIC	1148	4	16,757
21	Carlton North	VIC	1148	2	6,177
22	Deepdene	VIC	1148	2	2,101
23	Kew East	VIC	1148	3	6,620
24	Brighton	VIC	1147	8	23,252
25	Brunswick West	VIC	1146	4	14,746
26	Mount Waverley	VIC	1145	10	35,340
27	Hampton	VIC	1143	3	13,518
28	Abbotsford	VIC	1142	2	9,088
29	Southbank	VIC	1142	2	22,631
30	Malvern East	VIC	1141	5	22,296
31	Vermont	VIC	1141	3	10,993
32	Templestowe	VIC	1140	2	16,966
33	Blackburn	VIC	1139	5	14,478
34	Balwyn North	VIC	1138	6	21,302
35	Balwyn	VIC	1137	4	13,495
36	Moonee Ponds	VIC	1137	3	16,224
37	Beaumaris	VIC	1134	4	13,947
38	Sandringham	VIC	1134	4	10,926
39	Doncaster East	VIC	1132	6	30,926
40	Viewbank	VIC	1132	2	7,030
41	Caulfield South	VIC	1131	4	12,328
42	Rosanna	VIC	1130	4	8,616
43	Albert Park	VIC	1129	3	6,044
44	Blackburn North	VIC	1129	3	7,627
45	Heidelberg	VIC	1127	4	7,360
46	Box Hill	VIC	1125	4	14,353
47	Northcote	VIC	1125	6	25,276
48	St Kilda	VIC	1125	4	19,490
49	Glen Huntly	VIC	1124	2	4,905
50	Macedon	VIC	1124	2	2,073

FAQ

Australian best schools FAQ

How does Best Schools rank suburbs?

It ranks suburbs by the average ICSEA of their schools, using ACARA school data. Suburbs need at least two schools to be included, so a single high-scoring school does not dominate the list.
What is ICSEA, and does a high score mean better teaching?

ICSEA is the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage. A higher score reflects a more socio-educationally advantaged school community — it is a context measure, not a direct rating of teaching quality or results.
Which states are included?

All states and territories with processed ACARA school data are included. Coverage depends on how many schools are matched to each suburb.
What should I do after opening this ranking?

Use the ranking as a screening step for VIC. Save realistic suburbs to your shortlist, compare the strongest two or three, then use suburb detail pages or the calculator to test the final candidate. On each suburb page you can also see individual schools and which ones operate a published enrolment zone.