The most walkable neighbourhoods in Melbourne
By Oscar Higson-Spence. Updated
20 neighbourhoods of Melbourne ranked by walkability, each scored across the area around its own centre. Fitzroy and Carlton share the top score of 99/100, then Collingwood (98) and South Melbourne (97). 19 of the 20 score 70 or more, where most errands can be done on foot, and the lowest we rank is Altona (39).
| # | Neighbourhood | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fitzroy | 99 |
| 1 | Carlton | 99 |
| 3 | Collingwood | 98 |
| 4 | South Melbourne | 97 |
| 4 | Southbank | 97 |
| 4 | Melbourne central business district | 97 |
| 7 | Richmond | 95 |
| 8 | North Melbourne | 94 |
| 9 | Abbotsford | 92 |
| 9 | Brunswick | 92 |
| 11 | Footscray | 89 |
| 11 | Albert Park | 89 |
| 13 | Docklands | 86 |
| 14 | Northcote | 85 |
| 15 | Clifton Hill | 81 |
| 16 | Parkville | 75 |
| 17 | Williamstown | 74 |
| 18 | Toorak | 72 |
| 19 | Fairfield | 71 |
| 20 | Altona | 39 |
"From the centre" is the distance from Melbourne's busiest point to the neighbourhood's centre. "Area scoring 70+" is the share of points across the neighbourhood where most errands can be done on foot.
The top 5 up close
Fitzroy
Fitzroy scores 99/100, 1.1 km north-east of Melbourne's busiest point. 3,944 everyday places are mapped within a 30 minute walk of its middle, the nearest grocery about 3 minutes away. More on Fitzroy.
Carlton
Carlton is the most central of these five, 650 m north of Melbourne's busiest point, and scores 99/100. None of the others has as many libraries and bookshops, with 143 in a 30 minute walk; Languages and Multicultural Education Resource Centre is the nearest, about 3 minutes away. More on Carlton.
Collingwood
Collingwood scores 98/100, 1.7 km east of Melbourne's busiest point. Parks are where it leads the others, 365 of them within a 30 minute walk, starting with Unity Park, about 2 minutes away. It has the fewest banks of the five, 30.
South Melbourne
South Melbourne lies the furthest out of these five, 3.2 km south of Melbourne's busiest point, and scores 97/100. 2,454 everyday places are mapped within a 30 minute walk of its middle, the nearest grocery about a minute away. Its thinnest category against the others is libraries and bookshops, with 42. More on South Melbourne.
Southbank
Southbank scores 97/100, 2.2 km south of Melbourne's busiest point. None of the others has as many banks, with 125 in a 30 minute walk; Breslin South Bank is the nearest, about 8 minutes away.
Centre and outskirts
The 9 neighbourhoods within 3 km of Melbourne's centre average 93, and the 11 further out average 80, so walkability falls away from the centre. The nearest to the centre, Carlton, 650 m away, scores 99, and the farthest, Altona, 14.9 km out, scores 39.
Each dot is a ranked neighbourhood, numbered by rank and coloured by score, placed by its distance and direction from the centre of Melbourne.
Melbourne as a whole scores 87 out of 100 across the 5 km around its centre. Other cities in Australia with ranked neighbourhoods: Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth.
Questions about Melbourne's neighbourhoods
What is the most walkable neighbourhood in Melbourne?
2 of the 20 neighbourhoods we rank in Melbourne tie as the most walkable, each with a walkability score of 99 out of 100 (Walker's Paradise): Fitzroy and Carlton.
Which neighbourhoods of Melbourne are least walkable?
Of the 20 neighbourhoods we rank, the lowest scoring is Altona (39). These are the best-known neighbourhoods with their own Wikipedia articles, so less walkable outer suburbs that are not ranked may score lower still.
How are Melbourne's neighbourhoods ranked?
Each neighbourhood is scored at points 100 m to 500 m apart across a circle around its centre, sized to its area, and its score is the mean of those points. Each point's score counts the groceries, restaurants, shops, schools, parks and other everyday places within a 30 minute walk, as described in the methodology. Melbourne scores 87 across the 5 km around its centre.
This page is generated from open map data with a published walkability method, explained in the methodology. Places from Overture Maps release 2026-09-23.1. Neighbourhoods and where they lie from Overture Maps and Wikidata.