City profile
Knox is a municipality in Melbourne's outer eastern suburbs, 20–25 km south-east of the city centre. It separated from the Shire of Ferntree Gully on 16 November 1963, was named a city in 1969, and was re-formed in December 1994, when parts of Upper Ferntree Gully and Lysterfield joined it. Its main office is the Civic Centre in Wantirna South.
New to these terms? Read them in plain English
- Local Government Area (LGA)
- The official area a council governs.
- Estimated Resident Population (ERP)
- The official population count for an area.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
- The national statistics agency behind population figures.
The area at a glance
- Population (ERP, 30 June 2025)
- 163,820ABS Estimated Resident Population (preliminary). The council's history page says 'over 163,300' residents.
- Area
- 113.9 km²ABS. The council says 114 km².
- Population density
- About 1,440 people per km²Worked out from the ABS population and area above.
- Wards
- 9, with one councillor each
- Council group (LGPRF)
- Metropolitan
- Traditional Owners
- The Wurundjeri and Bunurong peoples of the Kulin NationAs acknowledged by the council.
Suburbs & postcodes
- Bayswater3153
- Boronia3155
- Ferntree Gully3156
- Knoxfield3180
- Lysterfield (part)3156
- Rowville3178
- Sassafras (part)3787
- Scoresby3179
- The Basin3154
- Upper Ferntree Gully (part)3156
- Wantirna3152
- Wantirna South3152
On the map
The shaded area is the official Local Government Area boundary.
These 12 suburbs are the council's own list. We checked each against the official Vicmap locality boundaries: Upper Ferntree Gully (about two-thirds), Lysterfield (a little under half) and Sassafras (about an eighth) are split with Yarra Ranges, so we mark them as part; the other nine fall inside the Knox boundary. Postcodes come from the CSA's suburb and postcode table (Sassafras from its Yarra Ranges rows). The map shows the ABS boundary (ASGS 2025).
Sources — check it yourself
- ABS — Regional population 2024–25, data cube 32180DS0002 Table 2 (Victoria) · ERP 30 Jun 2025
- ABS — Regional population, latest release · Released Mar 2026
- Knox City Council — History of Knox (suburbs, 1963 and 1994 dates, Traditional Owners) · Sep 2026
- Knox City Council — Knox community demographics (114 km², 20–25 km from the CBD) · Sep 2026
- Victorian Electoral Commission — Knox City Council (9 single-councillor wards) · Sep 2026
- Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) — LGA Recorded Offences, Table 03 (suburb and postcode by LGA) · Jul 2025 to Jun 2026
- DataVic — Vicmap Admin locality polygons · Sep 2026
- Local Government Victoria — LGPRF 2020–2025 Full Council Data Set (council group: Metro) · 2024–25
Figures are current as at the dates shown and may change — always confirm with the linked source. See the notice at the bottom of the page for full details and how to report a correction.