Carlton is a diverse suburb, well-known for the Italian cafes and restaurants of Lygon Street, its Victorian heritage streets and buildings, and its leafy parks and gardens.

55 per cent of residents were born overseas and 48 per cent speak a language other than English at home.

Many of Carlton’s residents are local and international students, who attend the nearby University of Melbourne and RMIT University.

Carlton takes on a distinct character to the west of Swanston Street in the ‘City North’ precinct, where warehouses mix with larger university and office buildings.

As well as entertainment, cultural and leisure activities, Carlton has educational, business, retail and residential facilities. Carlton Gardens contain the contemporary Melbourne Museum and the domed 19th century Royal Exhibition Building that has World Heritage status.

Carlton Neighbourhood map

  • Find an address by selecting the magnifying glass in the top right hand corner.
  • See the legend by selecting the second box in the top right hand corner.
  • Zoom in and out using the + and - symbols in the top left hand corner.

Quick facts

Data is sourced from 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Census of Population and Housing, ABS Estimated Resident Population 2023, and 2022 Census of Land and Employment (CLUE).

To access more data on Carlton, visit: Carlton community profile on profile .id.

To learn more about the ABS Census of Population and Housing, including definitions, visit: Guide to Census data.

Council services, facilities and spaces

The City of Melbourne delivers Family Services at Carlton Baths, and Carlton Learning Precinct.

At the Carlton Learning Precinct, Gowrie Victoria operates a 98-place education and care centre with integrated and sessional kindergarten.

At Kathleen Syme Library and Community Centre we provide loans of books and other material to approximately 2500 members.

In 2021-22 we purchased approximately 4000 new books and provide online access to books, film, music, and a makers space that offers equipment such as 3D printers, sewing machines, tools, and creative programming.

There are 10 bookable community spaces, a recording studio with equipment and computer access with Wi-Fi available 24 hours.

The social support group for older people is delivered by the City of Melbourne at Kathleen Syme Library and Community Centre.

The Melbourne Community Toy Library operates from The Chapel on Cardigan Street, which is owned by the City of Melbourne.

The Drum Youth Services in Carlton is delivered by Drummond Street Services on behalf of the City of Melbourne.

We manage and maintain many public spaces across Carlton including:

  • Argyle Square
  • Burton Reserve
  • Canning and Palmerston Streets Reserve
  • Canning Street Reserve
  • Cardigan Street Park
  • Carlton Gardens North
  • Carlton Gardens South
  • Hardy Reserve
  • Keppel Street Park
  • Lincoln Square
  • MacArthur Square
  • Murchison Square
  • Station Street Open Space
  • Palmerston Reserve
  • Reese Street Park
  • University Square

Carlton is a diverse suburb, well-known for the Italian cafes and restaurants of Lygon Street, its Victorian heritage streets and buildings, and its leafy parks and gardens.

Carlton Gardens contain the contemporary Melbourne Museum and the domed 19th century Royal Exhibition Building that has World Heritage status.

A Moreton Bay Fig Tree within the Carlton Gardens has served as an important meeting place for Aboriginal Victorians since the early twentieth century.

Lincoln Square playground offers a unique experience for visitors from across the city. The playground was recently enjoyed by a group of newly arrived Afghan refugees, who had been provided with temporary housing and support in Carlton upon arrival in Australia.

Similarly, Argyle Square houses the Piazza Italia used for community events and programming, and the park is also home to various sensors and technology to keep the municipality informed on Smart City data.

Carlton has entertainment and cultural venues such as Melbourne Connect, and La Mama Theatre.

Carlton Baths provides a gym, group fitness, seasonal pool, swimming lessons, stadium sports, meeting rooms, exercise physiology and children’s sports programs. The YMCA operates this facility on behalf of the City of Melbourne.

At Princes Park, we provide sports fields which cater to 12 community sports organisations.

The Princes Park tennis facility is leased to the Princes Hill Tennis Club, a four-court facility that caters for members, public court hire, competitions, coaching and programs.

The Carlton Recreation Ground is leased to Carlton Football Club as their administration base, training centre and competition venue.

Overall we manage and maintain 16 parks and open spaces across Carlton with Princes Park particularly popular for numerous sports and recreation activities.

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