For 111 years, Thornbury was part of the former City of Northcote local government area, which existed from 1883 until June 1994.

As such, Thornbury is universally understood to be a demographic and commercial satellite of Northcote, along with Westgarth, although the latter does not have its own postcode.

70.5% of people were born in Australia with other common countries of birth being Greece 4.2%, England 2.9%, Italy 2.9%, and New Zealand 2.2%.

Most common languages, other than English spoken at home are Greek 8.0%, Italian 4.2%, Arabic 1.7%, Mandarin 1.1% and Vietnamese 1.0%.

[5] A cable tram engine house was built, with the building still existing on 628 High Street Thornbury.

[6] Thornbury's geology mainly consists of Silurian sedimentary rocks of the Melbourne Formation (formerly Dargile).

After a backlash from residents about the proposed demolition of a 1920s Church Manse on Comas Grove in particular, the local council established a temporary heritage overlay, protecting the buildings.