Best Wollongong suburbs for owner-occupiers

Mount Pleasant tops the list, with 94.3% of its occupied dwellings owner-occupied. Across the ranking, owner-occupier shares run from 72.5% to 94.3%. These 15 suburbs came from a field of 61 eligible Wollongong suburbs.

This ranking scores every eligible Wollongong suburb on the share of occupied dwellings that are owner-occupied, from the ABS 2021 census, blended with residential stability (low dwelling churn), walkability and safety. These are the settled, owner-heavy neighbourhoods where most residents own the home they live in.

Owner-occupier share leads the score, but stability matters too: a suburb where most homes are owned and the dwelling stock isn't churning through constant construction reads as an established community rather than a transient one. Walkability and safety round out the blend so the list favours neighbourhoods that are pleasant to live in, not merely owned. Percentiles are computed within Wollongong, so each suburb ranks against its own metro.

Wollongong's most owner-occupied suburbs

Ranked on the share of occupied dwellings that are owner-occupied (ABS 2021 census tenure), blended with residential stability (low dwelling churn), walkability and safety — the settled, owner-heavy neighbourhoods where most residents own the home they live in.

Mount Pleasant

NSW 2519 · 1,397 residents

6% renting · 94% owner-occupied · 48/100 safety

B 88.0

Cordeaux Heights

NSW 2526 · 4,460 residents

9% renting · 91% owner-occupied · 90/100 safety

A 86.5

Farmborough Heights

NSW 2526 · 4,179 residents

13% renting · 87% owner-occupied · 86/100 safety

A 82.5

Kiama Downs

NSW 2533 · 5,087 residents

14% renting · 86% owner-occupied · 91/100 safety

A 82.2

Mount Ousley

NSW 2519 · 1,611 residents

15% renting · 85% owner-occupied · 80/100 safety

A 81.4

Mount Kembla

NSW 2526 · 1,083 residents

7% renting · 93% owner-occupied · 52/100 safety

B 79.8

Mount Keira

NSW 2500 · 1,691 residents

16% renting · 84% owner-occupied · 42/100 safety

C 73.8

Calderwood

NSW 2527 · 3,013 residents

20% renting · 80% owner-occupied · 78/100 safety

B 72.1

Kanahooka

NSW 2530 · 5,698 residents

13% renting · 87% owner-occupied · 65/100 safety

B 71.7

Windang

NSW 2528 · 2,610 residents

22% renting · 78% owner-occupied · 48/100 safety

C 68.7

Haywards Bay

NSW 2530 · 1,280 residents

8% renting · 92% owner-occupied · 86/100 safety

B 67.1

Helensburgh

NSW 2508 · 6,576 residents

15% renting · 85% owner-occupied · 36/100 safety

B 62.7

Mangerton

NSW 2500 · 2,862 residents

27% renting · 73% owner-occupied · 63/100 safety

B 62.5

Mount Saint Thomas

NSW 2500 · 1,449 residents

28% renting · 72% owner-occupied · 72/100 safety

B 61.1

Coledale

NSW 2515 · 1,372 residents

15% renting · 85% owner-occupied · 32/100 safety

B 61.1

Ranked from 61 qualifying suburbs.

How we ranked these

55% owner-occupier share (percentile within Wollongong) · 25% residential stability (low 2016→2021 dwelling churn) · 10% walkability · 10% safety (bushfire, crime, flood combined). Owner-occupier share comes from ABS 2021 census tenure — the share of occupied dwellings owned outright or with a mortgage. Percentiles are computed within Wollongong's candidate pool. See how we calculate for the full methodology.

Common questions about this ranking

What are the best Wollongong suburbs for owner-occupiers?

How is this ranking scored?

Each eligible Wollongong suburb is scored on four factors: 55% owner-occupier share (the share of occupied dwellings owned outright or with a mortgage, from the ABS 2021 census, ranked as a percentile within Wollongong), 25% residential stability (low dwelling churn between the 2016 and 2021 censuses), 10% walkability, and 10% safety (bushfire, crime and flood risks combined).

What counts as owner-occupied?

A dwelling lived in by its owner — whether owned outright or with a mortgage — as opposed to rented. The figure is the owner-occupied share of all tenure-classified occupied private dwellings in the ABS 2021 census, and it's the exact complement of the rental share our investor ranking uses.

Which suburbs are eligible?

A suburb needs a resident population of at least 1,000 and a 2021 census tenure record. Suburbs below the threshold or missing census tenure data are excluded, not penalised, so the ranking isn't dominated by tiny outliers.

How often is this list updated?

The top 15 is recomputed whenever the underlying data refreshes. Tenure comes from the ABS census (every five years); the growth and safety inputs refresh alongside their own datasets.

Same list in other cities

Rankings last computed 12 October 2026. Recomputed after each ACARA schools data refresh.

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Best Wollongong suburbs for owner-occupiers

Wollongong's most owner-occupied suburbs

Common questions about this ranking

Same list in other cities

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