Adamstown vs Kotara

Adamstown is the younger of the two, with a median age of 36 against 39 in Kotara. In both, most households own their home and most homes are detached houses. In Kotara, about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Adamstown: a median of $1.2 million, against $1.05 million in Kotara, though rent is higher in Kotara. On these figures, Adamstown tends to suit people living alone, while Kotara suits couples.

Which one suits you?

There is no overall winner — the suburb that suits a family with school-age kids is routinely the wrong one for someone commuting into the city. So each of these answers its own question, against a checklist you can see, using the same figures in the tables below.

Families with school-age kids

Kotara

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more parks and reserves (9 vs 5)
  • has more separate houses rather than flats (88% vs 68%)
  • is already more of a family suburb (64% vs 50%)
  • But Adamstown carries lower crime risk (84/100 vs 94/100)

Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.

First-home buyers

Kotara

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper houses ($1,050,000 vs $1,200,000)

Weighs house prices, unit prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Adamstown

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (41% vs 22%)
  • has cheaper rent ($395/wk vs $460/wk)

Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.

Commuting to the city

Adamstown

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is more walkable (85/100 vs 66/100)

Weighs distance, drive time, rail access, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Adamstown

ahead on 4 of the 5 things we measure here

  • has more GPs (3 vs 0)
  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (32% vs 12%)
  • is more walkable (85/100 vs 66/100)

Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.

Investors

Kotara

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • returns a higher gross yield on houses (3.9% vs 3.0%)

Weighs house yield and population growth.

Where they sit

Adamstown and Kotara drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.

Adamstown Kotara
Hides rows where both suburbs match

Bars start at zero. Scores, risks and rankings are drawn against their full 0–100 range; other rows are drawn in proportion to the larger of the two.

Side by side, out of 100

Risks are inverted — shown as safety and low exposure — so a longer bar always means better.

Adamstown Kotara
Walkability 85 / 66
Adamstown — Walkability: 85/100 Kotara — Walkability: 66/100
Safety 16 / 6
Adamstown — Safety: 16/100 Kotara — Safety: 6/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Adamstown — Low fire risk: 100/100 Kotara — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Adamstown has more residents (6,335 vs 3,980); Kotara rents higher ($460/wk vs $395/wk).

Adamstown Kotara
Population 6,335
+37% vs other
 3,980
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +4.8% +1.3%
Median age 36 39
Median household income $97,500/yr $108,004/yr
+11% vs other
Median weekly rent $395/wk $460/wk
+16% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Adamstown Kotara
0-4 5.5% / 5.8%
Adamstown — 0-4: 5.5% Kotara — 0-4: 5.8%
5-14 11.5% / 13.4%
Adamstown — 5-14: 11.5% Kotara — 5-14: 13.4%
15-19 5.5% / 6.9%
Adamstown — 15-19: 5.5% Kotara — 15-19: 6.9%
20-24 9.0% / 6.2%
Adamstown — 20-24: 9.0% Kotara — 20-24: 6.2%
25-34 17.1% / 12.5%
Adamstown — 25-34: 17.1% Kotara — 25-34: 12.5%
35-44 13.6% / 14.2%
Adamstown — 35-44: 13.6% Kotara — 35-44: 14.2%
45-54 12.2% / 14.4%
Adamstown — 45-54: 12.2% Kotara — 45-54: 14.4%
55-64 11.5% / 10.5%
Adamstown — 55-64: 11.5% Kotara — 55-64: 10.5%
65-74 7.6% / 6.9%
Adamstown — 65-74: 7.6% Kotara — 65-74: 6.9%
75-84 4.7% / 6.3%
Adamstown — 75-84: 4.7% Kotara — 75-84: 6.3%
85+ 1.7% / 2.8%
Adamstown — 85+: 1.7% Kotara — 85+: 2.8%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.1%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Adamstown 34.9% couple families
Adamstown — Couple Families: 34.9% Adamstown — Lone Person: 39.2% Adamstown — One Parent Families: 14.7% Adamstown — Group Household: 9.1% Adamstown — Other Families: 2.1%
Kotara 47.1% couple families
Kotara — Couple Families: 47.1% Kotara — Lone Person: 29.3% Kotara — One Parent Families: 17.0% Kotara — Group Household: 5.4% Kotara — Other Families: 1.2%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Adamstown 40.6% renting
Adamstown — Owned Outright: 27.8% Adamstown — Mortgage: 31.6% Adamstown — Renting: 40.6%
Kotara 21.6% renting
Kotara — Owned Outright: 36.2% Kotara — Mortgage: 42.3% Kotara — Renting: 21.6%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.

Adamstown Kotara
Bachelor Degree 17.5% / 17.0%
Adamstown — Bachelor Degree: 17.5% Kotara — Bachelor Degree: 17.0%
Certificate III & IV 15.0% / 14.5%
Adamstown — Certificate III & IV: 15.0% Kotara — Certificate III & IV: 14.5%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 7.8% / 8.5%
Adamstown — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.8% Kotara — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.5%
Postgraduate Degree 5.0% / 5.3%
Adamstown — Postgraduate Degree: 5.0% Kotara — Postgraduate Degree: 5.3%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.3% / 2.5%
Adamstown — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.3% Kotara — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.5%).

Where residents were born

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents, 2021 Census. A dash means that country is not among the suburb's own eight largest.

Adamstown Kotara
England 2.0% / 2.8%
Adamstown — England: 2.0% Kotara — England: 2.8%
New Zealand 1.1% / 0.9%
Adamstown — New Zealand: 1.1% Kotara — New Zealand: 0.9%
China 0.6% / 0.7%
Adamstown — China: 0.6% Kotara — China: 0.7%
India 0.5% / 0.5%
Adamstown — India: 0.5% Kotara — India: 0.5%
Scotland 0.4% / 0.5%
Adamstown — Scotland: 0.4% Kotara — Scotland: 0.5%
South Africa 0.4% / 0.5%
Adamstown — South Africa: 0.4% Kotara — South Africa: 0.5%
Nepal 0.4% / 0.5%
Adamstown — Nepal: 0.4% Kotara — Nepal: 0.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (2.8%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Adamstown 67.7% houses
Adamstown — Houses: 67.7% Adamstown — Townhouses: 17.4% Adamstown — Flats / Apartments: 14.9%
Kotara 88.1% houses
Kotara — Houses: 88.1% Kotara — Townhouses: 11.4% Kotara — Flats / Apartments: 0.4%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Adamstown Kotara
Median house price $1,200,000 $1,050,000
Median unit price $687,500 $745,000
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) 25 days
from 43 sales
 22 days
from 33 sales

House price by bedroom count

Only bed counts both suburbs published enough sales for. Sale counts are shown because the buckets differ in depth.

Adamstown Kotara
2 bed $931K / $1.1M
Adamstown — 2 bed: $931K (18 sales) Kotara — 2 bed: $1.1M (6 sales)

18 vs 6 sales

3 bed $1.19M / $1M
Adamstown — 3 bed: $1.19M (52 sales) Kotara — 3 bed: $1M (54 sales)

52 vs 54 sales

4 bed $1.6M / $1.4M
Adamstown — 4 bed: $1.6M (19 sales) Kotara — 4 bed: $1.4M (12 sales)

19 vs 12 sales

Zoning mix

Adamstown Kotara
Residential 55% 56%
Parks and recreation 29% 12%
Environmental 9%
same for both
Commercial 1% 8%
Infrastructure and transport 2% 8%
Industrial 4% 5%
Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the suburb around it. Zones as at 2026-09.

Development activity

Adamstown Kotara
New dwellings approved 912
across Newcastle
same for both
Approvals change year on year +77%
same for both

Gross rental yield

Gross — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. From median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.

Adamstown Kotara
Houses 3.0%
$772/wk on $1.35M
 3.9%
$760/wk on $1.02M
Units 5.1%
$660/wk on $670K
 —

Ranking within NSW

Adamstown Kotara
House price Higher than 55% of NSW Higher than 50% of NSW
Income Higher than 66% of NSW Higher than 74% of NSW
Schools Higher than 28% of NSW Higher than 21% of NSW
Walkability Higher than 94% of NSW Higher than 87% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 57% of NSW Higher than 71% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 81% of NSW
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 73% of NSW
same for both
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 21% of NSW Higher than 66% of NSW
Rental yield (units) Higher than 70% of NSW —

Liveability

Adamstown is more walkable (85 vs 66).

Adamstown Kotara
Grade B C
Score 49/100 45/100
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 8/10
 very advantaged area
decile 9/10

Risk profile

Kotara carries more crime risk (94 vs 84).

Adamstown Kotara
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime High
84/100
 High
94/100
Flood Not mapped
no mapped data here
same for both
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 6
within 5 km
 3
within 5 km

Schools

Adamstown Kotara
Inside the suburb 3
same for both
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 1 2
Rated below peers 2 0
Universities within 10 km 2
The University of Newcastle (Newcastle City), 5.2 km
 2
The University of Newcastle (Callaghan), 5.7 km
Full-time students aged 15–24 3.3% 2.4%

Schools in Adamstown

  • Trinity Catholic College Catholic · Secondary at peers
  • Adamstown Public School Government · Primary below peers
  • St Columba's Primary School Catholic · Primary below peers

Schools in Kotara

  • Kotara South Public School Government · Primary at peers
  • St James' Primary School Catholic · Primary at peers
  • Kotara School Government · Combined · Special school

Amenities in the suburb

Adamstown Kotara
Supermarkets 1 3
Cafes & restaurants 11 17
Parks & reserves 5 9
Childcare 5 7
GPs 3 0
Pharmacies 1 3
Banks & Bank@Post 1 5
Fuel stations 1 0
Waterways 0 4

Mobility

Adamstown Kotara
Walkability score 85/100 66/100
Distance to Sydney 158.8 km
+1% vs other
 157.2 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 122 min 120 min
Public transport score 79/100
Rail · Bus
same for both
Peak arrivals per hour 126.8
7-9am + 5-7pm
 136.0
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 0 min
scheduled, not actual
same for both
Electric vehicle share 1.0%
postcode 2289
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 36
postcode 2289
same for both

How people get to work

Method of travel on census day 2021 — which fell during COVID restrictions, so working from home is inflated and every travel mode understated.

Adamstown Kotara
Car (driver) 61.4% / 60.3%
Adamstown — Car (driver): 61.4% Kotara — Car (driver): 60.3%
Worked from Home 30.3% / 33.8%
Adamstown — Worked from Home: 30.3% Kotara — Worked from Home: 33.8%
Car (passenger) 3.3% / 3.7%
Adamstown — Car (passenger): 3.3% Kotara — Car (passenger): 3.7%
Walked Only 2.5% / 1.0%
Adamstown — Walked Only: 2.5% Kotara — Walked Only: 1.0%
Bicycle 0.7% / 0.8%
Adamstown — Bicycle: 0.7% Kotara — Bicycle: 0.8%
Bus 1.4% / —
Adamstown — Bus: 1.4% Kotara — Bus: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (61.4%).

Setting

Adamstown Kotara
Elevation 29 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 54 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 2.8 km
3.2 km to a named beach
 4.3 km

NBN connectivity

Adamstown Kotara
Connectivity score 64/100 65/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 34%
3,226 premises
 30%
2,216 premises

Climate

Adamstown Kotara
Annual rainfall 1,025 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 25.4°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 10.2°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Adamstown Kotara
PM2.5 6.5 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 21.7 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ 0.64 pphm
same for both

Council rates

Adamstown Kotara
Average residential rate $1,783/yr
same for both
Council Newcastle
same for both

Federal electorate

Adamstown Kotara
Division Newcastle
same for both
Member Sharon Claydon
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Adamstown Kotara
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Adamstown

Coastal Parks Professionals

Kotara

Large Blocks Parks Quiet River

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Adamstown

Adamstown vs Merewether Adamstown vs New Lambton Adamstown vs Adamstown Heights Adamstown vs Hamilton South Adamstown vs Broadmeadow Adamstown vs Merewether Heights

Other comparisons with Kotara

Kotara vs New Lambton Kotara vs Adamstown Heights Kotara vs New Lambton Heights Kotara vs Garden Suburb Kotara vs Kotara South
Full data on Adamstown Full data on Kotara
Unlock full address-level data — $29/month

Information shown is provided as-is from Australian government and commercial data sources.
Always verify with the relevant authority before making property decisions.
See Data Sources and How We Calculate for details.

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