Albion Park Rail vs Calderwood

Calderwood is the younger of the two, with a median age of 30 against 41 in Albion Park Rail. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Calderwood, most households are couple families. Houses cost more in Calderwood: a median of $1.08 million, against $830,000 in Albion Park Rail, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Albion Park Rail tends to suit people living alone, older residents, and buyers on a tighter budget, while Calderwood suits young adults, families with children, and 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

Calderwood

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • carries lower crime risk (44/100 vs 74/100)
  • is already more of a family suburb (86% vs 60%)
  • has more separate houses rather than flats (98% vs 78%)
  • But Albion Park Rail has more parks and reserves (17 vs 3)

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

First-home buyers

They split

one each way, out of the 2 things we measure here

  • Albion Park Rail has cheaper houses ($829,500 vs $1,080,000)
  • Calderwood leaves households under less mortgage stress (23% vs 30%)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Albion Park Rail

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($390/wk vs $580/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Albion Park Rail

ahead on 3 of the 4 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (72/100 vs 10/100)
  • has a shorter drive in (92 min vs 97 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (103 km vs 106.8 km)

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

Downsizers and retirees

Albion Park Rail

ahead on 4 of the 5 things we measure here

  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (22% vs 2%)
  • is more walkable (72/100 vs 10/100)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (21% vs 6%)
  • But Calderwood carries lower crime risk (44/100 vs 74/100)

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

Investors

Too close to call

Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs house yield.

Where they sit

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

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
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.

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
Walkability 72 / 10
Albion Park Rail — Walkability: 72/100 Calderwood — Walkability: 10/100
Safety 26 / 56
Albion Park Rail — Safety: 26/100 Calderwood — Safety: 56/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Albion Park Rail — Low fire risk: 100/100 Calderwood — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Albion Park Rail has more residents (6,920 vs 3,013); Calderwood has higher household incomes ($126,412 vs $73,372).

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
Population 6,920
+56% vs other
 3,013
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +0.0% —
Median age 41 30
Median household income $73,372/yr $126,412/yr
+72% vs other
Median weekly rent $390/wk $580/wk
+49% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
0-4 6.0% / 12.8%
Albion Park Rail — 0-4: 6.0% Calderwood — 0-4: 12.8%
5-14 11.5% / 16.2%
Albion Park Rail — 5-14: 11.5% Calderwood — 5-14: 16.2%
15-19 5.4% / 4.2%
Albion Park Rail — 15-19: 5.4% Calderwood — 15-19: 4.2%
20-24 6.6% / 4.3%
Albion Park Rail — 20-24: 6.6% Calderwood — 20-24: 4.3%
25-34 13.3% / 26.2%
Albion Park Rail — 25-34: 13.3% Calderwood — 25-34: 26.2%
35-44 11.0% / 16.5%
Albion Park Rail — 35-44: 11.0% Calderwood — 35-44: 16.5%
45-54 11.4% / 7.2%
Albion Park Rail — 45-54: 11.4% Calderwood — 45-54: 7.2%
55-64 13.4% / 6.3%
Albion Park Rail — 55-64: 13.4% Calderwood — 55-64: 6.3%
65-74 11.5% / 4.8%
Albion Park Rail — 65-74: 11.5% Calderwood — 65-74: 4.8%
75-84 6.6% / 1.0%
Albion Park Rail — 75-84: 6.6% Calderwood — 75-84: 1.0%
85+ 3.2% / 0.2%
Albion Park Rail — 85+: 3.2% Calderwood — 85+: 0.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (26.2%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Albion Park Rail 37.0% couple families
Albion Park Rail — Couple Families: 37.0% Albion Park Rail — Lone Person: 34.2% Albion Park Rail — One Parent Families: 22.6% Albion Park Rail — Group Household: 4.1% Albion Park Rail — Other Families: 2.0%
Calderwood 70.7% couple families
Calderwood — Couple Families: 70.7% Calderwood — Lone Person: 10.6% Calderwood — One Parent Families: 15.2% Calderwood — Group Household: 2.0% Calderwood — Other Families: 1.4%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Albion Park Rail 27.3% renting
Albion Park Rail — Owned Outright: 34.9% Albion Park Rail — Mortgage: 37.8% Albion Park Rail — Renting: 27.3%
Calderwood 20.0% renting
Calderwood — Owned Outright: 13.5% Calderwood — Mortgage: 66.5% Calderwood — Renting: 20.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
Certificate III & IV 22.1% / 20.1%
Albion Park Rail — Certificate III & IV: 22.1% Calderwood — Certificate III & IV: 20.1%
Bachelor Degree 5.1% / 11.0%
Albion Park Rail — Bachelor Degree: 5.1% Calderwood — Bachelor Degree: 11.0%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 6.9% / 8.6%
Albion Park Rail — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.9% Calderwood — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.6%
Postgraduate Degree 1.1% / 3.0%
Albion Park Rail — Postgraduate Degree: 1.1% Calderwood — Postgraduate Degree: 3.0%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 0.9% / 1.2%
Albion Park Rail — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 0.9% Calderwood — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.1%).

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.

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
England 5.1% / 2.6%
Albion Park Rail — England: 5.1% Calderwood — England: 2.6%
India 0.3% / 1.9%
Albion Park Rail — India: 0.3% Calderwood — India: 1.9%
Philippines 0.7% / 1.3%
Albion Park Rail — Philippines: 0.7% Calderwood — Philippines: 1.3%
New Zealand 0.9% / 0.8%
Albion Park Rail — New Zealand: 0.9% Calderwood — New Zealand: 0.8%
Netherlands 0.7% / 0.4%
Albion Park Rail — Netherlands: 0.7% Calderwood — Netherlands: 0.4%
Scotland 1.0% / —
Albion Park Rail — Scotland: 1.0% Calderwood — Scotland: not among its largest
South Africa — / 0.5%
Albion Park Rail — South Africa: not among its largest Calderwood — South Africa: 0.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (5.1%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Albion Park Rail 78.0% houses
Albion Park Rail — Houses: 78.0% Albion Park Rail — Townhouses: 20.9% Albion Park Rail — Flats / Apartments: 1.1%
Calderwood 97.6% houses
Calderwood — Houses: 97.6% Calderwood — Townhouses: 1.3% Calderwood — Flats / Apartments: 1.0%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
Median house price $829,500 $1,080,000
Median unit price $710,000 —
Median land price — $541,000
Typical days to sell (houses) 22 days
from 55 sales
 29 days
from 99 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.

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
3 bed $822K / $925K
Albion Park Rail — 3 bed: $822K (56 sales) Calderwood — 3 bed: $925K (19 sales)

56 vs 19 sales

4 bed $945K / $1.1M
Albion Park Rail — 4 bed: $945K (17 sales) Calderwood — 4 bed: $1.1M (124 sales)

17 vs 124 sales

Zoning mix

Calderwood has more land zoned for conservation (46% vs 9%); Calderwood has more rural and farming land (30% vs 14%).

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
Environmental 9% 46%
Residential 31% 17%
Rural and farming 14% 30%
Infrastructure and transport 24% 0%
Industrial 12% 0%
Parks and recreation 7% 4%
Commercial 2% 4%
Other and special use 3% 0%
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

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
New dwellings approved 883
across Shellharbour
same for both
Approvals change year on year +25%
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.

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
Houses 4.2%
$725/wk on $899K
 3.8%
$870/wk on $1.2M
Units —
same for both

Ranking within NSW

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
House price Higher than 36% of NSW Higher than 39% of NSW
Income Higher than 40% of NSW Higher than 87% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 89% of NSW Higher than 57% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 55% of NSW Higher than 86% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 71% of NSW
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 79% of NSW Higher than 69% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 82% of NSW Higher than 62% of NSW

Liveability

Albion Park Rail is more walkable (72 vs 10); Calderwood scores higher overall (61 vs 46).

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
Grade C B
Score 46/100 61/100
Socio-economic band below-average income
decile 2/10
 very advantaged area
decile 9/10

Risk profile

Albion Park Rail carries more crime risk (74 vs 44).

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime High
74/100
 Moderate
44/100
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 5
within 5 km
 0
within 5 km

Schools

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
Inside the suburb 1
same for both
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 1
same for both
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Albion Park Rail

  • Albion Park Rail Public School Government · Primary at peers

Schools in Calderwood

  • Calderwood Christian School Independent · Combined at peers

Amenities in the suburb

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
Supermarkets 1
same for both
Cafes & restaurants 2 0
Parks & reserves 17 3
Childcare 5 1
GPs 2 0
Pharmacies 2 0
Banks & Bank@Post 1 0
Fuel stations 7 0
EV chargers 0 1
Waterways 1 0

Mobility

Calderwood sits further from the CBD (106.8 km vs 103 km).

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
Walkability score 72/100 10/100
Distance to Sydney 103 km 106.8 km
+4% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 92 min 97 min
Public transport score 79/100
Rail · Bus
 63/100
Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 170.0
7-9am + 5-7pm
 21.0
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 0 min
scheduled, not actual
 1 min
scheduled, not actual
Electric vehicle share 0.7%
postcode 2527
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 60
postcode 2527
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.

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
Car (driver) 76.6% / 68.4%
Albion Park Rail — Car (driver): 76.6% Calderwood — Car (driver): 68.4%
Worked from Home 16.1% / 27.5%
Albion Park Rail — Worked from Home: 16.1% Calderwood — Worked from Home: 27.5%
Car (passenger) 3.6% / 2.7%
Albion Park Rail — Car (passenger): 3.6% Calderwood — Car (passenger): 2.7%
Train 1.7% / 0.8%
Albion Park Rail — Train: 1.7% Calderwood — Train: 0.8%
Walked Only 1.1% / 0.4%
Albion Park Rail — Walked Only: 1.1% Calderwood — Walked Only: 0.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (76.6%).

Setting

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
Elevation 7 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 52 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 6.7 km 12.7 km

NBN connectivity

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
Connectivity score 72/100 57/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 49%
3,349 premises
 42%
65 premises

Climate

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
Annual rainfall 974 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
PM2.5 5.1 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 14.3 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ 0.37 pphm
same for both

Council rates

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
Average residential rate $1,788/yr
same for both
Council Shellharbour
same for both

Federal electorate

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
Division Whitlam
same for both
Member Carol Berry
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Albion Park Rail Calderwood
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Albion Park Rail

Parks Townhouses

Calderwood

Acreage Family Young Families

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Albion Park Rail

Albion Park Rail vs Albion Park Albion Park Rail vs Oak Flats Albion Park Rail vs Blackbutt Albion Park Rail vs Haywards Bay Albion Park Rail vs Yallah Albion Park Rail vs Croom

Other comparisons with Calderwood

Calderwood vs Albion Park Calderwood vs Tullimbar Calderwood vs Marshall Mount Calderwood vs Tongarra Calderwood vs Yallah
Full data on Albion Park Rail Full data on Calderwood
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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