Albion Park Rail vs Croom

Croom is the younger of the two, with a median age of 38 against 41 in Albion Park Rail. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Croom, most households are couple families. On these figures, Croom tends to suit 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

Albion Park Rail

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more parks and reserves (17 vs 1)
  • has more childcare (5 vs 0)
  • carries lower crime risk (74/100 vs 87/100)
  • But Croom has more separate houses rather than flats (109% vs 78%)

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

First-home buyers

Albion Park Rail

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (30% vs 36%)

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

They split

one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here

  • Albion Park Rail has a bigger rental market to choose from (27% vs 17%)
  • Croom leaves renters under less rental stress (21% vs 28%)

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

Commuting to the city

Albion Park Rail

ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (72/100 vs 4/100)
  • has a shorter drive in (92 min vs 102 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (103 km vs 111.6 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Albion Park Rail

ahead on 4 of the 4 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (72/100 vs 4/100)
  • has more GPs (2 vs 0)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (21% vs 15%)

Weighs 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 population growth.

Where they sit

Albion Park Rail and Croom 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 Croom
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 Croom
Walkability 72 / 4
Albion Park Rail — Walkability: 72/100 Croom — Walkability: 4/100
Safety 26 / 13
Albion Park Rail — Safety: 26/100 Croom — Safety: 13/100
Low fire risk 100 / 84
Albion Park Rail — Low fire risk: 100/100 Croom — Low fire risk: 84/100

Demographics

Albion Park Rail has more residents (6,920 vs 112); Croom has higher household incomes ($89,336 vs $73,372).

Albion Park Rail Croom
Population 6,920
+98% vs other
 112
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +0.0% -0.9%
Median age 41 38
Median household income $73,372/yr $89,336/yr
+22% vs other
Median weekly rent $390/wk
+6% vs other
 $365/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Albion Park Rail Croom
0-4 6.0% / 6.2%
Albion Park Rail — 0-4: 6.0% Croom — 0-4: 6.2%
5-14 11.5% / 18.8%
Albion Park Rail — 5-14: 11.5% Croom — 5-14: 18.8%
15-19 5.4% / 2.7%
Albion Park Rail — 15-19: 5.4% Croom — 15-19: 2.7%
20-24 6.6% / —
Albion Park Rail — 20-24: 6.6% Croom — 20-24: not among its largest
25-34 13.3% / 11.6%
Albion Park Rail — 25-34: 13.3% Croom — 25-34: 11.6%
35-44 11.0% / 14.3%
Albion Park Rail — 35-44: 11.0% Croom — 35-44: 14.3%
45-54 11.4% / 5.4%
Albion Park Rail — 45-54: 11.4% Croom — 45-54: 5.4%
55-64 13.4% / 13.4%
Albion Park Rail — 55-64: 13.4% Croom — 55-64: 13.4%
65-74 11.5% / 12.5%
Albion Park Rail — 65-74: 11.5% Croom — 65-74: 12.5%
75-84 6.6% / 2.7%
Albion Park Rail — 75-84: 6.6% Croom — 75-84: 2.7%
85+ 3.2% / —
Albion Park Rail — 85+: 3.2% Croom — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.8%).

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%
Croom 60.7% couple families
Croom — Couple Families: 60.7% Croom — Lone Person: 39.3% Croom — One Parent Families: 0.0% Croom — Group Household: 0.0% Croom — Other Families: 0.0%
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%
Croom 16.7% renting
Croom — Owned Outright: 53.3% Croom — Mortgage: 30.0% Croom — Renting: 16.7%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Albion Park Rail Croom
Certificate III & IV 22.1% / 18.8%
Albion Park Rail — Certificate III & IV: 22.1% Croom — Certificate III & IV: 18.8%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 6.9% / 8.9%
Albion Park Rail — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.9% Croom — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.9%
Bachelor Degree 5.1% / 9.8%
Albion Park Rail — Bachelor Degree: 5.1% Croom — Bachelor Degree: 9.8%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 0.9% / 4.5%
Albion Park Rail — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 0.9% Croom — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 4.5%
Postgraduate Degree 1.1% / —
Albion Park Rail — Postgraduate Degree: 1.1% Croom — Postgraduate Degree: not among its largest

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 Croom
New Zealand 0.9% / 4.5%
Albion Park Rail — New Zealand: 0.9% Croom — New Zealand: 4.5%
England 5.1% / —
Albion Park Rail — England: 5.1% Croom — England: not among its largest
Italy — / 4.5%
Albion Park Rail — Italy: not among its largest Croom — Italy: 4.5%
Scotland 1.0% / —
Albion Park Rail — Scotland: 1.0% Croom — Scotland: not among its largest
Netherlands 0.7% / —
Albion Park Rail — Netherlands: 0.7% Croom — Netherlands: not among its largest
Philippines 0.7% / —
Albion Park Rail — Philippines: 0.7% Croom — Philippines: not among its largest

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%
Croom 109.4% houses
Croom — Houses: 109.4% Croom — Townhouses: 0.0% Croom — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Albion Park Rail Croom
Median house price $829,500 —
Median unit price $710,000 —
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) 22 days
from 55 sales
 —

Zoning mix

Croom has more rural and farming land (69% vs 14%); Albion Park Rail has more industrially zoned land (12% vs 0%).

Albion Park Rail Croom
Rural and farming 14% 69%
Residential 31% 0%
Infrastructure and transport 24% 5%
Environmental 9% 20%
Industrial 12% 0%
Parks and recreation 7% 6%
Other and special use 3% 1%
Commercial 2% 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 Croom
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 Croom
Houses 4.2%
$725/wk on $899K
 —
Units —
same for both

Ranking within NSW

Albion Park Rail Croom
House price Higher than 36% of NSW —
Income Higher than 40% of NSW Higher than 57% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 89% of NSW Higher than 45% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 55% of NSW —
EV adoption Higher than 71% of NSW
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 79% of NSW Higher than 64% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 82% of NSW —

Liveability

Albion Park Rail is more walkable (72 vs 4).

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

Risk profile

Croom carries more bushfire risk (16 vs 0); Croom carries more crime risk (87 vs 74).

Albion Park Rail Croom
Bushfire None
0/100
 Low
16/100
Crime High
74/100
 High
87/100
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
 7
within 5 km

Schools

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

Schools in Albion Park Rail

  • Albion Park Rail Public School Government · Primary at peers

Schools in Croom

No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.

Amenities in the suburb

Albion Park Rail Croom
Supermarkets 1 0
Cafes & restaurants 2 0
Parks & reserves 17 1
Childcare 5 0
GPs 2 0
Pharmacies 2 0
Banks & Bank@Post 1 0
Fuel stations 7 0
Waterways 1 2

Mobility

Croom sits further from the CBD (111.6 km vs 103 km).

Albion Park Rail Croom
Walkability score 72/100 4/100
Distance to Sydney 103 km 111.6 km
+8% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 92 min 102 min
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 Croom
Car (driver) 76.6% / 50.0%
Albion Park Rail — Car (driver): 76.6% Croom — Car (driver): 50.0%
Worked from Home 16.1% / 50.0%
Albion Park Rail — Worked from Home: 16.1% Croom — Worked from Home: 50.0%
Car (passenger) 3.6% / —
Albion Park Rail — Car (passenger): 3.6% Croom — Car (passenger): not among its largest
Train 1.7% / —
Albion Park Rail — Train: 1.7% Croom — Train: not among its largest
Walked Only 1.1% / —
Albion Park Rail — Walked Only: 1.1% Croom — Walked Only: not among its largest

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

Setting

Albion Park Rail Croom
Elevation 7 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 118 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 6.7 km 4.9 km

NBN connectivity

Albion Park Rail Croom
Connectivity score 72/100 42/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 49%
3,349 premises
 17%
54 premises

Climate

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

Federal electorate

Albion Park Rail Croom
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 Croom
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

Croom

Family Rural

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 Calderwood Albion Park Rail vs Haywards Bay Albion Park Rail vs Yallah

Other comparisons with Croom

Croom vs Albion Park Croom vs Flinders Croom vs Oak Flats Croom vs Blackbutt Croom vs Jamberoo Croom vs Dunmore
Full data on Albion Park Rail Full data on Croom
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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