Anna Bay vs Boat Harbour
Boat Harbour is the younger of the two, with a median age of 47 against 52 in Anna Bay. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Boat Harbour, about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Boat Harbour: a median of $1.29 million, against $999,000 in Anna Bay, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Anna Bay tends to suit people living alone, older residents, and buyers on a tighter budget, while Boat Harbour 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
Boat Harbour
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is already more of a family suburb (71% vs 53%)
Weighs schools, house stock, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Anna Bay has cheaper houses ($999,400 vs $1,290,000)
- Boat Harbour has cheaper land ($1,120,000 vs $1,321,000)
Weighs house prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.
Renters
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Anna Bay has cheaper rent ($390/wk vs $470/wk)
- Boat Harbour leaves renters under less rental stress (27% vs 33%)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Boat Harbour
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is more walkable (30/100 vs 14/100)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 4 things we measure here
- Anna Bay has more residents already 65 and over (32% vs 22%)
- Boat Harbour is more walkable (30/100 vs 14/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, and walkability.
Investors
Anna Bay
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (9.8% vs 3.5%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Anna Bay and Boat Harbour drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.
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.
Demographics
Anna Bay has more residents (4,221 vs 993); Boat Harbour has higher household incomes ($90,532 vs $61,828).
| Anna Bay | Boat Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 4,221 +76% vs other | 993 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +9.8% | +3.5% |
| Median age | 52 | 47 |
| Median household income | $61,828/yr | $90,532/yr +46% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $390/wk | $470/wk +21% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.4%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (21.9%).
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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (5.6%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Anna Bay | Boat Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $999,400 | $1,290,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | $1,321,000 | $1,120,000 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 35 days from 49 sales | 68 days from 10 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.
33 vs 12 sales
33 vs 9 sales
6 vs 7 sales
Zoning mix
Anna Bay has more rural and farming land (45% vs 3%); Boat Harbour has more land zoned for conservation (60% vs 45%).
| Anna Bay | Boat Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental | 45% | 60% |
| Rural and farming | 45% | 3% |
| Residential | 6% | 32% |
| Parks and recreation | 1% | 5% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 2% | 0% |
| Planning zones cover 100% of Anna Bay and 99% of Boat Harbour. The rest is unzoned land such as water or road reserve. | ||
| 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
| Anna Bay | Boat Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 495 across Port Stephens same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -72% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Anna Bay | Boat Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 5.6% $750/wk on $700K | — |
| Units | — same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Anna Bay | Boat Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 54% of NSW | Higher than 65% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 24% of NSW | Higher than 58% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 64% of NSW | Higher than 75% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 26% of NSW | Higher than 40% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 54% of NSW same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 71% of NSW | Higher than 68% of NSW |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 98% of NSW | — |
Liveability
Boat Harbour scores higher overall (64 vs 27); Boat Harbour is more walkable (30 vs 14).
| Anna Bay | Boat Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | D | B |
| Score | 27/100 | 64/100 |
| Socio-economic band | mid-range socio-economic decile 4/10 | advantaged area decile 8/10 |
Risk profile
Anna Bay carries more bushfire risk (66 vs 0).
| Anna Bay | Boat Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Moderate 66/100 | None 0/100 |
| Crime | Moderate 52/100 | — |
| Flood | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | Low 16/100 | None 0/100 |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 0 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Anna Bay | Boat Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Anna Bay
- Anna Bay Public School Government · Primary at peers
Schools in Boat Harbour
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Anna Bay | Boat Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 1 | 0 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 3 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 7 | 6 |
| Childcare | 2 | 0 |
| GPs | 1 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 1 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 2 | 0 |
| Beaches | 0 | 3 |
| Waterways | 3 | 0 |
Mobility
| Anna Bay | Boat Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 14/100 | 30/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 203.1 km | 203.6 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 156 min | 158 min |
| Public transport score | 79/100 Bus | 66/100 Bus |
| Peak arrivals per hour | 102.0 7-9am + 5-7pm | 28.2 7-9am + 5-7pm |
| Median peak wait | 0 min scheduled, not actual | 1 min scheduled, not actual |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.5% postcode 2316 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 56 postcode 2316 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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (69.7%).
Setting
| Anna Bay | Boat Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 0 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 29 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 1.9 km 3.3 km to a named beach | 387 m 443 m to a named beach |
NBN connectivity
| Anna Bay | Boat Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 62/100 | 55/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the node same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 32% 2,206 premises | 18% 543 premises |
Climate
| Anna Bay | Boat Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,181 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 28.7°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 7.5°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Anna Bay | Boat Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,359/yr same for both | |
| Council | Port Stephens same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Anna Bay | Boat Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Paterson same for both | |
| Member | Meryl Swanson same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Anna Bay | Boat Harbour | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Anna Bay
Other comparisons with Boat Harbour
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.