Armidale vs Castle Doyle
Armidale is the younger of the two, with a median age of 36 against 49 in Castle Doyle. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Castle Doyle, most households are couple families. Houses cost more in Castle Doyle: a median of $2.4 million, against $625,000 in Armidale, though rent is higher in Armidale. On these figures, Armidale tends to suit people living alone and buyers on a tighter budget, while Castle Doyle 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
They split
one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here
- Armidale has more parks and reserves (88 vs 1)
- Castle Doyle carries lower crime risk (0/100 vs 88/100)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Armidale
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper houses ($625,000 vs $2,400,000)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Castle Doyle
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- leaves renters under less rental stress (11% vs 20%)
- has cheaper rent ($250/wk vs $290/wk)
- But Armidale has a bigger rental market to choose from (39% vs 15%)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Armidale
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (64/100 vs 0/100)
- has a shorter drive in (368 min vs 394 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (478.4 km vs 488.8 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Armidale
ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here
- is more walkable (64/100 vs 0/100)
- has more GPs (9 vs 0)
- But Castle Doyle carries lower crime risk (0/100 vs 88/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Armidale
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (2.6% vs -8.5%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Armidale and Castle Doyle 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
Armidale has more residents (23,967 vs 150); Castle Doyle has higher household incomes ($119,548 vs $74,464).
| Armidale | Castle Doyle | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 23,967 +99% vs other | 150 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +2.6% | -8.5% |
| Median age | 36 | 49 |
| Median household income | $74,464/yr | $119,548/yr +61% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $290/wk +14% vs other | $250/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.0%).
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 (20.0%).
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 (2.7%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Armidale | Castle Doyle | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $625,000 | $2,400,000 |
| Median unit price | $402,500 | — |
| Median land price | $345,000 | — |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 38 days from 202 sales | — |
Zoning mix
Castle Doyle has more land zoned for conservation (24% vs 8%).
| Armidale | Castle Doyle | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 74% | 76% |
| Environmental | 8% | 24% |
| Residential | 13% | 0% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 3% | 0% |
| Parks and recreation | 1% | 0% |
| Industrial | 1% | 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
| Armidale | Castle Doyle | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 77 across Armidale same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -76% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Armidale | Castle Doyle | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 3.8% $500/wk on $680K | — |
| Units | 4.9% $380/wk on $406K | — |
Ranking within NSW
| Armidale | Castle Doyle | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 19% of NSW | Higher than 89% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 42% of NSW | Higher than 84% of NSW |
| Schools | Higher than 34% of NSW | — |
| Walkability | Higher than 86% of NSW | Higher than 29% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 81% of NSW | Higher than 17% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 40% of NSW same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 96% of NSW | Higher than 40% of NSW |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 64% of NSW | — |
| Rental yield (units) | Higher than 60% of NSW | — |
Liveability
Armidale is more walkable (64 vs 0).
| Armidale | Castle Doyle | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | C | — |
| Score | 36/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | mid-range socio-economic decile 5/10 | very advantaged area decile 10/10 |
Risk profile
Armidale carries more crime risk (88 vs 0); Armidale carries more bushfire risk (29 vs 17).
| Armidale | Castle Doyle | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Low 29/100 | Low 17/100 |
| Crime | High 88/100 | None 0/100 |
| 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 | 1 within 5 km | 0 within 5 km |
Schools
| Armidale | Castle Doyle | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 16 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 1 | 0 |
| Rated at peers | 7 | 0 |
| Rated below peers | 7 | 0 |
| Universities within 10 km | 1 University of New England, 0.0 km | None |
Schools in Armidale
- Sandon Public School Government · Primary above peers
- Armidale Secondary College Government · Secondary at peers
- Ben Venue Public School Government · Primary at peers
- Drummond Memorial Public School Government · Primary at peers
- New England Girls' School Independent · Combined at peers
- PLC Armidale Independent · Combined at peers
Schools in Castle Doyle
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Armidale | Castle Doyle | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 7 | 0 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 58 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 88 | 1 |
| Childcare | 19 | 0 |
| GPs | 9 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 5 | 0 |
| Hospitals | 2 | 0 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 10 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 10 | 0 |
| EV chargers | 3 | 0 |
| Waterways | 77 | 7 |
Mobility
Castle Doyle sits further from the CBD (488.8 km vs 478.4 km).
| Armidale | Castle Doyle | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 64/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 478.4 km | 488.8 km +2% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 368 min | 394 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.4% postcode 2350 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 47 postcode 2350 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 (62.0%).
Setting
| Armidale | Castle Doyle | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 1,037 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 978 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Armidale | Castle Doyle | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 94/100 | 27/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the premises | Fixed wireless |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 91% 14,869 premises | 0% 58 premises |
Climate
| Armidale | Castle Doyle | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 684 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Armidale | Castle Doyle | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 6.7 µg/m³ same for both | |
| PM10 | 9.0 µg/m³ same for both | |
| NO₂ | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Armidale | Castle Doyle | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,477/yr same for both | |
| Council | Armidale same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Armidale | Castle Doyle | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | New England same for both | |
| Member | Barnaby Joyce same for both | |
| Party | The Nationals same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Armidale | Castle Doyle | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Armidale
Castle Doyle
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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.