Ashby vs Harwood
Harwood is the younger of the two, with a median age of 45 against 61 in Ashby. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Ashby, most households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Ashby: a median of $872,000, against $705,000 in Harwood, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Ashby tends to suit people living alone and older residents, while Harwood suits families with children and buyers on a tighter budget.
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
- Ashby carries lower crime risk (36/100 vs 74/100)
- Harwood is already more of a family suburb (53% vs 40%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Harwood
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper houses ($705,000 vs $872,500)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Harwood
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has a bigger rental market to choose from (29% vs 2%)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Harwood
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (15/100 vs 4/100)
- has a shorter drive in (421 min vs 439 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (648.6 km vs 659.4 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Ashby
ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here
- carries lower crime risk (36/100 vs 74/100)
- has more residents already 65 and over (40% vs 21%)
- But Harwood is more walkable (15/100 vs 4/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Harwood
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (18.9% vs -3.1%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Ashby and Harwood 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
Ashby skews older (61 vs 45).
| Ashby | Harwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 316 | 346 +9% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | -3.1% | +18.9% |
| Median age | 61 | 45 |
| Median household income | $57,876/yr +1% vs other | $57,252/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $350/wk +6% vs other | $330/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (25.9%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
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 (7.3%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.9%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Ashby | Harwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $872,500 | $705,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | $894,000 | — |
Zoning mix
Harwood has more rural and farming land (73% vs 32%).
| Ashby | Harwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 32% | 73% |
| Residential | 36% | 1% |
| Environmental | 31% | 25% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 0% | 2% |
| 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
| Ashby | Harwood | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 246 across Clarence Valley same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -80% same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Ashby | Harwood | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 38% of NSW | Higher than 23% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 17% of NSW same for both | |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 44% of NSW | Higher than 65% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 36% of NSW | Higher than 56% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 27% of NSW | Higher than 82% of NSW |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 44% of NSW | Higher than 58% of NSW |
Liveability
Harwood is more walkable (15 vs 4).
| Ashby | Harwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | mid-range socio-economic decile 6/10 | high-need area decile 1/10 |
Risk profile
Ashby carries more bushfire risk (94 vs 12); Harwood carries more crime risk (74 vs 36).
| Ashby | Harwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | High 94/100 | Low 12/100 |
| Crime | Low 36/100 | High 74/100 |
| Flood | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 | Low 33/100 |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 1 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Ashby | Harwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 | 1 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 | 1 |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Schools in Ashby
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Schools in Harwood
- Harwood Island Public School Government · Primary at peers
Amenities in the suburb
| Ashby | Harwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Childcare | 0 | 1 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 0 | 1 |
| EV chargers | 0 | 1 |
| Waterways | 6 same for both | |
Mobility
Ashby sits further from the CBD (659.4 km vs 648.6 km).
| Ashby | Harwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 4/100 | 15/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 659.4 km +2% vs other | 648.6 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 439 min | 421 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.2% postcode 2463 | 1.1% postcode 2465 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 70 postcode 2463 | 43 postcode 2465 |
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 (73.6%).
Setting
| Ashby | Harwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 95 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 1 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 9.7 km | 3.0 km |
NBN connectivity
| Ashby | Harwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 29/100 | 30/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 162 premises | 0% 163 premises |
Climate
| Ashby | Harwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,408 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Ashby | Harwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,380/yr same for both | |
| Council | Clarence Valley same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Ashby | Harwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Page same for both | |
| Member | Kevin Hogan same for both | |
| Party | The Nationals same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Ashby | Harwood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Ashby
Other comparisons with Harwood
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.