Austral Eden vs Kempsey
Kempsey is the younger of the two, with a median age of 43 against 52 in Austral Eden. In both, most homes are detached houses. In Austral Eden, the large majority of households own their home and about half of households are couple families. In Kempsey, about half of households rent and most households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Austral Eden: a median of $1.08 million, against $375,000 in Kempsey. On these figures, Austral Eden tends to suit couples, while Kempsey suits renters, people living alone, 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
Austral Eden
ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here
- carries lower crime risk (24/100 vs 100/100)
- is already more of a family suburb (64% vs 40%)
- has more separate houses rather than flats (100% vs 68%)
- But Kempsey has more parks and reserves (4 vs 0)
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
- Austral Eden leaves households under less mortgage stress (23% vs 31%)
- Kempsey has cheaper houses ($375,000 vs $1,080,000)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Austral Eden leaves renters under less rental stress (19% vs 29%)
- Kempsey has a bigger rental market to choose from (54% vs 18%)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Kempsey
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (284 min vs 293 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (423 km vs 431.8 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Austral Eden
ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here
- carries lower crime risk (24/100 vs 100/100)
- has more residents already 65 and over (25% vs 18%)
- But Kempsey has more GPs (4 vs 0)
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
Austral Eden and Kempsey 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
Kempsey has more residents (483 vs 145); Austral Eden has higher household incomes ($71,500 vs $45,812).
| Austral Eden | Kempsey | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 145 | 483 +233% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | -2.0% | +1.9% |
| Median age | 52 | 43 |
| Median household income | $71,500/yr +36% vs other | $45,812/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $260/wk +3% vs other | $253/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.
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.6%).
Property market
| Austral Eden | Kempsey | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,080,000 | $375,000 |
| Median unit price | — | $330,000 |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | — | 85 days from 7 sales |
Zoning mix
Austral Eden has more rural and farming land (91% vs 52%); Kempsey has more land zoned for conservation (34% vs 9%).
| Austral Eden | Kempsey | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 91% | 52% |
| Environmental | 9% | 34% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 0% | 5% |
| Commercial | 0% | 4% |
| Parks and recreation | 0% | 3% |
| Residential | 0% | 1% |
| 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
| Austral Eden | Kempsey | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 144 across Kempsey same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +380% same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Austral Eden | Kempsey | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 56% of NSW | Higher than 12% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 36% of NSW | Higher than 7% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 56% of NSW | Higher than 65% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 33% of NSW | Higher than 69% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 7% of NSW same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 52% of NSW | Higher than 68% of NSW |
Liveability
| Austral Eden | Kempsey | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | below-average income decile 3/10 | high-need area decile 1/10 |
Risk profile
Austral Eden carries more bushfire risk (13 vs 0); Kempsey carries more crime risk (100 vs 24).
| Austral Eden | Kempsey | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Low 13/100 | None 0/100 |
| Crime | Low 24/100 | High 100/100 |
| 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 | 4 within 5 km |
Schools
| Austral Eden | Kempsey | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 same for both | |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Amenities in the suburb
| Austral Eden | Kempsey | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 0 | 5 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 0 | 9 |
| Parks & reserves | 0 | 4 |
| Childcare | 0 | 2 |
| GPs | 0 | 4 |
| Pharmacies | 0 | 3 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 0 | 5 |
| Fuel stations | 0 | 6 |
| Waterways | 1 same for both | |
Mobility
Austral Eden sits further from the CBD (431.8 km vs 423 km).
| Austral Eden | Kempsey | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 10/100 | 15/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 431.8 km +2% vs other | 423 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 293 min | 284 min |
| Public transport score | 23/100 Bus | 45/100 Bus |
| Peak arrivals per hour | 5.2 7-9am + 5-7pm | 12.2 7-9am + 5-7pm |
| Median peak wait | 2.5 min scheduled, not actual | 2 min scheduled, not actual |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.1% postcode 2440 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 53 postcode 2440 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 (77.2%).
Setting
| Austral Eden | Kempsey | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 2 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | -1 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 11.2 km | 16.5 km |
NBN connectivity
| Austral Eden | Kempsey | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 30/100 | 55/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless | Fibre to the node |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 58 premises | 19% 678 premises |
Council rates
| Austral Eden | Kempsey | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,447/yr same for both | |
| Council | Kempsey same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Austral Eden | Kempsey | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Cowper same for both | |
| Member | Pat Conaghan same for both | |
| Party | The Nationals same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Austral Eden | Kempsey | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Austral Eden
Kempsey
More comparisons
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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.