Avalon Beach vs Bilgola Beach
Avalon Beach is the younger of the two, with a median age of 46 against 54 in Bilgola Beach. In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are couple families. Houses cost more in Bilgola Beach: a median of $8 million, against $2.87 million in Avalon Beach, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Avalon Beach tends to suit buyers on a tighter budget, while Bilgola Beach suits older residents.
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
Avalon Beach
ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more childcare (8 vs 0)
- has more parks and reserves (20 vs 3)
- has more schools inside the suburb (4 vs 0)
- But Bilgola Beach has more separate houses rather than flats (100% vs 81%)
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
- Avalon Beach has cheaper houses ($2,872,500 vs $8,000,000)
- Bilgola Beach leaves households under less mortgage stress (19% vs 30%)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Avalon Beach
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($700/wk vs $1,075/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Bilgola Beach
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- sits closer to the CBD (36 km vs 38.8 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 4 things we measure here
- Avalon Beach has more GPs (2 vs 0)
- Bilgola Beach has more residents already 65 and over (34% vs 22%)
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
Avalon Beach and Bilgola Beach 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
Avalon Beach has more residents (10,379 vs 251); Bilgola Beach has higher household incomes ($223,548 vs $129,012).
| Avalon Beach | Bilgola Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 10,379 +98% vs other | 251 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +4.8% | +4.6% |
| Median age | 46 | 54 |
| Median household income | $129,012/yr | $223,548/yr +73% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $700/wk | $1,075/wk +54% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.1%).
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 (25.5%).
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 (9.5%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Avalon Beach | Bilgola Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $2,872,500 | $8,000,000 |
| Median unit price | $1,220,000 | — |
| Median land price | — | $820,000 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 32 days from 118 sales | — |
Zoning mix
| Avalon Beach | Bilgola Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental | 54% | 55% |
| Residential | 32% | 0% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 3% | 27% |
| Parks and recreation | 9% | 15% |
| Commercial | 1% | 0% |
| Planning zones cover 99% of Avalon Beach and 98% of Bilgola Beach. 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
| Avalon Beach | Bilgola Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 620 across Northern Beaches same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +51% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Avalon Beach | Bilgola Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 3.0% $1,572/wk on $2.7M | — |
| Units | 4.1% $822/wk on $1.05M | — |
Ranking within NSW
| Avalon Beach | Bilgola Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 92% of NSW | Higher than 99% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 88% of NSW | Higher than 99% of NSW |
| Schools | Higher than 21% of NSW | — |
| Walkability | Higher than 93% of NSW same for both | |
| Affordability | Higher than 13% of NSW | Higher than 4% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 95% of NSW same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 66% of NSW same for both | |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 23% of NSW | — |
| Rental yield (units) | Higher than 26% of NSW | — |
Liveability
| Avalon Beach | Bilgola Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | B | — |
| Score | 69/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 10/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
| Avalon Beach | Bilgola Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Low 24/100 | Low 27/100 |
| Flood | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | Low 17/100 | Low 13/100 |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 0 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Avalon Beach | Bilgola Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 4 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 2 | 0 |
| Rated below peers | 2 | 0 |
Schools in Avalon Beach
- Avalon Public School Government · Primary at peers
- Barrenjoey High School Government · Secondary at peers
- Barrenjoey Montessori School Independent · Primary below peers
- Maria Regina Catholic Primary School Catholic · Primary below peers
Schools in Bilgola Beach
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Avalon Beach | Bilgola Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 2 | 0 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 21 | 1 |
| Parks & reserves | 20 | 3 |
| Childcare | 8 | 0 |
| GPs | 2 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 3 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 2 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 2 | 0 |
| Beaches | 1 same for both | |
| Waterways | 4 | 6 |
Mobility
Avalon Beach sits further from the CBD (38.8 km vs 36 km).
| Avalon Beach | Bilgola Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 81/100 | 83/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 38.8 km +7% vs other | 36 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 53 min | 49 min |
| Public transport score | 94/100 Bus | 92/100 Bus |
| Peak arrivals per hour | 277.0 7-9am + 5-7pm | 28.5 7-9am + 5-7pm |
| Median peak wait | 0 min scheduled, not actual | 1 min scheduled, not actual |
| Electric vehicle share | 2.5% postcode 2107 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 27 postcode 2107 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 (52.2%).
Setting
| Avalon Beach | Bilgola Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 34 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 13 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 812 m 1.1 km to a named beach | 180 m 158 m to a named beach |
NBN connectivity
| Avalon Beach | Bilgola Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 46/100 | 45/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the node same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 2% 4,491 premises | 0% 137 premises |
Climate
| Avalon Beach | Bilgola Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,176 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Avalon Beach | Bilgola Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 5.4 µg/m³ same for both | |
| PM10 | 14.2 µg/m³ same for both | |
| NO₂ | 0.23 pphm same for both | |
Council rates
| Avalon Beach | Bilgola Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,696/yr same for both | |
| Council | Northern Beaches same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Avalon Beach | Bilgola Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Mackellar same for both | |
| Member | Sophie Scamps same for both | |
| Party | Independent same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Avalon Beach | Bilgola Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Avalon Beach
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Avalon Beach
Other comparisons with Bilgola Beach
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.