Ballina vs Cumbalum
Cumbalum is the younger of the two, with a median age of 37 against 56 in Ballina. In both, most households own their home. In Ballina, most households are people living alone. In Cumbalum, the large majority of homes are detached houses and most households are couple families. Houses cost more in Cumbalum: a median of $1.16 million, against $950,000 in Ballina, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Ballina tends to suit people living alone, older residents, and buyers on a tighter budget, while Cumbalum suits families with children and 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
- Ballina has more parks and reserves (17 vs 0)
- Cumbalum carries lower crime risk (34/100 vs 94/100)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Ballina has cheaper houses ($950,000 vs $1,160,000)
- Cumbalum leaves households under less mortgage stress (23% vs 40%)
Weighs house prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.
Renters
Ballina
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a bigger rental market to choose from (41% vs 18%)
- has cheaper rent ($360/wk vs $610/wk)
- But Cumbalum leaves renters under less rental stress (28% vs 36%)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Ballina
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (28/100 vs 18/100)
- sits closer to the CBD (733.3 km vs 741.3 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Ballina
ahead on 4 of the 5 things we measure here
- has more GPs (8 vs 0)
- has more units and townhouses to downsize into (47% vs 6%)
- has more residents already 65 and over (38% vs 13%)
- But Cumbalum carries lower crime risk (34/100 vs 94/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Cumbalum
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (45.3% vs 12.5%)
Weighs house yield and population growth.
Where they sit
Ballina and Cumbalum 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
Ballina has more residents (9,735 vs 2,211); Cumbalum has higher household incomes ($112,840 vs $52,676).
| Ballina | Cumbalum | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 9,735 +77% vs other | 2,211 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +12.5% | +45.3% |
| Median age | 56 | 37 |
| Median household income | $52,676/yr | $112,840/yr +114% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $360/wk | $610/wk +69% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.2%).
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 (16.8%).
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 (3.6%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Ballina | Cumbalum | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $950,000 | $1,160,000 |
| Median unit price | $675,000 | — |
| Median land price | $705,000 | $620,000 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 34 days from 72 sales | 38 days from 57 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.
78 vs 12 sales
30 vs 67 sales
Zoning mix
Cumbalum has more rural and farming land (57% vs 22%); Ballina has more land zoned for conservation (27% vs 5%).
| Ballina | Cumbalum | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 22% | 57% |
| Environmental | 27% | 5% |
| Other and special use | 15% | 20% |
| Residential | 17% same for both | |
| Infrastructure and transport | 6% | 0% |
| Parks and recreation | 5% | 1% |
| Industrial | 4% | 0% |
| Commercial | 2% | 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
| Ballina | Cumbalum | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 238 across Ballina same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +210% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Ballina | Cumbalum | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 4.1% $750/wk on $945K | 3.6% $938/wk on $1.34M |
| Units | 4.8% $600/wk on $652K | — |
Ranking within NSW
| Ballina | Cumbalum | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 43% of NSW | Higher than 60% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 13% of NSW | Higher than 78% of NSW |
| Schools | Higher than 29% of NSW | — |
| Walkability | Higher than 74% of NSW | Higher than 69% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 26% of NSW | Higher than 62% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 82% of NSW same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 92% of NSW same for both | |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 78% of NSW | Higher than 53% of NSW |
| Rental yield (units) | Higher than 56% of NSW | — |
Liveability
Cumbalum scores higher overall (49 vs 26); Ballina is more walkable (28 vs 18).
| Ballina | Cumbalum | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | D | B |
| Score | 26/100 | 49/100 |
| Socio-economic band | below-average income decile 3/10 | very advantaged area decile 9/10 |
Risk profile
Cumbalum carries more bushfire risk (33 vs 0); Ballina carries more crime risk (94 vs 34).
| Ballina | Cumbalum | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 | Low 33/100 |
| Crime | High 94/100 | Low 34/100 |
| Flood | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | Moderate 49/100 | None 0/100 |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 1 within 5 km | 3 within 5 km |
Schools
| Ballina | Cumbalum | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 5 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 3 | 0 |
| Rated below peers | 1 | 0 |
Schools in Ballina
- Ballina Public School Government · Primary at peers
- Richmond Christian College Independent · Combined at peers
- St Francis Xavier Primary School Catholic · Primary at peers
- Ballina Coast High School Government · Secondary below peers
- Biala Special School Independent · Combined · Special school
Schools in Cumbalum
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Ballina | Cumbalum | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 7 | 0 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 20 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 17 | 0 |
| Childcare | 7 | 0 |
| GPs | 8 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 5 | 0 |
| Hospitals | 1 | 0 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 11 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 4 | 0 |
| EV chargers | 2 | 0 |
| Waterways | 8 | 1 |
Mobility
Cumbalum sits further from the CBD (741.3 km vs 733.3 km).
| Ballina | Cumbalum | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 28/100 | 18/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 733.3 km | 741.3 km +1% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 475 min same for both | |
| Public transport score | 79/100 Bus | 26/100 Bus |
| Peak arrivals per hour | 123.8 7-9am + 5-7pm | 6.0 7-9am + 5-7pm |
| Median peak wait | 0 min scheduled, not actual | 2 min scheduled, not actual |
| Electric vehicle share | 1.1% postcode 2478 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 66 postcode 2478 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 (76.0%).
Setting
| Ballina | Cumbalum | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 1 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 42 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 3.1 km 3.3 km to a named beach | 5.2 km |
NBN connectivity
| Ballina | Cumbalum | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 84/100 same for both | |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the curb | Fibre to the premises |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 29% 6,742 premises | 72% 1,204 premises |
Council rates
| Ballina | Cumbalum | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,264/yr same for both | |
| Council | Ballina same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Ballina | Cumbalum | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Richmond same for both | |
| Member | Justine Elliot same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Ballina | Cumbalum | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Ballina
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Ballina
Other comparisons with Cumbalum
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.