Barrack Heights vs Shellharbour

Barrack Heights is the younger of the two, with a median age of 41 against 46 in Shellharbour. In both, most households own their home and most homes are detached houses. Houses cost more in Shellharbour: a median of $1.35 million, against $938,000 in Barrack Heights, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Barrack Heights tends to suit 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

Barrack Heights

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has more separate houses rather than flats (88% vs 68%)

Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.

First-home buyers

Barrack Heights

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has cheaper houses ($937,500 vs $1,350,000)
  • has cheaper units ($560,000 vs $775,000)

Weighs house prices, unit prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Barrack Heights

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($380/wk vs $420/wk)

Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.

Commuting to the city

Too close to call

Nothing among the 3 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Shellharbour

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (32% vs 12%)

Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.

Investors

Barrack Heights

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • returns a higher gross yield on houses (3.9% vs 3.4%)

Weighs house yield and population growth.

Where they sit

Barrack Heights and Shellharbour drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
Hides rows where both suburbs match

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.

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
Walkability 67 / 65
Barrack Heights — Walkability: 67/100 Shellharbour — Walkability: 65/100
Safety 31 / 29
Barrack Heights — Safety: 31/100 Shellharbour — Safety: 29/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Barrack Heights — Low fire risk: 100/100 Shellharbour — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Barrack Heights has more residents (6,003 vs 3,520); Shellharbour has higher household incomes ($82,992 vs $69,680).

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
Population 6,003
+41% vs other
 3,520
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +1.7% -1.2%
Median age 41 46
Median household income $69,680/yr $82,992/yr
+19% vs other
Median weekly rent $380/wk $420/wk
+11% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
0-4 5.4% / 4.4%
Barrack Heights — 0-4: 5.4% Shellharbour — 0-4: 4.4%
5-14 12.9% / 10.7%
Barrack Heights — 5-14: 12.9% Shellharbour — 5-14: 10.7%
15-19 6.5% / 6.7%
Barrack Heights — 15-19: 6.5% Shellharbour — 15-19: 6.7%
20-24 5.5% / 5.3%
Barrack Heights — 20-24: 5.5% Shellharbour — 20-24: 5.3%
25-34 12.2% / 11.0%
Barrack Heights — 25-34: 12.2% Shellharbour — 25-34: 11.0%
35-44 12.3% / 9.9%
Barrack Heights — 35-44: 12.3% Shellharbour — 35-44: 9.9%
45-54 11.9% / 12.8%
Barrack Heights — 45-54: 11.9% Shellharbour — 45-54: 12.8%
55-64 12.6% / 17.6%
Barrack Heights — 55-64: 12.6% Shellharbour — 55-64: 17.6%
65-74 11.4% / 12.8%
Barrack Heights — 65-74: 11.4% Shellharbour — 65-74: 12.8%
75-84 7.0% / 6.4%
Barrack Heights — 75-84: 7.0% Shellharbour — 75-84: 6.4%
85+ 2.2% / 2.6%
Barrack Heights — 85+: 2.2% Shellharbour — 85+: 2.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.6%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Barrack Heights 36.5% couple families
Barrack Heights — Couple Families: 36.5% Barrack Heights — Lone Person: 32.5% Barrack Heights — One Parent Families: 26.7% Barrack Heights — Group Household: 2.5% Barrack Heights — Other Families: 1.8%
Shellharbour 43.2% couple families
Shellharbour — Couple Families: 43.2% Shellharbour — Lone Person: 35.4% Shellharbour — One Parent Families: 17.0% Shellharbour — Group Household: 3.6% Shellharbour — Other Families: 0.7%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Barrack Heights 33.8% renting
Barrack Heights — Owned Outright: 37.1% Barrack Heights — Mortgage: 29.1% Barrack Heights — Renting: 33.8%
Shellharbour 33.6% renting
Shellharbour — Owned Outright: 38.4% Shellharbour — Mortgage: 28.0% Shellharbour — Renting: 33.6%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
Certificate III & IV 19.4% / 19.4%
Barrack Heights — Certificate III & IV: 19.4% Shellharbour — Certificate III & IV: 19.4%
Bachelor Degree 5.5% / 10.1%
Barrack Heights — Bachelor Degree: 5.5% Shellharbour — Bachelor Degree: 10.1%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 7.0% / 8.2%
Barrack Heights — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.0% Shellharbour — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.2%
Postgraduate Degree 1.2% / 2.6%
Barrack Heights — Postgraduate Degree: 1.2% Shellharbour — Postgraduate Degree: 2.6%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 0.7% / 1.4%
Barrack Heights — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 0.7% Shellharbour — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.4%).

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.

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
England 4.5% / 4.5%
Barrack Heights — England: 4.5% Shellharbour — England: 4.5%
New Zealand 0.8% / 1.2%
Barrack Heights — New Zealand: 0.8% Shellharbour — New Zealand: 1.2%
Italy 0.7% / 0.7%
Barrack Heights — Italy: 0.7% Shellharbour — Italy: 0.7%
Scotland 0.8% / 0.5%
Barrack Heights — Scotland: 0.8% Shellharbour — Scotland: 0.5%
Germany 0.7% / 0.3%
Barrack Heights — Germany: 0.7% Shellharbour — Germany: 0.3%
South Africa — / 0.4%
Barrack Heights — South Africa: not among its largest Shellharbour — South Africa: 0.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (4.5%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Barrack Heights 88.3% houses
Barrack Heights — Houses: 88.3% Barrack Heights — Flats / Apartments: 10.6% Barrack Heights — Townhouses: 1.1%
Shellharbour 68.4% houses
Shellharbour — Houses: 68.4% Shellharbour — Flats / Apartments: 16.8% Shellharbour — Townhouses: 14.8%
Houses Flats / Apartments Townhouses

Property market

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
Median house price $937,500 $1,350,000
Median unit price $560,000 $775,000
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) 26 days
from 49 sales
 27 days
from 19 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.

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
3 bed $875K / $1.15M
Barrack Heights — 3 bed: $875K (59 sales) Shellharbour — 3 bed: $1.15M (17 sales)

59 vs 17 sales

4 bed $1.14M / $1.47M
Barrack Heights — 4 bed: $1.14M (20 sales) Shellharbour — 4 bed: $1.47M (10 sales)

20 vs 10 sales

Zoning mix

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
Residential 77% 47%
Parks and recreation 15% 31%
Infrastructure and transport 2% 12%
Environmental 0% 5%
Industrial 4% 0%
Commercial 1% 3%
Planning zones cover 100% of Barrack Heights and 98% of Shellharbour. 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

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
New dwellings approved 883
across Shellharbour
same for both
Approvals change year on year +25%
same for both

Gross rental yield

Gross — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. From median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
Houses 3.9%
$720/wk on $949K
 3.4%
$860/wk on $1.3M
Units —
same for both

Ranking within NSW

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
House price Higher than 39% of NSW Higher than 65% of NSW
Income Higher than 33% of NSW Higher than 51% of NSW
Schools Higher than 10% of NSW Higher than 18% of NSW
Walkability Higher than 87% of NSW Higher than 86% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 49% of NSW Higher than 34% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 30% of NSW Higher than 78% of NSW
NBN connectivity Higher than 80% of NSW Higher than 76% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 70% of NSW Higher than 41% of NSW

Liveability

Shellharbour scores higher overall (46 vs 38).

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
Grade C
same for both
Score 38/100 46/100
Socio-economic band below-average income
decile 2/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 6/10

Risk profile

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime Moderate
69/100
 High
71/100
Flood Not mapped
no mapped data here
same for both
Coastal erosion None
0/100
 Low
31/100
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 4
within 5 km
 5
within 5 km

Schools

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
Inside the suburb 3
same for both
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0 2
Rated below peers 2 0

Schools in Barrack Heights

  • Barrack Heights Public School Government · Primary below peers
  • Warilla High School Government · Secondary below peers
  • Aspect South Coast School, Barrack Heights Independent · Primary · Special school

Schools in Shellharbour

  • Shellharbour Public School Government · Primary at peers
  • Stella Maris Catholic Primary School Catholic · Primary at peers
  • Amity College Illawarra Campus Independent · Combined

Amenities in the suburb

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
Cafes & restaurants 0 11
Parks & reserves 11 12
Childcare 5 3
GPs 1
same for both
Hospitals 1 0
Banks & Bank@Post 0 1
Fuel stations 1
same for both
Waterways 1 0

Mobility

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
Walkability score 67/100 65/100
Distance to Sydney 102.6 km 103.8 km
+1% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 98 min
same for both
Public transport score 79/100
Bus
same for both
Peak arrivals per hour 47.5
7-9am + 5-7pm
 100.5
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 0 min
scheduled, not actual
same for both
Electric vehicle share 0.3%
postcode 2528
 0.9%
postcode 2529
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 31
postcode 2528
 45
postcode 2529

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.

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
Car (driver) 74.6% / 68.0%
Barrack Heights — Car (driver): 74.6% Shellharbour — Car (driver): 68.0%
Worked from Home 17.5% / 25.5%
Barrack Heights — Worked from Home: 17.5% Shellharbour — Worked from Home: 25.5%
Car (passenger) 4.8% / 3.8%
Barrack Heights — Car (passenger): 4.8% Shellharbour — Car (passenger): 3.8%
Walked Only 1.7% / 2.1%
Barrack Heights — Walked Only: 1.7% Shellharbour — Walked Only: 2.1%
Bus 0.7% / 0.2%
Barrack Heights — Bus: 0.7% Shellharbour — Bus: 0.2%
Bicycle 0.3% / 0.3%
Barrack Heights — Bicycle: 0.3% Shellharbour — Bicycle: 0.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (74.6%).

Setting

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
Elevation 11 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 5 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 1.3 km
1.5 km to a named beach
 609 m
941 m to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
Connectivity score 73/100 69/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises Fibre to the node
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 51%
2,681 premises
 44%
1,767 premises

Climate

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
Annual rainfall 974 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
PM2.5 5.1 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 14.3 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ 0.37 pphm
same for both

Council rates

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
Average residential rate $1,788/yr
same for both
Council Shellharbour
same for both

Federal electorate

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
Division Whitlam
same for both
Member Carol Berry
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Barrack Heights Shellharbour
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Barrack Heights

Beach Coastal Parks

Shellharbour

Beach Coastal Parks

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Barrack Heights

Barrack Heights vs Oak Flats Barrack Heights vs Warilla Barrack Heights vs Mount Warrigal Barrack Heights vs Blackbutt Barrack Heights vs Barrack Point Barrack Heights vs Shellharbour City Centre

Other comparisons with Shellharbour

Shellharbour vs Shell Cove Shellharbour vs Flinders Shellharbour vs Blackbutt Shellharbour vs Barrack Point
Full data on Barrack Heights Full data on Shellharbour
Unlock full address-level data — $29/month

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.

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