Bellevue Hill vs Rose Bay

In both, most households own their home and most homes are flats or apartments. Bellevue Hill is closer to the city centre: 6.5 km, against 8.4 km.

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

Rose Bay

ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more schools rated above their peers (4 vs 0)
  • has more childcare (14 vs 4)
  • But Bellevue Hill has more separate houses rather than flats (34% vs 21%)

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

First-home buyers

Rose Bay

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper houses ($6,550,000 vs $10,980,000)

Weighs house prices, unit prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Bellevue Hill

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves renters under less rental stress (20% vs 25%)

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

Commuting to the city

Rose Bay

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is more walkable (95/100 vs 76/100)

Weighs distance, drive time, rail access, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Rose Bay

ahead on 3 of the 5 things we measure here

  • has more GPs (5 vs 2)
  • is more walkable (95/100 vs 76/100)
  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (79% vs 66%)

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

Investors

Rose Bay

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • returns a higher gross yield on units (6.9% vs 4.6%)

Weighs unit yield and population growth.

Where they sit

Bellevue Hill and Rose Bay drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
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.

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
Walkability 76 / 95
Bellevue Hill — Walkability: 76/100 Rose Bay — Walkability: 95/100
Safety 70 / 64
Bellevue Hill — Safety: 70/100 Rose Bay — Safety: 64/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Bellevue Hill — Low fire risk: 100/100 Rose Bay — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Bellevue Hill has higher household incomes ($172,380 vs $132,028).

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
Population 10,590
+6% vs other
 9,911
Population trend (2016 → 2021) -1.2% -1.4%
Median age 39 40
Median household income $172,380/yr
+23% vs other
 $132,028/yr
Median weekly rent $650/wk
+3% vs other
 $630/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
0-4 4.8% / 5.2%
Bellevue Hill — 0-4: 4.8% Rose Bay — 0-4: 5.2%
5-14 12.4% / 11.2%
Bellevue Hill — 5-14: 12.4% Rose Bay — 5-14: 11.2%
15-19 6.5% / 4.9%
Bellevue Hill — 15-19: 6.5% Rose Bay — 15-19: 4.9%
20-24 5.3% / 5.3%
Bellevue Hill — 20-24: 5.3% Rose Bay — 20-24: 5.3%
25-34 15.0% / 14.4%
Bellevue Hill — 25-34: 15.0% Rose Bay — 25-34: 14.4%
35-44 13.7% / 14.7%
Bellevue Hill — 35-44: 13.7% Rose Bay — 35-44: 14.7%
45-54 13.3% / 13.4%
Bellevue Hill — 45-54: 13.3% Rose Bay — 45-54: 13.4%
55-64 11.9% / 10.7%
Bellevue Hill — 55-64: 11.9% Rose Bay — 55-64: 10.7%
65-74 10.2% / 9.4%
Bellevue Hill — 65-74: 10.2% Rose Bay — 65-74: 9.4%
75-84 5.2% / 7.2%
Bellevue Hill — 75-84: 5.2% Rose Bay — 75-84: 7.2%
85+ 1.7% / 3.6%
Bellevue Hill — 85+: 1.7% Rose Bay — 85+: 3.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (15.0%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Bellevue Hill 42.9% couple families
Bellevue Hill — Couple Families: 42.9% Bellevue Hill — Lone Person: 36.1% Bellevue Hill — One Parent Families: 10.7% Bellevue Hill — Group Household: 9.0% Bellevue Hill — Other Families: 1.3%
Rose Bay 37.7% couple families
Rose Bay — Couple Families: 37.7% Rose Bay — Lone Person: 41.7% Rose Bay — One Parent Families: 13.1% Rose Bay — Group Household: 6.3% Rose Bay — Other Families: 1.2%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Bellevue Hill 34.2% renting
Bellevue Hill — Owned Outright: 36.4% Bellevue Hill — Mortgage: 29.4% Bellevue Hill — Renting: 34.2%
Rose Bay 44.1% renting
Rose Bay — Owned Outright: 31.2% Rose Bay — Mortgage: 24.7% Rose Bay — Renting: 44.1%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
Bachelor Degree 30.2% / 27.1%
Bellevue Hill — Bachelor Degree: 30.2% Rose Bay — Bachelor Degree: 27.1%
Postgraduate Degree 12.6% / 10.1%
Bellevue Hill — Postgraduate Degree: 12.6% Rose Bay — Postgraduate Degree: 10.1%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 7.3% / 8.6%
Bellevue Hill — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.3% Rose Bay — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.6%
Certificate III & IV 3.8% / 5.3%
Bellevue Hill — Certificate III & IV: 3.8% Rose Bay — Certificate III & IV: 5.3%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.5% / 2.7%
Bellevue Hill — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.5% Rose Bay — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.7%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (30.2%).

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.

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
South Africa 5.5% / 9.3%
Bellevue Hill — South Africa: 5.5% Rose Bay — South Africa: 9.3%
England 6.0% / 5.6%
Bellevue Hill — England: 6.0% Rose Bay — England: 5.6%
China 2.4% / 2.1%
Bellevue Hill — China: 2.4% Rose Bay — China: 2.1%
New Zealand 2.0% / 2.1%
Bellevue Hill — New Zealand: 2.0% Rose Bay — New Zealand: 2.1%
Brazil 0.9% / 0.9%
Bellevue Hill — Brazil: 0.9% Rose Bay — Brazil: 0.9%
Italy — / 0.9%
Bellevue Hill — Italy: not among its largest Rose Bay — Italy: 0.9%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (9.3%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Bellevue Hill 62.0% flats / apartments
Bellevue Hill — Flats / Apartments: 62.0% Bellevue Hill — Houses: 33.8% Bellevue Hill — Townhouses: 4.2%
Rose Bay 70.7% flats / apartments
Rose Bay — Flats / Apartments: 70.7% Rose Bay — Houses: 20.6% Rose Bay — Townhouses: 8.7%
Flats / Apartments Houses Townhouses

Property market

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
Median house price $10,980,000 $6,550,000
Median unit price $1,487,500 $1,600,000
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) 27 days
from 51 sales
 28 days
from 10 sales

Unit price by bedroom count

Only bed counts both suburbs published enough sales for. Sale counts are shown because the buckets differ in depth.

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
2 bed $1.35M / $1.5M
Bellevue Hill — 2 bed: $1.35M (118 sales) Rose Bay — 2 bed: $1.5M (23 sales)

118 vs 23 sales

3 bed $2.8M / $3.22M
Bellevue Hill — 3 bed: $2.8M (39 sales) Rose Bay — 3 bed: $3.22M (10 sales)

39 vs 10 sales

Zoning mix

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
Residential 88% 53%
Parks and recreation 5% 34%
Infrastructure and transport 6% 8%
Commercial 1% 3%
Planning zones cover 100% of Bellevue Hill and 99% of Rose Bay. 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

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
New dwellings approved 222
across Woollahra
same for both
Approvals change year on year -21%
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.

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
Houses 2.4%
$3,000/wk on $6.6M
 —
Units 4.6%
$1,100/wk on $1.25M
 6.9%
$998/wk on $750K

Ranking within NSW

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
House price Higher than 100% of NSW Higher than 99% of NSW
Income Higher than 98% of NSW Higher than 89% of NSW
Schools Higher than 4% of NSW Higher than 90% of NSW
Walkability Higher than 90% of NSW Higher than 98% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 1% of NSW Higher than 3% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 100% of NSW Higher than 98% of NSW
NBN connectivity Higher than 85% of NSW Higher than 86% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 5% of NSW —
Rental yield (units) Higher than 48% of NSW Higher than 100% of NSW

Liveability

Rose Bay scores higher overall (93 vs 72); Rose Bay is more walkable (95 vs 76).

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
Grade A A+
Score 72/100 93/100
Socio-economic band very advantaged area
decile 10/10
same for both

Risk profile

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime Low
30/100
 Low
36/100
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 2
within 5 km
 1
within 5 km

Schools

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
Inside the suburb 6
same for both
Rated above peers 0 4
Rated at peers 2 1
Rated below peers 0
same for both
Universities within 10 km 3
1-37 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010, 4.1 km
 3
1-37 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010, 5.4 km
Full-time students aged 15–24 3.6% 2.9%

Schools in Bellevue Hill

  • Bellevue Hill Public School Government · Primary at peers
  • The Scots College Independent · Combined at peers
  • Cranbrook School Independent · Secondary
  • The Scots College ELC campus Independent · Primary
  • The Scots College Preparatory School Independent · Primary
  • The Scots College, Ginahgulla Centre campus Independent · Combined

Schools in Rose Bay

  • Cranbrook Junior School Independent · Primary above peers
  • Kambala Independent · Combined above peers
  • McAuley Catholic Primary School Catholic · Primary above peers
  • Rose Bay Public School Government · Primary above peers
  • Rose Bay Secondary College Government · Secondary at peers
  • Kambala, Fernbank Campus Independent · Secondary

Amenities in the suburb

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
Supermarkets 0 4
Cafes & restaurants 10 18
Parks & reserves 9 8
Childcare 4 14
GPs 2 5
Pharmacies 1 5
Police stations 0 1
Banks & Bank@Post 1 3
Fuel stations 0 2
Waterways 2 0

Mobility

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
Walkability score 76/100 95/100
Distance to Sydney 6.5 km 8.4 km
+29% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 15 min 19 min
Public transport score 79/100
Bus
same for both
Peak arrivals per hour 252.5
7-9am + 5-7pm
 292.5
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 0 min
scheduled, not actual
same for both
Electric vehicle share 5.1%
postcode 2023
 3.5%
postcode 2029
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 12
postcode 2023
 8
postcode 2029

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.

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
Worked from Home 62.1% / 60.3%
Bellevue Hill — Worked from Home: 62.1% Rose Bay — Worked from Home: 60.3%
Car (driver) 27.4% / 29.7%
Bellevue Hill — Car (driver): 27.4% Rose Bay — Car (driver): 29.7%
Walked Only 3.2% / 3.6%
Bellevue Hill — Walked Only: 3.2% Rose Bay — Walked Only: 3.6%
Car (passenger) 2.5% / 2.2%
Bellevue Hill — Car (passenger): 2.5% Rose Bay — Car (passenger): 2.2%
Train 2.8% / 1.6%
Bellevue Hill — Train: 2.8% Rose Bay — Train: 1.6%
Bus 1.5% / 2.1%
Bellevue Hill — Bus: 1.5% Rose Bay — Bus: 2.1%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (62.1%).

Setting

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
Elevation 93 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 10 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 2.2 km
1.3 km to a named beach
 1.3 km
532 m to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
Connectivity score 76/100 77/100
Most common technology Hybrid fibre-coaxial
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 6%
5,127 premises
 8%
5,339 premises

Climate

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
Annual rainfall 1,129 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 27.5°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 9.5°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
PM2.5 6.3 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 13.8 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ 0.84 pphm
same for both

Council rates

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
Average residential rate $1,812/yr
same for both
Council Woollahra
same for both

Federal electorate

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
Division Wentworth
same for both
Member Allegra Spender
same for both
Party Independent
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Bellevue Hill Rose Bay
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Bellevue Hill

Apartments Beach Coastal Inner Parks Premium Professionals Urban

Rose Bay

Apartments Beach Coastal Inner Parks Premium Professionals Urban

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Bellevue Hill

Bellevue Hill vs Bondi Beach Bellevue Hill vs Bondi Bellevue Hill vs Bondi Junction Bellevue Hill vs North Bondi Bellevue Hill vs Woollahra Bellevue Hill vs Double Bay

Other comparisons with Rose Bay

Rose Bay vs Bondi Beach Rose Bay vs Vaucluse Rose Bay vs North Bondi Rose Bay vs Dover Heights Rose Bay vs Point Piper
Full data on Bellevue Hill Full data on Rose Bay
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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