Blackbutt vs Shellharbour

Blackbutt is the younger of the two, with a median age of 43 against 46 in Shellharbour. In both, most households own their home and most homes are detached houses. In Blackbutt, about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Shellharbour: a median of $1.35 million, against $1.02 million in Blackbutt. On these figures, Blackbutt 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

Blackbutt

ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here

  • carries lower crime risk (34/100 vs 71/100)
  • has more childcare (6 vs 3)
  • But Shellharbour has more schools inside the suburb (3 vs 0)

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

First-home buyers

Blackbutt

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper houses ($1,025,000 vs $1,350,000)

Weighs house prices, unit prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Too close to call

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

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

Commuting to the city

They split

one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here

  • Blackbutt is more walkable (86/100 vs 65/100)
  • Shellharbour sits closer to the CBD (103.8 km vs 110.5 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Blackbutt

ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here

  • carries lower crime risk (34/100 vs 71/100)
  • is more walkable (86/100 vs 65/100)

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

Investors

Blackbutt

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • returns a higher gross yield on houses (4.8% vs 3.4%)

Weighs house yield and population growth.

Where they sit

Blackbutt 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.

Blackbutt 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.

Blackbutt Shellharbour
Walkability 86 / 65
Blackbutt — Walkability: 86/100 Shellharbour — Walkability: 65/100
Safety 66 / 29
Blackbutt — Safety: 66/100 Shellharbour — Safety: 29/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Blackbutt — Low fire risk: 100/100 Shellharbour — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Shellharbour skews older (46 vs 43).

Blackbutt Shellharbour
Population 3,291 3,520
+7% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) -0.3% -1.2%
Median age 43 46
Median household income $83,408/yr $82,992/yr
Median weekly rent $420/wk
same for both

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Blackbutt Shellharbour
0-4 4.8% / 4.4%
Blackbutt — 0-4: 4.8% Shellharbour — 0-4: 4.4%
5-14 11.3% / 10.7%
Blackbutt — 5-14: 11.3% Shellharbour — 5-14: 10.7%
15-19 6.6% / 6.7%
Blackbutt — 15-19: 6.6% Shellharbour — 15-19: 6.7%
20-24 6.7% / 5.3%
Blackbutt — 20-24: 6.7% Shellharbour — 20-24: 5.3%
25-34 11.2% / 11.0%
Blackbutt — 25-34: 11.2% Shellharbour — 25-34: 11.0%
35-44 10.7% / 9.9%
Blackbutt — 35-44: 10.7% Shellharbour — 35-44: 9.9%
45-54 15.4% / 12.8%
Blackbutt — 45-54: 15.4% Shellharbour — 45-54: 12.8%
55-64 13.7% / 17.6%
Blackbutt — 55-64: 13.7% Shellharbour — 55-64: 17.6%
65-74 12.3% / 12.8%
Blackbutt — 65-74: 12.3% Shellharbour — 65-74: 12.8%
75-84 5.3% / 6.4%
Blackbutt — 75-84: 5.3% Shellharbour — 75-84: 6.4%
85+ 1.8% / 2.6%
Blackbutt — 85+: 1.8% Shellharbour — 85+: 2.6%

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

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Blackbutt 48.0% couple families
Blackbutt — Couple Families: 48.0% Blackbutt — Lone Person: 29.2% Blackbutt — One Parent Families: 18.1% Blackbutt — Group Household: 3.5% Blackbutt — Other Families: 1.2%
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.

Blackbutt 29.8% renting
Blackbutt — Owned Outright: 41.2% Blackbutt — Mortgage: 29.0% Blackbutt — Renting: 29.8%
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.

Blackbutt Shellharbour
Certificate III & IV 17.4% / 19.4%
Blackbutt — Certificate III & IV: 17.4% Shellharbour — Certificate III & IV: 19.4%
Bachelor Degree 8.8% / 10.1%
Blackbutt — Bachelor Degree: 8.8% Shellharbour — Bachelor Degree: 10.1%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.4% / 8.2%
Blackbutt — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.4% Shellharbour — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.2%
Postgraduate Degree 2.5% / 2.6%
Blackbutt — Postgraduate Degree: 2.5% Shellharbour — Postgraduate Degree: 2.6%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.4% / 1.4%
Blackbutt — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.4% 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.

Blackbutt Shellharbour
England 3.3% / 4.5%
Blackbutt — England: 3.3% Shellharbour — England: 4.5%
New Zealand 0.5% / 1.2%
Blackbutt — New Zealand: 0.5% Shellharbour — New Zealand: 1.2%
Italy 0.8% / 0.7%
Blackbutt — Italy: 0.8% Shellharbour — Italy: 0.7%
Germany 0.7% / 0.3%
Blackbutt — Germany: 0.7% Shellharbour — Germany: 0.3%
Philippines 0.7% / —
Blackbutt — Philippines: 0.7% Shellharbour — Philippines: not among its largest
China 0.5% / —
Blackbutt — China: 0.5% Shellharbour — China: not among its largest
Scotland — / 0.5%
Blackbutt — Scotland: not among its largest Shellharbour — Scotland: 0.5%
South Africa — / 0.4%
Blackbutt — 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.

Blackbutt 70.0% houses
Blackbutt — Houses: 70.0% Blackbutt — Townhouses: 28.4% Blackbutt — Flats / Apartments: 1.6%
Shellharbour 68.4% houses
Shellharbour — Houses: 68.4% Shellharbour — Townhouses: 14.8% Shellharbour — Flats / Apartments: 16.8%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Blackbutt Shellharbour
Median house price $1,025,000 $1,350,000
Median unit price $720,000 $775,000
Median land price $945,000 —
Typical days to sell (houses) 29 days
from 27 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.

Blackbutt Shellharbour
3 bed $905K / $1.15M
Blackbutt — 3 bed: $905K (25 sales) Shellharbour — 3 bed: $1.15M (17 sales)

25 vs 17 sales

4 bed $1.22M / $1.47M
Blackbutt — 4 bed: $1.22M (27 sales) Shellharbour — 4 bed: $1.47M (10 sales)

27 vs 10 sales

Zoning mix

Blackbutt Shellharbour
Parks and recreation 51% 31%
Residential 43% 47%
Infrastructure and transport 5% 12%
Environmental 0% 5%
Commercial 2% 3%
Planning zones cover 100% of Blackbutt 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

Blackbutt 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.

Blackbutt Shellharbour
Houses 4.8%
$788/wk on $860K
 3.4%
$860/wk on $1.3M
Units —
same for both

Ranking within NSW

Blackbutt Shellharbour
House price Higher than 55% of NSW Higher than 65% of NSW
Income Higher than 51% of NSW
same for both
Schools — Higher than 18% of NSW
Walkability Higher than 94% of NSW Higher than 86% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 46% of NSW Higher than 34% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 78% of NSW
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 79% of NSW Higher than 76% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 94% of NSW Higher than 41% of NSW

Liveability

Blackbutt scores higher overall (66 vs 46); Blackbutt is more walkable (86 vs 65).

Blackbutt Shellharbour
Grade B C
Score 66/100 46/100
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 5/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 6/10

Risk profile

Shellharbour carries more crime risk (71 vs 34).

Blackbutt Shellharbour
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime Low
34/100
 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 8
within 5 km
 5
within 5 km

Schools

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

Schools in Blackbutt

No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.

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

Blackbutt Shellharbour
Cafes & restaurants 0 11
Parks & reserves 10 12
Childcare 6 3
GPs 0 1
Banks & Bank@Post 0 1
Fuel stations 0 1

Mobility

Blackbutt sits further from the CBD (110.5 km vs 103.8 km).

Blackbutt Shellharbour
Walkability score 86/100 65/100
Distance to Sydney 110.5 km
+6% vs other
 103.8 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 98 min
same for both
Public transport score 79/100
Bus
same for both
Peak arrivals per hour 30.0
7-9am + 5-7pm
 100.5
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 1 min
scheduled, not actual
 0 min
scheduled, not actual
Electric vehicle share 0.9%
postcode 2529
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 45
postcode 2529
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.

Blackbutt Shellharbour
Car (driver) 68.6% / 68.0%
Blackbutt — Car (driver): 68.6% Shellharbour — Car (driver): 68.0%
Worked from Home 23.5% / 25.5%
Blackbutt — Worked from Home: 23.5% Shellharbour — Worked from Home: 25.5%
Car (passenger) 4.7% / 3.8%
Blackbutt — Car (passenger): 4.7% Shellharbour — Car (passenger): 3.8%
Walked Only 1.6% / 2.1%
Blackbutt — Walked Only: 1.6% Shellharbour — Walked Only: 2.1%
Train 1.2% / —
Blackbutt — Train: 1.2% Shellharbour — Train: not among its largest
Bicycle — / 0.3%
Blackbutt — Bicycle: not among its largest Shellharbour — Bicycle: 0.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (68.6%).

Setting

Blackbutt Shellharbour
Elevation 71 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 5 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 2.6 km
2.6 km to a named beach
 609 m
941 m to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Blackbutt Shellharbour
Connectivity score 73/100 69/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises Fibre to the node
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 51%
1,373 premises
 44%
1,767 premises

Climate

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

Air quality (annual mean)

Blackbutt 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

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

Federal electorate

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

First Home Owner Grant

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

Tags

Blackbutt

Coastal Parks Quiet River Townhouses

Shellharbour

Beach Coastal Parks

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Blackbutt

Blackbutt vs Flinders Blackbutt vs Albion Park Rail Blackbutt vs Oak Flats Blackbutt vs Barrack Heights Blackbutt vs Shellharbour City Centre Blackbutt vs Croom

Other comparisons with Shellharbour

Shellharbour vs Shell Cove Shellharbour vs Flinders Shellharbour vs Barrack Heights Shellharbour vs Barrack Point
Full data on Blackbutt 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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