Boambee vs Coffs Harbour

Coffs Harbour is the younger of the two, with a median age of 43 against 47 in Boambee. In both, most households own their home and most homes are detached houses. In Boambee, most households are couple families. Houses cost more in Boambee: a median of $1.32 million, against $840,000 in Coffs Harbour, though rent is higher in Coffs Harbour. On these figures, Boambee tends to suit couples, while Coffs Harbour suits people living alone and 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

They split

one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here

  • Boambee carries lower crime risk (54/100 vs 93/100)
  • Coffs Harbour has more parks and reserves (64 vs 1)

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

  • Boambee leaves households under less mortgage stress (22% vs 32%)
  • Coffs Harbour has cheaper houses ($840,000 vs $1,325,000)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Boambee

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • leaves renters under less rental stress (15% vs 29%)
  • has cheaper rent ($315/wk vs $355/wk)
  • But Coffs Harbour has a bigger rental market to choose from (41% vs 10%)

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

  • Boambee sits closer to the CBD (522.6 km vs 525.9 km)
  • Coffs Harbour is more walkable (88/100 vs 17/100)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Coffs Harbour

ahead on 3 of the 5 things we measure here

  • has more GPs (11 vs 0)
  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (40% vs 7%)
  • is more walkable (88/100 vs 17/100)
  • But Boambee carries lower crime risk (54/100 vs 93/100)

Weighs smaller dwellings, 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

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

Boambee Coffs Harbour
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.

Boambee Coffs Harbour
Walkability 17 / 88
Boambee — Walkability: 17/100 Coffs Harbour — Walkability: 88/100
Safety 46 / 7
Boambee — Safety: 46/100 Coffs Harbour — Safety: 7/100
Low fire risk 75 / 66
Boambee — Low fire risk: 75/100 Coffs Harbour — Low fire risk: 66/100

Demographics

Coffs Harbour has more residents (27,089 vs 1,770); Boambee has higher household incomes ($106,496 vs $64,012).

Boambee Coffs Harbour
Population 1,770 27,089
+1430% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +6.1% +5.2%
Median age 47 43
Median household income $106,496/yr
+40% vs other
 $64,012/yr
Median weekly rent $315/wk $355/wk
+13% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Boambee Coffs Harbour
0-4 3.3% / 5.0%
Boambee — 0-4: 3.3% Coffs Harbour — 0-4: 5.0%
5-14 13.8% / 11.8%
Boambee — 5-14: 13.8% Coffs Harbour — 5-14: 11.8%
15-19 7.6% / 6.0%
Boambee — 15-19: 7.6% Coffs Harbour — 15-19: 6.0%
20-24 4.0% / 5.5%
Boambee — 20-24: 4.0% Coffs Harbour — 20-24: 5.5%
25-34 7.8% / 11.9%
Boambee — 25-34: 7.8% Coffs Harbour — 25-34: 11.9%
35-44 9.6% / 11.9%
Boambee — 35-44: 9.6% Coffs Harbour — 35-44: 11.9%
45-54 16.7% / 11.8%
Boambee — 45-54: 16.7% Coffs Harbour — 45-54: 11.8%
55-64 14.8% / 12.7%
Boambee — 55-64: 14.8% Coffs Harbour — 55-64: 12.7%
65-74 14.7% / 12.1%
Boambee — 65-74: 14.7% Coffs Harbour — 65-74: 12.1%
75-84 5.8% / 7.8%
Boambee — 75-84: 5.8% Coffs Harbour — 75-84: 7.8%
85+ 1.2% / 3.5%
Boambee — 85+: 1.2% Coffs Harbour — 85+: 3.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.7%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Boambee 58.2% couple families
Boambee — Couple Families: 58.2% Boambee — Lone Person: 25.2% Boambee — One Parent Families: 14.4% Boambee — Group Household: 2.3% Boambee — Other Families: 0.0%
Coffs Harbour 28.5% couple families
Coffs Harbour — Couple Families: 28.5% Coffs Harbour — Lone Person: 44.5% Coffs Harbour — One Parent Families: 19.9% Coffs Harbour — Group Household: 5.6% Coffs Harbour — Other Families: 1.4%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Boambee 10.5% renting
Boambee — Owned Outright: 48.9% Boambee — Mortgage: 40.7% Boambee — Renting: 10.5%
Coffs Harbour 40.9% renting
Coffs Harbour — Owned Outright: 34.1% Coffs Harbour — Mortgage: 25.1% Coffs Harbour — Renting: 40.9%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Boambee Coffs Harbour
Certificate III & IV 16.4% / 16.4%
Boambee — Certificate III & IV: 16.4% Coffs Harbour — Certificate III & IV: 16.4%
Bachelor Degree 12.9% / 9.4%
Boambee — Bachelor Degree: 12.9% Coffs Harbour — Bachelor Degree: 9.4%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.1% / 7.4%
Boambee — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.1% Coffs Harbour — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.4%
Postgraduate Degree 3.6% / 2.3%
Boambee — Postgraduate Degree: 3.6% Coffs Harbour — Postgraduate Degree: 2.3%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 3.3% / 1.4%
Boambee — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 3.3% Coffs Harbour — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.4%).

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.

Boambee Coffs Harbour
England 3.6% / 2.9%
Boambee — England: 3.6% Coffs Harbour — England: 2.9%
New Zealand 1.6% / 1.3%
Boambee — New Zealand: 1.6% Coffs Harbour — New Zealand: 1.3%
India 1.3% / 1.1%
Boambee — India: 1.3% Coffs Harbour — India: 1.1%
South Africa 1.0% / 0.5%
Boambee — South Africa: 1.0% Coffs Harbour — South Africa: 0.5%
Myanmar — / 1.5%
Boambee — Myanmar: not among its largest Coffs Harbour — Myanmar: 1.5%
Iraq — / 1.4%
Boambee — Iraq: not among its largest Coffs Harbour — Iraq: 1.4%
Scotland 0.6% / —
Boambee — Scotland: 0.6% Coffs Harbour — Scotland: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (3.6%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Boambee 92.9% houses
Boambee — Houses: 92.9% Boambee — Flats / Apartments: 7.1% Boambee — Townhouses: 0.0%
Coffs Harbour 59.7% houses
Coffs Harbour — Houses: 59.7% Coffs Harbour — Flats / Apartments: 22.8% Coffs Harbour — Townhouses: 17.5%
Houses Flats / Apartments Townhouses

Property market

Boambee Coffs Harbour
Median house price $1,325,000 $840,000
Median unit price — $520,000
Median land price — $1,082,500
Typical days to sell (houses) 65 days
from 13 sales
 32 days
from 182 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.

Boambee Coffs Harbour
3 bed $1.26M / $788K
Boambee — 3 bed: $1.26M (6 sales) Coffs Harbour — 3 bed: $788K (152 sales)

6 vs 152 sales

4 bed $1.4M / $900K
Boambee — 4 bed: $1.4M (17 sales) Coffs Harbour — 4 bed: $900K (107 sales)

17 vs 107 sales

5 bed $1.32M / $1.02M
Boambee — 5 bed: $1.32M (6 sales) Coffs Harbour — 5 bed: $1.02M (23 sales)

6 vs 23 sales

Zoning mix

Boambee has more rural and farming land (50% vs 20%).

Boambee Coffs Harbour
Rural and farming 50% 20%
Residential 27% 25%
Parks and recreation 1% 20%
Environmental 19% 16%
Infrastructure and transport 2% 16%
Industrial 1% 3%
Commercial 0% 1%
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

Boambee Coffs Harbour
New dwellings approved 356
across Coffs Harbour
same for both
Approvals change year on year +61%
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.

Boambee Coffs Harbour
Houses — 3.9%
$650/wk on $864K
Units — 4.5%
$500/wk on $580K

Ranking within NSW

Boambee Coffs Harbour
House price Higher than 71% of NSW Higher than 35% of NSW
Income Higher than 72% of NSW Higher than 26% of NSW
Schools — Higher than 37% of NSW
Walkability Higher than 67% of NSW Higher than 95% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 43% of NSW Higher than 45% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 55% of NSW
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 94% of NSW Higher than 98% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) — Higher than 69% of NSW
Rental yield (units) — Higher than 43% of NSW

Liveability

Coffs Harbour is more walkable (88 vs 17); Boambee scores higher overall (45 vs 33).

Boambee Coffs Harbour
Grade C
same for both
Score 45/100 33/100
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 8/10
 below-average income
decile 2/10

Risk profile

Coffs Harbour carries more crime risk (93 vs 54).

Boambee Coffs Harbour
Bushfire Low
25/100
 Low
34/100
Crime Moderate
54/100
 High
93/100
Flood Not mapped
no mapped data here
same for both
Coastal erosion None
0/100
 Moderate
57/100
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 4
within 5 km
 7
within 5 km

Schools

Boambee Coffs Harbour
Inside the suburb 1 14
Rated above peers 0 2
Rated at peers 1 5
Rated below peers 0 3

Schools in Boambee

  • Boambee Public School Government · Primary at peers

Schools in Coffs Harbour

  • Casuarina Steiner School Independent · Primary above peers
  • Lismore Diocese Online Education Centre Catholic · Secondary above peers
  • Coffs Harbour High School Government · Secondary at peers
  • Narranga Public School Government · Primary at peers
  • St Augustine's Primary School Catholic · Primary at peers
  • Tyalla Public School Government · Primary at peers

Amenities in the suburb

Boambee Coffs Harbour
Supermarkets 0 8
Cafes & restaurants 0 67
Parks & reserves 1 64
Childcare 1 23
GPs 0 11
Pharmacies 0 14
Hospitals 0 1
Police stations 0 1
Banks & Bank@Post 0 13
Fuel stations 2 8
EV chargers 0 3
Beaches 0 1
Waterways 16 54

Mobility

Coffs Harbour sits further from the CBD (525.9 km vs 522.6 km).

Boambee Coffs Harbour
Walkability score 17/100 88/100
Distance to Sydney 522.6 km 525.9 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 338 min 342 min
Public transport score 34/100
Bus
 78/100
Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 10.0
7-9am + 5-7pm
 387.8
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 1 min
scheduled, not actual
 0 min
scheduled, not actual
Electric vehicle share 0.5%
postcode 2450
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 52
postcode 2450
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.

Boambee Coffs Harbour
Car (driver) 74.0% / 76.7%
Boambee — Car (driver): 74.0% Coffs Harbour — Car (driver): 76.7%
Worked from Home 16.2% / 10.7%
Boambee — Worked from Home: 16.2% Coffs Harbour — Worked from Home: 10.7%
Car (passenger) 5.7% / 7.1%
Boambee — Car (passenger): 5.7% Coffs Harbour — Car (passenger): 7.1%
Walked Only 3.0% / 3.3%
Boambee — Walked Only: 3.0% Coffs Harbour — Walked Only: 3.3%
Bicycle 1.0% / 1.2%
Boambee — Bicycle: 1.0% Coffs Harbour — Bicycle: 1.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (76.7%).

Setting

Boambee Coffs Harbour
Elevation 27 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 8 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 5.3 km 2.7 km
3.2 km to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Boambee Coffs Harbour
Connectivity score 89/100 99/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 84%
656 premises
 99%
15,989 premises

Climate

Boambee Coffs Harbour
Annual rainfall 1,827 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Boambee Coffs Harbour
PM2.5 4.3 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 10.8 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ 0.22 pphm
same for both

Council rates

Boambee Coffs Harbour
Average residential rate $1,437/yr
same for both
Council Coffs Harbour
same for both

Federal electorate

Boambee Coffs Harbour
Division Cowper
same for both
Member Pat Conaghan
same for both
Party The Nationals
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Boambee Coffs Harbour
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Boambee

Acreage River

Coffs Harbour

Cafe Culture Coastal Parks Regional Centre

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Boambee

Boambee vs Boambee East Boambee vs Bonville Boambee vs North Boambee Valley Boambee vs Upper Orara

Other comparisons with Coffs Harbour

Coffs Harbour vs Toormina Coffs Harbour vs Boambee East Coffs Harbour vs Sawtell Coffs Harbour vs Korora Coffs Harbour vs North Boambee Valley Coffs Harbour vs Upper Orara
Full data on Boambee Full data on Coffs Harbour
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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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