Booragul vs Teralba

Teralba is the younger of the two, with a median age of 37 against 51 in Booragul. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Teralba, about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Teralba: a median of $1.05 million, against $870,000 in Booragul, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Booragul tends to suit people living alone, older residents, and buyers on a tighter budget, while Teralba 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

  • Booragul has more schools inside the suburb (5 vs 1)
  • Teralba is already more of a family suburb (65% vs 52%)

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

  • Booragul has cheaper houses ($870,000 vs $1,050,000)
  • Teralba leaves households under less mortgage stress (24% vs 34%)

Weighs house prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Booragul

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (40% vs 23%)
  • has cheaper rent ($320/wk vs $363/wk)
  • But Teralba leaves renters under less rental stress (18% vs 29%)

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

Commuting to the city

Booragul

ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (61/100 vs 17/100)
  • has a shorter drive in (109 min vs 119 min)

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

Downsizers and retirees

Booragul

ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (61/100 vs 17/100)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (35% vs 18%)

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

Investors

Teralba

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (67.1% vs 26.7%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Booragul Teralba
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.

Booragul Teralba
Walkability 61 / 17
Booragul — Walkability: 61/100 Teralba — Walkability: 17/100
Safety 16 / 21
Booragul — Safety: 16/100 Teralba — Safety: 21/100
Low fire risk 100 / 30
Booragul — Low fire risk: 100/100 Teralba — Low fire risk: 30/100

Demographics

Teralba has higher household incomes ($107,120 vs $57,928); Teralba has more residents (2,654 vs 1,623).

Booragul Teralba
Population 1,623 2,654
+64% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +26.7% +67.1%
Median age 51 37
Median household income $57,928/yr $107,120/yr
+85% vs other
Median weekly rent $320/wk $363/wk
+13% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Booragul Teralba
0-4 4.4% / 8.1%
Booragul — 0-4: 4.4% Teralba — 0-4: 8.1%
5-14 10.1% / 12.1%
Booragul — 5-14: 10.1% Teralba — 5-14: 12.1%
15-19 5.4% / 5.2%
Booragul — 15-19: 5.4% Teralba — 15-19: 5.2%
20-24 5.2% / 4.8%
Booragul — 20-24: 5.2% Teralba — 20-24: 4.8%
25-34 10.1% / 16.0%
Booragul — 25-34: 10.1% Teralba — 25-34: 16.0%
35-44 7.3% / 14.1%
Booragul — 35-44: 7.3% Teralba — 35-44: 14.1%
45-54 11.4% / 10.8%
Booragul — 45-54: 11.4% Teralba — 45-54: 10.8%
55-64 11.2% / 11.7%
Booragul — 55-64: 11.2% Teralba — 55-64: 11.7%
65-74 12.5% / 8.5%
Booragul — 65-74: 12.5% Teralba — 65-74: 8.5%
75-84 12.9% / 5.6%
Booragul — 75-84: 12.9% Teralba — 75-84: 5.6%
85+ 9.2% / 3.8%
Booragul — 85+: 9.2% Teralba — 85+: 3.8%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.0%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Booragul 27.9% couple families
Booragul — Couple Families: 27.9% Booragul — Lone Person: 41.8% Booragul — One Parent Families: 24.0% Booragul — Group Household: 4.5% Booragul — Other Families: 1.8%
Teralba 48.9% couple families
Teralba — Couple Families: 48.9% Teralba — Lone Person: 30.1% Teralba — One Parent Families: 16.1% Teralba — Group Household: 3.3% Teralba — Other Families: 1.7%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Booragul 40.5% renting
Booragul — Owned Outright: 31.3% Booragul — Mortgage: 28.1% Booragul — Renting: 40.5%
Teralba 22.7% renting
Teralba — Owned Outright: 27.8% Teralba — Mortgage: 49.5% Teralba — Renting: 22.7%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Booragul Teralba
Certificate III & IV 16.3% / 20.5%
Booragul — Certificate III & IV: 16.3% Teralba — Certificate III & IV: 20.5%
Bachelor Degree 6.7% / 9.3%
Booragul — Bachelor Degree: 6.7% Teralba — Bachelor Degree: 9.3%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 5.4% / 7.8%
Booragul — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.4% Teralba — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.8%
Postgraduate Degree 1.7% / 2.4%
Booragul — Postgraduate Degree: 1.7% Teralba — Postgraduate Degree: 2.4%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.0% / 1.8%
Booragul — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.0% Teralba — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.8%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.5%).

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.

Booragul Teralba
England 2.6% / 2.7%
Booragul — England: 2.6% Teralba — England: 2.7%
New Zealand 1.5% / 1.1%
Booragul — New Zealand: 1.5% Teralba — New Zealand: 1.1%
Germany 0.9% / 0.5%
Booragul — Germany: 0.9% Teralba — Germany: 0.5%
India 0.3% / 0.7%
Booragul — India: 0.3% Teralba — India: 0.7%
Philippines 0.4% / —
Booragul — Philippines: 0.4% Teralba — Philippines: not among its largest
South Africa — / 0.4%
Booragul — South Africa: not among its largest Teralba — South Africa: 0.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (2.7%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Booragul 84.9% houses
Booragul — Houses: 84.9% Booragul — Townhouses: 12.5% Booragul — Flats / Apartments: 2.6%
Teralba 86.7% houses
Teralba — Houses: 86.7% Teralba — Townhouses: 7.1% Teralba — Flats / Apartments: 6.2%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Booragul Teralba
Median house price $870,000 $1,050,000
Median unit price — $244,000
Median land price $607,750 $550,000
Typical days to sell (houses) 32 days
from 12 sales
 23 days
from 24 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.

Booragul Teralba
3 bed $825K / $875K
Booragul — 3 bed: $825K (27 sales) Teralba — 3 bed: $875K (18 sales)

27 vs 18 sales

4 bed $1.1M / $1.1M
Booragul — 4 bed: $1.1M (9 sales) Teralba — 4 bed: $1.1M (24 sales)

9 vs 24 sales

Zoning mix

Teralba has more land zoned for conservation (57% vs 6%).

Booragul Teralba
Residential 66% 11%
Environmental 6% 57%
Infrastructure and transport 11% 22%
Parks and recreation 16% 4%
Industrial 0% 3%
Rural and farming 0% 2%
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

Booragul Teralba
New dwellings approved 1,212
across Lake Macquarie
same for both
Approvals change year on year +2%
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.

Booragul Teralba
Houses — 3.5%
$710/wk on $1.05M
Units —
same for both

Ranking within NSW

Booragul Teralba
House price Higher than 39% of NSW Higher than 51% of NSW
Income Higher than 18% of NSW Higher than 73% of NSW
Schools Higher than 44% of NSW —
Walkability Higher than 85% of NSW Higher than 68% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 35% of NSW Higher than 70% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 79% of NSW
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 78% of NSW Higher than 86% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) — Higher than 46% of NSW

Liveability

Booragul is more walkable (61 vs 17); Booragul scores higher overall (41 vs 28).

Booragul Teralba
Grade C D
Score 41/100 28/100
Socio-economic band below-average income
decile 2/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 6/10

Risk profile

Teralba carries more bushfire risk (70 vs 0).

Booragul Teralba
Bushfire None
0/100
 High
70/100
Crime High
84/100
 High
79/100
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 5
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Booragul Teralba
Inside the suburb 5 1
Rated above peers 1 0
Rated at peers 0 1
Rated below peers 2 0

Schools in Booragul

  • Booragul Public School Government · Primary above peers
  • Lake Macquarie High School Government · Secondary below peers
  • St Paul's Catholic College Catholic · Secondary below peers
  • Booragul Primary School Catholic · Primary
  • Five Islands School Government · Combined · Special school

Schools in Teralba

  • Teralba Public School Government · Primary at peers

Amenities in the suburb

Booragul Teralba
Cafes & restaurants 1
same for both
Parks & reserves 0 2
Childcare 1
same for both
Waterways 0 6

Mobility

Booragul Teralba
Walkability score 61/100 17/100
Distance to Sydney 141.6 km 140.4 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 109 min 119 min
Public transport score 79/100
Rail · Bus
 66/100
Rail · Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 59.0
7-9am + 5-7pm
 22.5
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 1 min
scheduled, not actual
same for both
Electric vehicle share 0.9%
postcode 2284
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 53
postcode 2284
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.

Booragul Teralba
Car (driver) 76.4% / 70.8%
Booragul — Car (driver): 76.4% Teralba — Car (driver): 70.8%
Worked from Home 15.6% / 24.1%
Booragul — Worked from Home: 15.6% Teralba — Worked from Home: 24.1%
Car (passenger) 5.4% / 3.5%
Booragul — Car (passenger): 5.4% Teralba — Car (passenger): 3.5%
Walked Only 1.2% / 0.5%
Booragul — Walked Only: 1.2% Teralba — Walked Only: 0.5%
Train 0.7% / 0.6%
Booragul — Train: 0.7% Teralba — Train: 0.6%
Bus — / 0.6%
Booragul — Bus: not among its largest Teralba — Bus: 0.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (76.4%).

Setting

Booragul Teralba
Elevation 17 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 61 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 9.9 km 12.3 km

NBN connectivity

Booragul Teralba
Connectivity score 71/100 76/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node Fibre to the premises
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 47%
783 premises
 56%
1,305 premises

Climate

Booragul Teralba
Annual rainfall 1,025 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 25.4°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 10.2°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Booragul Teralba
PM2.5 6.1 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 16.5 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ 0.53 pphm
same for both

Council rates

Booragul Teralba
Average residential rate $1,708/yr
same for both
Council Lake Macquarie
same for both

Federal electorate

Booragul Teralba
Division Hunter
same for both
Member Dan Repacholi
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Booragul Teralba
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Booragul

Quiet Retirees

Teralba

Acreage Trains

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Booragul

Booragul vs Fennell Bay Booragul vs Woodrising Booragul vs Marmong Point

Other comparisons with Teralba

Teralba vs Edgeworth Teralba vs Speers Point Teralba vs Fennell Bay Teralba vs Barnsley Teralba vs Boolaroo Teralba vs Argenton
Full data on Booragul Full data on Teralba
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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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