Brierfield vs Urunga

Brierfield is the younger of the two, with a median age of 46 against 55 in Urunga. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Brierfield, most households are couple families. In Urunga, about half of households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Brierfield: a median of $1.65 million, against $875,000 in Urunga. On these figures, Brierfield tends to suit families with children and couples, while Urunga suits people living alone, older residents, 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

Brierfield

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • is already more of a family suburb (76% vs 45%)
  • carries lower crime risk (51/100 vs 78/100)
  • has more separate houses rather than flats (101% vs 81%)
  • But Urunga has more parks and reserves (7 vs 0)

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

  • Brierfield leaves households under less mortgage stress (23% vs 36%)
  • Urunga has cheaper houses ($875,000 vs $1,650,000)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

They split

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

  • Brierfield leaves renters under less rental stress (22% vs 32%)
  • Urunga has a bigger rental market to choose from (28% vs 14%)

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

Commuting to the city

Urunga

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a shorter drive in (322 min vs 346 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (496.5 km vs 505.9 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

They split

one each way, out of the 4 things we measure here

  • Brierfield carries lower crime risk (51/100 vs 78/100)
  • Urunga has more residents already 65 and over (34% vs 15%)

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

Investors

Urunga

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (6.2% vs -3.3%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Brierfield Urunga
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.

Brierfield Urunga
Walkability 12 / 8
Brierfield — Walkability: 12/100 Urunga — Walkability: 8/100
Safety 49 / 22
Brierfield — Safety: 49/100 Urunga — Safety: 22/100
Low fire risk 75 / 64
Brierfield — Low fire risk: 75/100 Urunga — Low fire risk: 64/100

Demographics

Urunga has more residents (3,185 vs 322); Brierfield has higher household incomes ($83,408 vs $55,692).

Brierfield Urunga
Population 322 3,185
+889% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) -3.3% +6.2%
Median age 46 55
Median household income $83,408/yr
+33% vs other
 $55,692/yr
Median weekly rent $350/wk
+3% vs other
 $340/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Brierfield Urunga
0-4 3.1% / 4.3%
Brierfield — 0-4: 3.1% Urunga — 0-4: 4.3%
5-14 14.9% / 9.5%
Brierfield — 5-14: 14.9% Urunga — 5-14: 9.5%
15-19 6.5% / 4.1%
Brierfield — 15-19: 6.5% Urunga — 15-19: 4.1%
20-24 4.7% / 2.7%
Brierfield — 20-24: 4.7% Urunga — 20-24: 2.7%
25-34 6.8% / 8.3%
Brierfield — 25-34: 6.8% Urunga — 25-34: 8.3%
35-44 11.2% / 8.3%
Brierfield — 35-44: 11.2% Urunga — 35-44: 8.3%
45-54 16.8% / 11.8%
Brierfield — 45-54: 16.8% Urunga — 45-54: 11.8%
55-64 18.9% / 17.2%
Brierfield — 55-64: 18.9% Urunga — 55-64: 17.2%
65-74 11.2% / 19.4%
Brierfield — 65-74: 11.2% Urunga — 65-74: 19.4%
75-84 4.0% / 10.6%
Brierfield — 75-84: 4.0% Urunga — 75-84: 10.6%
85+ — / 3.7%
Brierfield — 85+: not among its largest Urunga — 85+: 3.7%

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

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Brierfield 59.0% couple families
Brierfield — Couple Families: 59.0% Brierfield — Lone Person: 17.9% Brierfield — One Parent Families: 16.7% Brierfield — Group Household: 6.4% Brierfield — Other Families: 0.0%
Urunga 25.0% couple families
Urunga — Couple Families: 25.0% Urunga — Lone Person: 47.5% Urunga — One Parent Families: 20.0% Urunga — Group Household: 6.2% Urunga — 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.

Brierfield 13.6% renting
Brierfield — Owned Outright: 55.3% Brierfield — Mortgage: 31.1% Brierfield — Renting: 13.6%
Urunga 27.9% renting
Urunga — Owned Outright: 49.8% Urunga — Mortgage: 22.2% Urunga — Renting: 27.9%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Brierfield Urunga
Certificate III & IV 19.9% / 19.5%
Brierfield — Certificate III & IV: 19.9% Urunga — Certificate III & IV: 19.5%
Bachelor Degree 16.8% / 9.4%
Brierfield — Bachelor Degree: 16.8% Urunga — Bachelor Degree: 9.4%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 9.3% / 6.7%
Brierfield — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 9.3% Urunga — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.7%
Postgraduate Degree 5.0% / 2.3%
Brierfield — Postgraduate Degree: 5.0% Urunga — Postgraduate Degree: 2.3%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 3.1% / 1.9%
Brierfield — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 3.1% Urunga — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.9%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.9%).

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.

Brierfield Urunga
England 10.6% / 3.7%
Brierfield — England: 10.6% Urunga — England: 3.7%
New Zealand 2.8% / 1.0%
Brierfield — New Zealand: 2.8% Urunga — New Zealand: 1.0%
Germany 1.2% / 0.5%
Brierfield — Germany: 1.2% Urunga — Germany: 0.5%
South Africa 0.9% / 0.3%
Brierfield — South Africa: 0.9% Urunga — South Africa: 0.3%
Scotland — / 0.5%
Brierfield — Scotland: not among its largest Urunga — Scotland: 0.5%
Netherlands — / 0.3%
Brierfield — Netherlands: not among its largest Urunga — Netherlands: 0.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (10.6%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Brierfield 100.9% houses
Brierfield — Houses: 100.9% Brierfield — Flats / Apartments: 0.0% Brierfield — Townhouses: 0.0%
Urunga 80.9% houses
Urunga — Houses: 80.9% Urunga — Flats / Apartments: 13.3% Urunga — Townhouses: 5.7%
Houses Flats / Apartments Townhouses

Property market

Brierfield Urunga
Median house price $1,650,000 $875,000
Median unit price — $590,000
Median land price — $442,500
Typical days to sell (houses) — 60 days
from 40 sales

Zoning mix

Brierfield has more rural and farming land (79% vs 61%).

Brierfield Urunga
Rural and farming 79% 61%
Environmental 19% 27%
Residential 2% 9%
Parks and recreation 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

Brierfield Urunga
New dwellings approved 40
across Bellingen
same for both
Approvals change year on year +12%
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.

Brierfield Urunga
Houses — 3.4%
$672/wk on $1.02M
Units —
same for both

Ranking within NSW

Brierfield Urunga
House price Higher than 79% of NSW Higher than 37% of NSW
Income Higher than 51% of NSW Higher than 16% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 60% of NSW Higher than 53% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 17% of NSW Higher than 34% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 80% of NSW Higher than 30% of NSW
NBN connectivity Higher than 58% of NSW Higher than 65% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) — Higher than 41% of NSW

Liveability

Brierfield Urunga
Grade — D
Score — 20/100
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 7/10
 below-average income
decile 2/10

Risk profile

Urunga carries more crime risk (78 vs 51); Urunga carries more bushfire risk (36 vs 25).

Brierfield Urunga
Bushfire Low
25/100
 Low
36/100
Crime Moderate
51/100
 High
78/100
Flood Not mapped
no mapped data here
same for both
Coastal erosion None
0/100
 Moderate
66/100
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 0
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Brierfield Urunga
Inside the suburb 0 1
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0 1
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Brierfield

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

Schools in Urunga

  • Urunga Public School Government · Primary at peers

Amenities in the suburb

Brierfield Urunga
Supermarkets 0 2
Cafes & restaurants 0 8
Parks & reserves 0 7
Childcare 0 2
GPs 0 1
Pharmacies 0 1
Police stations 0 1
Banks & Bank@Post 0 2
Fuel stations 0 2
Waterways 18 20

Mobility

Brierfield sits further from the CBD (505.9 km vs 496.5 km).

Brierfield Urunga
Walkability score 12/100 8/100
Distance to Sydney 505.9 km
+2% vs other
 496.5 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 346 min 322 min
Electric vehicle share 0.9%
postcode 2454
 0.3%
postcode 2455
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 70
postcode 2454
 58
postcode 2455

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.

Brierfield Urunga
Car (driver) 70.5% / 79.1%
Brierfield — Car (driver): 70.5% Urunga — Car (driver): 79.1%
Worked from Home 23.0% / 13.2%
Brierfield — Worked from Home: 23.0% Urunga — Worked from Home: 13.2%
Walked Only 6.6% / 2.6%
Brierfield — Walked Only: 6.6% Urunga — Walked Only: 2.6%
Car (passenger) — / 4.1%
Brierfield — Car (passenger): not among its largest Urunga — Car (passenger): 4.1%
Bicycle — / 0.8%
Brierfield — Bicycle: not among its largest Urunga — Bicycle: 0.8%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (79.1%).

Setting

Brierfield Urunga
Elevation 4 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
same for both
Distance to the ocean 10.5 km 3.5 km
3.7 km to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Brierfield Urunga
Connectivity score 30/100 45/100
Most common technology Fixed wireless Fibre to the node
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
132 premises
 4%
1,786 premises

Climate

Brierfield Urunga
Annual rainfall 1,827 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Council rates

Brierfield Urunga
Average residential rate $1,592/yr
same for both
Council Bellingen
same for both

Federal electorate

Brierfield Urunga
Division Cowper
same for both
Member Pat Conaghan
same for both
Party The Nationals
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Brierfield Urunga
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Brierfield

River Rural

Urunga

Retirees River

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Brierfield

Brierfield vs Bellingen Brierfield vs Valla Brierfield vs Fernmount Brierfield vs Kalang

Other comparisons with Urunga

Urunga vs Valla Urunga vs Raleigh Urunga vs Fernmount Urunga vs Mylestom
Full data on Brierfield Full data on Urunga
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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