Bunyah vs Firefly
Firefly is the younger of the two, with a median age of 51 against 56 in Bunyah. In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and about half of households are couple families. On these figures, Bunyah tends to suit people living alone.
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
Firefly
ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here
- carries lower crime risk (29/100 vs 75/100)
- is already more of a family suburb (69% vs 58%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Bunyah
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (19% vs 27%)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Bunyah
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($316/wk vs $380/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Bunyah
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- sits closer to the CBD (283.6 km vs 298.8 km)
- has a shorter drive in (203 min vs 212 min)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Firefly
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (29/100 vs 75/100)
Weighs 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
Bunyah and Firefly drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.
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.
Demographics
Firefly has more residents (247 vs 130); Firefly rents higher ($380/wk vs $316/wk).
| Bunyah | Firefly | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 130 | 247 +90% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | -7.1% | -9.2% |
| Median age | 56 | 51 |
| Median household income | $62,816/yr | $71,500/yr +14% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $316/wk | $380/wk +20% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.0%).
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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (5.4%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (23.1%).
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Bunyah | Firefly | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,085,000 | $1,005,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | $692,500 | — |
Zoning mix
| Bunyah | Firefly | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 100% same for both | |
| 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
| Bunyah | Firefly | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 743 across Mid-Coast same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +327% same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Bunyah | Firefly | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 56% of NSW | Higher than 52% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 25% of NSW | Higher than 36% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 32% of NSW | Higher than 50% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 25% of NSW | Higher than 38% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 25% of NSW same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 38% of NSW | Higher than 54% of NSW |
Liveability
| Bunyah | Firefly | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | mid-range socio-economic decile 4/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
Bunyah carries more crime risk (75 vs 29); Bunyah carries more bushfire risk (74 vs 44).
| Bunyah | Firefly | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | High 74/100 | Moderate 44/100 |
| Crime | High 75/100 | Low 29/100 |
| 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 | 0 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Bunyah | Firefly | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 same for both | |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Amenities in the suburb
| Bunyah | Firefly | |
|---|---|---|
| Waterways | 43 | 18 |
Mobility
Firefly sits further from the CBD (298.8 km vs 283.6 km).
| Bunyah | Firefly | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 | 6/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 283.6 km | 298.8 km +5% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 203 min | 212 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.2% postcode 2429 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 62 postcode 2429 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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (67.6%).
Setting
| Bunyah | Firefly | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 105 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 70 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 28.2 km | 26.9 km |
NBN connectivity
| Bunyah | Firefly | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 26/100 | 30/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 94 premises | 0% 133 premises |
Climate
| Bunyah | Firefly | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,331 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Bunyah | Firefly | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,560/yr same for both | |
| Council | Mid-Coast same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Bunyah | Firefly | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Lyne same for both | |
| Member | Alison Penfold same for both | |
| Party | The Nationals same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Bunyah | Firefly | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Bunyah
Other comparisons with Firefly
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.