Byron Bay vs Ewingsdale
Byron Bay is the younger of the two, with a median age of 39 against 42 in Ewingsdale. In both, most households own their home and most homes are detached houses. In Byron Bay, about half of households are people living alone. In Ewingsdale, about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Ewingsdale: a median of $2.81 million, against $2.23 million in Byron Bay. On these figures, Byron Bay tends to suit young adults, people living alone, and buyers on a tighter budget, while Ewingsdale suits 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
- Byron Bay has more parks and reserves (15 vs 0)
- Ewingsdale is already more of a family suburb (66% vs 35%)
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
- Byron Bay has cheaper houses ($2,225,000 vs $2,812,500)
- Ewingsdale has cheaper land ($1,600,000 vs $3,125,000)
Weighs house prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.
Renters
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Byron Bay has a bigger rental market to choose from (42% vs 27%)
- Ewingsdale leaves renters under less rental stress (24% vs 38%)
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
- Byron Bay is more walkable (41/100 vs 16/100)
- Ewingsdale has a shorter drive in (482 min vs 491 min)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Byron Bay
ahead on 3 of the 5 things we measure here
- has more units and townhouses to downsize into (44% vs 5%)
- has more GPs (8 vs 0)
- is more walkable (41/100 vs 16/100)
- But Ewingsdale carries lower crime risk (56/100 vs 95/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Ewingsdale
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (24.2% vs 14.7%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Byron Bay and Ewingsdale 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
Byron Bay has more residents (6,330 vs 1,025); Ewingsdale has higher household incomes ($132,756 vs $81,172).
| Byron Bay | Ewingsdale | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 6,330 +84% vs other | 1,025 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +14.7% | +24.2% |
| Median age | 39 | 42 |
| Median household income | $81,172/yr | $132,756/yr +64% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $600/wk same for both | |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (21.7%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (21.2%).
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 (6.1%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Byron Bay | Ewingsdale | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $2,225,000 | $2,812,500 |
| Median unit price | $1,390,000 | — |
| Median land price | $3,125,000 | $1,600,000 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 41 days from 84 sales | 138 days from 6 sales |
Zoning mix
Ewingsdale has more rural and farming land (76% vs 12%); Byron Bay has more land zoned for conservation (48% vs 4%).
| Byron Bay | Ewingsdale | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 12% | 76% |
| Environmental | 48% | 4% |
| Residential | 17% | 12% |
| Other and special use | 9% | 4% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 6% | 4% |
| Parks and recreation | 5% | 0% |
| Industrial | 3% | 0% |
| Commercial | 2% | 0% |
| 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
| Byron Bay | Ewingsdale | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 129 across Byron same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -65% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Byron Bay | Ewingsdale | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 3.1% $1,425/wk on $2.38M | — |
| Units | 3.5% $850/wk on $1.26M | — |
Ranking within NSW
| Byron Bay | Ewingsdale | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 90% of NSW | Higher than 92% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 48% of NSW | Higher than 89% of NSW |
| Schools | Higher than 19% of NSW | — |
| Walkability | Higher than 79% of NSW | Higher than 66% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 5% of NSW | Higher than 15% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 93% of NSW same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 71% of NSW | Higher than 63% of NSW |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 26% of NSW | — |
| Rental yield (units) | Higher than 10% of NSW | — |
Liveability
Byron Bay is more walkable (41 vs 16); Ewingsdale scores higher overall (40 vs 27).
| Byron Bay | Ewingsdale | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | D | C |
| Score | 27/100 | 40/100 |
| Socio-economic band | advantaged area decile 8/10 | very advantaged area decile 9/10 |
Risk profile
Byron Bay carries more crime risk (95 vs 56).
| Byron Bay | Ewingsdale | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Moderate 57/100 | Moderate 51/100 |
| Crime | High 95/100 | Moderate 56/100 |
| Flood | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | Moderate 61/100 | None 0/100 |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 0 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Byron Bay | Ewingsdale | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 4 | 1 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 1 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 3 | 0 |
Schools in Byron Bay
- St Finbarr's Primary School Catholic · Primary at peers
- Byron Bay High School Government · Secondary below peers
- Byron Bay Public School Government · Primary below peers
- Byron Community Primary School Independent · Primary below peers
Schools in Ewingsdale
- Cape Byron Rudolf Steiner School Independent · Combined at peers
Amenities in the suburb
| Byron Bay | Ewingsdale | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 7 | 0 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 74 | 1 |
| Parks & reserves | 15 | 0 |
| Childcare | 6 | 0 |
| GPs | 8 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 4 | 0 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 6 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 3 | 0 |
| EV chargers | 2 | 1 |
| Beaches | 2 | 0 |
| Waterways | 12 | 11 |
Mobility
| Byron Bay | Ewingsdale | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 41/100 | 16/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 759.6 km | 758.3 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 491 min | 482 min |
| Public transport score | 79/100 Bus | 38/100 Bus |
| Peak arrivals per hour | 68.8 7-9am + 5-7pm | 15.2 7-9am + 5-7pm |
| Median peak wait | 0 min scheduled, not actual | 1 min scheduled, not actual |
| Electric vehicle share | 1.9% postcode 2481 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 61 postcode 2481 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 (53.7%).
Setting
| Byron Bay | Ewingsdale | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 6 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 15 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 1.2 km 1.5 km to a named beach | 4.0 km 4.2 km to a named beach |
NBN connectivity
| Byron Bay | Ewingsdale | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 62/100 | 31/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the node | Fixed wireless |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 31% 5,639 premises | 2% 448 premises |
Climate
| Byron Bay | Ewingsdale | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,569 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 29.1°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 9.1°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Byron Bay | Ewingsdale | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,577/yr same for both | |
| Council | Byron same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Byron Bay | Ewingsdale | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Richmond same for both | |
| Member | Justine Elliot same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Byron Bay | Ewingsdale | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Byron Bay
Other comparisons with Ewingsdale
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.