Cardiff Heights vs New Lambton Heights
New Lambton Heights is the younger of the two, with a median age of 41 against 44 in Cardiff Heights. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In New Lambton Heights, most households are couple families. Houses cost more in New Lambton Heights: a median of $1.28 million, against $910,000 in Cardiff Heights, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Cardiff Heights tends to suit people living alone, older residents, and buyers on a tighter budget, while New Lambton Heights 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
New Lambton Heights
ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more schools inside the suburb (2 vs 0)
- is already more of a family suburb (78% vs 56%)
- has more separate houses rather than flats (98% vs 82%)
- But Cardiff Heights carries lower crime risk (30/100 vs 64/100)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Cardiff Heights
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has cheaper units ($460,000 vs $965,000)
- has cheaper houses ($910,000 vs $1,280,000)
- But New Lambton Heights leaves households under less mortgage stress (20% vs 26%)
Weighs house prices, unit prices, and mortgage stress.
Renters
Cardiff Heights
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($380/wk vs $483/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
New Lambton Heights
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is more walkable (57/100 vs 46/100)
Weighs distance, drive time, rail access, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Cardiff Heights
ahead on 3 of the 5 things we measure here
- has more units and townhouses to downsize into (18% vs 2%)
- carries lower crime risk (30/100 vs 64/100)
- has more residents already 65 and over (25% vs 16%)
- But New Lambton Heights has more GPs (2 vs 0)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Where they sit
Cardiff Heights and New Lambton Heights 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
New Lambton Heights has more residents (2,610 vs 1,384); New Lambton Heights has higher household incomes ($142,584 vs $96,200).
| Cardiff Heights | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,384 | 2,610 +89% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | — | +6.4% |
| Median age | 44 | 41 |
| Median household income | $96,200/yr | $142,584/yr +48% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $380/wk | $483/wk +27% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.6%).
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 (20.7%).
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 (3.7%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Cardiff Heights | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $910,000 | $1,280,000 |
| Median unit price | $460,000 | $965,000 |
| Median land price | — | $560,000 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 34 days from 4 sales | 38 days from 15 sales |
Zoning mix
| Cardiff Heights | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Residential | 54% | 38% |
| Environmental | 37% | 30% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 1% | 31% |
| Rural and farming | 7% | 0% |
| Parks and recreation | 2% | 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
| Cardiff Heights | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 1,212 across Lake Macquarie | 912 across Newcastle |
| Approvals change year on year | +2% | +77% |
Gross rental yield
| Cardiff Heights | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | — | 3.3% $900/wk on $1.44M |
| Units | — same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Cardiff Heights | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 48% of NSW | Higher than 67% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 63% of NSW | Higher than 92% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 80% of NSW | Higher than 83% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 65% of NSW | Higher than 71% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 68% of NSW | Higher than 87% of NSW |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 74% of NSW | Higher than 77% of NSW |
| Rental yield (houses) | — | Higher than 32% of NSW |
Liveability
Cardiff Heights scores higher overall (67 vs 54); New Lambton Heights is more walkable (57 vs 46).
| Cardiff Heights | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | B same for both | |
| Score | 67/100 | 54/100 |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 9/10 | very advantaged area decile 10/10 |
Risk profile
New Lambton Heights carries more bushfire risk (46 vs 0); New Lambton Heights carries more crime risk (64 vs 30).
| Cardiff Heights | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 | Moderate 46/100 |
| Crime | Low 30/100 | Moderate 64/100 |
| 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 | 1 within 5 km | 4 within 5 km |
Schools
| Cardiff Heights | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 | 2 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
| Universities within 10 km | 2 The University of Newcastle (Callaghan), 5.3 km | 2 The University of Newcastle (Callaghan), 4.1 km |
| Full-time students aged 15–24 | 1.7% | 2.6% |
Schools in Cardiff Heights
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Schools in New Lambton Heights
- New Lambton Heights Infants School Government · Primary
- John Hunter Hospital School Government · Combined · Special school
Amenities in the suburb
| Cardiff Heights | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Cafes & restaurants | 1 same for both | |
| Parks & reserves | 1 | 2 |
| Childcare | 0 | 1 |
| GPs | 0 | 2 |
| Pharmacies | 0 | 3 |
| Hospitals | 0 | 2 |
| Waterways | 0 | 2 |
Mobility
| Cardiff Heights | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 46/100 | 57/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 153.1 km | 152.8 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 115 min | 113 min |
| Public transport score | 79/100 Bus same for both | |
| Peak arrivals per hour | 51.5 7-9am + 5-7pm | 153.0 7-9am + 5-7pm |
| Median peak wait | 1 min scheduled, not actual | 0 min scheduled, not actual |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.7% postcode 2285 | 1.4% postcode 2305 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 50 postcode 2285 | 38 postcode 2305 |
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 (62.8%).
Setting
| Cardiff Heights | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 50 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 84 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 7.0 km | 6.1 km |
NBN connectivity
| Cardiff Heights | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 66/100 | 71/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the node same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 38% 578 premises | 47% 1,025 premises |
Climate
| Cardiff Heights | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| 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)
| Cardiff Heights | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| 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
| Cardiff Heights | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,708/yr | $1,783/yr |
| Council | Lake Macquarie | Newcastle |
Federal electorate
| Cardiff Heights | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Newcastle same for both | |
| Member | Sharon Claydon same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Cardiff Heights | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Cardiff Heights
New Lambton Heights
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Cardiff Heights
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.