Cardiff Heights vs Rankin Park

Rankin Park is the younger of the two, with a median age of 40 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 Rankin Park, about half of households are couple families. On these figures, Cardiff Heights 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

Rankin Park

ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here

  • is already more of a family suburb (71% vs 56%)
  • has more separate houses rather than flats (99% vs 82%)

Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.

First-home buyers

Too close to call

Nothing among the 2 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Cardiff Heights

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($380/wk vs $450/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Rankin Park

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is more walkable (56/100 vs 46/100)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

They split

one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here

  • Cardiff Heights has more units and townhouses to downsize into (18% vs 1%)
  • Rankin Park is more walkable (56/100 vs 46/100)

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

Where they sit

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

Cardiff Heights Rankin Park
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.

Cardiff Heights Rankin Park
Walkability 46 / 56
Cardiff Heights — Walkability: 46/100 Rankin Park — Walkability: 56/100
Safety 70 / 69
Cardiff Heights — Safety: 70/100 Rankin Park — Safety: 69/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Cardiff Heights — Low fire risk: 100/100 Rankin Park — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Rankin Park has more residents (2,547 vs 1,384); Rankin Park has higher household incomes ($115,128 vs $96,200).

Cardiff Heights Rankin Park
Population 1,384 2,547
+84% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) — +3.5%
Median age 44 40
Median household income $96,200/yr $115,128/yr
+20% vs other
Median weekly rent $380/wk $450/wk
+18% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Cardiff Heights Rankin Park
0-4 5.1% / 6.6%
Cardiff Heights — 0-4: 5.1% Rankin Park — 0-4: 6.6%
5-14 11.8% / 14.2%
Cardiff Heights — 5-14: 11.8% Rankin Park — 5-14: 14.2%
15-19 5.5% / 5.7%
Cardiff Heights — 15-19: 5.5% Rankin Park — 15-19: 5.7%
20-24 5.7% / 4.5%
Cardiff Heights — 20-24: 5.7% Rankin Park — 20-24: 4.5%
25-34 10.7% / 11.6%
Cardiff Heights — 25-34: 10.7% Rankin Park — 25-34: 11.6%
35-44 12.3% / 15.0%
Cardiff Heights — 35-44: 12.3% Rankin Park — 35-44: 15.0%
45-54 12.3% / 12.0%
Cardiff Heights — 45-54: 12.3% Rankin Park — 45-54: 12.0%
55-64 12.1% / 9.7%
Cardiff Heights — 55-64: 12.1% Rankin Park — 55-64: 9.7%
65-74 11.0% / 12.6%
Cardiff Heights — 65-74: 11.0% Rankin Park — 65-74: 12.6%
75-84 7.8% / 7.6%
Cardiff Heights — 75-84: 7.8% Rankin Park — 75-84: 7.6%
85+ 5.9% / 1.3%
Cardiff Heights — 85+: 5.9% Rankin Park — 85+: 1.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (15.0%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Cardiff Heights 43.0% couple families
Cardiff Heights — Couple Families: 43.0% Cardiff Heights — Lone Person: 37.8% Cardiff Heights — One Parent Families: 13.2% Cardiff Heights — Group Household: 4.4% Cardiff Heights — Other Families: 1.6%
Rankin Park 52.5% couple families
Rankin Park — Couple Families: 52.5% Rankin Park — Lone Person: 23.1% Rankin Park — One Parent Families: 18.1% Rankin Park — Group Household: 4.2% Rankin Park — Other Families: 2.2%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Cardiff Heights 16.5% renting
Cardiff Heights — Owned Outright: 41.4% Cardiff Heights — Mortgage: 42.1% Cardiff Heights — Renting: 16.5%
Rankin Park 12.0% renting
Rankin Park — Owned Outright: 42.8% Rankin Park — Mortgage: 45.3% Rankin Park — Renting: 12.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Cardiff Heights Rankin Park
Bachelor Degree 15.3% / 17.7%
Cardiff Heights — Bachelor Degree: 15.3% Rankin Park — Bachelor Degree: 17.7%
Certificate III & IV 15.3% / 14.0%
Cardiff Heights — Certificate III & IV: 15.3% Rankin Park — Certificate III & IV: 14.0%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.1% / 8.4%
Cardiff Heights — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.1% Rankin Park — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.4%
Postgraduate Degree 5.2% / 5.7%
Cardiff Heights — Postgraduate Degree: 5.2% Rankin Park — Postgraduate Degree: 5.7%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.5% / 2.9%
Cardiff Heights — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.5% Rankin Park — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.9%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.7%).

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.

Cardiff Heights Rankin Park
England 3.7% / 2.1%
Cardiff Heights — England: 3.7% Rankin Park — England: 2.1%
New Zealand 0.8% / 0.8%
Cardiff Heights — New Zealand: 0.8% Rankin Park — New Zealand: 0.8%
Germany 0.7% / 0.6%
Cardiff Heights — Germany: 0.7% Rankin Park — Germany: 0.6%
India 0.6% / 0.5%
Cardiff Heights — India: 0.6% Rankin Park — India: 0.5%
China 0.4% / 0.7%
Cardiff Heights — China: 0.4% Rankin Park — China: 0.7%
Philippines — / 0.7%
Cardiff Heights — Philippines: not among its largest Rankin Park — Philippines: 0.7%
Netherlands 0.6% / —
Cardiff Heights — Netherlands: 0.6% Rankin Park — Netherlands: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (3.7%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Cardiff Heights 81.9% houses
Cardiff Heights — Houses: 81.9% Cardiff Heights — Townhouses: 17.5% Cardiff Heights — Flats / Apartments: 0.6%
Rankin Park 99.2% houses
Rankin Park — Houses: 99.2% Rankin Park — Townhouses: 1.2% Rankin Park — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Cardiff Heights Rankin Park
Median house price $910,000 $960,000
Median unit price $460,000 —
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) 34 days
from 4 sales
 10 days
from 16 sales

Zoning mix

Cardiff Heights has more land zoned for conservation (37% vs 26%).

Cardiff Heights Rankin Park
Residential 54% 69%
Environmental 37% 26%
Rural and farming 7% 0%
Parks and recreation 2% 3%
Infrastructure and transport 1%
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

Cardiff Heights Rankin Park
New dwellings approved 1,212
across Lake Macquarie
 912
across Newcastle
Approvals change year on year +2% +77%

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.

Cardiff Heights Rankin Park
Houses — 4.3%
$780/wk on $938K
Units —
same for both

Ranking within NSW

Cardiff Heights Rankin Park
House price Higher than 48% of NSW Higher than 40% of NSW
Income Higher than 63% of NSW Higher than 79% 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 82% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 68% of NSW Higher than 76% of NSW
NBN connectivity Higher than 74% of NSW
same for both
Rental yield (houses) — Higher than 86% of NSW

Liveability

Rankin Park is more walkable (56 vs 46).

Cardiff Heights Rankin Park
Grade B
same for both
Score 67/100 68/100
Socio-economic band very advantaged area
decile 9/10
same for both

Risk profile

Cardiff Heights Rankin Park
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime Low
30/100
 Low
31/100
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
 3
within 5 km

Schools

Cardiff Heights Rankin Park
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
Universities within 10 km 2
The University of Newcastle (Callaghan), 5.3 km
 2
The University of Newcastle (Callaghan), 4.2 km
Full-time students aged 15–24 1.7% 2.1%

Amenities in the suburb

Cardiff Heights Rankin Park
Cafes & restaurants 1 0
Parks & reserves 1 2
Childcare 0 2
Waterways 0 9

Mobility

Cardiff Heights Rankin Park
Walkability score 46/100 56/100
Distance to Sydney 153.1 km 152.6 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 115 min
same for both
Public transport score 79/100
Bus
 78/100
Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 51.5
7-9am + 5-7pm
 43.2
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 1 min
scheduled, not actual
same for both
Electric vehicle share 0.7%
postcode 2285
 0.9%
postcode 2287
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 50
postcode 2285
 42
postcode 2287

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.

Cardiff Heights Rankin Park
Car (driver) 62.8% / 61.2%
Cardiff Heights — Car (driver): 62.8% Rankin Park — Car (driver): 61.2%
Worked from Home 32.3% / 33.6%
Cardiff Heights — Worked from Home: 32.3% Rankin Park — Worked from Home: 33.6%
Car (passenger) 2.1% / 3.2%
Cardiff Heights — Car (passenger): 2.1% Rankin Park — Car (passenger): 3.2%
Walked Only 0.8% / 1.2%
Cardiff Heights — Walked Only: 0.8% Rankin Park — Walked Only: 1.2%
Bus 0.8% / 0.6%
Cardiff Heights — Bus: 0.8% Rankin Park — Bus: 0.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (62.8%).

Setting

Cardiff Heights Rankin Park
Elevation 50 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 60 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 7.0 km 6.7 km

NBN connectivity

Cardiff Heights Rankin Park
Connectivity score 66/100
same for both
Most common technology Fibre to the node
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 38%
578 premises
 38%
1,007 premises

Climate

Cardiff Heights Rankin Park
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 Rankin Park
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 Rankin Park
Average residential rate $1,708/yr $1,783/yr
Council Lake Macquarie Newcastle

Federal electorate

Cardiff Heights Rankin Park
Division Newcastle
same for both
Member Sharon Claydon
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Cardiff Heights Rankin Park
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Cardiff Heights

Professionals River

Rankin Park

Large Blocks Professionals River

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Cardiff Heights

Cardiff Heights vs Cardiff Cardiff Heights vs Elermore Vale Cardiff Heights vs Glendale Cardiff Heights vs New Lambton Heights Cardiff Heights vs Garden Suburb

Other comparisons with Rankin Park

Rankin Park vs Elermore Vale Rankin Park vs New Lambton Heights
Full data on Cardiff Heights Full data on Rankin Park
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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