Cartwright vs Lurnea

Lurnea is the younger of the two, with a median age of 32 against 35 in Cartwright. In both, most homes are detached houses. In Cartwright, most households rent. In Lurnea, most households own their home and about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Lurnea: a median of $1.13 million, against $975,000 in Cartwright, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Cartwright tends to suit renters and people living alone, while Lurnea 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

Lurnea

ahead on 6 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more childcare (10 vs 1)
  • has more schools inside the suburb (3 vs 1)
  • carries lower crime risk (60/100 vs 91/100)

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

  • Cartwright has cheaper houses ($975,000 vs $1,132,500)
  • Lurnea leaves households under less mortgage stress (39% vs 49%)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Cartwright

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has cheaper rent ($225/wk vs $380/wk)
  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (64% vs 43%)

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

Commuting to the city

Cartwright

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is more walkable (82/100 vs 68/100)

Weighs distance, drive time, rail access, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Cartwright

ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here

  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (42% vs 25%)
  • is more walkable (82/100 vs 68/100)
  • But Lurnea carries lower crime risk (60/100 vs 91/100)

Weighs smaller dwellings, 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

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

Cartwright Lurnea
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.

Cartwright Lurnea
Walkability 82 / 68
Cartwright — Walkability: 82/100 Lurnea — Walkability: 68/100
Safety 9 / 40
Cartwright — Safety: 9/100 Lurnea — Safety: 40/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Cartwright — Low fire risk: 100/100 Lurnea — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Lurnea has more residents (10,057 vs 2,616); Lurnea rents higher ($380/wk vs $225/wk).

Cartwright Lurnea
Population 2,616 10,057
+284% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +10.4% +8.0%
Median age 35 32
Median household income $42,952/yr $64,428/yr
+50% vs other
Median weekly rent $225/wk $380/wk
+69% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Cartwright Lurnea
0-4 7.3% / 7.8%
Cartwright — 0-4: 7.3% Lurnea — 0-4: 7.8%
5-14 15.5% / 16.8%
Cartwright — 5-14: 15.5% Lurnea — 5-14: 16.8%
15-19 6.4% / 7.3%
Cartwright — 15-19: 6.4% Lurnea — 15-19: 7.3%
20-24 6.9% / 6.6%
Cartwright — 20-24: 6.9% Lurnea — 20-24: 6.6%
25-34 12.6% / 14.1%
Cartwright — 25-34: 12.6% Lurnea — 25-34: 14.1%
35-44 12.7% / 12.8%
Cartwright — 35-44: 12.7% Lurnea — 35-44: 12.8%
45-54 11.6% / 11.0%
Cartwright — 45-54: 11.6% Lurnea — 45-54: 11.0%
55-64 13.0% / 10.6%
Cartwright — 55-64: 13.0% Lurnea — 55-64: 10.6%
65-74 6.9% / 7.3%
Cartwright — 65-74: 6.9% Lurnea — 65-74: 7.3%
75-84 5.4% / 4.3%
Cartwright — 75-84: 5.4% Lurnea — 75-84: 4.3%
85+ 1.8% / 1.3%
Cartwright — 85+: 1.8% Lurnea — 85+: 1.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.8%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Cartwright 31.7% couple families
Cartwright — Couple Families: 31.7% Cartwright — Lone Person: 39.0% Cartwright — One Parent Families: 25.2% Cartwright — Group Household: 2.7% Cartwright — Other Families: 1.4%
Lurnea 49.3% couple families
Lurnea — Couple Families: 49.3% Lurnea — Lone Person: 23.6% Lurnea — One Parent Families: 23.3% Lurnea — Group Household: 1.8% Lurnea — Other Families: 2.0%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Cartwright 63.8% renting
Cartwright — Owned Outright: 16.1% Cartwright — Mortgage: 20.0% Cartwright — Renting: 63.8%
Lurnea 43.0% renting
Lurnea — Owned Outright: 25.3% Lurnea — Mortgage: 31.6% Lurnea — Renting: 43.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

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.

Cartwright Lurnea
Iraq 9.4% / 10.2%
Cartwright — Iraq: 9.4% Lurnea — Iraq: 10.2%
Lebanon 4.0% / 6.3%
Cartwright — Lebanon: 4.0% Lurnea — Lebanon: 6.3%
Vietnam 6.1% / 3.4%
Cartwright — Vietnam: 6.1% Lurnea — Vietnam: 3.4%
Fiji 1.6% / 2.1%
Cartwright — Fiji: 1.6% Lurnea — Fiji: 2.1%
New Zealand 2.3% / 1.3%
Cartwright — New Zealand: 2.3% Lurnea — New Zealand: 1.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (10.2%).

Qualifications

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

Cartwright Lurnea
Certificate III & IV 9.2% / 9.1%
Cartwright — Certificate III & IV: 9.2% Lurnea — Certificate III & IV: 9.1%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 4.8% / 6.4%
Cartwright — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 4.8% Lurnea — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.4%
Bachelor Degree 3.9% / 6.3%
Cartwright — Bachelor Degree: 3.9% Lurnea — Bachelor Degree: 6.3%
Postgraduate Degree 0.9% / 1.8%
Cartwright — Postgraduate Degree: 0.9% Lurnea — Postgraduate Degree: 1.8%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 0.2% / 0.5%
Cartwright — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 0.2% Lurnea — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 0.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (9.2%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Cartwright 58.0% houses
Cartwright — Houses: 58.0% Cartwright — Flats / Apartments: 38.1% Cartwright — Townhouses: 3.9%
Lurnea 74.9% houses
Lurnea — Houses: 74.9% Lurnea — Flats / Apartments: 3.4% Lurnea — Townhouses: 21.7%
Houses Flats / Apartments Townhouses

Property market

Cartwright Lurnea
Median house price $975,000 $1,132,500
Median unit price — $740,750
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) 24 days
from 10 sales
 23 days
from 45 sales

House price by bedroom count

Only bed counts both suburbs published enough sales for. Sale counts are shown because the buckets differ in depth.

Cartwright Lurnea
3 bed $950K / $1.1M
Cartwright — 3 bed: $950K (21 sales) Lurnea — 3 bed: $1.1M (50 sales)

21 vs 50 sales

4 bed $1.05M / $1.12M
Cartwright — 4 bed: $1.05M (7 sales) Lurnea — 4 bed: $1.12M (18 sales)

7 vs 18 sales

Zoning mix

Cartwright Lurnea
Residential 61% 88%
Parks and recreation 34% 10%
Infrastructure and transport 4% 2%
Planning zones cover 99% of Cartwright and 100% of Lurnea. The rest is unzoned land such as water or road reserve.
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

Cartwright Lurnea
New dwellings approved 2,229
across Liverpool
same for both
Approvals change year on year +28%
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.

Cartwright Lurnea
Houses — 3.7%
$690/wk on $975K
Units —
same for both

Ranking within NSW

Cartwright Lurnea
House price Higher than 47% of NSW Higher than 56% of NSW
Income Higher than 6% of NSW Higher than 27% of NSW
Schools — Higher than 74% of NSW
Walkability Higher than 93% of NSW Higher than 88% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 13% of NSW Higher than 26% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 39% of NSW Higher than 72% of NSW
NBN connectivity Higher than 84% of NSW Higher than 89% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) — Higher than 55% of NSW

Liveability

Lurnea scores higher overall (54 vs 41); Cartwright is more walkable (82 vs 68).

Cartwright Lurnea
Grade C B
Score 41/100 54/100
Socio-economic band high-need area
decile 1/10
same for both

Risk profile

Cartwright carries more crime risk (91 vs 60).

Cartwright Lurnea
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime High
91/100
 Moderate
60/100
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 10
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Cartwright Lurnea
Inside the suburb 1 3
Rated above peers 0 1
Rated at peers 1 0
Rated below peers 0 2
Universities within 10 km 1
50 Scott Street Liverpool, 2.4 km
 1
50 Scott Street Liverpool, 2.2 km
Full-time students aged 15–24 1.8% 2.1%

Schools in Cartwright

  • Cartwright Public School Government · Primary at peers

Schools in Lurnea

  • St Francis Xavier's Catholic Primary School Catholic · Primary above peers
  • Lurnea High School Government · Secondary below peers
  • Lurnea Public School Government · Primary below peers

Amenities in the suburb

Cartwright Lurnea
Cafes & restaurants 0 1
Parks & reserves 9 13
Childcare 1 10
GPs 0 1
Pharmacies 0 2
Banks & Bank@Post 0 1
Fuel stations 0 1
Waterways 1 2

Mobility

Cartwright Lurnea
Walkability score 82/100 68/100
Distance to Sydney 42.1 km
+4% vs other
 40.6 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 41 min 39 min
Public transport score 78/100
Bus
 79/100
Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 42.2
7-9am + 5-7pm
 183.0
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 1 min
scheduled, not actual
 0 min
scheduled, not actual
Electric vehicle share 0.4%
postcode 2168
 0.8%
postcode 2170
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 38
postcode 2168
 32
postcode 2170

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.

Cartwright Lurnea
Car (driver) 66.5% / 63.4%
Cartwright — Car (driver): 66.5% Lurnea — Car (driver): 63.4%
Worked from Home 15.8% / 24.2%
Cartwright — Worked from Home: 15.8% Lurnea — Worked from Home: 24.2%
Car (passenger) 7.6% / 6.6%
Cartwright — Car (passenger): 7.6% Lurnea — Car (passenger): 6.6%
Train 5.4% / 2.9%
Cartwright — Train: 5.4% Lurnea — Train: 2.9%
Bus 2.5% / 1.5%
Cartwright — Bus: 2.5% Lurnea — Bus: 1.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (66.5%).

Setting

Cartwright Lurnea
Elevation 21 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 32 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 23.8 km 22.7 km

NBN connectivity

Cartwright Lurnea
Connectivity score 75/100 79/100
Most common technology Hybrid fibre-coaxial
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 13%
1,115 premises
 17%
3,340 premises

Climate

Cartwright Lurnea
Annual rainfall 909 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 28.7°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 6.4°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Cartwright Lurnea
PM2.5 6.8 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 18.2 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ 0.72 pphm
same for both

Council rates

Cartwright Lurnea
Average residential rate $1,322/yr
same for both
Council Liverpool
same for both

Federal electorate

Cartwright Lurnea
Division Werriwa
same for both
Member Anne Maree Stanley
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Cartwright Lurnea
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Cartwright

Apartments Family Multicultural Outer Parks River

Lurnea

Family Multicultural Outer Parks Townhouses Urban

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Cartwright

Cartwright vs Liverpool Cartwright vs Prestons Cartwright vs Hoxton Park Cartwright vs Ashcroft Cartwright vs Miller Cartwright vs Sadleir

Other comparisons with Lurnea

Lurnea vs Liverpool Lurnea vs Casula Lurnea vs Prestons
Full data on Cartwright Full data on Lurnea
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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