Chinderah vs Kingscliff

Kingscliff is the younger of the two, with a median age of 47 against 62 in Chinderah. In both, most households own their home. In Chinderah, about half of homes are flats or apartments and most households are people living alone. In Kingscliff, most homes are detached houses. Houses cost more in Kingscliff: a median of $1.76 million, against $1.14 million in Chinderah, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Chinderah tends to suit people living alone, older residents, and buyers on a tighter budget.

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

Kingscliff

ahead on 5 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more schools inside the suburb (3 vs 0)
  • has more parks and reserves (12 vs 4)
  • is already more of a family suburb (54% vs 24%)

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

First-home buyers

Chinderah

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has cheaper land ($888,000 vs $2,757,500)
  • has cheaper houses ($1,137,500 vs $1,760,000)
  • But Kingscliff leaves households under less mortgage stress (32% vs 63%)

Weighs house prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

They split

one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here

  • Chinderah has cheaper rent ($245/wk vs $490/wk)
  • Kingscliff has a bigger rental market to choose from (29% vs 17%)

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

  • Chinderah sits closer to the CBD (800.4 km vs 805.3 km)
  • Kingscliff is more walkable (77/100 vs 0/100)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Kingscliff

ahead on 3 of the 5 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (77/100 vs 0/100)
  • has more GPs (2 vs 0)
  • carries lower crime risk (59/100 vs 87/100)
  • But Chinderah has more residents already 65 and over (45% vs 26%)

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

Investors

Kingscliff

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (11.9% vs 4.7%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Chinderah Kingscliff
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.

Chinderah Kingscliff
Walkability 0 / 77
Chinderah — Walkability: 0/100 Kingscliff — Walkability: 77/100
Safety 13 / 41
Chinderah — Safety: 13/100 Kingscliff — Safety: 41/100
Low fire risk 53 / 36
Chinderah — Low fire risk: 53/100 Kingscliff — Low fire risk: 36/100

Demographics

Kingscliff has more residents (8,355 vs 1,639); Kingscliff has higher household incomes ($81,900 vs $37,388).

Chinderah Kingscliff
Population 1,639 8,355
+410% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +4.7% +11.9%
Median age 62 47
Median household income $37,388/yr $81,900/yr
+119% vs other
Median weekly rent $245/wk $490/wk
+100% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Chinderah Kingscliff
0-4 1.6% / 4.6%
Chinderah — 0-4: 1.6% Kingscliff — 0-4: 4.6%
5-14 6.3% / 12.9%
Chinderah — 5-14: 6.3% Kingscliff — 5-14: 12.9%
15-19 3.4% / 5.4%
Chinderah — 15-19: 3.4% Kingscliff — 15-19: 5.4%
20-24 2.7% / 3.9%
Chinderah — 20-24: 2.7% Kingscliff — 20-24: 3.9%
25-34 5.7% / 7.6%
Chinderah — 25-34: 5.7% Kingscliff — 25-34: 7.6%
35-44 6.6% / 11.8%
Chinderah — 35-44: 6.6% Kingscliff — 35-44: 11.8%
45-54 9.9% / 13.5%
Chinderah — 45-54: 9.9% Kingscliff — 45-54: 13.5%
55-64 18.2% / 14.8%
Chinderah — 55-64: 18.2% Kingscliff — 55-64: 14.8%
65-74 26.4% / 14.0%
Chinderah — 65-74: 26.4% Kingscliff — 65-74: 14.0%
75-84 14.9% / 7.9%
Chinderah — 75-84: 14.9% Kingscliff — 75-84: 7.9%
85+ 3.8% / 3.6%
Chinderah — 85+: 3.8% Kingscliff — 85+: 3.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (26.4%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Chinderah 70.6% lone person
Chinderah — Lone Person: 70.6% Chinderah — Couple Families: 14.2% Chinderah — One Parent Families: 9.5% Chinderah — Group Household: 3.9% Chinderah — Other Families: 1.8%
Kingscliff 39.4% lone person
Kingscliff — Lone Person: 39.4% Kingscliff — Couple Families: 39.7% Kingscliff — One Parent Families: 14.8% Kingscliff — Group Household: 5.4% Kingscliff — Other Families: 0.8%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Chinderah 16.6% renting
Chinderah — Owned Outright: 72.3% Chinderah — Mortgage: 11.1% Chinderah — Renting: 16.6%
Kingscliff 29.1% renting
Kingscliff — Owned Outright: 43.4% Kingscliff — Mortgage: 27.5% Kingscliff — Renting: 29.1%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Chinderah Kingscliff
Certificate III & IV 19.8% / 14.2%
Chinderah — Certificate III & IV: 19.8% Kingscliff — Certificate III & IV: 14.2%
Bachelor Degree 4.9% / 14.4%
Chinderah — Bachelor Degree: 4.9% Kingscliff — Bachelor Degree: 14.4%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 5.4% / 9.4%
Chinderah — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.4% Kingscliff — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 9.4%
Postgraduate Degree 1.0% / 4.1%
Chinderah — Postgraduate Degree: 1.0% Kingscliff — Postgraduate Degree: 4.1%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 0.3% / 2.2%
Chinderah — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 0.3% Kingscliff — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.8%).

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.

Chinderah Kingscliff
England 5.9% / 5.1%
Chinderah — England: 5.9% Kingscliff — England: 5.1%
New Zealand 3.9% / 2.8%
Chinderah — New Zealand: 3.9% Kingscliff — New Zealand: 2.8%
Germany 0.7% / 0.4%
Chinderah — Germany: 0.7% Kingscliff — Germany: 0.4%
Scotland 0.5% / 0.5%
Chinderah — Scotland: 0.5% Kingscliff — Scotland: 0.5%
South Africa 0.4% / 0.5%
Chinderah — South Africa: 0.4% Kingscliff — South Africa: 0.5%
Netherlands 0.5% / 0.3%
Chinderah — Netherlands: 0.5% Kingscliff — Netherlands: 0.3%
Canada — / 0.5%
Chinderah — Canada: not among its largest Kingscliff — Canada: 0.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (5.9%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Chinderah 46.0% houses
Chinderah — Houses: 46.0% Chinderah — Flats / Apartments: 52.8% Chinderah — Townhouses: 1.2%
Kingscliff 61.6% houses
Kingscliff — Houses: 61.6% Kingscliff — Flats / Apartments: 21.2% Kingscliff — Townhouses: 17.2%
Houses Flats / Apartments Townhouses

Property market

Chinderah Kingscliff
Median house price $1,137,500 $1,760,000
Median unit price — $992,500
Median land price $888,000 $2,757,500
Typical days to sell (houses) 65 days
from 15 sales
 37 days
from 81 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.

Chinderah Kingscliff
2 bed $950K / $1.02M
Chinderah — 2 bed: $950K (11 sales) Kingscliff — 2 bed: $1.02M (15 sales)

11 vs 15 sales

3 bed $1.33M / $1.59M
Chinderah — 3 bed: $1.33M (9 sales) Kingscliff — 3 bed: $1.59M (58 sales)

9 vs 58 sales

Zoning mix

Chinderah has more rural and farming land (70% vs 5%).

Chinderah Kingscliff
Rural and farming 70% 5%
Residential 5% 47%
Other and special use 6% 23%
Parks and recreation 2% 13%
Infrastructure and transport 7% 8%
Industrial 5% 0%
Environmental 4%
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

Chinderah Kingscliff
New dwellings approved 331
across Tweed
same for both
Approvals change year on year -50%
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.

Chinderah Kingscliff
Houses — 3.3%
$1,100/wk on $1.75M
Units — 3.4%
$850/wk on $1.32M

Ranking within NSW

Chinderah Kingscliff
House price Higher than 63% of NSW Higher than 82% of NSW
Income Higher than 2% of NSW —
Schools — Higher than 32% of NSW
Walkability Higher than 24% of NSW Higher than 91% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 5% of NSW —
EV adoption Higher than 91% of NSW
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 68% of NSW Higher than 76% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) — Higher than 33% of NSW
Rental yield (units) — Higher than 9% of NSW

Liveability

Kingscliff is more walkable (77 vs 0); Kingscliff scores higher overall (36 vs 8).

Chinderah Kingscliff
Grade D C
Score 8/100 36/100
Socio-economic band high-need area
decile 1/10
 advantaged area
decile 8/10

Risk profile

Chinderah carries more crime risk (87 vs 59); Kingscliff carries more bushfire risk (64 vs 47).

Chinderah Kingscliff
Bushfire Moderate
47/100
 Moderate
64/100
Crime High
87/100
 Moderate
59/100
Flood Not mapped
no mapped data here
same for both
Coastal erosion None
0/100
 Moderate
41/100
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 1
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Chinderah Kingscliff
Inside the suburb 0 3
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0 2
Rated below peers 0 1

Schools in Chinderah

No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.

Schools in Kingscliff

  • Kingscliff High School Government · Secondary at peers
  • Kingscliff Public School Government · Primary at peers
  • St Anthony's Primary School Catholic · Primary below peers

Amenities in the suburb

Chinderah Kingscliff
Supermarkets 0 1
Cafes & restaurants 3 33
Parks & reserves 4 12
Childcare 3 4
GPs 0 2
Pharmacies 0 3
Police stations 0 1
Banks & Bank@Post 0 4
Fuel stations 4 1
Beaches 0 1
Waterways 6 0

Mobility

Kingscliff sits further from the CBD (805.3 km vs 800.4 km).

Chinderah Kingscliff
Walkability score 0/100 77/100
Distance to Sydney 800.4 km 805.3 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 510 min 513 min
Public transport score 78/100
Bus
 79/100
Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 46.2
7-9am + 5-7pm
 122.2
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 1 min
scheduled, not actual
 0 min
scheduled, not actual
Electric vehicle share 1.6%
postcode 2487
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 66
postcode 2487
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.

Chinderah Kingscliff
Car (driver) 73.6% / 66.1%
Chinderah — Car (driver): 73.6% Kingscliff — Car (driver): 66.1%
Worked from Home 11.0% / 24.0%
Chinderah — Worked from Home: 11.0% Kingscliff — Worked from Home: 24.0%
Car (passenger) 6.2% / 4.2%
Chinderah — Car (passenger): 6.2% Kingscliff — Car (passenger): 4.2%
Walked Only 6.0% / 3.6%
Chinderah — Walked Only: 6.0% Kingscliff — Walked Only: 3.6%
Bus 2.2% / 1.0%
Chinderah — Bus: 2.2% Kingscliff — Bus: 1.0%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (73.6%).

Setting

Chinderah Kingscliff
Elevation 0 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 42 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 3.2 km
4.5 km to a named beach
 860 m
1.3 km to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Chinderah Kingscliff
Connectivity score 55/100 68/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 13%
1,628 premises
 33%
5,502 premises

Climate

Chinderah Kingscliff
Annual rainfall 1,637 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 28.6°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 10.5°C
same for both

Council rates

Chinderah Kingscliff
Average residential rate $1,745/yr
same for both
Council Tweed
same for both

Federal electorate

Chinderah Kingscliff
Division Richmond
same for both
Member Justine Elliot
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Chinderah Kingscliff
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Chinderah

Retirees

Kingscliff

Beach Coastal Parks Regional Centre Retirees

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Chinderah

Chinderah vs Banora Point Chinderah vs Terranora Chinderah vs Cudgen Chinderah vs Fingal Head Chinderah vs North Tumbulgum

Other comparisons with Kingscliff

Kingscliff vs Casuarina Kingscliff vs Cudgen Kingscliff vs Fingal Head
Full data on Chinderah Full data on Kingscliff
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.

Save this page for later

We'll email you a link to this page so you can finish reading it on any device. We use your address once to send it and don't keep it.

or