Christies Beach vs O'sullivan Beach
Christies Beach is the younger of the two, with a median age of 39 against 44 in O'Sullivan Beach. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses.
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
O'Sullivan Beach
ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more schools rated above their peers (2 vs 0)
- carries lower crime risk (73/100 vs 89/100)
- has more separate houses rather than flats (94% vs 77%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
O'Sullivan Beach
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper land ($440,000 vs $985,500)
Weighs house prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.
Renters
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Christies Beach has a bigger rental market to choose from (44% vs 30%)
- O'sullivan Beach has cheaper rent ($300/wk vs $325/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Christies Beach
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is more walkable (84/100 vs 62/100)
Weighs distance, drive time, rail access, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Christies Beach
ahead on 3 of the 5 things we measure here
- has more GPs (4 vs 0)
- has more units and townhouses to downsize into (23% vs 6%)
- is more walkable (84/100 vs 62/100)
- But O'Sullivan Beach has more residents already 65 and over (24% vs 19%)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Christies Beach
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (9.5% vs -1.9%)
Weighs house yield and population growth.
Where they sit
Christies Beach and O'sullivan Beach 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
Christies Beach has more residents (5,962 vs 1,844); O'Sullivan Beach skews older (44 vs 39).
| Christies Beach | O'sullivan Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 5,962 +69% vs other | 1,844 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +9.5% | -1.9% |
| Median age | 39 | 44 |
| Median household income | $62,088/yr +10% vs other | $55,744/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $325/wk +8% vs other | $300/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.0%).
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 (19.0%).
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 (10.7%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Christies Beach | O'sullivan Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $820,000 | $780,000 |
| Median unit price | $591,000 | — |
| Median land price | $985,500 | $440,000 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 20 days from 102 sales | 21 days from 14 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.
169 vs 37 sales
37 vs 9 sales
Zoning mix
Christies Beach has more commercially zoned land (14% vs 0%).
| Christies Beach | O'sullivan Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Residential | 80% | 61% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 0% | 15% |
| Environmental | 5% | 14% |
| Commercial | 14% | 0% |
| Industrial | 1% | 9% |
| 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
| Christies Beach | O'sullivan Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 1,367 across Onkaparinga same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +58% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Christies Beach | O'sullivan Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 4.0% $650/wk on $840K | 3.9% $600/wk on $802K |
| Units | 4.6% $550/wk on $624K | — |
Ranking within SA
| Christies Beach | O'sullivan Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 34% of SA | Higher than 14% of SA |
| Income | Higher than 30% of SA | Higher than 21% of SA |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 95% of SA | Higher than 85% of SA |
| Affordability | Higher than 37% of SA | Higher than 45% of SA |
| EV adoption | Higher than 66% of SA | Higher than 51% of SA |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 78% of SA | Higher than 81% of SA |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 58% of SA | Higher than 47% of SA |
| Rental yield (units) | Higher than 55% of SA | — |
Liveability
Christies Beach is more walkable (84 vs 62).
| Christies Beach | O'sullivan Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | C same for both | |
| Score | 44/100 | 41/100 |
| Socio-economic band | below-average income decile 2/10 | high-need area decile 1/10 |
Risk profile
Christies Beach carries more crime risk (89 vs 73).
| Christies Beach | O'sullivan Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | High 89/100 | High 73/100 |
| Flood | — same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | Low 25/100 same for both | |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 9 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Christies Beach | O'sullivan Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 2 same for both | |
| Rated above peers | 0 | 2 |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 2 | 0 |
Schools in Christies Beach
- Christies Beach Primary School Government · Primary below peers
- St John The Apostle Parish School Catholic · Primary below peers
Schools in O'sullivan Beach
- O'Sullivan Beach Primary School Government · Primary above peers
- Southern Montessori School Independent · Primary above peers
Amenities in the suburb
| Christies Beach | O'sullivan Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 3 | 1 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 11 | 1 |
| Parks & reserves | 2 | 1 |
| Childcare | 5 | 4 |
| GPs | 4 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 4 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 3 | 1 |
| Fuel stations | 3 | 0 |
| Waterways | 0 | 2 |
Mobility
| Christies Beach | O'sullivan Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 84/100 | 62/100 |
| Distance to Adelaide | 29.5 km +3% vs other | 28.7 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 33 min same for both | |
| Public transport score | 79/100 Bus same for both | |
| Peak arrivals per hour | 80.5 7-9am + 5-7pm | 34.8 7-9am + 5-7pm |
| Median peak wait | 0 min scheduled, not actual | 1 min scheduled, not actual |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.7% postcode 5165 | 0.5% postcode 5166 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 44 postcode 5165 | 55 postcode 5166 |
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 (80.1%).
Setting
| Christies Beach | O'sullivan Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 44 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 42 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 764 m | 724 m |
NBN connectivity
| Christies Beach | O'sullivan Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 64/100 | 68/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the node same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 35% 3,312 premises | 41% 981 premises |
Climate
| Christies Beach | O'sullivan Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 394 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 28.1°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 7.8°C same for both | |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Christies Beach | O'sullivan Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | — same for both | |
| PM10 | 19.5 µg/m³ same for both | |
| NO₂ | 0.34 pphm same for both | |
Council rates
| Christies Beach | O'sullivan Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $2,008/yr same for both | |
| Council | Onkaparinga same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Christies Beach | O'sullivan Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Kingston same for both | |
| Member | Amanda Rishworth same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Christies Beach | O'sullivan Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $15,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | — same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
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.