Cow Flat vs Fosters Valley

In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are couple families. On these figures, Cow Flat tends to suit 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

Cow Flat

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is already more of a family suburb (100% vs 76%)

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

First-home buyers

Fosters Valley

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (21% vs 34%)

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Fosters Valley

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($0/wk vs $120/wk)

Weighs rent.

Commuting to the city

Cow Flat

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • sits closer to the CBD (228.5 km vs 231.8 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Cow Flat

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has more residents already 65 and over (38% vs 31%)

Weighs 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

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

Cow Flat Fosters Valley
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.

Cow Flat Fosters Valley
Walkability 0 / 0
Cow Flat — Walkability: 0/100 Fosters Valley — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 82 / 88
Cow Flat — Safety: 82/100 Fosters Valley — Safety: 88/100
Low fire risk 88 / 88
Cow Flat — Low fire risk: 88/100 Fosters Valley — Low fire risk: 88/100

Demographics

Cow Flat rents higher ($120/wk vs $0/wk); Cow Flat skews older (51 vs 49).

Cow Flat Fosters Valley
Population 58 72
+24% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) -7.9% -12.2%
Median age 51 49
Median household income $116,948/yr
+8% vs other
 $107,224/yr
Median weekly rent $120/wk
(not reported on the other side)
 —

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Cow Flat Fosters Valley
0-4 6.9% / 5.6%
Cow Flat — 0-4: 6.9% Fosters Valley — 0-4: 5.6%
5-14 8.6% / 4.2%
Cow Flat — 5-14: 8.6% Fosters Valley — 5-14: 4.2%
15-19 8.6% / 4.2%
Cow Flat — 15-19: 8.6% Fosters Valley — 15-19: 4.2%
20-24 10.3% / —
Cow Flat — 20-24: 10.3% Fosters Valley — 20-24: not among its largest
25-34 8.6% / 11.1%
Cow Flat — 25-34: 8.6% Fosters Valley — 25-34: 11.1%
35-44 5.2% / 6.9%
Cow Flat — 35-44: 5.2% Fosters Valley — 35-44: 6.9%
45-54 — / 22.2%
Cow Flat — 45-54: not among its largest Fosters Valley — 45-54: 22.2%
55-64 15.5% / 13.9%
Cow Flat — 55-64: 15.5% Fosters Valley — 55-64: 13.9%
65-74 19.0% / 22.2%
Cow Flat — 65-74: 19.0% Fosters Valley — 65-74: 22.2%
75-84 13.8% / 4.2%
Cow Flat — 75-84: 13.8% Fosters Valley — 75-84: 4.2%
85+ 5.2% / 4.2%
Cow Flat — 85+: 5.2% Fosters Valley — 85+: 4.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.2%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Cow Flat 100.0% couple families
Cow Flat — Couple Families: 100.0% Cow Flat — Lone Person: 0.0% Cow Flat — One Parent Families: 0.0%
Fosters Valley 58.8% couple families
Fosters Valley — Couple Families: 58.8% Fosters Valley — Lone Person: 23.5% Fosters Valley — One Parent Families: 17.6%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Cow Flat 0.0% renting
Cow Flat — Owned Outright: 58.8% Cow Flat — Mortgage: 41.2% Cow Flat — Renting: 0.0%
Fosters Valley 0.0% renting
Fosters Valley — Owned Outright: 58.3% Fosters Valley — Mortgage: 41.7% Fosters Valley — Renting: 0.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Cow Flat 100.0% houses
Cow Flat — Houses: 100.0%
Fosters Valley 100.0% houses
Fosters Valley — Houses: 100.0%
Houses

Qualifications

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

Cow Flat Fosters Valley
Certificate III & IV 19.0% / 16.7%
Cow Flat — Certificate III & IV: 19.0% Fosters Valley — Certificate III & IV: 16.7%
Bachelor Degree 15.5% / 8.3%
Cow Flat — Bachelor Degree: 15.5% Fosters Valley — Bachelor Degree: 8.3%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.6% / 12.5%
Cow Flat — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.6% Fosters Valley — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 12.5%
Postgraduate Degree — / 5.6%
Cow Flat — Postgraduate Degree: not among its largest Fosters Valley — Postgraduate Degree: 5.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.0%).

Zoning mix

Cow Flat Fosters Valley
Rural and farming 100%
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

Cow Flat Fosters Valley
New dwellings approved 177
across Bathurst
same for both
Approvals change year on year -23%
same for both

Ranking within NSW

Cow Flat Fosters Valley
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 80% of NSW Higher than 73% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 17% of NSW Higher than 16% of NSW
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 43% of NSW
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 42% of NSW Higher than 30% of NSW

Liveability

Cow Flat Fosters Valley
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band very advantaged area
decile 10/10
same for both

Risk profile

Cow Flat Fosters Valley
Bushfire Low
12/100
same for both
Crime Low
18/100
 Low
12/100
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 0
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Cow Flat Fosters Valley
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

Amenities in the suburb

Cow Flat Fosters Valley
Waterways 8 16

Mobility

Fosters Valley sits further from the CBD (231.8 km vs 228.5 km).

Cow Flat Fosters Valley
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Sydney 228.5 km 231.8 km
+1% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 200 min 199 min
Electric vehicle share 0.4%
postcode 2795
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 47
postcode 2795
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.

Cow Flat Fosters Valley
Car (driver) 100.0% / 63.6%
Cow Flat — Car (driver): 100.0% Fosters Valley — Car (driver): 63.6%
Worked from Home — / 36.4%
Cow Flat — Worked from Home: not among its largest Fosters Valley — Worked from Home: 36.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (100.0%).

Setting

Cow Flat Fosters Valley
Elevation 768 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 931 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Cow Flat Fosters Valley
Connectivity score 28/100 21/100
Most common technology Fixed wireless Satellite (Sky Muster)
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
21 premises
same for both

Climate

Cow Flat Fosters Valley
Annual rainfall 666 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 28.4°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 1.1°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Cow Flat Fosters Valley
PM2.5 5.3 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 —
same for both
NO₂ —
same for both

Council rates

Cow Flat Fosters Valley
Average residential rate $1,301/yr
same for both
Council Bathurst
same for both

Federal electorate

Cow Flat Fosters Valley
Division Calare
same for both
Member Andrew Gee
same for both
Party Independent
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Cow Flat Fosters Valley
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Cow Flat

Retirees River Rural

Fosters Valley

Retirees River Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Cow Flat

Cow Flat vs Perthville Cow Flat vs Georges Plains Cow Flat vs Rockley Mount Cow Flat vs Caloola

Other comparisons with Fosters Valley

Fosters Valley vs The Lagoon Fosters Valley vs Rockley Fosters Valley vs Rockley Mount Fosters Valley vs Caloola
Full data on Cow Flat Full data on Fosters Valley
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