Cowan vs Canoelands
Cowan is the younger of the two, with a median age of 41 against 45 in Canoelands. In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are couple families. Houses cost more in Canoelands: a median of $1.96 million, against $1.23 million in Cowan, though rent is higher in Cowan. On these figures, Cowan tends to suit 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
Canoelands
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is already more of a family suburb (89% vs 80%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Cowan
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper houses ($1,230,000 vs $1,960,000)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Canoelands
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a bigger rental market to choose from (24% vs 10%)
- has cheaper rent ($440/wk vs $515/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Cowan
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (10/100 vs 0/100)
- sits closer to the CBD (46.1 km vs 64.3 km)
- has a shorter drive in (57 min vs 70 min)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Cowan
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is more walkable (10/100 vs 0/100)
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
Cowan and Canoelands 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
Cowan has more residents (631 vs 177); Cowan rents higher ($515/wk vs $440/wk).
| Cowan | Canoelands | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 631 +72% vs other | 177 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | -2.8% | +1.1% |
| Median age | 41 | 45 |
| Median household income | $117,000/yr +4% vs other | $112,632/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $515/wk +15% vs other | $440/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.8%).
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 (20.3%).
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 (5.1%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Cowan | Canoelands | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,230,000 | $1,960,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — | $3,960,000 |
Zoning mix
| Cowan | Canoelands | |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental | 88% | 90% |
| Rural and farming | 0% | 9% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 7% | 0% |
| Parks and recreation | 4% | 0% |
| Residential | 1% | 0% |
| 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
| Cowan | Canoelands | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 260 across Hornsby same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -79% same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Cowan | Canoelands | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 74% of NSW | Higher than 85% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 82% of NSW | Higher than 78% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 58% of NSW | Higher than 29% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 46% of NSW | Higher than 24% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 91% of NSW | Higher than 85% of NSW |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 88% of NSW | Higher than 30% of NSW |
Liveability
Cowan is more walkable (10 vs 0).
| Cowan | Canoelands | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | C | — |
| Score | 40/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 9/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
| Cowan | Canoelands | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | High 76/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Moderate 57/100 | Moderate 59/100 |
| 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
| Cowan | Canoelands | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 1 | 0 |
Schools in Cowan
- Cowan Public School Government · Primary below peers
Schools in Canoelands
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Cowan | Canoelands | |
|---|---|---|
| Cafes & restaurants | 2 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 3 | 1 |
| Waterways | 6 | 3 |
Mobility
Canoelands sits further from the CBD (64.3 km vs 46.1 km).
| Cowan | Canoelands | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 10/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 46.1 km | 64.3 km +39% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 57 min | 70 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 1.6% postcode 2081 | 1.2% postcode 2157 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 54 postcode 2081 | 57 postcode 2157 |
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 (50.5%).
Setting
| Cowan | Canoelands | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 59 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 218 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 4.6 km | 14.3 km |
NBN connectivity
| Cowan | Canoelands | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 78/100 | 20/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the premises | Satellite (Sky Muster) |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 60% 239 premises | 0% 23 premises |
Climate
| Cowan | Canoelands | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,176 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Cowan | Canoelands | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 5.4 µg/m³ | 6.1 µg/m³ |
| PM10 | 14.2 µg/m³ | 15.5 µg/m³ |
| NO₂ | 0.23 pphm | 0.53 pphm |
Council rates
| Cowan | Canoelands | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,488/yr same for both | |
| Council | Hornsby same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Cowan | Canoelands | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Berowra same for both | |
| Member | Julian Leeser same for both | |
| Party | Liberal same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Cowan | Canoelands | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Cowan
Other comparisons with Canoelands
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.