Cowper vs Woodford Island
In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Woodford Island, about half of households are couple families. On these figures, Cowper tends to suit people living alone, while Woodford Island 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
Woodford Island
ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here
- carries lower crime risk (30/100 vs 71/100)
- is already more of a family suburb (69% vs 60%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Cowper
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (20% vs 26%)
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
Too close to call
Nothing among the 3 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Cowper
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (414 min vs 431 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (633.4 km vs 653.6 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Woodford Island
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (30/100 vs 71/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Woodford Island
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (24.9% vs -6.4%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Cowper and Woodford Island 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
Woodford Island has more residents (306 vs 88); Woodford Island has higher household incomes ($77,116 vs $67,600).
| Cowper | Woodford Island | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 88 | 306 +248% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | -6.4% | +24.9% |
| Median age | 48 | 50 |
| Median household income | $67,600/yr | $77,116/yr +14% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $300/wk +3% vs other | $290/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.9%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (28.8%).
Property market
| Cowper | Woodford Island | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $680,000 | — |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | $15,448 | — |
Zoning mix
Woodford Island has more land zoned for conservation (22% vs 8%); Cowper has more rural and farming land (89% vs 78%).
| Cowper | Woodford Island | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 89% | 78% |
| Environmental | 8% | 22% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 2% | 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
| Cowper | Woodford Island | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 246 across Clarence Valley same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -80% same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Cowper | Woodford Island | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 25% of NSW | — |
| Income | Higher than 30% of NSW | Higher than 45% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 62% of NSW | Higher than 59% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 63% of NSW | — |
| EV adoption | Higher than 18% of NSW | Higher than 27% of NSW |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 59% of NSW | Higher than 50% of NSW |
Liveability
| Cowper | Woodford Island | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | below-average income decile 2/10 | below-average income decile 3/10 |
Risk profile
Cowper carries more crime risk (71 vs 30); Woodford Island carries more bushfire risk (38 vs 24).
| Cowper | Woodford Island | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Low 24/100 | Low 38/100 |
| Crime | High 71/100 | Low 30/100 |
| 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
| Cowper | Woodford Island | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Schools in Cowper
- Cowper Public School Government · Primary
Schools in Woodford Island
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Cowper | Woodford Island | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 0 | 2 |
| Waterways | 5 | 8 |
Mobility
Woodford Island sits further from the CBD (653.6 km vs 633.4 km).
| Cowper | Woodford Island | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 13/100 | 12/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 633.4 km | 653.6 km +3% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 414 min | 431 min |
| Public transport score | 27/100 Bus | 23/100 Bus |
| Peak arrivals per hour | 4.2 7-9am + 5-7pm | 5.2 7-9am + 5-7pm |
| Median peak wait | 9 min scheduled, not actual | 1 min scheduled, not actual |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.2% postcode 2460 | 0.2% postcode 2463 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 60 postcode 2460 | 70 postcode 2463 |
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 (83.3%).
Setting
| Cowper | Woodford Island | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 3 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 0 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 23.6 km | 17.9 km |
NBN connectivity
| Cowper | Woodford Island | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 30/100 same for both | |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 49 premises | 0% 122 premises |
Climate
| Cowper | Woodford Island | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,060 mm | 1,408 mm |
| Summer max (Jan) | 30.0°C | — |
| Winter min (Jul) | 8.3°C | — |
Council rates
| Cowper | Woodford Island | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,380/yr same for both | |
| Council | Clarence Valley same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Cowper | Woodford Island | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Page same for both | |
| Member | Kevin Hogan same for both | |
| Party | The Nationals same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Cowper | Woodford Island | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Cowper
Woodford Island
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Cowper
Other comparisons with Woodford Island
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.