Cringila vs Lake Heights
In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. Houses cost more in Lake Heights: a median of $912,000, against $745,000 in Cringila, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Cringila 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
Lake Heights
ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more parks and reserves (6 vs 1)
- carries lower crime risk (46/100 vs 76/100)
- But Cringila has more separate houses rather than flats (94% vs 82%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Cringila
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper houses ($745,000 vs $912,500)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Cringila
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($350/wk vs $400/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Cringila
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is more walkable (64/100 vs 56/100)
Weighs distance, drive time, rail access, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Lake Heights
ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here
- has more units and townhouses to downsize into (18% vs 6%)
- carries lower crime risk (46/100 vs 76/100)
- But Cringila is more walkable (64/100 vs 56/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Lake Heights
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (6.8% vs -1.9%)
Weighs house yield and population growth.
Where they sit
Cringila and Lake Heights 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
Lake Heights has more residents (4,105 vs 2,156); Lake Heights has higher household incomes ($70,512 vs $58,084).
| Cringila | Lake Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 2,156 | 4,105 +90% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | -1.9% | +6.8% |
| Median age | 38 | 36 |
| Median household income | $58,084/yr | $70,512/yr +21% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $350/wk | $400/wk +14% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (14.5%).
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 (17.0%).
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 (6.4%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Cringila | Lake Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $745,000 | $912,500 |
| Median unit price | — | $848,250 |
| Median land price | — | $650,000 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 22 days from 15 sales | 34 days from 30 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.
5 vs 8 sales
29 vs 42 sales
6 vs 21 sales
Zoning mix
Cringila has more land zoned for conservation (38% vs 2%).
| Cringila | Lake Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Residential | 38% | 83% |
| Environmental | 38% | 2% |
| Parks and recreation | 22% | 12% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 0% | 2% |
| Industrial | 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
| Cringila | Lake Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 1,476 across Wollongong same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -31% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Cringila | Lake Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 4.2% $615/wk on $752K | 4.3% $750/wk on $900K |
| Units | — same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Cringila | Lake Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 26% of NSW | Higher than 41% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 18% of NSW | Higher than 34% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 86% of NSW | Higher than 83% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 50% of NSW | Higher than 48% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 39% of NSW same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 80% of NSW | Higher than 81% of NSW |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 84% of NSW | Higher than 87% of NSW |
Liveability
Lake Heights scores higher overall (52 vs 40); Cringila is more walkable (64 vs 56).
| Cringila | Lake Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | C | B |
| Score | 40/100 | 52/100 |
| Socio-economic band | high-need area decile 1/10 | below-average income decile 3/10 |
Risk profile
Cringila carries more crime risk (76 vs 46).
| Cringila | Lake Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | High 76/100 | Moderate 46/100 |
| 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 | 18 within 5 km | 17 within 5 km |
Schools
| Cringila | Lake Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 same for both | |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 | 1 |
| Rated below peers | 1 | 0 |
| Universities within 10 km | 1 UOW Wollongong, 5.3 km | 1 UOW Wollongong, 6.7 km |
| Full-time students aged 15–24 | 1.7% | 1.4% |
Schools in Cringila
- Cringila Public School Government · Primary below peers
Schools in Lake Heights
- Lake Heights Public School Government · Primary at peers
Amenities in the suburb
| Cringila | Lake Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 1 | 6 |
| Childcare | 1 | 0 |
| GPs | 1 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 0 | 1 |
Mobility
| Cringila | Lake Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 64/100 | 56/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 90.5 km | 92 km +2% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 85 min | 86 min |
| Public transport score | 74/100 Bus | 79/100 Bus |
| Peak arrivals per hour | 26.2 7-9am + 5-7pm | 101.0 7-9am + 5-7pm |
| Median peak wait | 1 min scheduled, not actual | 0 min scheduled, not actual |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.4% postcode 2502 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 28 postcode 2502 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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (72.6%).
Setting
| Cringila | Lake Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 56 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 33 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 2.4 km 4.4 km to a named beach | 3.3 km 3.9 km to a named beach |
NBN connectivity
| Cringila | Lake Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 73/100 | 74/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the premises same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 51% 871 premises | 52% 1,738 premises |
Climate
| Cringila | Lake Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 974 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Cringila | Lake Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 5.9 µg/m³ same for both | |
| PM10 | 19.8 µg/m³ same for both | |
| NO₂ | 0.45 pphm same for both | |
Council rates
| Cringila | Lake Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,751/yr same for both | |
| Council | Wollongong same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Cringila | Lake Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Cunningham same for both | |
| Member | Alison Byrnes same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Cringila | Lake Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Cringila
Lake Heights
More comparisons
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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.