Cudgera Creek vs Palmvale
Palmvale is the younger of the two, with a median age of 39 against 45 in Cudgera Creek. 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, Palmvale 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
Palmvale
ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here
- carries lower crime risk (25/100 vs 66/100)
- is already more of a family suburb (79% vs 70%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Palmvale
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (19% vs 28%)
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
Palmvale
ahead on 2 of the 2 things we measure here
- has cheaper rent ($300/wk vs $460/wk)
- leaves renters under less rental stress (17% vs 26%)
Weighs rent and rental stress.
Commuting to the city
Cudgera Creek
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (498 min vs 525 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (783.4 km vs 800.7 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 4 things we measure here
- Cudgera Creek has more residents already 65 and over (22% vs 16%)
- Palmvale carries lower crime risk (25/100 vs 66/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Palmvale
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (14.5% vs 2.4%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Cudgera Creek and Palmvale 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
Cudgera Creek has more residents (339 vs 95); Cudgera Creek rents higher ($460/wk vs $300/wk).
| Cudgera Creek | Palmvale | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 339 +72% vs other | 95 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +2.4% | +14.5% |
| Median age | 45 | 39 |
| Median household income | $93,600/yr +4% vs other | $89,648/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $460/wk +35% vs other | $300/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (21.1%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
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 (5.3%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.5%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Cudgera Creek | Palmvale | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $2,225,000 | — |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
Zoning mix
| Cudgera Creek | Palmvale | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 88% | 95% |
| Other and special use | 9% | 5% |
| 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
| Cudgera Creek | Palmvale | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 331 across Tweed same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -50% same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Cudgera Creek | Palmvale | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 87% of NSW | — |
| Income | Higher than 60% of NSW | Higher than 57% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 66% of NSW same for both | |
| Affordability | Higher than 10% of NSW | — |
| EV adoption | Higher than 64% of NSW same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 55% of NSW | Higher than 34% of NSW |
Liveability
| Cudgera Creek | Palmvale | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | advantaged area decile 7/10 | mid-range socio-economic decile 4/10 |
Risk profile
Cudgera Creek carries more crime risk (66 vs 25).
| Cudgera Creek | Palmvale | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Moderate 47/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Moderate 66/100 | Low 25/100 |
| 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
| Cudgera Creek | Palmvale | |
|---|---|---|
| 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
| Cudgera Creek | Palmvale | |
|---|---|---|
| Waterways | 6 | 10 |
Mobility
Palmvale sits further from the CBD (800.7 km vs 783.4 km).
| Cudgera Creek | Palmvale | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 16/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Sydney | 783.4 km | 800.7 km +2% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 498 min | 525 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.6% postcode 2484 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 76 postcode 2484 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 (68.0%).
Setting
| Cudgera Creek | Palmvale | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 16 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 45 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 5.0 km | 7.9 km |
NBN connectivity
| Cudgera Creek | Palmvale | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 30/100 | 24/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 129 premises | 0% 21 premises |
Climate
| Cudgera Creek | Palmvale | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,569 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 29.1°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 9.1°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Cudgera Creek | Palmvale | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,745/yr same for both | |
| Council | Tweed same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Cudgera Creek | Palmvale | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Richmond same for both | |
| Member | Justine Elliot same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Cudgera Creek | Palmvale | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Cudgera Creek
Other comparisons with Palmvale
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.