Dry Creek vs Parkville
In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Dry Creek, about half of households are people living alone. In Parkville, most households are couple families. On these figures, Dry Creek tends to suit people living alone and families with children.
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
Parkville
ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here
- carries lower crime risk (19/100 vs 59/100)
- is already more of a family suburb (62% vs 50%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Parkville
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (20% vs 28%)
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
Dry Creek
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($0/wk vs $285/wk)
Weighs rent.
Commuting to the city
Parkville
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (207 min vs 218 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (285.1 km vs 296.8 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Parkville
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (19/100 vs 59/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Dry Creek
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (56.2% vs -8.9%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Dry Creek and Parkville 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
Parkville rents higher ($285/wk vs $0/wk); Parkville has more residents (275 vs 50).
| Dry Creek | Parkville | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 50 | 275 +450% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +56.2% | -8.9% |
| Median age | 39 | 41 |
| Median household income | $123,448/yr +15% vs other | $105,508/yr |
| Median weekly rent | — | $285/wk (not reported on the other side) |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.0%).
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 (6.0%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 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 (26.0%).
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Dry Creek | Parkville | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | — | $515,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
Zoning mix
Dry Creek has more land zoned for conservation (37% vs 0%); Parkville has more rural and farming land (99% vs 63%).
| Dry Creek | Parkville | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 63% | 99% |
| Environmental | 37% | 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
| Dry Creek | Parkville | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 41 across Upper Hunter same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -20% same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Dry Creek | Parkville | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — | Higher than 16% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 86% of NSW | Higher than 72% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 42% of NSW | Higher than 8% of NSW |
| Affordability | — | Higher than 92% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 14% of NSW same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 38% of NSW | Higher than 52% of NSW |
Liveability
| Dry Creek | Parkville | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | advantaged area decile 7/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
Dry Creek carries more crime risk (59 vs 19); Dry Creek carries more bushfire risk (39 vs 17).
| Dry Creek | Parkville | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Low 39/100 | Low 17/100 |
| Crime | Moderate 59/100 | Low 19/100 |
| 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
| Dry Creek | Parkville | |
|---|---|---|
| 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
| Dry Creek | Parkville | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 1 | 10 |
Mobility
Dry Creek sits further from the CBD (296.8 km vs 285.1 km).
| Dry Creek | Parkville | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Sydney | 296.8 km +4% vs other | 285.1 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 218 min | 207 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.2% postcode 2337 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 41 postcode 2337 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 (77.0%).
Setting
| Dry Creek | Parkville | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 564 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 280 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Dry Creek | Parkville | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 26/100 | 30/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 14 premises | 0% 117 premises |
Climate
| Dry Creek | Parkville | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 631 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 31.6°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 4.1°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Dry Creek | Parkville | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $968/yr same for both | |
| Council | Upper Hunter same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Dry Creek | Parkville | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | New England same for both | |
| Member | Barnaby Joyce same for both | |
| Party | The Nationals same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Dry Creek | Parkville | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Parkville
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Dry Creek
Other comparisons with Parkville
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.