Elermore Vale vs New Lambton Heights
In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In New Lambton Heights, most households are couple families. Houses cost more in New Lambton Heights: a median of $1.28 million, against $945,000 in Elermore Vale, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Elermore Vale tends to suit people living alone, older residents, and buyers on a tighter budget, while New Lambton Heights suits families with children and 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
They split
one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here
- Elermore Vale has more childcare (5 vs 1)
- New Lambton Heights is already more of a family suburb (78% vs 58%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Elermore Vale
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has cheaper houses ($945,000 vs $1,280,000)
- has cheaper units ($720,000 vs $965,000)
- But New Lambton Heights leaves households under less mortgage stress (20% vs 27%)
Weighs house prices, unit prices, and mortgage stress.
Renters
Elermore Vale
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a bigger rental market to choose from (26% vs 12%)
- has cheaper rent ($380/wk vs $483/wk)
- But New Lambton Heights leaves renters under less rental stress (18% vs 24%)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Elermore Vale
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- sits closer to the CBD (150.7 km vs 152.8 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Elermore Vale
ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here
- has more units and townhouses to downsize into (21% vs 2%)
- has more residents already 65 and over (25% vs 16%)
- But New Lambton Heights has more GPs (2 vs 0)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Elermore Vale
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- returns a higher gross yield on houses (4.5% vs 3.3%)
Weighs house yield and population growth.
Where they sit
Elermore Vale and New Lambton 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
Elermore Vale has more residents (6,057 vs 2,610); New Lambton Heights has higher household incomes ($142,584 vs $81,484).
| Elermore Vale | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 6,057 +57% vs other | 2,610 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +9.6% | +6.4% |
| Median age | 42 | 41 |
| Median household income | $81,484/yr | $142,584/yr +75% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $380/wk | $483/wk +27% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.6%).
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 (20.7%).
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 (3.3%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Elermore Vale | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $945,000 | $1,280,000 |
| Median unit price | $720,000 | $965,000 |
| Median land price | — | $560,000 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 17 days from 33 sales | 38 days from 15 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.
42 vs 31 sales
26 vs 34 sales
10 vs 16 sales
Zoning mix
| Elermore Vale | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Residential | 53% | 38% |
| Environmental | 34% | 30% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 5% | 31% |
| Parks and recreation | 8% | 1% |
| 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
| Elermore Vale | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 912 across Newcastle same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +77% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Elermore Vale | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 4.5% $765/wk on $890K | 3.3% $900/wk on $1.44M |
| Units | — same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Elermore Vale | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 46% of NSW | Higher than 67% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 49% of NSW | Higher than 92% of NSW |
| Schools | Higher than 8% of NSW | — |
| Walkability | Higher than 84% of NSW | Higher than 83% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 53% of NSW | Higher than 71% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 76% of NSW | Higher than 87% of NSW |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 75% of NSW | Higher than 77% of NSW |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 90% of NSW | Higher than 32% of NSW |
Liveability
New Lambton Heights scores higher overall (54 vs 34).
| Elermore Vale | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | C | B |
| Score | 34/100 | 54/100 |
| Socio-economic band | mid-range socio-economic decile 5/10 | very advantaged area decile 10/10 |
Risk profile
| Elermore Vale | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Moderate 54/100 | Moderate 46/100 |
| Crime | Moderate 59/100 | Moderate 64/100 |
| 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 | 4 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Elermore Vale | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 3 | 2 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 1 | 0 |
| Rated below peers | 2 | 0 |
| Universities within 10 km | 1 The University of Newcastle (Callaghan), 4.9 km | 2 The University of Newcastle (Callaghan), 4.1 km |
| Full-time students aged 15–24 | 2.3% | 2.6% |
Schools in Elermore Vale
- Wallsend South Public School Government · Primary at peers
- Elermore Vale Public School Government · Primary below peers
- Alesco Secondary College Independent · Secondary · Special school below peers
Schools in New Lambton Heights
- New Lambton Heights Infants School Government · Primary
- John Hunter Hospital School Government · Combined · Special school
Amenities in the suburb
| Elermore Vale | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 1 | 0 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 0 | 1 |
| Parks & reserves | 6 | 2 |
| Childcare | 5 | 1 |
| GPs | 0 | 2 |
| Pharmacies | 1 | 3 |
| Hospitals | 0 | 2 |
| Waterways | 11 | 2 |
Mobility
New Lambton Heights sits further from the CBD (152.8 km vs 150.7 km).
| Elermore Vale | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 58/100 | 57/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 150.7 km | 152.8 km +1% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 110 min | 113 min |
| Public transport score | 78/100 Bus | 79/100 Bus |
| Peak arrivals per hour | 153.2 7-9am + 5-7pm | 153.0 7-9am + 5-7pm |
| Median peak wait | 0 min scheduled, not actual same for both | |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.9% postcode 2287 | 1.4% postcode 2305 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 42 postcode 2287 | 38 postcode 2305 |
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 (67.4%).
Setting
| Elermore Vale | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 53 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 84 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 8.9 km | 6.1 km |
NBN connectivity
| Elermore Vale | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 67/100 | 71/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the node same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 40% 2,756 premises | 47% 1,025 premises |
Climate
| Elermore Vale | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,025 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 25.4°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 10.2°C same for both | |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Elermore Vale | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 6.1 µg/m³ same for both | |
| PM10 | 16.5 µg/m³ same for both | |
| NO₂ | 0.53 pphm same for both | |
Council rates
| Elermore Vale | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,783/yr same for both | |
| Council | Newcastle same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Elermore Vale | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Newcastle same for both | |
| Member | Sharon Claydon same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Elermore Vale | New Lambton Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
New Lambton Heights
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Elermore Vale
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.