Emerald Beach vs Woolgoolga

Emerald Beach is the younger of the two, with a median age of 41 against 45 in Woolgoolga. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Emerald Beach, about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Emerald Beach: a median of $1.06 million, against $920,000 in Woolgoolga, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Emerald Beach tends to suit families with children and couples, while Woolgoolga suits people living alone and older residents.

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

  • Emerald Beach carries lower crime risk (45/100 vs 81/100)
  • Woolgoolga has more parks and reserves (9 vs 2)

Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.

First-home buyers

Woolgoolga

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has cheaper land ($450,000 vs $769,000)
  • has cheaper houses ($920,000 vs $1,057,500)
  • But Emerald Beach leaves households under less mortgage stress (25% vs 34%)

Weighs house prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Woolgoolga

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($360/wk vs $463/wk)

Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.

Commuting to the city

Emerald Beach

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • sits closer to the CBD (548.7 km vs 554.9 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Woolgoolga

ahead on 3 of the 5 things we measure here

  • has more GPs (4 vs 0)
  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (18% vs 6%)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (27% vs 17%)
  • But Emerald Beach carries lower crime risk (45/100 vs 81/100)

Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.

Investors

Woolgoolga

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • returns a higher gross yield on houses (3.7% vs 2.3%)

Weighs house yield and population growth.

Where they sit

Emerald Beach and Woolgoolga drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
Hides rows where both suburbs match

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.

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
Walkability 12 / 8
Emerald Beach — Walkability: 12/100 Woolgoolga — Walkability: 8/100
Safety 55 / 19
Emerald Beach — Safety: 55/100 Woolgoolga — Safety: 19/100
Low fire risk 48 / 55
Emerald Beach — Low fire risk: 48/100 Woolgoolga — Low fire risk: 55/100

Demographics

Woolgoolga has more residents (6,151 vs 2,677); Emerald Beach has higher household incomes ($94,276 vs $61,880).

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
Population 2,677 6,151
+130% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +19.8% +16.3%
Median age 41 45
Median household income $94,276/yr
+34% vs other
 $61,880/yr
Median weekly rent $463/wk
+22% vs other
 $360/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
0-4 6.5% / 5.3%
Emerald Beach — 0-4: 6.5% Woolgoolga — 0-4: 5.3%
5-14 15.5% / 10.5%
Emerald Beach — 5-14: 15.5% Woolgoolga — 5-14: 10.5%
15-19 5.4% / 4.6%
Emerald Beach — 15-19: 5.4% Woolgoolga — 15-19: 4.6%
20-24 3.5% / 4.1%
Emerald Beach — 20-24: 3.5% Woolgoolga — 20-24: 4.1%
25-34 10.2% / 13.6%
Emerald Beach — 25-34: 10.2% Woolgoolga — 25-34: 13.6%
35-44 14.2% / 11.4%
Emerald Beach — 35-44: 14.2% Woolgoolga — 35-44: 11.4%
45-54 13.8% / 10.6%
Emerald Beach — 45-54: 13.8% Woolgoolga — 45-54: 10.6%
55-64 13.6% / 13.2%
Emerald Beach — 55-64: 13.6% Woolgoolga — 55-64: 13.2%
65-74 11.6% / 15.3%
Emerald Beach — 65-74: 11.6% Woolgoolga — 65-74: 15.3%
75-84 4.5% / 7.9%
Emerald Beach — 75-84: 4.5% Woolgoolga — 75-84: 7.9%
85+ 1.0% / 3.6%
Emerald Beach — 85+: 1.0% Woolgoolga — 85+: 3.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (15.5%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Emerald Beach 50.7% couple families
Emerald Beach — Couple Families: 50.7% Emerald Beach — Lone Person: 23.8% Emerald Beach — One Parent Families: 21.8% Emerald Beach — Group Household: 3.2% Emerald Beach — Other Families: 0.5%
Woolgoolga 34.6% couple families
Woolgoolga — Couple Families: 34.6% Woolgoolga — Lone Person: 41.0% Woolgoolga — One Parent Families: 16.4% Woolgoolga — Group Household: 6.8% Woolgoolga — Other Families: 1.1%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Emerald Beach 21.6% renting
Emerald Beach — Owned Outright: 37.5% Emerald Beach — Mortgage: 40.9% Emerald Beach — Renting: 21.6%
Woolgoolga 30.5% renting
Woolgoolga — Owned Outright: 45.8% Woolgoolga — Mortgage: 23.6% Woolgoolga — Renting: 30.5%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
Certificate III & IV 17.4% / 14.9%
Emerald Beach — Certificate III & IV: 17.4% Woolgoolga — Certificate III & IV: 14.9%
Bachelor Degree 14.8% / 10.0%
Emerald Beach — Bachelor Degree: 14.8% Woolgoolga — Bachelor Degree: 10.0%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.5% / 8.6%
Emerald Beach — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.5% Woolgoolga — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.6%
Postgraduate Degree 3.7% / 2.4%
Emerald Beach — Postgraduate Degree: 3.7% Woolgoolga — Postgraduate Degree: 2.4%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.8% / 1.6%
Emerald Beach — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.8% Woolgoolga — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.4%).

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.

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
India — / 10.7%
Emerald Beach — India: not among its largest Woolgoolga — India: 10.7%
England 3.2% / 3.5%
Emerald Beach — England: 3.2% Woolgoolga — England: 3.5%
New Zealand 2.4% / 1.0%
Emerald Beach — New Zealand: 2.4% Woolgoolga — New Zealand: 1.0%
Malaysia 0.3% / 1.0%
Emerald Beach — Malaysia: 0.3% Woolgoolga — Malaysia: 1.0%
Scotland 0.7% / 0.5%
Emerald Beach — Scotland: 0.7% Woolgoolga — Scotland: 0.5%
Germany 0.6% / 0.6%
Emerald Beach — Germany: 0.6% Woolgoolga — Germany: 0.6%
South Africa 0.7% / —
Emerald Beach — South Africa: 0.7% Woolgoolga — South Africa: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (10.7%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Emerald Beach 93.6% houses
Emerald Beach — Houses: 93.6% Emerald Beach — Townhouses: 3.9% Emerald Beach — Flats / Apartments: 2.6%
Woolgoolga 82.2% houses
Woolgoolga — Houses: 82.2% Woolgoolga — Townhouses: 13.2% Woolgoolga — Flats / Apartments: 4.6%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
Median house price $1,057,500 $920,000
Median unit price — $640,000
Median land price $769,000 $450,000
Typical days to sell (houses) 34 days
from 22 sales
 32 days
from 56 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.

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
3 bed $942K / $855K
Emerald Beach — 3 bed: $942K (20 sales) Woolgoolga — 3 bed: $855K (31 sales)

20 vs 31 sales

4 bed $1.17M / $929K
Emerald Beach — 4 bed: $1.17M (24 sales) Woolgoolga — 4 bed: $929K (44 sales)

24 vs 44 sales

5 bed $1.18M / $1.15M
Emerald Beach — 5 bed: $1.18M (8 sales) Woolgoolga — 5 bed: $1.15M (11 sales)

8 vs 11 sales

Zoning mix

Woolgoolga has more rural and farming land (77% vs 61%).

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
Rural and farming 61% 77%
Residential 23% 7%
Environmental 12% 8%
Infrastructure and transport 2% 4%
Parks and recreation 1% 3%
Planning zones cover 99% of Emerald Beach and 100% of Woolgoolga. The rest is unzoned land such as water or road reserve.
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

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
New dwellings approved 356
across Coffs Harbour
same for both
Approvals change year on year +61%
same for both

Gross rental yield

Gross — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. From median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
Houses 2.3%
$650/wk on $1.5M
 3.7%
$700/wk on $987K
Units — 3.7%
$490/wk on $688K

Ranking within NSW

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
House price Higher than 53% of NSW Higher than 39% of NSW
Income Higher than 62% of NSW Higher than 24% of NSW
Schools — Higher than 11% of NSW
Walkability Higher than 60% of NSW Higher than 53% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 57% of NSW Higher than 40% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 52% of NSW
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 75% of NSW Higher than 69% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 4% of NSW Higher than 56% of NSW
Rental yield (units) — Higher than 15% of NSW

Liveability

Emerald Beach scores higher overall (36 vs 19).

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
Grade C D
Score 36/100 19/100
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 7/10
 below-average income
decile 3/10

Risk profile

Woolgoolga carries more crime risk (81 vs 45).

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
Bushfire Moderate
52/100
 Moderate
45/100
Crime Moderate
45/100
 High
81/100
Flood Not mapped
no mapped data here
same for both
Coastal erosion Low
36/100
 Moderate
58/100
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 0
within 5 km
 1
within 5 km

Schools

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
Inside the suburb 0 3
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0 1
Rated below peers 0 2

Schools in Emerald Beach

No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.

Schools in Woolgoolga

  • Woolgoolga Public School Government · Primary at peers
  • St Francis Xavier Primary School Catholic · Primary below peers
  • Woolgoolga High School Government · Secondary below peers

Amenities in the suburb

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
Supermarkets 0 3
Cafes & restaurants 2 10
Parks & reserves 2 9
Childcare 1 4
GPs 0 4
Pharmacies 0 2
Police stations 0 1
Banks & Bank@Post 0 3
Fuel stations 1 3
Waterways 20 28

Mobility

Woolgoolga sits further from the CBD (554.9 km vs 548.7 km).

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
Walkability score 12/100 8/100
Distance to Sydney 548.7 km 554.9 km
+1% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 366 min 370 min
Public transport score 58/100
Bus
 71/100
Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 28.8
7-9am + 5-7pm
 65.8
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 0 min
scheduled, not actual
same for both
Electric vehicle share 0.5%
postcode 2456
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 59
postcode 2456
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.

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
Car (driver) 75.8% / 76.6%
Emerald Beach — Car (driver): 75.8% Woolgoolga — Car (driver): 76.6%
Worked from Home 16.8% / 9.8%
Emerald Beach — Worked from Home: 16.8% Woolgoolga — Worked from Home: 9.8%
Car (passenger) 3.8% / 8.4%
Emerald Beach — Car (passenger): 3.8% Woolgoolga — Car (passenger): 8.4%
Walked Only 2.7% / 4.2%
Emerald Beach — Walked Only: 2.7% Woolgoolga — Walked Only: 4.2%
Bicycle 0.5% / 0.6%
Emerald Beach — Bicycle: 0.5% Woolgoolga — Bicycle: 0.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (76.6%).

Setting

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
Elevation 71 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 62 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 3.0 km
3.2 km to a named beach
 3.4 km
4.8 km to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
Connectivity score 67/100 59/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 30%
1,093 premises
 22%
3,566 premises

Climate

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
Annual rainfall 1,827 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
PM2.5 4.3 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 10.8 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ 0.22 pphm
same for both

Council rates

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
Average residential rate $1,437/yr
same for both
Council Coffs Harbour
same for both

Federal electorate

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
Division Page
same for both
Member Kevin Hogan
same for both
Party The Nationals
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Emerald Beach Woolgoolga
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Emerald Beach

Acreage Coastal

Woolgoolga

Retirees River

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Emerald Beach

Emerald Beach vs Sandy Beach Emerald Beach vs Moonee Beach Emerald Beach vs Bucca

Other comparisons with Woolgoolga

Woolgoolga vs Sandy Beach Woolgoolga vs Corindi Beach Woolgoolga vs Safety Beach Woolgoolga vs Arrawarra Headland Woolgoolga vs Bucca Woolgoolga vs Mullaway
Full data on Emerald Beach Full data on Woolgoolga
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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.

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