Fernmount vs Urunga

Fernmount is the younger of the two, with a median age of 46 against 55 in Urunga. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Fernmount, most households are couple families. In Urunga, about half of households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Fernmount: a median of $1.12 million, against $875,000 in Urunga. On these figures, Fernmount tends to suit couples, while Urunga suits people living alone, older residents, and 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

Fernmount

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • carries lower crime risk (16/100 vs 78/100)
  • is already more of a family suburb (71% vs 45%)
  • has more separate houses rather than flats (96% vs 81%)
  • But Urunga has more parks and reserves (7 vs 1)

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

First-home buyers

Urunga

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has cheaper land ($442,500 vs $660,000)
  • has cheaper houses ($875,000 vs $1,120,000)
  • But Fernmount leaves households under less mortgage stress (24% vs 36%)

Weighs house prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

They split

one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here

  • Fernmount leaves renters under less rental stress (20% vs 32%)
  • Urunga has a bigger rental market to choose from (28% vs 11%)

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

Commuting to the city

Urunga

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a shorter drive in (322 min vs 336 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (496.5 km vs 511.7 km)
  • But Fernmount is more walkable (16/100 vs 8/100)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

They split

one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here

  • Fernmount carries lower crime risk (16/100 vs 78/100)
  • Urunga has more units and townhouses to downsize into (19% vs 4%)

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

Investors

Fernmount

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (20.3% vs 6.2%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Fernmount Urunga
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.

Fernmount Urunga
Walkability 16 / 8
Fernmount — Walkability: 16/100 Urunga — Walkability: 8/100
Safety 84 / 22
Fernmount — Safety: 84/100 Urunga — Safety: 22/100
Low fire risk 100 / 64
Fernmount — Low fire risk: 100/100 Urunga — Low fire risk: 64/100

Demographics

Urunga has more residents (3,185 vs 444); Fernmount has higher household incomes ($92,768 vs $55,692).

Fernmount Urunga
Population 444 3,185
+617% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +20.3% +6.2%
Median age 46 55
Median household income $92,768/yr
+40% vs other
 $55,692/yr
Median weekly rent $350/wk
+3% vs other
 $340/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Fernmount Urunga
0-4 4.7% / 4.3%
Fernmount — 0-4: 4.7% Urunga — 0-4: 4.3%
5-14 13.1% / 9.5%
Fernmount — 5-14: 13.1% Urunga — 5-14: 9.5%
15-19 5.2% / 4.1%
Fernmount — 15-19: 5.2% Urunga — 15-19: 4.1%
20-24 3.8% / 2.7%
Fernmount — 20-24: 3.8% Urunga — 20-24: 2.7%
25-34 7.9% / 8.3%
Fernmount — 25-34: 7.9% Urunga — 25-34: 8.3%
35-44 11.9% / 8.3%
Fernmount — 35-44: 11.9% Urunga — 35-44: 8.3%
45-54 16.7% / 11.8%
Fernmount — 45-54: 16.7% Urunga — 45-54: 11.8%
55-64 16.9% / 17.2%
Fernmount — 55-64: 16.9% Urunga — 55-64: 17.2%
65-74 13.7% / 19.4%
Fernmount — 65-74: 13.7% Urunga — 65-74: 19.4%
75-84 4.3% / 10.6%
Fernmount — 75-84: 4.3% Urunga — 75-84: 10.6%
85+ 0.7% / 3.7%
Fernmount — 85+: 0.7% Urunga — 85+: 3.7%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.4%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Fernmount 56.2% couple families
Fernmount — Couple Families: 56.2% Fernmount — Lone Person: 22.5% Fernmount — One Parent Families: 14.6% Fernmount — Group Household: 6.7% Fernmount — Other Families: 0.0%
Urunga 25.0% couple families
Urunga — Couple Families: 25.0% Urunga — Lone Person: 47.5% Urunga — One Parent Families: 20.0% Urunga — Group Household: 6.2% Urunga — Other Families: 1.2%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Fernmount 11.3% renting
Fernmount — Owned Outright: 52.5% Fernmount — Mortgage: 36.2% Fernmount — Renting: 11.3%
Urunga 27.9% renting
Urunga — Owned Outright: 49.8% Urunga — Mortgage: 22.2% Urunga — Renting: 27.9%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Fernmount Urunga
Certificate III & IV 14.9% / 19.5%
Fernmount — Certificate III & IV: 14.9% Urunga — Certificate III & IV: 19.5%
Bachelor Degree 15.1% / 9.4%
Fernmount — Bachelor Degree: 15.1% Urunga — Bachelor Degree: 9.4%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 9.0% / 6.7%
Fernmount — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 9.0% Urunga — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.7%
Postgraduate Degree 5.0% / 2.3%
Fernmount — Postgraduate Degree: 5.0% Urunga — Postgraduate Degree: 2.3%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 3.2% / 1.9%
Fernmount — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 3.2% Urunga — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.9%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.5%).

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.

Fernmount Urunga
England 5.9% / 3.7%
Fernmount — England: 5.9% Urunga — England: 3.7%
New Zealand 1.4% / 1.0%
Fernmount — New Zealand: 1.4% Urunga — New Zealand: 1.0%
South Africa 0.7% / 0.3%
Fernmount — South Africa: 0.7% Urunga — South Africa: 0.3%
Scotland — / 0.5%
Fernmount — Scotland: not among its largest Urunga — Scotland: 0.5%
Germany — / 0.5%
Fernmount — Germany: not among its largest Urunga — Germany: 0.5%
Netherlands — / 0.3%
Fernmount — Netherlands: not among its largest Urunga — Netherlands: 0.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (5.9%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Fernmount 96.0% houses
Fernmount — Houses: 96.0% Fernmount — Flats / Apartments: 4.0% Fernmount — Townhouses: 0.0%
Urunga 80.9% houses
Urunga — Houses: 80.9% Urunga — Flats / Apartments: 13.3% Urunga — Townhouses: 5.7%
Houses Flats / Apartments Townhouses

Property market

Fernmount Urunga
Median house price $1,120,000 $875,000
Median unit price — $590,000
Median land price $660,000 $442,500
Typical days to sell (houses) — 60 days
from 40 sales

Zoning mix

Fernmount Urunga
Rural and farming 54% 61%
Environmental 30% 27%
Residential 16% 9%
Parks and recreation 0% 2%
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

Fernmount Urunga
New dwellings approved 40
across Bellingen
same for both
Approvals change year on year +12%
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.

Fernmount Urunga
Houses — 3.4%
$672/wk on $1.02M
Units —
same for both

Ranking within NSW

Fernmount Urunga
House price Higher than 58% of NSW Higher than 37% of NSW
Income Higher than 60% of NSW Higher than 16% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 66% of NSW Higher than 53% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 50% of NSW Higher than 34% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 79% of NSW Higher than 30% of NSW
NBN connectivity Higher than 55% of NSW Higher than 65% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) — Higher than 41% of NSW

Liveability

Fernmount is more walkable (16 vs 8).

Fernmount Urunga
Grade — D
Score — 20/100
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 7/10
 below-average income
decile 2/10

Risk profile

Urunga carries more bushfire risk (36 vs 0); Urunga carries more crime risk (78 vs 16).

Fernmount Urunga
Bushfire None
0/100
 Low
36/100
Crime Low
16/100
 High
78/100
Flood Not mapped
no mapped data here
same for both
Coastal erosion None
0/100
 Moderate
66/100
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 0
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Fernmount Urunga
Inside the suburb 0 1
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0 1
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Fernmount

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

Schools in Urunga

  • Urunga Public School Government · Primary at peers

Amenities in the suburb

Fernmount Urunga
Supermarkets 0 2
Cafes & restaurants 0 8
Parks & reserves 1 7
Childcare 0 2
GPs 0 1
Pharmacies 0 1
Police stations 0 1
Banks & Bank@Post 0 2
Fuel stations 0 2
Waterways 10 20

Mobility

Fernmount sits further from the CBD (511.7 km vs 496.5 km).

Fernmount Urunga
Walkability score 16/100 8/100
Distance to Sydney 511.7 km
+3% vs other
 496.5 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 336 min 322 min
Electric vehicle share 0.9%
postcode 2454
 0.3%
postcode 2455
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 70
postcode 2454
 58
postcode 2455

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.

Fernmount Urunga
Car (driver) 73.2% / 79.1%
Fernmount — Car (driver): 73.2% Urunga — Car (driver): 79.1%
Worked from Home 20.1% / 13.2%
Fernmount — Worked from Home: 20.1% Urunga — Worked from Home: 13.2%
Car (passenger) 3.0% / 4.1%
Fernmount — Car (passenger): 3.0% Urunga — Car (passenger): 4.1%
Walked Only 3.7% / 2.6%
Fernmount — Walked Only: 3.7% Urunga — Walked Only: 2.6%
Bicycle — / 0.8%
Fernmount — Bicycle: not among its largest Urunga — Bicycle: 0.8%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (79.1%).

Setting

Fernmount Urunga
Elevation 16 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 4 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 8.4 km 3.5 km
3.7 km to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Fernmount Urunga
Connectivity score 30/100 45/100
Most common technology Fixed wireless Fibre to the node
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
174 premises
 4%
1,786 premises

Climate

Fernmount Urunga
Annual rainfall 1,827 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Fernmount Urunga
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

Fernmount Urunga
Average residential rate $1,592/yr
same for both
Council Bellingen
same for both

Federal electorate

Fernmount Urunga
Division Cowper
same for both
Member Pat Conaghan
same for both
Party The Nationals
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Fernmount Urunga
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Fernmount

Acreage Professionals

Urunga

Retirees River

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Fernmount

Fernmount vs Bellingen Fernmount vs Raleigh Fernmount vs Brierfield

Other comparisons with Urunga

Urunga vs Valla Urunga vs Raleigh Urunga vs Mylestom Urunga vs Brierfield
Full data on Fernmount Full data on Urunga
Unlock full address-level data — $29/month

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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