Flinders vs Shell Cove

Flinders is the younger of the two, with a median age of 36 against 40 in Shell Cove. In both, the large majority of households own their home, most homes are detached houses, and most households are couple families. Houses cost more in Shell Cove: a median of $1.46 million, against $1.14 million in Flinders, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Flinders tends to suit buyers on a tighter budget, while Shell Cove suits 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

Shell Cove

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more schools rated above their peers (1 vs 0)
  • has more parks and reserves (22 vs 16)
  • has more separate houses rather than flats (87% vs 74%)

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

First-home buyers

Flinders

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has cheaper houses ($1,135,000 vs $1,462,500)
  • has cheaper units ($850,000 vs $1,050,000)

Weighs house prices, unit prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Flinders

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($490/wk vs $600/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Flinders

ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (67/100 vs 33/100)
  • sits closer to the CBD (111.2 km vs 114.2 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, rail access, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Flinders

ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here

  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (26% vs 13%)
  • is more walkable (67/100 vs 33/100)

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

Investors

They split

one each way, out of the 2 things we measure here

  • Flinders returns a higher gross yield on houses (3.7% vs 3.0%)
  • Shell Cove is growing faster (35.0% vs 6.6%)

Weighs house yield and population growth.

Where they sit

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

Flinders Shell Cove
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.

Flinders Shell Cove
Walkability 67 / 33
Flinders — Walkability: 67/100 Shell Cove — Walkability: 33/100
Safety 54 / 58
Flinders — Safety: 54/100 Shell Cove — Safety: 58/100
Low fire risk 100 / 58
Flinders — Low fire risk: 100/100 Shell Cove — Low fire risk: 58/100

Demographics

Shell Cove rents higher ($600/wk vs $490/wk); Shell Cove has higher household incomes ($127,504 vs $109,356).

Flinders Shell Cove
Population 7,118 7,591
+7% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +6.6% +35.0%
Median age 36 40
Median household income $109,356/yr $127,504/yr
+17% vs other
Median weekly rent $490/wk $600/wk
+22% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Flinders Shell Cove
0-4 6.5% / 5.6%
Flinders — 0-4: 6.5% Shell Cove — 0-4: 5.6%
5-14 15.7% / 15.0%
Flinders — 5-14: 15.7% Shell Cove — 5-14: 15.0%
15-19 7.7% / 7.9%
Flinders — 15-19: 7.7% Shell Cove — 15-19: 7.9%
20-24 6.1% / 5.5%
Flinders — 20-24: 6.1% Shell Cove — 20-24: 5.5%
25-34 12.3% / 8.5%
Flinders — 25-34: 12.3% Shell Cove — 25-34: 8.5%
35-44 15.1% / 14.5%
Flinders — 35-44: 15.1% Shell Cove — 35-44: 14.5%
45-54 13.8% / 15.3%
Flinders — 45-54: 13.8% Shell Cove — 45-54: 15.3%
55-64 10.2% / 11.7%
Flinders — 55-64: 10.2% Shell Cove — 55-64: 11.7%
65-74 8.4% / 9.2%
Flinders — 65-74: 8.4% Shell Cove — 65-74: 9.2%
75-84 3.4% / 5.0%
Flinders — 75-84: 3.4% Shell Cove — 75-84: 5.0%
85+ 0.8% / 1.8%
Flinders — 85+: 0.8% Shell Cove — 85+: 1.8%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (15.7%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Flinders 57.7% couple families
Flinders — Couple Families: 57.7% Flinders — Lone Person: 20.7% Flinders — One Parent Families: 18.7% Flinders — Group Household: 1.9% Flinders — Other Families: 0.9%
Shell Cove 69.3% couple families
Shell Cove — Couple Families: 69.3% Shell Cove — Lone Person: 16.2% Shell Cove — One Parent Families: 11.9% Shell Cove — Group Household: 1.7% Shell Cove — Other Families: 0.8%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Flinders 24.4% renting
Flinders — Owned Outright: 29.3% Flinders — Mortgage: 46.4% Flinders — Renting: 24.4%
Shell Cove 20.0% renting
Shell Cove — Owned Outright: 36.6% Shell Cove — Mortgage: 43.4% Shell Cove — Renting: 20.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Flinders Shell Cove
Certificate III & IV 18.9% / 16.6%
Flinders — Certificate III & IV: 18.9% Shell Cove — Certificate III & IV: 16.6%
Bachelor Degree 8.9% / 12.0%
Flinders — Bachelor Degree: 8.9% Shell Cove — Bachelor Degree: 12.0%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.3% / 9.5%
Flinders — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.3% Shell Cove — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 9.5%
Postgraduate Degree 2.5% / 3.9%
Flinders — Postgraduate Degree: 2.5% Shell Cove — Postgraduate Degree: 3.9%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.2% / 2.1%
Flinders — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.2% Shell Cove — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.1%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.9%).

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.

Flinders Shell Cove
England 2.8% / 4.1%
Flinders — England: 2.8% Shell Cove — England: 4.1%
New Zealand 0.9% / 0.8%
Flinders — New Zealand: 0.9% Shell Cove — New Zealand: 0.8%
South Africa 0.5% / 0.9%
Flinders — South Africa: 0.5% Shell Cove — South Africa: 0.9%
Italy 0.5% / 0.6%
Flinders — Italy: 0.5% Shell Cove — Italy: 0.6%
Philippines 0.6% / —
Flinders — Philippines: 0.6% Shell Cove — Philippines: not among its largest
Egypt — / 0.6%
Flinders — Egypt: not among its largest Shell Cove — Egypt: 0.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (4.1%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Flinders 73.6% houses
Flinders — Houses: 73.6% Flinders — Townhouses: 25.7% Flinders — Flats / Apartments: 0.8%
Shell Cove 87.4% houses
Shell Cove — Houses: 87.4% Shell Cove — Townhouses: 8.2% Shell Cove — Flats / Apartments: 4.4%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Flinders Shell Cove
Median house price $1,135,000 $1,462,500
Median unit price $850,000 $1,050,000
Median land price — $1,595,000
Typical days to sell (houses) 24 days
from 29 sales
 42 days
from 102 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.

Flinders Shell Cove
3 bed $938K / $1.1M
Flinders — 3 bed: $938K (34 sales) Shell Cove — 3 bed: $1.1M (26 sales)

34 vs 26 sales

4 bed $1.19M / $1.45M
Flinders — 4 bed: $1.19M (41 sales) Shell Cove — 4 bed: $1.45M (108 sales)

41 vs 108 sales

5 bed $1.21M / $1.71M
Flinders — 5 bed: $1.21M (14 sales) Shell Cove — 5 bed: $1.71M (38 sales)

14 vs 38 sales

Zoning mix

Shell Cove has more land zoned for conservation (31% vs 0%).

Flinders Shell Cove
Residential 82% 25%
Environmental 0% 31%
Other and special use 0% 29%
Parks and recreation 13% 11%
Infrastructure and transport 5% 0%
Industrial 0% 1%
Rural and farming 0% 1%
Planning zones cover 100% of Flinders and 99% of Shell Cove. 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

Flinders Shell Cove
New dwellings approved 883
across Shellharbour
same for both
Approvals change year on year +25%
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.

Flinders Shell Cove
Houses 3.7%
$820/wk on $1.15M
 3.0%
$900/wk on $1.55M
Units — 3.0%
$900/wk on $1.57M

Ranking within NSW

Flinders Shell Cove
House price Higher than 58% of NSW Higher than 75% of NSW
Income Higher than 75% of NSW Higher than 88% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 87% of NSW Higher than 76% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 63% of NSW Higher than 52% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 78% of NSW
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 93% of NSW Higher than 98% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 58% of NSW Higher than 22% of NSW
Rental yield (units) — Higher than 4% of NSW

Liveability

Flinders is more walkable (67 vs 33); Flinders scores higher overall (63 vs 56).

Flinders Shell Cove
Grade B
same for both
Score 63/100 56/100
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 7/10
 very advantaged area
decile 10/10

Risk profile

Shell Cove carries more bushfire risk (42 vs 0).

Flinders Shell Cove
Bushfire None
0/100
 Moderate
42/100
Crime Moderate
46/100
 Moderate
42/100
Flood Not mapped
no mapped data here
same for both
Coastal erosion None
0/100
 High
79/100
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 6
within 5 km
 5
within 5 km

Schools

Flinders Shell Cove
Inside the suburb 1 2
Rated above peers 0 1
Rated at peers 1 0
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Flinders

  • Flinders Public School Government · Primary at peers

Schools in Shell Cove

  • Shell Cove Public School Government · Primary above peers
  • Illawarra Environmental Education Centre Government · Combined

Amenities in the suburb

Flinders Shell Cove
Supermarkets 0 2
Cafes & restaurants 0 6
Parks & reserves 16 22
Childcare 6 4
Pharmacies 1
same for both
EV chargers 0 1
Beaches 0 4
Waterways 0 4

Mobility

Shell Cove sits further from the CBD (114.2 km vs 111.2 km).

Flinders Shell Cove
Walkability score 67/100 33/100
Distance to Sydney 111.2 km 114.2 km
+3% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 98 min 102 min
Public transport score 79/100
Bus
same for both
Peak arrivals per hour 83.8
7-9am + 5-7pm
 55.5
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 0 min
scheduled, not actual
same for both
Electric vehicle share 0.9%
postcode 2529
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 45
postcode 2529
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.

Flinders Shell Cove
Car (driver) 69.7% / 60.5%
Flinders — Car (driver): 69.7% Shell Cove — Car (driver): 60.5%
Worked from Home 25.4% / 34.2%
Flinders — Worked from Home: 25.4% Shell Cove — Worked from Home: 34.2%
Car (passenger) 3.7% / 3.5%
Flinders — Car (passenger): 3.7% Shell Cove — Car (passenger): 3.5%
Walked Only 0.1% / 0.9%
Flinders — Walked Only: 0.1% Shell Cove — Walked Only: 0.9%
Bus 0.7% / 0.1%
Flinders — Bus: 0.7% Shell Cove — Bus: 0.1%
Train 0.2% / 0.5%
Flinders — Train: 0.2% Shell Cove — Train: 0.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (69.7%).

Setting

Flinders Shell Cove
Elevation 39 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 2 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 2.0 km
2.4 km to a named beach
 530 m
559 m to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Flinders Shell Cove
Connectivity score 87/100 98/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 76%
2,558 premises
 97%
3,391 premises

Climate

Flinders Shell Cove
Annual rainfall 974 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Flinders Shell Cove
PM2.5 5.1 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 14.3 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ 0.37 pphm
same for both

Council rates

Flinders Shell Cove
Average residential rate $1,788/yr
same for both
Council Shellharbour
same for both

Federal electorate

Flinders Shell Cove
Division Whitlam
same for both
Member Carol Berry
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Flinders Shell Cove
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Flinders

Coastal Family Parks Townhouses Urban

Shell Cove

Beach Coastal Large Blocks River

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Flinders

Flinders vs Shellharbour Flinders vs Blackbutt Flinders vs Dunmore Flinders vs Croom

Other comparisons with Shell Cove

Shell Cove vs Shellharbour Shell Cove vs Minnamurra Shell Cove vs Dunmore
Full data on Flinders Full data on Shell Cove
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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