Forest Hill vs Ladysmith

Forest Hill is the younger of the two, with a median age of 25 against 42 in Ladysmith. In both, most households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Ladysmith: a median of $749,000, against $602,000 in Forest Hill, though rent is higher in Forest Hill. On these figures, Forest Hill tends to suit young adults 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

Forest Hill

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more parks and reserves (3 vs 0)
  • has more childcare (3 vs 0)
  • is already more of a family suburb (71% vs 62%)
  • But Ladysmith carries lower crime risk (16/100 vs 66/100)

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

First-home buyers

They split

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

  • Forest Hill has cheaper houses ($602,500 vs $749,000)
  • Ladysmith has cheaper land ($223,000 vs $281,500)

Weighs house prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

They split

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

  • Forest Hill has a bigger rental market to choose from (36% vs 11%)
  • Ladysmith has cheaper rent ($265/wk vs $310/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Ladysmith

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a shorter drive in (279 min vs 308 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (449.3 km vs 456.9 km)
  • But Forest Hill is more walkable (58/100 vs 0/100)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Ladysmith

ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here

  • carries lower crime risk (16/100 vs 66/100)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (20% vs 7%)
  • But Forest Hill is more walkable (58/100 vs 0/100)

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

Investors

Forest Hill

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (35.5% vs -3.7%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Forest Hill Ladysmith
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.

Forest Hill Ladysmith
Walkability 58 / 0
Forest Hill — Walkability: 58/100 Ladysmith — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 34 / 84
Forest Hill — Safety: 34/100 Ladysmith — Safety: 84/100
Low fire risk 72 / 83
Forest Hill — Low fire risk: 72/100 Ladysmith — Low fire risk: 83/100

Demographics

Forest Hill has more residents (3,081 vs 339); Ladysmith skews older (42 vs 25).

Forest Hill Ladysmith
Population 3,081
+89% vs other
 339
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +35.5% -3.7%
Median age 25 42
Median household income $92,976/yr $93,132/yr
Median weekly rent $310/wk
+15% vs other
 $265/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Forest Hill Ladysmith
0-4 7.3% / 4.4%
Forest Hill — 0-4: 7.3% Ladysmith — 0-4: 4.4%
5-14 14.2% / 15.6%
Forest Hill — 5-14: 14.2% Ladysmith — 5-14: 15.6%
15-19 13.3% / 7.7%
Forest Hill — 15-19: 13.3% Ladysmith — 15-19: 7.7%
20-24 14.2% / 4.7%
Forest Hill — 20-24: 14.2% Ladysmith — 20-24: 4.7%
25-34 15.7% / 9.4%
Forest Hill — 25-34: 15.7% Ladysmith — 25-34: 9.4%
35-44 13.4% / 13.6%
Forest Hill — 35-44: 13.4% Ladysmith — 35-44: 13.6%
45-54 9.2% / 13.0%
Forest Hill — 45-54: 9.2% Ladysmith — 45-54: 13.0%
55-64 6.5% / 13.3%
Forest Hill — 55-64: 6.5% Ladysmith — 55-64: 13.3%
65-74 4.3% / 12.1%
Forest Hill — 65-74: 4.3% Ladysmith — 65-74: 12.1%
75-84 1.9% / 6.8%
Forest Hill — 75-84: 1.9% Ladysmith — 75-84: 6.8%
85+ 0.4% / 0.9%
Forest Hill — 85+: 0.4% Ladysmith — 85+: 0.9%

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

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Forest Hill 51.5% couple families
Forest Hill — Couple Families: 51.5% Forest Hill — Lone Person: 25.1% Forest Hill — One Parent Families: 19.9% Forest Hill — Group Household: 2.4% Forest Hill — Other Families: 1.1%
Ladysmith 47.7% couple families
Ladysmith — Couple Families: 47.7% Ladysmith — Lone Person: 29.5% Ladysmith — One Parent Families: 14.8% Ladysmith — Group Household: 8.0% Ladysmith — Other Families: 0.0%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Forest Hill 36.1% renting
Forest Hill — Owned Outright: 18.1% Forest Hill — Mortgage: 45.8% Forest Hill — Renting: 36.1%
Ladysmith 10.7% renting
Ladysmith — Owned Outright: 43.0% Ladysmith — Mortgage: 46.3% Ladysmith — Renting: 10.7%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Forest Hill Ladysmith
Certificate III & IV 18.8% / 18.3%
Forest Hill — Certificate III & IV: 18.8% Ladysmith — Certificate III & IV: 18.3%
Bachelor Degree 6.9% / 8.0%
Forest Hill — Bachelor Degree: 6.9% Ladysmith — Bachelor Degree: 8.0%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 7.0% / 7.7%
Forest Hill — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.0% Ladysmith — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.7%
Postgraduate Degree 1.4% / 2.7%
Forest Hill — Postgraduate Degree: 1.4% Ladysmith — Postgraduate Degree: 2.7%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 0.9% / 0.9%
Forest Hill — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 0.9% Ladysmith — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 0.9%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.8%).

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.

Forest Hill Ladysmith
England 1.0% / 1.8%
Forest Hill — England: 1.0% Ladysmith — England: 1.8%
New Zealand 0.7% / 1.2%
Forest Hill — New Zealand: 0.7% Ladysmith — New Zealand: 1.2%
Philippines 1.3% / —
Forest Hill — Philippines: 1.3% Ladysmith — Philippines: not among its largest
India 1.3% / —
Forest Hill — India: 1.3% Ladysmith — India: not among its largest
Germany — / 0.9%
Forest Hill — Germany: not among its largest Ladysmith — Germany: 0.9%
South Africa 0.8% / —
Forest Hill — South Africa: 0.8% Ladysmith — South Africa: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (1.8%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Forest Hill 89.9% houses
Forest Hill — Houses: 89.9% Forest Hill — Flats / Apartments: 9.1% Forest Hill — Townhouses: 1.0%
Ladysmith 100.0% houses
Ladysmith — Houses: 100.0% Ladysmith — Flats / Apartments: 0.0% Ladysmith — Townhouses: 0.0%
Houses Flats / Apartments Townhouses

Property market

Forest Hill Ladysmith
Median house price $602,500 $749,000
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price $281,500 $223,000
Typical days to sell (houses) 32 days
from 18 sales
 77 days
from 5 sales

Zoning mix

Ladysmith has more rural and farming land (100% vs 83%).

Forest Hill Ladysmith
Rural and farming 83% 100%
Infrastructure and transport 12% 0%
Residential 4% 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

Forest Hill Ladysmith
New dwellings approved 548
across Wagga Wagga
same for both
Approvals change year on year +139%
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.

Forest Hill Ladysmith
Houses 4.4%
$580/wk on $681K
 —
Units —
same for both

Ranking within NSW

Forest Hill Ladysmith
House price Higher than 18% of NSW Higher than 19% of NSW
Income Higher than 60% of NSW
same for both
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 84% of NSW Higher than 29% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 89% of NSW Higher than 88% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 13% of NSW Higher than 3% of NSW
NBN connectivity Higher than 87% of NSW Higher than 58% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 89% of NSW —

Liveability

Forest Hill is more walkable (58 vs 0).

Forest Hill Ladysmith
Grade C —
Score 39/100 —
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 4/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 6/10

Risk profile

Forest Hill carries more crime risk (66 vs 16); Forest Hill carries more bushfire risk (28 vs 17).

Forest Hill Ladysmith
Bushfire Low
28/100
 Low
17/100
Crime Moderate
66/100
 Low
16/100
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 1
within 5 km
 0
within 5 km

Schools

Forest Hill Ladysmith
Inside the suburb 1
same for both
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 1 0
Rated below peers 0 1

Schools in Forest Hill

  • Forest Hill Public School Government · Primary at peers

Schools in Ladysmith

  • Ladysmith Public School Government · Primary below peers

Amenities in the suburb

Forest Hill Ladysmith
Parks & reserves 3 0
Childcare 3 0
GPs 1 0
Pharmacies 1 0
Banks & Bank@Post 3 0
Waterways 4 11

Mobility

Forest Hill sits further from the CBD (456.9 km vs 449.3 km).

Forest Hill Ladysmith
Walkability score 58/100 0/100
Distance to Sydney 456.9 km
+2% vs other
 449.3 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 308 min 279 min
Electric vehicle share 0.2%
postcode 2651
 0.1%
postcode 2652
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 42
postcode 2651
 58
postcode 2652

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.

Forest Hill Ladysmith
Car (driver) 62.1% / 82.9%
Forest Hill — Car (driver): 62.1% Ladysmith — Car (driver): 82.9%
Walked Only 25.5% / 3.8%
Forest Hill — Walked Only: 25.5% Ladysmith — Walked Only: 3.8%
Worked from Home 6.0% / 10.1%
Forest Hill — Worked from Home: 6.0% Ladysmith — Worked from Home: 10.1%
Car (passenger) 5.6% / 3.2%
Forest Hill — Car (passenger): 5.6% Ladysmith — Car (passenger): 3.2%
Bus 0.5% / —
Forest Hill — Bus: 0.5% Ladysmith — Bus: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (82.9%).

Setting

Forest Hill Ladysmith
Elevation 204 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 316 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Forest Hill Ladysmith
Connectivity score 77/100 30/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 58%
1,024 premises
 0%
155 premises

Climate

Forest Hill Ladysmith
Annual rainfall 565 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 31.8°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 3.4°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Forest Hill Ladysmith
PM2.5 7.7 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 23.1 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ —
same for both

Council rates

Forest Hill Ladysmith
Average residential rate $1,254/yr
same for both
Council Wagga Wagga
same for both

Federal electorate

Forest Hill Ladysmith
Division Riverina
same for both
Member Michael Mccormack
same for both
Party The Nationals
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Forest Hill Ladysmith
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Forest Hill

Acreage Affordable Students

Ladysmith

River Rural

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Full data on Forest Hill Full data on Ladysmith
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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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