Garden Suburb vs Kotara

In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Garden Suburb, most households are couple families. In Kotara, about half of households are couple families. On these figures, Garden Suburb tends to suit 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

  • Garden Suburb carries lower crime risk (39/100 vs 94/100)
  • Kotara has more parks and reserves (9 vs 2)

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

First-home buyers

Too close to call

Nothing among the 2 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Kotara

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (22% vs 11%)

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

Commuting to the city

Garden Suburb

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • sits closer to the CBD (149.2 km vs 157.2 km)

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

Downsizers and retirees

They split

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

  • Garden Suburb carries lower crime risk (39/100 vs 94/100)
  • Kotara has more units and townhouses to downsize into (12% vs 0%)

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

Investors

Kotara

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • returns a higher gross yield on houses (3.9% vs 3.4%)

Weighs house yield and population growth.

Where they sit

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

Garden Suburb Kotara
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.

Garden Suburb Kotara
Walkability 64 / 66
Garden Suburb — Walkability: 64/100 Kotara — Walkability: 66/100
Safety 61 / 6
Garden Suburb — Safety: 61/100 Kotara — Safety: 6/100
Low fire risk 43 / 100
Garden Suburb — Low fire risk: 43/100 Kotara — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Kotara has more residents (3,980 vs 1,959); Garden Suburb has higher household incomes ($122,772 vs $108,004).

Garden Suburb Kotara
Population 1,959 3,980
+103% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +2.6% +1.3%
Median age 41 39
Median household income $122,772/yr
+12% vs other
 $108,004/yr
Median weekly rent $465/wk
+1% vs other
 $460/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Garden Suburb Kotara
0-4 6.0% / 5.8%
Garden Suburb — 0-4: 6.0% Kotara — 0-4: 5.8%
5-14 13.0% / 13.4%
Garden Suburb — 5-14: 13.0% Kotara — 5-14: 13.4%
15-19 7.0% / 6.9%
Garden Suburb — 15-19: 7.0% Kotara — 15-19: 6.9%
20-24 6.2% / 6.2%
Garden Suburb — 20-24: 6.2% Kotara — 20-24: 6.2%
25-34 9.1% / 12.5%
Garden Suburb — 25-34: 9.1% Kotara — 25-34: 12.5%
35-44 13.1% / 14.2%
Garden Suburb — 35-44: 13.1% Kotara — 35-44: 14.2%
45-54 12.0% / 14.4%
Garden Suburb — 45-54: 12.0% Kotara — 45-54: 14.4%
55-64 13.0% / 10.5%
Garden Suburb — 55-64: 13.0% Kotara — 55-64: 10.5%
65-74 10.2% / 6.9%
Garden Suburb — 65-74: 10.2% Kotara — 65-74: 6.9%
75-84 6.0% / 6.3%
Garden Suburb — 75-84: 6.0% Kotara — 75-84: 6.3%
85+ 4.2% / 2.8%
Garden Suburb — 85+: 4.2% Kotara — 85+: 2.8%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (14.4%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Garden Suburb 61.9% couple families
Garden Suburb — Couple Families: 61.9% Garden Suburb — Lone Person: 22.2% Garden Suburb — One Parent Families: 13.1% Garden Suburb — Group Household: 2.2% Garden Suburb — Other Families: 0.7%
Kotara 47.1% couple families
Kotara — Couple Families: 47.1% Kotara — Lone Person: 29.3% Kotara — One Parent Families: 17.0% Kotara — Group Household: 5.4% Kotara — 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.

Garden Suburb 10.7% renting
Garden Suburb — Owned Outright: 45.6% Garden Suburb — Mortgage: 43.7% Garden Suburb — Renting: 10.7%
Kotara 21.6% renting
Kotara — Owned Outright: 36.2% Kotara — Mortgage: 42.3% Kotara — Renting: 21.6%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Garden Suburb Kotara
Bachelor Degree 16.5% / 17.0%
Garden Suburb — Bachelor Degree: 16.5% Kotara — Bachelor Degree: 17.0%
Certificate III & IV 14.5% / 14.5%
Garden Suburb — Certificate III & IV: 14.5% Kotara — Certificate III & IV: 14.5%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 7.8% / 8.5%
Garden Suburb — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.8% Kotara — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.5%
Postgraduate Degree 4.8% / 5.3%
Garden Suburb — Postgraduate Degree: 4.8% Kotara — Postgraduate Degree: 5.3%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.6% / 2.5%
Garden Suburb — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.6% Kotara — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.0%).

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.

Garden Suburb Kotara
England 2.1% / 2.8%
Garden Suburb — England: 2.1% Kotara — England: 2.8%
New Zealand 1.0% / 0.9%
Garden Suburb — New Zealand: 1.0% Kotara — New Zealand: 0.9%
India 0.9% / 0.5%
Garden Suburb — India: 0.9% Kotara — India: 0.5%
Germany 0.8% / —
Garden Suburb — Germany: 0.8% Kotara — Germany: not among its largest
China — / 0.7%
Garden Suburb — China: not among its largest Kotara — China: 0.7%
Sri Lanka 0.5% / —
Garden Suburb — Sri Lanka: 0.5% Kotara — Sri Lanka: not among its largest
South Africa — / 0.5%
Garden Suburb — South Africa: not among its largest Kotara — South Africa: 0.5%
Nepal — / 0.5%
Garden Suburb — Nepal: not among its largest Kotara — Nepal: 0.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (2.8%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Garden Suburb 99.7% houses
Garden Suburb — Houses: 99.7% Garden Suburb — Townhouses: 0.0% Garden Suburb — Flats / Apartments: 0.3%
Kotara 88.1% houses
Kotara — Houses: 88.1% Kotara — Townhouses: 11.4% Kotara — Flats / Apartments: 0.4%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Garden Suburb Kotara
Median house price $995,000 $1,050,000
Median unit price — $745,000
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) 20 days
from 14 sales
 22 days
from 33 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.

Garden Suburb Kotara
2 bed $890K / $1.1M
Garden Suburb — 2 bed: $890K (7 sales) Kotara — 2 bed: $1.1M (6 sales)

7 vs 6 sales

3 bed $900K / $1M
Garden Suburb — 3 bed: $900K (16 sales) Kotara — 3 bed: $1M (54 sales)

16 vs 54 sales

4 bed $1.1M / $1.4M
Garden Suburb — 4 bed: $1.1M (27 sales) Kotara — 4 bed: $1.4M (12 sales)

27 vs 12 sales

5 bed $1.43M / $1.57M
Garden Suburb — 5 bed: $1.43M (7 sales) Kotara — 5 bed: $1.57M (8 sales)

7 vs 8 sales

Zoning mix

Garden Suburb Kotara
Residential 48% 56%
Other and special use 19% 0%
Environmental 15% 9%
Parks and recreation 5% 12%
Infrastructure and transport 11% 8%
Commercial 0% 8%
Industrial 0% 5%
Rural and farming 2% 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

Garden Suburb Kotara
New dwellings approved 1,212
across Lake Macquarie
 912
across Newcastle
Approvals change year on year +2% +77%

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.

Garden Suburb Kotara
Houses 3.4%
$775/wk on $1.2M
 3.9%
$760/wk on $1.02M
Units —
same for both

Ranking within NSW

Garden Suburb Kotara
House price Higher than 48% of NSW Higher than 50% of NSW
Income Higher than 85% of NSW Higher than 74% of NSW
Schools — Higher than 21% of NSW
Walkability Higher than 86% of NSW Higher than 87% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 80% of NSW Higher than 71% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 81% of NSW
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 79% of NSW Higher than 73% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 37% of NSW Higher than 66% of NSW

Liveability

Garden Suburb scores higher overall (54 vs 45).

Garden Suburb Kotara
Grade B C
Score 54/100 45/100
Socio-economic band very advantaged area
decile 9/10
same for both

Risk profile

Garden Suburb carries more bushfire risk (57 vs 0); Kotara carries more crime risk (94 vs 39).

Garden Suburb Kotara
Bushfire Moderate
57/100
 None
0/100
Crime Low
39/100
 High
94/100
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
 3
within 5 km

Schools

Garden Suburb Kotara
Inside the suburb 1 3
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0 2
Rated below peers 1 0
Universities within 10 km 2
The University of Newcastle (Callaghan), 6.4 km
 2
The University of Newcastle (Callaghan), 5.7 km
Full-time students aged 15–24 3.0% 2.4%

Schools in Garden Suburb

  • Garden Suburb Public School Government · Primary below peers

Schools in Kotara

  • Kotara South Public School Government · Primary at peers
  • St James' Primary School Catholic · Primary at peers
  • Kotara School Government · Combined · Special school

Amenities in the suburb

Garden Suburb Kotara
Supermarkets 0 3
Cafes & restaurants 0 17
Parks & reserves 2 9
Childcare 3 7
GPs 1 0
Pharmacies 0 3
Banks & Bank@Post 0 5
Waterways 5 4

Mobility

Kotara sits further from the CBD (157.2 km vs 149.2 km).

Garden Suburb Kotara
Walkability score 64/100 66/100
Distance to Sydney 149.2 km 157.2 km
+5% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 118 min 120 min
Public transport score 66/100
Bus
 79/100
Rail · Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 20.2
7-9am + 5-7pm
 136.0
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 1 min
scheduled, not actual
 0 min
scheduled, not actual
Electric vehicle share 1.0%
postcode 2289
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 36
postcode 2289
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.

Garden Suburb Kotara
Car (driver) 64.0% / 60.3%
Garden Suburb — Car (driver): 64.0% Kotara — Car (driver): 60.3%
Worked from Home 29.6% / 33.8%
Garden Suburb — Worked from Home: 29.6% Kotara — Worked from Home: 33.8%
Car (passenger) 4.6% / 3.7%
Garden Suburb — Car (passenger): 4.6% Kotara — Car (passenger): 3.7%
Bicycle 0.7% / 0.8%
Garden Suburb — Bicycle: 0.7% Kotara — Bicycle: 0.8%
Walked Only 0.4% / 1.0%
Garden Suburb — Walked Only: 0.4% Kotara — Walked Only: 1.0%
Train 0.4% / 0.4%
Garden Suburb — Train: 0.4% Kotara — Train: 0.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (64.0%).

Setting

Garden Suburb Kotara
Elevation 87 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 54 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 5.7 km 4.3 km

NBN connectivity

Garden Suburb Kotara
Connectivity score 72/100 65/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 49%
700 premises
 30%
2,216 premises

Climate

Garden Suburb Kotara
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)

Garden Suburb Kotara
PM2.5 6.1 µg/m³ 6.5 µg/m³
PM10 16.5 µg/m³ 21.7 µg/m³
NO₂ 0.53 pphm 0.64 pphm

Council rates

Garden Suburb Kotara
Average residential rate $1,708/yr $1,783/yr
Council Lake Macquarie Newcastle

Federal electorate

Garden Suburb Kotara
Division Shortland Newcastle
Member Pat Conroy Sharon Claydon
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Garden Suburb Kotara
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Garden Suburb

Large Blocks River

Kotara

Large Blocks Parks Quiet River

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Garden Suburb

Garden Suburb vs Charlestown Garden Suburb vs Cardiff Garden Suburb vs New Lambton Heights Garden Suburb vs Cardiff Heights Garden Suburb vs Kotara South Garden Suburb vs Hillsborough

Other comparisons with Kotara

Kotara vs New Lambton Kotara vs Adamstown Kotara vs Adamstown Heights Kotara vs New Lambton Heights Kotara vs Kotara South
Full data on Garden Suburb Full data on Kotara
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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