Gowrie vs Mcdougalls Hill
Gowrie is the younger of the two, with a median age of 42 against 49 in McDougalls Hill. In both, most households own their home and most homes are detached houses. In Gowrie, most households are couple families. In McDougalls Hill, most households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Gowrie: a median of $1.02 million, against $385,000 in McDougalls Hill, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Gowrie tends to suit families with children and couples, while McDougalls Hill suits people living alone 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
Gowrie
ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here
- is already more of a family suburb (84% vs 44%)
- has more separate houses rather than flats (95% vs 56%)
Weighs schools, house stock, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
They split
one each way, out of the 2 things we measure here
- Gowrie leaves households under less mortgage stress (16% vs 31%)
- Mcdougalls Hill has cheaper houses ($385,000 vs $1,025,000)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
McDougalls Hill
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a bigger rental market to choose from (28% vs 8%)
- has cheaper rent ($275/wk vs $478/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Too close to call
Nothing among the 3 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
McDougalls Hill
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has more units and townhouses to downsize into (44% vs 5%)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, and walkability.
Investors
Gowrie
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (4.6% vs -9.0%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Gowrie and Mcdougalls Hill drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.
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.
Demographics
Gowrie has more residents (338 vs 131); Gowrie has higher household incomes ($159,224 vs $82,836).
| Gowrie | Mcdougalls Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 338 +61% vs other | 131 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +4.6% | -9.0% |
| Median age | 42 | 49 |
| Median household income | $159,224/yr +48% vs other | $82,836/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $478/wk +42% vs other | $275/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (23.7%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (4.6%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (25.4%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Gowrie | Mcdougalls Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,025,000 | $385,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — | $1,296,000 |
Zoning mix
McDougalls Hill has more industrially zoned land (42% vs 0%); Gowrie has more rural and farming land (45% vs 27%).
| Gowrie | Mcdougalls Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 45% | 27% |
| Industrial | 0% | 42% |
| Environmental | 21% | 22% |
| Residential | 20% | 0% |
| Parks and recreation | 10% | 0% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 3% | 9% |
| 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
| Gowrie | Mcdougalls Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 121 across Singleton same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +46% same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Gowrie | Mcdougalls Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 53% of NSW | Higher than 10% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 96% of NSW | Higher than 50% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 68% of NSW | Higher than 69% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 87% of NSW | Higher than 93% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 26% of NSW | Higher than 27% of NSW |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 68% of NSW | Higher than 77% of NSW |
Liveability
| Gowrie | Mcdougalls Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | advantaged area decile 7/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
Gowrie carries more bushfire risk (36 vs 0).
| Gowrie | Mcdougalls Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Low 36/100 | None 0/100 |
| Crime | — | High 81/100 |
| 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
| Gowrie | Mcdougalls Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 same for both | |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Amenities in the suburb
| Gowrie | Mcdougalls Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 1 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 0 | 1 |
Mobility
| Gowrie | Mcdougalls Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 17/100 | 19/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 206.1 km | 206 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 146 min same for both | |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.2% postcode 2330 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 54 postcode 2330 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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (88.9%).
Setting
| Gowrie | Mcdougalls Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 67 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 108 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Gowrie | Mcdougalls Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 56/100 | 70/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the node same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 27% 119 premises | 45% 244 premises |
Climate
| Gowrie | Mcdougalls Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 804 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 30.0°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 5.1°C same for both | |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Gowrie | Mcdougalls Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 6.7 µg/m³ | — |
| PM10 | 19.2 µg/m³ | 20.2 µg/m³ |
| NO₂ | 0.64 pphm | — |
Council rates
| Gowrie | Mcdougalls Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,287/yr same for both | |
| Council | Singleton same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Gowrie | Mcdougalls Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Hunter same for both | |
| Member | Dan Repacholi same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Gowrie | Mcdougalls Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Gowrie
Other comparisons with Mcdougalls Hill
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.