Grafton vs Great Marlow
Grafton is the younger of the two, with a median age of 44 against 50 in Great Marlow. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Grafton, about half of households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Great Marlow: a median of $825,000, against $530,000 in Grafton, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Grafton tends to suit 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
They split
one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here
- Grafton has more parks and reserves (18 vs 1)
- Great Marlow carries lower crime risk (63/100 vs 92/100)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Grafton
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper houses ($530,000 vs $825,000)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Grafton
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a bigger rental market to choose from (35% vs 22%)
- has cheaper rent ($300/wk vs $345/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Grafton
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (83/100 vs 4/100)
- has a shorter drive in (402 min vs 413 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (610.9 km vs 616.9 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Grafton
ahead on 3 of the 5 things we measure here
- is more walkable (83/100 vs 4/100)
- has more GPs (7 vs 0)
- has more units and townhouses to downsize into (24% vs 13%)
- But Great Marlow carries lower crime risk (63/100 vs 92/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Too close to call
Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Grafton and Great Marlow 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
Grafton has more residents (10,563 vs 184); Great Marlow has higher household incomes ($72,748 vs $61,308).
| Grafton | Great Marlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 10,563 +98% vs other | 184 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +1.5% | +0.0% |
| Median age | 44 | 50 |
| Median household income | $61,308/yr | $72,748/yr +19% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $300/wk | $345/wk +15% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.9%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.0%).
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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (4.3%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Grafton | Great Marlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $530,000 | $825,000 |
| Median unit price | $390,000 | — |
| Median land price | $420,000 | — |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 26 days from 179 sales | — |
Zoning mix
Great Marlow has more rural and farming land (82% vs 11%).
| Grafton | Great Marlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 11% | 82% |
| Residential | 44% | 0% |
| Environmental | 22% | 17% |
| Parks and recreation | 13% | 0% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 6% | 0% |
| Commercial | 3% | 0% |
| Industrial | 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
| Grafton | Great Marlow | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 246 across Clarence Valley same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -80% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Grafton | Great Marlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 4.9% $565/wk on $605K | — |
| Units | 5.1% $400/wk on $405K | — |
Ranking within NSW
| Grafton | Great Marlow | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 18% of NSW | Higher than 36% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 23% of NSW | Higher than 39% of NSW |
| Schools | Higher than 11% of NSW | — |
| Walkability | Higher than 93% of NSW | Higher than 45% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 72% of NSW | Higher than 55% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 17% of NSW | Higher than 18% of NSW |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 88% of NSW | Higher than 70% of NSW |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 96% of NSW | — |
| Rental yield (units) | Higher than 71% of NSW | — |
Liveability
Grafton is more walkable (83 vs 4).
| Grafton | Great Marlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | C | — |
| Score | 33/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | below-average income decile 2/10 | mid-range socio-economic decile 6/10 |
Risk profile
Great Marlow carries more bushfire risk (16 vs 0); Grafton carries more crime risk (92 vs 63).
| Grafton | Great Marlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 | Low 16/100 |
| Crime | High 92/100 | Moderate 63/100 |
| 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 | 4 within 5 km | 0 within 5 km |
Schools
| Grafton | Great Marlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 5 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 3 | 0 |
| Rated below peers | 1 | 0 |
Schools in Grafton
- Grafton Public School Government · Primary at peers
- St Mary's Primary School Catholic · Primary at peers
- Westlawn Public School Government · Primary at peers
- Grafton High School Government · Secondary below peers
- Clarence Valley Anglican School, Grafton Campus Independent · Primary
Schools in Great Marlow
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Grafton | Great Marlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 3 | 0 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 5 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 18 | 1 |
| Childcare | 11 | 0 |
| GPs | 7 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 5 | 0 |
| Hospitals | 1 | 0 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 9 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 2 | 0 |
| EV chargers | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 3 | 2 |
Mobility
Great Marlow sits further from the CBD (616.9 km vs 610.9 km).
| Grafton | Great Marlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 83/100 | 4/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 610.9 km | 616.9 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 402 min | 413 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.2% postcode 2460 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 60 postcode 2460 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 (77.7%).
Setting
| Grafton | Great Marlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 10 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 2 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 35.5 km | 32.4 km |
NBN connectivity
| Grafton | Great Marlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 79/100 | 60/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the premises | Fibre to the curb |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 40% 5,999 premises | 11% 83 premises |
Climate
| Grafton | Great Marlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,060 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 30.0°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 8.3°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Grafton | Great Marlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,380/yr same for both | |
| Council | Clarence Valley same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Grafton | Great Marlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Page same for both | |
| Member | Kevin Hogan same for both | |
| Party | The Nationals same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Grafton | Great Marlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Grafton
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Grafton
Other comparisons with Great Marlow
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.