Harpers Hill vs Oswald
Oswald is the younger of the two, with a median age of 44 against 54 in Harpers Hill. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Harpers Hill, about half of households are people living alone. In Oswald, most households are couple families. On these figures, Harpers Hill tends to suit people living alone and older residents, while Oswald suits families with children and 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
Oswald
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is already more of a family suburb (64% vs 47%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Harpers Hill
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (21% vs 30%)
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Harpers Hill has cheaper rent ($273/wk vs $350/wk)
- Oswald has a bigger rental market to choose from (23% vs 10%)
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
Harpers Hill
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has more residents already 65 and over (33% vs 18%)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Harpers Hill
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (18.5% vs 0.0%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Harpers Hill and Oswald 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
Oswald has more residents (88 vs 64); Oswald has higher household incomes ($110,500 vs $81,224).
| Harpers Hill | Oswald | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 64 | 88 +38% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +18.5% | +0.0% |
| Median age | 54 | 44 |
| Median household income | $81,224/yr | $110,500/yr +36% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $273/wk | $350/wk +28% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (25.0%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.8%).
Property market
| Harpers Hill | Oswald | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,635,000 | — |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
Zoning mix
| Harpers Hill | Oswald | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 94% | 97% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 6% | 0% |
| Environmental | 0% | 3% |
| 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
| Harpers Hill | Oswald | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 1,413 across Maitland same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +20% same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Harpers Hill | Oswald | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 78% of NSW | — |
| Income | Higher than 48% of NSW | Higher than 76% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 68% of NSW | Higher than 66% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 16% of NSW | — |
| EV adoption | Higher than 57% of NSW same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 41% of NSW | Higher than 59% of NSW |
Liveability
| Harpers Hill | Oswald | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | advantaged area decile 7/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
Harpers Hill carries more bushfire risk (23 vs 0).
| Harpers Hill | Oswald | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Low 23/100 | None 0/100 |
| Crime | High 81/100 | High 73/100 |
| 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 | 2 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Harpers Hill | Oswald | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
Mobility
| Harpers Hill | Oswald | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 18/100 | 16/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 174.9 km | 174.4 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 123 min | 124 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.6% postcode 2321 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 69 postcode 2321 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 (75.8%).
Setting
| Harpers Hill | Oswald | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 83 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 25 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 37.6 km | 36.7 km |
NBN connectivity
| Harpers Hill | Oswald | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 28/100 | 30/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 29 premises | 0% 27 premises |
Climate
| Harpers Hill | Oswald | |
|---|---|---|
| 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)
| Harpers Hill | Oswald | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | — same for both | |
| PM10 | 19.5 µg/m³ same for both | |
| NO₂ | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Harpers Hill | Oswald | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,908/yr same for both | |
| Council | Maitland same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Harpers Hill | Oswald | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Paterson same for both | |
| Member | Meryl Swanson same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Harpers Hill | Oswald | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Harpers Hill
Other comparisons with Oswald
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.