Hartley vs Vale Of Clwydd
Vale Of Clwydd is the younger of the two, with a median age of 39 against 48 in Hartley. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Hartley, most households are couple families. In Vale Of Clwydd, about half of households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Hartley: a median of $1.37 million, against $548,000 in Vale Of Clwydd. On these figures, Hartley tends to suit couples, while Vale Of Clwydd 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
Hartley
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is already more of a family suburb (63% vs 42%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Vale Of Clwydd
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper houses ($547,500 vs $1,367,500)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Hartley leaves renters under less rental stress (15% vs 28%)
- Vale Of Clwydd has a bigger rental market to choose from (39% vs 9%)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Vale Of Clwydd
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (30/100 vs 5/100)
- has a shorter drive in (130 min vs 143 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (145.4 km vs 158.4 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Vale Of Clwydd
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is more walkable (30/100 vs 5/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Hartley
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (16.9% vs -3.9%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Hartley and Vale Of Clwydd 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
Hartley has higher household incomes ($99,112 vs $51,740); Hartley skews older (48 vs 39).
| Hartley | Vale Of Clwydd | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 478 +3% vs other | 465 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +16.9% | -3.9% |
| Median age | 48 | 39 |
| Median household income | $99,112/yr +48% vs other | $51,740/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $283/wk +1% vs other | $280/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.0%).
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 (20.3%).
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 (3.2%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Hartley | Vale Of Clwydd | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,367,500 | $547,500 |
| Median unit price | — | $374,000 |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
Zoning mix
Hartley has more rural and farming land (70% vs 0%); Vale Of Clwydd has more land zoned for conservation (81% vs 23%).
| Hartley | Vale Of Clwydd | |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental | 23% | 81% |
| Rural and farming | 70% | 0% |
| Residential | 5% | 14% |
| Industrial | 0% | 3% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 2% | 1% |
| 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
| Hartley | Vale Of Clwydd | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 55 across Lithgow same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +0% same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Hartley | Vale Of Clwydd | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 70% of NSW | Higher than 13% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 67% of NSW | Higher than 12% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 45% of NSW | Higher than 75% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 39% of NSW | Higher than 75% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 46% of NSW same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 44% of NSW | Higher than 65% of NSW |
Liveability
Vale Of Clwydd is more walkable (30 vs 5).
| Hartley | Vale Of Clwydd | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | advantaged area decile 7/10 | high-need area decile 1/10 |
Risk profile
Vale Of Clwydd carries more bushfire risk (99 vs 88).
| Hartley | Vale Of Clwydd | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | High 88/100 | High 99/100 |
| Crime | Moderate 43/100 | Moderate 48/100 |
| 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
| Hartley | Vale Of Clwydd | |
|---|---|---|
| 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
| Hartley | Vale Of Clwydd | |
|---|---|---|
| Cafes & restaurants | 2 | 1 |
| Parks & reserves | 3 | 1 |
| Waterways | 14 | 0 |
Mobility
Hartley sits further from the CBD (158.4 km vs 145.4 km).
| Hartley | Vale Of Clwydd | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 5/100 | 30/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 158.4 km +8% vs other | 145.4 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 143 min | 130 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.5% postcode 2790 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 36 postcode 2790 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 (79.2%).
Setting
| Hartley | Vale Of Clwydd | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 761 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 1,072 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Hartley | Vale Of Clwydd | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 29/100 | 45/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless | Fibre to the node |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 186 premises | 1% 290 premises |
Climate
| Hartley | Vale Of Clwydd | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,147 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 23.8°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 3.2°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Hartley | Vale Of Clwydd | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,150/yr same for both | |
| Council | Lithgow same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Hartley | Vale Of Clwydd | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Calare same for both | |
| Member | Andrew Gee same for both | |
| Party | Independent same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Hartley | Vale Of Clwydd | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Hartley
Vale Of Clwydd
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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.