Horseshoe Bend vs Lorn

Horseshoe Bend is the younger of the two, with a median age of 40 against 43 in Lorn. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Lorn, about half of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Lorn: a median of $1.1 million, against $730,000 in Horseshoe Bend, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Horseshoe Bend tends to suit buyers on a tighter budget, while Lorn suits 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

Lorn

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more parks and reserves (4 vs 0)
  • carries lower crime risk (46/100 vs 64/100)
  • is already more of a family suburb (65% vs 56%)

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

First-home buyers

Horseshoe Bend

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper houses ($730,000 vs $1,100,000)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Horseshoe Bend

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (31% vs 17%)
  • has cheaper rent ($330/wk vs $378/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Horseshoe Bend

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is more walkable (57/100 vs 30/100)

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

Downsizers and retirees

They split

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

  • Horseshoe Bend is more walkable (57/100 vs 30/100)
  • Lorn carries lower crime risk (46/100 vs 64/100)

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

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

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
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.

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
Walkability 57 / 30
Horseshoe Bend — Walkability: 57/100 Lorn — Walkability: 30/100
Safety 36 / 54
Horseshoe Bend — Safety: 36/100 Lorn — Safety: 54/100
Low fire risk 100 / 72
Horseshoe Bend — Low fire risk: 100/100 Lorn — Low fire risk: 72/100

Demographics

Lorn has more residents (1,465 vs 427); Lorn has higher household incomes ($100,620 vs $71,500).

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
Population 427 1,465
+243% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +11.5% +9.6%
Median age 40 43
Median household income $71,500/yr $100,620/yr
+41% vs other
Median weekly rent $330/wk $378/wk
+15% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
0-4 3.7% / 6.6%
Horseshoe Bend — 0-4: 3.7% Lorn — 0-4: 6.6%
5-14 13.8% / 11.7%
Horseshoe Bend — 5-14: 13.8% Lorn — 5-14: 11.7%
15-19 5.9% / 7.3%
Horseshoe Bend — 15-19: 5.9% Lorn — 15-19: 7.3%
20-24 7.5% / 5.4%
Horseshoe Bend — 20-24: 7.5% Lorn — 20-24: 5.4%
25-34 10.1% / 8.9%
Horseshoe Bend — 25-34: 10.1% Lorn — 25-34: 8.9%
35-44 13.3% / 11.8%
Horseshoe Bend — 35-44: 13.3% Lorn — 35-44: 11.8%
45-54 14.1% / 14.1%
Horseshoe Bend — 45-54: 14.1% Lorn — 45-54: 14.1%
55-64 15.2% / 15.0%
Horseshoe Bend — 55-64: 15.2% Lorn — 55-64: 15.0%
65-74 10.3% / 10.2%
Horseshoe Bend — 65-74: 10.3% Lorn — 65-74: 10.2%
75-84 4.2% / 6.3%
Horseshoe Bend — 75-84: 4.2% Lorn — 75-84: 6.3%
85+ — / 2.4%
Horseshoe Bend — 85+: not among its largest Lorn — 85+: 2.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (15.2%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Horseshoe Bend 33.6% couple families
Horseshoe Bend — Couple Families: 33.6% Horseshoe Bend — Lone Person: 34.5% Horseshoe Bend — One Parent Families: 22.7% Horseshoe Bend — Other Families: 6.7% Horseshoe Bend — Group Household: 2.5%
Lorn 46.7% couple families
Lorn — Couple Families: 46.7% Lorn — Lone Person: 32.6% Lorn — One Parent Families: 18.3% Lorn — Other Families: 0.7% Lorn — Group Household: 1.7%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Other Families Group Household

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Horseshoe Bend 30.7% renting
Horseshoe Bend — Owned Outright: 31.3% Horseshoe Bend — Mortgage: 38.0% Horseshoe Bend — Renting: 30.7%
Lorn 16.6% renting
Lorn — Owned Outright: 44.2% Lorn — Mortgage: 39.2% Lorn — Renting: 16.6%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
Certificate III & IV 18.5% / 15.6%
Horseshoe Bend — Certificate III & IV: 18.5% Lorn — Certificate III & IV: 15.6%
Bachelor Degree 9.4% / 16.7%
Horseshoe Bend — Bachelor Degree: 9.4% Lorn — Bachelor Degree: 16.7%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 6.6% / 10.2%
Horseshoe Bend — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.6% Lorn — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 10.2%
Postgraduate Degree 2.1% / 4.6%
Horseshoe Bend — Postgraduate Degree: 2.1% Lorn — Postgraduate Degree: 4.6%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.1% / 2.3%
Horseshoe Bend — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.1% Lorn — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.5%).

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.

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
England 0.9% / 2.9%
Horseshoe Bend — England: 0.9% Lorn — England: 2.9%
Philippines 1.6% / —
Horseshoe Bend — Philippines: 1.6% Lorn — Philippines: not among its largest
China 0.9% / 0.3%
Horseshoe Bend — China: 0.9% Lorn — China: 0.3%
New Zealand 0.7% / 0.3%
Horseshoe Bend — New Zealand: 0.7% Lorn — New Zealand: 0.3%
Germany 0.7% / —
Horseshoe Bend — Germany: 0.7% Lorn — Germany: not among its largest
Scotland — / 0.7%
Horseshoe Bend — Scotland: not among its largest Lorn — Scotland: 0.7%
Netherlands — / 0.6%
Horseshoe Bend — Netherlands: not among its largest Lorn — Netherlands: 0.6%
Canada — / 0.4%
Horseshoe Bend — Canada: not among its largest Lorn — Canada: 0.4%
India — / 0.3%
Horseshoe Bend — India: not among its largest Lorn — India: 0.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (2.9%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Horseshoe Bend 88.6% houses
Horseshoe Bend — Houses: 88.6% Horseshoe Bend — Townhouses: 8.2% Horseshoe Bend — Flats / Apartments: 3.2%
Lorn 90.6% houses
Lorn — Houses: 90.6% Lorn — Townhouses: 8.3% Lorn — Flats / Apartments: 1.1%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
Median house price $730,000 $1,100,000
Median unit price — $635,000
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) 48 days
from 3 sales
 36 days
from 10 sales

Zoning mix

Lorn has more rural and farming land (77% vs 65%).

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
Rural and farming 65% 77%
Residential 25% 13%
Environmental 6%
same for both
Parks and recreation 3% 4%
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

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
New dwellings approved 1,413
across Maitland
same for both
Approvals change year on year +20%
same for both

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.

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
Houses — 2.7%
$690/wk on $1.34M
Units —
same for both

Ranking within NSW

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
House price Higher than 30% of NSW Higher than 45% of NSW
Income Higher than 36% of NSW Higher than 68% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 83% of NSW Higher than 75% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 60% of NSW Higher than 71% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 55% of NSW Higher than 56% of NSW
NBN connectivity Higher than 99% of NSW Higher than 70% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) — Higher than 10% of NSW

Liveability

Horseshoe Bend is more walkable (57 vs 30).

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
Grade — B
Score — 54/100
Socio-economic band high-need area
decile 1/10
 very advantaged area
decile 9/10

Risk profile

Lorn carries more bushfire risk (28 vs 0); Horseshoe Bend carries more crime risk (64 vs 46).

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
Bushfire None
0/100
 Low
28/100
Crime Moderate
64/100
 Moderate
46/100
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
 0
within 5 km

Schools

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
Inside the suburb 0 1
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Horseshoe Bend

No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.

Schools in Lorn

  • Nillo Infants School Government · Primary

Amenities in the suburb

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
Supermarkets 0 1
Cafes & restaurants 0 4
Parks & reserves 0 4
Childcare 0 1
GPs 0 1
Pharmacies 0 1
Banks & Bank@Post 0 1
Waterways 0 1

Mobility

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
Walkability score 57/100 30/100
Distance to Sydney 165 km 166 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 124 min
same for both
Electric vehicle share 0.5%
postcode 2320
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 56
postcode 2320
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.

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
Car (driver) 70.4% / 65.5%
Horseshoe Bend — Car (driver): 70.4% Lorn — Car (driver): 65.5%
Worked from Home 21.1% / 25.0%
Horseshoe Bend — Worked from Home: 21.1% Lorn — Worked from Home: 25.0%
Walked Only 3.5% / 4.2%
Horseshoe Bend — Walked Only: 3.5% Lorn — Walked Only: 4.2%
Car (passenger) 2.8% / 3.2%
Horseshoe Bend — Car (passenger): 2.8% Lorn — Car (passenger): 3.2%
Train 2.1% / 0.6%
Horseshoe Bend — Train: 2.1% Lorn — Train: 0.6%
Bicycle — / 0.8%
Horseshoe Bend — Bicycle: not among its largest Lorn — Bicycle: 0.8%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (70.4%).

Setting

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
Elevation 8 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
same for both
Distance to the ocean 22.4 km 22.5 km

NBN connectivity

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
Connectivity score 100/100 60/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises Fibre to the node
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 99%
192 premises
 27%
665 premises

Climate

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
Annual rainfall 996 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 30.0°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 7.1°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
PM2.5 6.3 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 17.5 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ 0.72 pphm
same for both

Council rates

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
Average residential rate $1,908/yr
same for both
Council Maitland
same for both

Federal electorate

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
Division Paterson Lyne
Member Meryl Swanson Alison Penfold
Party Australian Labor Party The Nationals

First Home Owner Grant

Horseshoe Bend Lorn
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Horseshoe Bend

Acreage Quiet River

Lorn

Acreage

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Horseshoe Bend

Horseshoe Bend vs East Maitland Horseshoe Bend vs Maitland

Other comparisons with Lorn

Lorn vs Maitland Lorn vs Largs Lorn vs Bolwarra Lorn vs Oakhampton
Full data on Horseshoe Bend Full data on Lorn
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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