James Creek vs Townsend

Townsend is the younger of the two, with a median age of 42 against 52 in James Creek. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In James Creek, the large majority of households are couple families. Houses cost more in James Creek: a median of $1.26 million, against $730,000 in Townsend, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, James Creek tends to suit couples, while Townsend 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

They split

one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here

  • James Creek carries lower crime risk (28/100 vs 68/100)
  • Townsend has more childcare (4 vs 0)

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

First-home buyers

Townsend

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has cheaper houses ($730,000 vs $1,257,500)
  • has cheaper land ($335,000 vs $545,000)
  • But James Creek leaves households under less mortgage stress (22% vs 31%)

Weighs house prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

They split

one each way, out of the 2 things we measure here

  • James Creek leaves renters under less rental stress (24% vs 35%)
  • Townsend has cheaper rent ($365/wk vs $423/wk)

Weighs rent and rental stress.

Commuting to the city

Townsend

ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (41/100 vs 8/100)
  • has a shorter drive in (415 min vs 421 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (641.4 km vs 649.3 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

They split

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

  • James Creek carries lower crime risk (28/100 vs 68/100)
  • Townsend is more walkable (41/100 vs 8/100)

Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.

Investors

James Creek

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (21.8% vs 11.3%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

James Creek Townsend
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.

James Creek Townsend
Walkability 8 / 41
James Creek — Walkability: 8/100 Townsend — Walkability: 41/100
Safety 72 / 32
James Creek — Safety: 72/100 Townsend — Safety: 32/100
Low fire risk 79 / 100
James Creek — Low fire risk: 79/100 Townsend — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Townsend has more residents (991 vs 257); James Creek has higher household incomes ($92,248 vs $54,288).

James Creek Townsend
Population 257 991
+286% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +21.8% +11.3%
Median age 52 42
Median household income $92,248/yr
+41% vs other
 $54,288/yr
Median weekly rent $423/wk
+14% vs other
 $365/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

James Creek Townsend
0-4 5.1% / 6.6%
James Creek — 0-4: 5.1% Townsend — 0-4: 6.6%
5-14 13.6% / 13.8%
James Creek — 5-14: 13.6% Townsend — 5-14: 13.8%
15-19 2.3% / 7.4%
James Creek — 15-19: 2.3% Townsend — 15-19: 7.4%
20-24 5.4% / 3.9%
James Creek — 20-24: 5.4% Townsend — 20-24: 3.9%
25-34 5.4% / 11.4%
James Creek — 25-34: 5.4% Townsend — 25-34: 11.4%
35-44 12.5% / 11.3%
James Creek — 35-44: 12.5% Townsend — 35-44: 11.3%
45-54 12.1% / 10.9%
James Creek — 45-54: 12.1% Townsend — 45-54: 10.9%
55-64 18.7% / 9.9%
James Creek — 55-64: 18.7% Townsend — 55-64: 9.9%
65-74 20.2% / 14.3%
James Creek — 65-74: 20.2% Townsend — 65-74: 14.3%
75-84 5.4% / 8.4%
James Creek — 75-84: 5.4% Townsend — 75-84: 8.4%
85+ 3.5% / 3.0%
James Creek — 85+: 3.5% Townsend — 85+: 3.0%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.2%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

James Creek 76.2% couple families
James Creek — Couple Families: 76.2% James Creek — Lone Person: 11.9% James Creek — One Parent Families: 11.9% James Creek — Group Household: 0.0% James Creek — Other Families: 0.0%
Townsend 35.6% couple families
Townsend — Couple Families: 35.6% Townsend — Lone Person: 36.9% Townsend — One Parent Families: 19.4% Townsend — Group Household: 5.2% Townsend — Other Families: 2.9%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

James Creek 0.0% renting
James Creek — Owned Outright: 66.3% James Creek — Mortgage: 33.7% James Creek — Renting: 0.0%
Townsend 27.9% renting
Townsend — Owned Outright: 41.5% Townsend — Mortgage: 30.5% Townsend — Renting: 27.9%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

James Creek Townsend
Certificate III & IV 18.3% / 17.8%
James Creek — Certificate III & IV: 18.3% Townsend — Certificate III & IV: 17.8%
Bachelor Degree 10.1% / 5.4%
James Creek — Bachelor Degree: 10.1% Townsend — Bachelor Degree: 5.4%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.2% / 6.4%
James Creek — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.2% Townsend — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.4%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.7% / 1.8%
James Creek — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.7% Townsend — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.8%
Postgraduate Degree 2.7% / 1.4%
James Creek — Postgraduate Degree: 2.7% Townsend — Postgraduate Degree: 1.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.3%).

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.

James Creek Townsend
England 3.1% / 2.0%
James Creek — England: 3.1% Townsend — England: 2.0%
South Africa 2.3% / 1.0%
James Creek — South Africa: 2.3% Townsend — South Africa: 1.0%
New Zealand 1.6% / 1.2%
James Creek — New Zealand: 1.6% Townsend — New Zealand: 1.2%
Germany 1.6% / —
James Creek — Germany: 1.6% Townsend — Germany: not among its largest
Scotland — / 0.5%
James Creek — Scotland: not among its largest Townsend — Scotland: 0.5%
Netherlands — / 0.5%
James Creek — Netherlands: not among its largest Townsend — Netherlands: 0.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (3.1%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

James Creek 97.6% houses
James Creek — Houses: 97.6% James Creek — Townhouses: 0.0% James Creek — Flats / Apartments: 2.4%
Townsend 92.3% houses
Townsend — Houses: 92.3% Townsend — Townhouses: 6.7% Townsend — Flats / Apartments: 1.0%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

James Creek Townsend
Median house price $1,257,500 $730,000
Median unit price — $565,000
Median land price $545,000 $335,000
Typical days to sell (houses) — 56 days
from 24 sales

Zoning mix

James Creek has more land zoned for conservation (35% vs 3%); Townsend has more industrially zoned land (13% vs 0%).

James Creek Townsend
Rural and farming 41% 42%
Environmental 35% 3%
Residential 22% 31%
Industrial 0% 13%
Infrastructure and transport 2% 7%
Parks and recreation 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

James Creek Townsend
New dwellings approved 246
across Clarence Valley
same for both
Approvals change year on year -80%
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.

James Creek Townsend
Houses — 4.0%
$620/wk on $800K
Units —
same for both

Ranking within NSW

James Creek Townsend
House price Higher than 55% of NSW Higher than 23% of NSW
Income Higher than 59% of NSW Higher than 14% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 53% of NSW Higher than 79% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 54% of NSW Higher than 51% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 27% of NSW
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 57% of NSW Higher than 89% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) — Higher than 75% of NSW

Liveability

Townsend is more walkable (41 vs 8).

James Creek Townsend
Grade — C
Score — 34/100
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 8/10
 high-need area
decile 1/10

Risk profile

James Creek carries more bushfire risk (21 vs 0); Townsend carries more crime risk (68 vs 28).

James Creek Townsend
Bushfire Low
21/100
 None
0/100
Crime Low
28/100
 Moderate
68/100
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
 1
within 5 km

Schools

James Creek Townsend
Inside the suburb 0 2
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0 1
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in James Creek

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

Schools in Townsend

  • Pacific Valley Christian School Independent · Combined at peers
  • Valley Hope Christian School Independent · Combined · Special school

Amenities in the suburb

James Creek Townsend
Childcare 0 4
Fuel stations 0 1
Waterways 1 0

Mobility

James Creek sits further from the CBD (649.3 km vs 641.4 km).

James Creek Townsend
Walkability score 8/100 41/100
Distance to Sydney 649.3 km
+1% vs other
 641.4 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 421 min 415 min
Electric vehicle share 0.2%
postcode 2463
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 70
postcode 2463
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.

James Creek Townsend
Car (driver) 75.6% / 84.0%
James Creek — Car (driver): 75.6% Townsend — Car (driver): 84.0%
Worked from Home 15.9% / 4.8%
James Creek — Worked from Home: 15.9% Townsend — Worked from Home: 4.8%
Car (passenger) 4.9% / 7.1%
James Creek — Car (passenger): 4.9% Townsend — Car (passenger): 7.1%
Walked Only 3.7% / 2.6%
James Creek — Walked Only: 3.7% Townsend — Walked Only: 2.6%
Bicycle — / 1.6%
James Creek — Bicycle: not among its largest Townsend — Bicycle: 1.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (84.0%).

Setting

James Creek Townsend
Elevation 12 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 10 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 5.7 km 8.1 km

NBN connectivity

James Creek Townsend
Connectivity score 30/100 79/100
Most common technology Fixed wireless Fibre to the premises
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
89 premises
 51%
592 premises

Climate

James Creek Townsend
Annual rainfall 1,408 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Council rates

James Creek Townsend
Average residential rate $1,380/yr
same for both
Council Clarence Valley
same for both

Federal electorate

James Creek Townsend
Division Page
same for both
Member Kevin Hogan
same for both
Party The Nationals
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

James Creek Townsend
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

James Creek

Retirees Rural

Townsend

Acreage Quiet Retirees

More comparisons

Other comparisons with James Creek

James Creek vs Maclean James Creek vs Gulmarrad James Creek vs Harwood James Creek vs Palmers Channel

Other comparisons with Townsend

Townsend vs Maclean Townsend vs Gulmarrad
Full data on James Creek Full data on Townsend
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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