Kiama Heights vs Rose Valley
Rose Valley is the younger of the two, with a median age of 43 against 47 in Kiama Heights. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Kiama Heights, about half of households are couple families. In Rose Valley, the large majority of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Rose Valley: a median of $4.7 million, against $1.51 million in Kiama Heights, though rent is higher in Kiama Heights. On these figures, Kiama Heights tends to suit older residents and buyers on a tighter budget, while Rose Valley 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
Rose Valley
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is already more of a family suburb (77% vs 68%)
Weighs schools, house stock, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
They split
one each way, out of the 2 things we measure here
- Kiama Heights has cheaper houses ($1,515,000 vs $4,700,000)
- Rose Valley leaves households under less mortgage stress (20% vs 31%)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Rose Valley
ahead on 2 of the 2 things we measure here
- leaves renters under less rental stress (14% vs 31%)
- has cheaper rent ($300/wk vs $540/wk)
Weighs rent and rental stress.
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
Kiama Heights
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has more residents already 65 and over (26% vs 18%)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, and walkability.
Investors
Rose Valley
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (14.5% vs 7.9%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Kiama Heights and Rose Valley 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
Kiama Heights has more residents (878 vs 87); Kiama Heights rents higher ($540/wk vs $300/wk).
| Kiama Heights | Rose Valley | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 878 +90% vs other | 87 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +7.9% | +14.5% |
| Median age | 47 | 43 |
| Median household income | $91,416/yr | $111,800/yr +22% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $540/wk +44% vs other | $300/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.5%).
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 (19.5%).
Property market
| Kiama Heights | Rose Valley | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,515,000 | $4,700,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — | $4,050,000 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 50 days from 10 sales | — |
Zoning mix
Rose Valley has more rural and farming land (64% vs 27%); Kiama Heights has more land zoned for conservation (53% vs 34%).
| Kiama Heights | Rose Valley | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 27% | 64% |
| Environmental | 53% | 34% |
| Residential | 10% | 0% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 7% | 1% |
| Parks and recreation | 1% | 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
| Kiama Heights | Rose Valley | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 159 across Kiama same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -35% same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Kiama Heights | Rose Valley | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 76% of NSW | Higher than 98% of NSW |
| Income | — | Higher than 77% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 67% of NSW | Higher than 60% of NSW |
| Affordability | — | Higher than 2% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 87% of NSW | Higher than 84% of NSW |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 97% of NSW | Higher than 55% of NSW |
Liveability
| Kiama Heights | Rose Valley | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | A | — |
| Score | 69/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 10/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
| Kiama Heights | Rose Valley | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Low 14/100 | — |
| 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 | 0 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Kiama Heights | Rose Valley | |
|---|---|---|
| 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
| Kiama Heights | Rose Valley | |
|---|---|---|
| Childcare | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 0 | 5 |
Mobility
| Kiama Heights | Rose Valley | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 17/100 | 12/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 132.1 km | 131.2 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 110 min | 112 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 1.4% postcode 2533 | 1.2% postcode 2534 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 47 postcode 2533 | 46 postcode 2534 |
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 (66.0%).
Setting
| Kiama Heights | Rose Valley | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 46 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 36 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 738 m 1.5 km to a named beach | 3.0 km 3.0 km to a named beach |
NBN connectivity
| Kiama Heights | Rose Valley | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 98/100 | 30/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the premises | Fixed wireless |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 97% 410 premises | 0% 39 premises |
Climate
| Kiama Heights | Rose Valley | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 974 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Kiama Heights | Rose Valley | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 5.1 µg/m³ same for both | |
| PM10 | 14.3 µg/m³ same for both | |
| NO₂ | 0.37 pphm same for both | |
Council rates
| Kiama Heights | Rose Valley | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,898/yr same for both | |
| Council | Kiama same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Kiama Heights | Rose Valley | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Gilmore same for both | |
| Member | Fiona Phillips same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Kiama Heights | Rose Valley | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Kiama Heights
Other comparisons with Rose Valley
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.