Kiama Heights vs Saddleback Mountain
Kiama Heights is the younger of the two, with a median age of 47 against 59 in Saddleback Mountain. 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 Saddleback Mountain, most households are couple families. On these figures, Kiama Heights tends to suit families with children, while Saddleback Mountain 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
Kiama Heights
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (14/100 vs 77/100)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Kiama Heights
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (31% vs 52%)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Saddleback Mountain
ahead on 2 of the 2 things we measure here
- leaves renters under less rental stress (18% vs 31%)
- has cheaper rent ($350/wk vs $540/wk)
Weighs rent and rental stress.
Commuting to the city
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Kiama Heights is more walkable (17/100 vs 0/100)
- Saddleback Mountain sits closer to the CBD (127.6 km vs 132.1 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Kiama Heights
ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here
- is more walkable (17/100 vs 0/100)
- carries lower crime risk (14/100 vs 77/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Kiama Heights
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (7.9% vs -8.2%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Kiama Heights and Saddleback Mountain 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 67); Kiama Heights rents higher ($540/wk vs $350/wk).
| Kiama Heights | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 878 +92% vs other | 67 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +7.9% | -8.2% |
| Median age | 47 | 59 |
| Median household income | $91,416/yr | $99,632/yr +9% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $540/wk +35% vs other | $350/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.9%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
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 (6.9%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (28.4%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Kiama Heights | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,515,000 | $1,568,750 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 50 days from 10 sales | — |
Zoning mix
Saddleback Mountain has more rural and farming land (45% vs 27%).
| Kiama Heights | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental | 53% | 55% |
| Rural and farming | 27% | 45% |
| Residential | 10% | 0% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 7% | 0% |
| 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 | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 159 across Kiama same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -35% same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Kiama Heights | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 76% of NSW same for both | |
| Income | — | Higher than 68% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 67% of NSW | Higher than 17% of NSW |
| Affordability | — | Higher than 31% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 87% of NSW | Higher than 88% of NSW |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 97% of NSW | Higher than 54% of NSW |
Liveability
Kiama Heights is more walkable (17 vs 0).
| Kiama Heights | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | A | — |
| Score | 69/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 10/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
Saddleback Mountain carries more crime risk (77 vs 14).
| Kiama Heights | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Low 14/100 | High 77/100 |
| 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 | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 0 | 1 |
| Childcare | 1 | 0 |
Mobility
Kiama Heights sits further from the CBD (132.1 km vs 127.6 km).
| Kiama Heights | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 17/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 132.1 km +3% vs other | 127.6 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 110 min same for both | |
| Electric vehicle share | 1.4% postcode 2533 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 47 postcode 2533 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 (63.9%).
Setting
| Kiama Heights | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 46 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 393 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 738 m 1.5 km to a named beach | 4.2 km 4.6 km to a named beach |
NBN connectivity
| Kiama Heights | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 98/100 | 30/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the premises | Fixed wireless |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 97% 410 premises | 0% 34 premises |
Climate
| Kiama Heights | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,898/yr same for both | |
| Council | Kiama same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Kiama Heights | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Gilmore same for both | |
| Member | Fiona Phillips same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Kiama Heights | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Saddleback Mountain
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.