Kiama vs Saddleback Mountain
Kiama is the younger of the two, with a median age of 52 against 59 in Saddleback Mountain. In both, the large majority of households own their home and most homes are detached houses. In Saddleback Mountain, most households are couple families. On these figures, Kiama tends to suit people living alone, 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
ahead on 4 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more parks and reserves (17 vs 1)
- has more childcare (6 vs 0)
- has more schools inside the suburb (3 vs 0)
- But Saddleback Mountain has more separate houses rather than flats (100% vs 55%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Kiama
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (32% 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 30%)
- has cheaper rent ($350/wk vs $478/wk)
Weighs rent and rental stress.
Commuting to the city
Kiama
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (84/100 vs 0/100)
- sits closer to the CBD (123 km vs 127.6 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Kiama
ahead on 3 of the 4 things we measure here
- is more walkable (84/100 vs 0/100)
- has more GPs (4 vs 0)
- carries lower crime risk (59/100 vs 77/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Kiama
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (14.9% vs -8.2%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Kiama 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 has more residents (7,904 vs 67); Kiama rents higher ($478/wk vs $350/wk).
| Kiama | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 7,904 +99% vs other | 67 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +14.9% | -8.2% |
| Median age | 52 | 59 |
| Median household income | $81,744/yr | $99,632/yr +22% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $478/wk +27% 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 (6.3%).
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 | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,595,000 | $1,568,750 |
| Median unit price | $905,000 | — |
| Median land price | $870,000 | — |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 33 days from 77 sales | — |
Zoning mix
Saddleback Mountain has more land zoned for conservation (55% vs 11%); Saddleback Mountain has more rural and farming land (45% vs 35%).
| Kiama | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental | 11% | 55% |
| Rural and farming | 35% | 45% |
| Residential | 34% | 0% |
| Parks and recreation | 10% | 0% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 6% | 0% |
| Commercial | 3% | 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 | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 159 across Kiama same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -35% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Kiama | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 2.6% $850/wk on $1.68M | — |
| Units | 3.3% $675/wk on $1.05M | — |
Ranking within NSW
| Kiama | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 74% of NSW | Higher than 76% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 50% of NSW | Higher than 68% of NSW |
| Schools | Higher than 18% of NSW | — |
| Walkability | Higher than 94% of NSW | Higher than 17% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 21% of NSW | Higher than 31% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 88% of NSW same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 99% of NSW | Higher than 54% of NSW |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 9% of NSW | — |
| Rental yield (units) | Higher than 8% of NSW | — |
Liveability
Kiama is more walkable (84 vs 0).
| Kiama | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | B | — |
| Score | 56/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 9/10 | very advantaged area decile 10/10 |
Risk profile
Saddleback Mountain carries more crime risk (77 vs 59).
| Kiama | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Moderate 59/100 | High 77/100 |
| Flood | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | Low 26/100 | None 0/100 |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 3 within 5 km | 0 within 5 km |
Schools
| Kiama | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 3 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 3 | 0 |
Schools in Kiama
- Kiama High School Government · Secondary below peers
- Kiama Public School Government · Primary below peers
- Ss Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School Catholic · Primary below peers
Schools in Saddleback Mountain
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Kiama | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 1 | 0 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 40 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 17 | 1 |
| Childcare | 6 | 0 |
| GPs | 4 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 4 | 0 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 4 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 1 | 0 |
| Beaches | 3 | 0 |
| Waterways | 9 | 0 |
Mobility
Saddleback Mountain sits further from the CBD (127.6 km vs 123 km).
| Kiama | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 84/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 123 km | 127.6 km +4% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 106 min | 110 min |
| 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 (61.5%).
Setting
| Kiama | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 87 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 393 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 986 m 976 m to a named beach | 4.2 km 4.6 km to a named beach |
NBN connectivity
| Kiama | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 100/100 | 30/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the premises | Fixed wireless |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 100% 4,900 premises | 0% 34 premises |
Climate
| Kiama | 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 | 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 | Saddleback Mountain | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,898/yr same for both | |
| Council | Kiama same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Kiama | 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 | 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
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.