Knockrow vs Broken Head
Broken Head is the younger of the two, with a median age of 43 against 53 in Knockrow. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. Houses cost more in Knockrow: a median of $7.5 million, against $4.12 million in Broken Head, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Knockrow tends to suit share households, while Broken Head 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
Broken Head
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (14/100 vs 65/100)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
They split
one each way, out of the 2 things we measure here
- Knockrow leaves households under less mortgage stress (27% vs 36%)
- Broken Head has cheaper houses ($4,125,000 vs $7,500,000)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Knockrow leaves renters under less rental stress (24% vs 29%)
- Broken Head has cheaper rent ($490/wk vs $550/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Knockrow
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (472 min vs 480 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (738.5 km vs 747.4 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Broken Head
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (14/100 vs 65/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Broken Head
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (40.5% vs -3.1%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Knockrow and Broken Head 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
Broken Head has more residents (385 vs 186); Knockrow has higher household incomes ($121,836 vs $87,724).
| Knockrow | Broken Head | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 186 | 385 +107% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | -3.1% | +40.5% |
| Median age | 53 | 43 |
| Median household income | $121,836/yr +28% vs other | $87,724/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $550/wk +11% vs other | $490/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.6%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.0%).
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 (4.8%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Knockrow | Broken Head | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $7,500,000 | $4,125,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | — | 270 days from 3 sales |
Zoning mix
Broken Head has more land zoned for conservation (29% vs 0%); Knockrow has more rural and farming land (61% vs 46%).
| Knockrow | Broken Head | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 61% | 46% |
| Other and special use | 39% | 22% |
| Environmental | 0% | 29% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 0% | 2% |
| 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
| Knockrow | Broken Head | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 238 across Ballina | 129 across Byron |
| Approvals change year on year | +210% | -65% |
Ranking within NSW
| Knockrow | Broken Head | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 99% of NSW | Higher than 100% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 85% of NSW | Higher than 56% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 57% of NSW | Higher than 52% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 1% of NSW same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 95% of NSW | Higher than 93% of NSW |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 57% of NSW | Higher than 38% of NSW |
Liveability
| Knockrow | Broken Head | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 10/10 | very advantaged area decile 9/10 |
Risk profile
Broken Head carries more bushfire risk (52 vs 0); Knockrow carries more crime risk (65 vs 14).
| Knockrow | Broken Head | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 | Moderate 52/100 |
| Crime | Moderate 65/100 | Low 14/100 |
| Flood | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 | Low 25/100 |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 0 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Knockrow | Broken Head | |
|---|---|---|
| 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
| Knockrow | Broken Head | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 0 | 1 |
| Childcare | 0 | 1 |
| EV chargers | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 1 | 2 |
Mobility
Broken Head sits further from the CBD (747.4 km vs 738.5 km).
| Knockrow | Broken Head | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 10/100 | 8/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 738.5 km | 747.4 km +1% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 472 min | 480 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 2.4% postcode 2479 | 1.9% postcode 2481 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 86 postcode 2479 | 61 postcode 2481 |
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 (56.2%).
Setting
| Knockrow | Broken Head | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 77 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 41 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 5.7 km | 1.8 km 3.8 km to a named beach |
NBN connectivity
| Knockrow | Broken Head | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 30/100 | 27/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 91 premises | 0% 116 premises |
Climate
| Knockrow | Broken Head | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,569 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 29.1°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 9.1°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Knockrow | Broken Head | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,264/yr | $1,577/yr |
| Council | Ballina | Byron |
Federal electorate
| Knockrow | Broken Head | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Richmond same for both | |
| Member | Justine Elliot same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Knockrow | Broken Head | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Broken Head
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Knockrow
Other comparisons with Broken Head
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.