Lakewood vs West Haven

Lakewood is the younger of the two, with a median age of 58 against 67 in West Haven. In both, the large majority of households own their home and most homes are detached houses. In Lakewood, about half of households are people living alone. In West Haven, most households are people living alone. Houses cost more in West Haven: a median of $819,000, against $740,000 in Lakewood. On these figures, West Haven tends to suit people living alone and older residents.

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

Lakewood

ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here

  • is already more of a family suburb (49% vs 33%)
  • has more separate houses rather than flats (92% vs 70%)

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

First-home buyers

Lakewood

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (34% vs 40%)
  • has cheaper houses ($740,000 vs $819,000)

Weighs house prices, unit prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Lakewood

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves renters under less rental stress (38% vs 43%)

Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.

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

West Haven

ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here

  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (30% vs 8%)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (54% vs 39%)

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

Investors

Too close to call

Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Lakewood West Haven
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.

Lakewood West Haven
Walkability 30 / 27
Lakewood — Walkability: 30/100 West Haven — Walkability: 27/100
Safety 83 / 75
Lakewood — Safety: 83/100 West Haven — Safety: 75/100
Low fire risk 18 / 16
Lakewood — Low fire risk: 18/100 West Haven — Low fire risk: 16/100

Demographics

West Haven skews older (67 vs 58); Lakewood has higher household incomes ($53,872 vs $48,880).

Lakewood West Haven
Population 1,249
+9% vs other
 1,139
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +4.9% +2.6%
Median age 58 67
Median household income $53,872/yr
+9% vs other
 $48,880/yr
Median weekly rent $390/wk $400/wk
+3% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Lakewood West Haven
0-4 2.8% / 2.3%
Lakewood — 0-4: 2.8% West Haven — 0-4: 2.3%
5-14 9.7% / 8.6%
Lakewood — 5-14: 9.7% West Haven — 5-14: 8.6%
15-19 4.8% / 2.3%
Lakewood — 15-19: 4.8% West Haven — 15-19: 2.3%
20-24 3.8% / 1.7%
Lakewood — 20-24: 3.8% West Haven — 20-24: 1.7%
25-34 6.6% / 5.0%
Lakewood — 25-34: 6.6% West Haven — 25-34: 5.0%
35-44 9.0% / 4.9%
Lakewood — 35-44: 9.0% West Haven — 35-44: 4.9%
45-54 9.4% / 8.1%
Lakewood — 45-54: 9.4% West Haven — 45-54: 8.1%
55-64 15.5% / 14.2%
Lakewood — 55-64: 15.5% West Haven — 55-64: 14.2%
65-74 19.9% / 20.1%
Lakewood — 65-74: 19.9% West Haven — 65-74: 20.1%
75-84 15.5% / 20.6%
Lakewood — 75-84: 15.5% West Haven — 75-84: 20.6%
85+ 3.4% / 13.4%
Lakewood — 85+: 3.4% West Haven — 85+: 13.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.6%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Lakewood 46.1% lone person
Lakewood — Lone Person: 46.1% Lakewood — Couple Families: 33.5% Lakewood — One Parent Families: 15.5% Lakewood — Group Household: 4.8% Lakewood — Other Families: 0.0%
West Haven 63.2% lone person
West Haven — Lone Person: 63.2% West Haven — Couple Families: 23.8% West Haven — One Parent Families: 8.9% West Haven — Group Household: 2.6% West Haven — Other Families: 1.3%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Lakewood 17.2% renting
Lakewood — Owned Outright: 59.3% Lakewood — Mortgage: 23.4% Lakewood — Renting: 17.2%
West Haven 12.2% renting
West Haven — Owned Outright: 62.6% West Haven — Mortgage: 25.2% West Haven — Renting: 12.2%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Lakewood West Haven
Certificate III & IV 20.5% / 20.3%
Lakewood — Certificate III & IV: 20.5% West Haven — Certificate III & IV: 20.3%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 7.7% / 7.5%
Lakewood — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.7% West Haven — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.5%
Bachelor Degree 6.3% / 7.9%
Lakewood — Bachelor Degree: 6.3% West Haven — Bachelor Degree: 7.9%
Postgraduate Degree 2.3% / 2.1%
Lakewood — Postgraduate Degree: 2.3% West Haven — Postgraduate Degree: 2.1%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.2% / 1.6%
Lakewood — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.2% West Haven — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.5%).

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.

Lakewood West Haven
England 3.5% / 7.2%
Lakewood — England: 3.5% West Haven — England: 7.2%
New Zealand 0.6% / 1.1%
Lakewood — New Zealand: 0.6% West Haven — New Zealand: 1.1%
Germany 0.7% / 0.6%
Lakewood — Germany: 0.7% West Haven — Germany: 0.6%
Scotland 0.4% / 0.6%
Lakewood — Scotland: 0.4% West Haven — Scotland: 0.6%
Netherlands 0.2% / 0.6%
Lakewood — Netherlands: 0.2% West Haven — Netherlands: 0.6%
South Africa 0.2% / 0.4%
Lakewood — South Africa: 0.2% West Haven — South Africa: 0.4%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (7.2%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Lakewood 91.8% houses
Lakewood — Houses: 91.8% Lakewood — Townhouses: 3.8% Lakewood — Flats / Apartments: 4.4%
West Haven 70.2% houses
West Haven — Houses: 70.2% West Haven — Townhouses: 29.8% West Haven — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Lakewood West Haven
Median house price $740,000 $819,000
Median unit price $559,000 $559,500
Median land price $385,000 —
Typical days to sell (houses) 53 days
from 17 sales
 59 days
from 12 sales

Zoning mix

Lakewood West Haven
Environmental 56% 53%
Residential 33% 40%
Parks and recreation 7% 2%
Rural and farming 3% 5%
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

Lakewood West Haven
New dwellings approved 546
across Port Macquarie-Hastings
same for both
Approvals change year on year +33%
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.

Lakewood West Haven
Houses 3.7%
$620/wk on $880K
 —
Units —
same for both

Ranking within NSW

Lakewood West Haven
House price Higher than 26% of NSW Higher than 31% of NSW
Income Higher than 14% of NSW Higher than 10% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 75% of NSW Higher than 73% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 44% of NSW Higher than 31% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 36% of NSW Higher than 37% of NSW
NBN connectivity Higher than 73% of NSW Higher than 69% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 54% of NSW —

Liveability

Lakewood scores higher overall (31 vs 26).

Lakewood West Haven
Grade C D
Score 31/100 26/100
Socio-economic band below-average income
decile 3/10
 below-average income
decile 2/10

Risk profile

Lakewood West Haven
Bushfire High
82/100
 High
84/100
Crime Low
17/100
 Low
25/100
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
 1
within 5 km

Schools

Lakewood West Haven
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

Mobility

Lakewood West Haven
Walkability score 30/100 27/100
Distance to Sydney 357.8 km 359.1 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 242 min 243 min
Electric vehicle share 0.4%
postcode 2443
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 64
postcode 2443
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.

Lakewood West Haven
Car (driver) 81.4% / 86.2%
Lakewood — Car (driver): 81.4% West Haven — Car (driver): 86.2%
Worked from Home 9.9% / 8.5%
Lakewood — Worked from Home: 9.9% West Haven — Worked from Home: 8.5%
Car (passenger) 3.7% / 4.2%
Lakewood — Car (passenger): 3.7% West Haven — Car (passenger): 4.2%
Walked Only 4.2% / 1.2%
Lakewood — Walked Only: 4.2% West Haven — Walked Only: 1.2%
Bus 0.8% / —
Lakewood — Bus: 0.8% West Haven — Bus: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (86.2%).

Setting

Lakewood West Haven
Elevation 31 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 4 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 6.0 km 4.6 km
4.9 km to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Lakewood West Haven
Connectivity score 65/100 57/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 37%
611 premises
 22%
569 premises

Climate

Lakewood West Haven
Annual rainfall 1,331 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Lakewood West Haven
PM2.5 5.1 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 11.3 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ 0.92 pphm
same for both

Council rates

Lakewood West Haven
Average residential rate $1,325/yr
same for both
Council Port Macquarie-Hastings
same for both

Federal electorate

Lakewood West Haven
Division Lyne
same for both
Member Alison Penfold
same for both
Party The Nationals
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Lakewood West Haven
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Lakewood

Large Blocks Retirees

West Haven

Retirees Townhouses

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Lakewood

Lakewood vs Kew

Other comparisons with West Haven

West Haven vs Laurieton West Haven vs North Haven
Full data on Lakewood Full data on West Haven
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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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