Lane Cove vs Northwood
Lane Cove is the younger of the two, with a median age of 38 against 46 in Northwood. In both, most households own their home. In Lane Cove, most homes are flats or apartments. In Northwood, the large majority of homes are detached houses and the large majority of households are couple families. Houses cost more in Northwood: a median of $6.47 million, against $3.2 million in Lane Cove, and rent is higher there too. Northwood is closer to the city centre: 9.3 km, against 10.9 km. On these figures, Lane Cove tends to suit people living alone and buyers on a tighter budget, while Northwood 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
They split
one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here
- Lane Cove has more childcare (14 vs 0)
- Northwood has more separate houses rather than flats (93% vs 30%)
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
- Lane Cove has cheaper houses ($3,200,000 vs $6,473,210)
- Northwood leaves households under less mortgage stress (19% vs 26%)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Lane Cove
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a bigger rental market to choose from (38% vs 9%)
- has cheaper rent ($533/wk vs $1,200/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Too close to call
Nothing among the 4 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs distance, drive time, rail access, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Lane Cove
ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here
- has more units and townhouses to downsize into (70% vs 7%)
- has more GPs (6 vs 0)
- But Northwood carries lower crime risk (21/100 vs 40/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Lane Cove
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (14.3% vs -6.7%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Lane Cove and Northwood 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
Lane Cove has more residents (12,363 vs 916); Northwood rents higher ($1,200/wk vs $533/wk).
| Lane Cove | Northwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 12,363 +93% vs other | 916 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +14.3% | -6.7% |
| Median age | 38 | 46 |
| Median household income | $132,028/yr | $260,624/yr +97% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $533/wk | $1,200/wk +125% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.2%).
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 (31.7%).
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 (5.6%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Lane Cove | Northwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $3,200,000 | $6,473,210 |
| Median unit price | $930,000 | — |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 22 days from 14 sales | 28 days from 6 sales |
Zoning mix
| Lane Cove | Northwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Residential | 76% | 83% |
| Parks and recreation | 9% | 6% |
| Environmental | 7% | 8% |
| Commercial | 4% | 0% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 4% | 2% |
| Planning zones cover 100% of Lane Cove and 99% of Northwood. The rest is unzoned land such as water or road reserve. | ||
| 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
| Lane Cove | Northwood | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 169 across Lane Cove same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -98% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Lane Cove | Northwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 2.3% $1,200/wk on $2.7M | — |
| Units | 5.0% $810/wk on $850K | — |
Ranking within NSW
| Lane Cove | Northwood | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 94% of NSW | Higher than 98% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 89% of NSW | Higher than 100% of NSW |
| Schools | Higher than 54% of NSW | — |
| Walkability | Higher than 96% of NSW | Higher than 93% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 9% of NSW | Higher than 23% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 98% of NSW same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 89% of NSW | Higher than 84% of NSW |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 5% of NSW | — |
| Rental yield (units) | Higher than 64% of NSW | — |
Liveability
Northwood scores higher overall (93 vs 80).
| Lane Cove | Northwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | A | A+ |
| Score | 80/100 | 93/100 |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 10/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
Lane Cove carries more crime risk (40 vs 21).
| Lane Cove | Northwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Moderate 40/100 | Low 21/100 |
| 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 | 5 within 5 km | 4 within 5 km |
Schools
| Lane Cove | Northwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 4 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 1 | 0 |
| Rated at peers | 1 | 0 |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
| Universities within 10 km | 3 Australian Catholic University-North Sydney Campus, 4.4 km | 3 Australian Catholic University-North Sydney Campus, 3.0 km |
| Full-time students aged 15–24 | 2.6% | 6.7% |
Schools in Lane Cove
- St Michael's Catholic Primary School Catholic · Primary above peers
- Lane Cove Public School Government · Primary at peers
- Currambena Primary School Independent · Primary
- Aspect Vern Barnett School, Lane Cove Independent · Primary · Special school
Schools in Northwood
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Lane Cove | Northwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 5 | 0 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 25 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 17 | 3 |
| Childcare | 14 | 0 |
| GPs | 6 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 5 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 3 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 4 | 0 |
| EV chargers | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 1 | 0 |
Mobility
| Lane Cove | Northwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 90/100 | 83/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 10.9 km +15% vs other | 9.3 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 16 min | 18 min |
| Public transport score | 94/100 Bus | 77/100 Bus |
| Peak arrivals per hour | 406.5 7-9am + 5-7pm | 32.0 7-9am + 5-7pm |
| Median peak wait | 0 min scheduled, not actual | 1 min scheduled, not actual |
| Electric vehicle share | 3.7% postcode 2066 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 18 postcode 2066 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 (64.1%).
Setting
| Lane Cove | Northwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 59 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 45 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 7.4 km 2.4 km to a named beach | 6.6 km 1.5 km to a named beach |
NBN connectivity
| Lane Cove | Northwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 80/100 | 75/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the building | Hybrid fibre-coaxial |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 30% 6,538 premises | 0% 320 premises |
Climate
| Lane Cove | Northwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,176 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Lane Cove | Northwood | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 6.5 µg/m³ same for both | |
| PM10 | 15.7 µg/m³ same for both | |
| NO₂ | 0.62 pphm same for both | |
Council rates
| Lane Cove | Northwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,377/yr same for both | |
| Council | Lane Cove same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Lane Cove | Northwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Bennelong same for both | |
| Member | Jerome Laxale same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Lane Cove | Northwood | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Lane Cove
Northwood
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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.