Malua Bay vs Woodlands

Malua Bay is the younger of the two, with a median age of 52 against 55 in Woodlands. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Woodlands, about half of households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Woodlands: a median of $3 million, against $930,000 in Malua Bay, though rent is higher in Malua Bay. On these figures, Malua Bay tends to suit buyers on a tighter budget, while Woodlands suits share households 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

They split

one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here

  • Malua Bay is already more of a family suburb (55% vs 35%)
  • Woodlands has more separate houses rather than flats (114% vs 97%)

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

First-home buyers

They split

one each way, out of the 2 things we measure here

  • Malua Bay has cheaper houses ($930,000 vs $3,000,000)
  • Woodlands leaves households under less mortgage stress (6% vs 28%)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Woodlands

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has cheaper rent ($260/wk vs $418/wk)
  • leaves renters under less rental stress (19% vs 29%)

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

Woodlands

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has more residents already 65 and over (37% vs 29%)

Weighs who already lives there, GPs, and walkability.

Investors

Malua Bay

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (7.4% vs -19.2%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Malua Bay Woodlands
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.

Malua Bay Woodlands
Walkability 12 / 8
Malua Bay — Walkability: 12/100 Woodlands — Walkability: 8/100
Low fire risk 17 / 8
Malua Bay — Low fire risk: 17/100 Woodlands — Low fire risk: 8/100

Demographics

Malua Bay has more residents (2,071 vs 59); Malua Bay rents higher ($418/wk vs $260/wk).

Malua Bay Woodlands
Population 2,071
+97% vs other
 59
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +7.4% -19.2%
Median age 52 55
Median household income $73,996/yr
+3% vs other
 $71,500/yr
Median weekly rent $418/wk
+38% vs other
 $260/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Malua Bay Woodlands
0-4 4.7% / —
Malua Bay — 0-4: 4.7% Woodlands — 0-4: not among its largest
5-14 10.9% / 6.8%
Malua Bay — 5-14: 10.9% Woodlands — 5-14: 6.8%
15-19 5.0% / 6.8%
Malua Bay — 15-19: 5.0% Woodlands — 15-19: 6.8%
20-24 3.1% / 5.1%
Malua Bay — 20-24: 3.1% Woodlands — 20-24: 5.1%
25-34 7.3% / —
Malua Bay — 25-34: 7.3% Woodlands — 25-34: not among its largest
35-44 9.2% / 13.6%
Malua Bay — 35-44: 9.2% Woodlands — 35-44: 13.6%
45-54 12.9% / 15.3%
Malua Bay — 45-54: 12.9% Woodlands — 45-54: 15.3%
55-64 17.5% / 23.7%
Malua Bay — 55-64: 17.5% Woodlands — 55-64: 23.7%
65-74 18.9% / 32.2%
Malua Bay — 65-74: 18.9% Woodlands — 65-74: 32.2%
75-84 8.5% / 5.1%
Malua Bay — 75-84: 8.5% Woodlands — 75-84: 5.1%
85+ 1.9% / —
Malua Bay — 85+: 1.9% Woodlands — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (32.2%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Malua Bay 40.0% lone person
Malua Bay — Lone Person: 40.0% Malua Bay — Couple Families: 36.9% Malua Bay — One Parent Families: 18.2% Malua Bay — Group Household: 4.3% Malua Bay — Other Families: 0.6%
Woodlands 47.1% lone person
Woodlands — Lone Person: 47.1% Woodlands — Couple Families: 17.6% Woodlands — One Parent Families: 17.6% Woodlands — Group Household: 17.6% Woodlands — Other Families: 0.0%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Malua Bay 18.4% renting
Malua Bay — Owned Outright: 53.1% Malua Bay — Mortgage: 28.5% Malua Bay — Renting: 18.4%
Woodlands 22.2% renting
Woodlands — Owned Outright: 66.7% Woodlands — Mortgage: 11.1% Woodlands — Renting: 22.2%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

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.

Malua Bay Woodlands
New Zealand 1.7% / 6.8%
Malua Bay — New Zealand: 1.7% Woodlands — New Zealand: 6.8%
England 4.7% / —
Malua Bay — England: 4.7% Woodlands — England: not among its largest
Scotland 1.0% / —
Malua Bay — Scotland: 1.0% Woodlands — Scotland: not among its largest
South Africa 0.8% / —
Malua Bay — South Africa: 0.8% Woodlands — South Africa: not among its largest
Philippines 0.6% / —
Malua Bay — Philippines: 0.6% Woodlands — Philippines: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (6.8%).

Qualifications

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

Malua Bay Woodlands
Certificate III & IV 18.2% / 22.0%
Malua Bay — Certificate III & IV: 18.2% Woodlands — Certificate III & IV: 22.0%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 9.4% / 10.2%
Malua Bay — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 9.4% Woodlands — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 10.2%
Bachelor Degree 11.2% / 6.8%
Malua Bay — Bachelor Degree: 11.2% Woodlands — Bachelor Degree: 6.8%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.2% / 6.8%
Malua Bay — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.2% Woodlands — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 6.8%
Postgraduate Degree 3.4% / —
Malua Bay — Postgraduate Degree: 3.4% Woodlands — Postgraduate Degree: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.0%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Malua Bay 97.0% houses
Malua Bay — Houses: 97.0% Malua Bay — Flats / Apartments: 1.6% Malua Bay — Townhouses: 1.4%
Woodlands 113.6% houses
Woodlands — Houses: 113.6% Woodlands — Flats / Apartments: 0.0% Woodlands — Townhouses: 0.0%
Houses Flats / Apartments Townhouses

Property market

Malua Bay Woodlands
Median house price $930,000 $3,000,000
Median unit price $822,500 —
Median land price $417,500 —
Typical days to sell (houses) 48 days
from 48 sales
 —

Zoning mix

Woodlands has more rural and farming land (99% vs 19%); Malua Bay has more land zoned for conservation (56% vs 0%).

Malua Bay Woodlands
Rural and farming 19% 99%
Environmental 56% 0%
Residential 24% 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

Malua Bay Woodlands
New dwellings approved 211
across Eurobodalla
same for both
Approvals change year on year -9%
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.

Malua Bay Woodlands
Houses 3.2%
$708/wk on $1.15M
 —
Units —
same for both

Ranking within NSW

Malua Bay Woodlands
House price Higher than 48% of NSW Higher than 94% of NSW
Income Higher than 41% of NSW Higher than 37% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 60% of NSW Higher than 54% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 45% of NSW Higher than 2% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 62% of NSW
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 88% of NSW Higher than 38% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 30% of NSW —

Liveability

Malua Bay Woodlands
Grade D —
Score 29/100 —
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 6/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 4/10

Risk profile

Malua Bay Woodlands
Bushfire High
83/100
 High
92/100
Crime Moderate
42/100
 —
Flood Not mapped
no mapped data here
same for both
Coastal erosion Low
23/100
 None
0/100
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 3
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Malua Bay Woodlands
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

Malua Bay Woodlands
Supermarkets 1 0
Cafes & restaurants 3 0
Parks & reserves 1 0
Pharmacies 1 0
Banks & Bank@Post 1 0
Beaches 2 0
Waterways 10 0

Mobility

Malua Bay Woodlands
Walkability score 12/100 8/100
Distance to Sydney 293.5 km 294.7 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 244 min 247 min
Electric vehicle share 0.6%
postcode 2536
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 41
postcode 2536
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.

Malua Bay Woodlands
Car (driver) 77.4% / 86.4%
Malua Bay — Car (driver): 77.4% Woodlands — Car (driver): 86.4%
Worked from Home 14.8% / —
Malua Bay — Worked from Home: 14.8% Woodlands — Worked from Home: not among its largest
Walked Only 1.0% / 13.6%
Malua Bay — Walked Only: 1.0% Woodlands — Walked Only: 13.6%
Car (passenger) 5.3% / —
Malua Bay — Car (passenger): 5.3% Woodlands — Car (passenger): not among its largest
Bus 1.4% / —
Malua Bay — Bus: 1.4% Woodlands — Bus: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (86.4%).

Setting

Malua Bay Woodlands
Elevation 38 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 31 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 1.7 km
1.8 km to a named beach
 3.4 km
3.5 km to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Malua Bay Woodlands
Connectivity score 78/100 26/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 51%
1,690 premises
 0%
21 premises

Climate

Malua Bay Woodlands
Annual rainfall 914 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 23.7°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 7.5°C
same for both

Council rates

Malua Bay Woodlands
Average residential rate $1,246/yr
same for both
Council Eurobodalla
same for both

Federal electorate

Malua Bay Woodlands
Division Gilmore
same for both
Member Fiona Phillips
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Malua Bay Woodlands
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Malua Bay

Acreage Coastal Retirees River

Woodlands

Premium Retirees Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Malua Bay

Malua Bay vs Surf Beach Malua Bay vs Lilli Pilli Malua Bay vs Mogo Malua Bay vs Rosedale

Other comparisons with Woodlands

Woodlands vs Tomakin Woodlands vs Mogo Woodlands vs Rosedale
Full data on Malua Bay Full data on Woodlands
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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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