Manobalai vs Owens Gap

Owens Gap is the younger of the two, with a median age of 37 against 56 in Manobalai. In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are couple families. On these figures, Manobalai tends to suit older residents, while Owens Gap suits families with children.

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

Manobalai

ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here

  • carries lower crime risk (41/100 vs 60/100)
  • has more separate houses rather than flats (100% vs 83%)

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

First-home buyers

Owens Gap

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (24% vs 40%)

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Manobalai

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($253/wk vs $290/wk)

Weighs rent and rental stress.

Commuting to the city

Manobalai

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • sits closer to the CBD (282 km vs 298.1 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Manobalai

ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here

  • has more residents already 65 and over (30% vs 16%)
  • carries lower crime risk (41/100 vs 60/100)

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

Investors

Owens Gap

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (33.3% vs 13.4%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Manobalai Owens Gap
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.

Manobalai Owens Gap
Walkability 0 / 5
Manobalai — Walkability: 0/100 Owens Gap — Walkability: 5/100
Safety 59 / 40
Manobalai — Safety: 59/100 Owens Gap — Safety: 40/100
Low fire risk 59 / 80
Manobalai — Low fire risk: 59/100 Owens Gap — Low fire risk: 80/100

Demographics

Manobalai skews older (56 vs 37); Owens Gap rents higher ($290/wk vs $253/wk).

Manobalai Owens Gap
Population 76 80
+5% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +13.4% +33.3%
Median age 56 37
Median household income $95,316/yr $107,224/yr
+12% vs other
Median weekly rent $253/wk $290/wk
+15% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Manobalai Owens Gap
0-4 — / 11.2%
Manobalai — 0-4: not among its largest Owens Gap — 0-4: 11.2%
5-14 10.5% / 17.5%
Manobalai — 5-14: 10.5% Owens Gap — 5-14: 17.5%
15-19 6.6% / 5.0%
Manobalai — 15-19: 6.6% Owens Gap — 15-19: 5.0%
20-24 7.9% / 3.8%
Manobalai — 20-24: 7.9% Owens Gap — 20-24: 3.8%
25-34 — / 7.5%
Manobalai — 25-34: not among its largest Owens Gap — 25-34: 7.5%
35-44 9.2% / 20.0%
Manobalai — 35-44: 9.2% Owens Gap — 35-44: 20.0%
45-54 18.4% / 10.0%
Manobalai — 45-54: 18.4% Owens Gap — 45-54: 10.0%
55-64 23.7% / 12.5%
Manobalai — 55-64: 23.7% Owens Gap — 55-64: 12.5%
65-74 13.2% / 11.2%
Manobalai — 65-74: 13.2% Owens Gap — 65-74: 11.2%
75-84 17.1% / 5.0%
Manobalai — 75-84: 17.1% Owens Gap — 75-84: 5.0%
85+ — / —
Manobalai — 85+: not among its largest Owens Gap — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (23.7%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Manobalai 66.7% couple families
Manobalai — Couple Families: 66.7% Manobalai — Lone Person: 33.3%
Owens Gap 63.6% couple families
Owens Gap — Couple Families: 63.6% Owens Gap — Lone Person: 36.4%
Couple Families Lone Person

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Manobalai 12.5% renting
Manobalai — Owned Outright: 75.0% Manobalai — Mortgage: 12.5% Manobalai — Renting: 12.5%
Owens Gap 0.0% renting
Owens Gap — Owned Outright: 33.3% Owens Gap — Mortgage: 66.7% Owens Gap — Renting: 0.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Manobalai 100.0% houses
Manobalai — Houses: 100.0% Manobalai — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Owens Gap 82.9% houses
Owens Gap — Houses: 82.9% Owens Gap — Flats / Apartments: 17.1%
Houses Flats / Apartments

Qualifications

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

Manobalai Owens Gap
Certificate III & IV 22.4% / 21.2%
Manobalai — Certificate III & IV: 22.4% Owens Gap — Certificate III & IV: 21.2%
Bachelor Degree 5.3% / 12.5%
Manobalai — Bachelor Degree: 5.3% Owens Gap — Bachelor Degree: 12.5%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 5.3% / 5.0%
Manobalai — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.3% Owens Gap — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.0%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.4%).

Zoning mix

Manobalai has more land zoned for conservation (43% vs 0%); Owens Gap has more rural and farming land (98% vs 57%).

Manobalai Owens Gap
Rural and farming 57% 98%
Environmental 43% 0%
Residential 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

Manobalai Owens Gap
New dwellings approved 71
across Muswellbrook
 41
across Upper Hunter
Approvals change year on year +13% -20%

Ranking within NSW

Manobalai Owens Gap
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 62% of NSW Higher than 73% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 33% of NSW Higher than 45% of NSW
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 16% of NSW Higher than 14% of NSW
NBN connectivity Higher than 17% of NSW Higher than 28% of NSW

Liveability

Manobalai Owens Gap
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band below-average income
decile 3/10
 very advantaged area
decile 9/10

Risk profile

Manobalai carries more bushfire risk (41 vs 20); Owens Gap carries more crime risk (60 vs 41).

Manobalai Owens Gap
Bushfire Moderate
41/100
 Low
20/100
Crime Moderate
41/100
 Moderate
60/100
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
same for both

Schools

Manobalai Owens Gap
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

Manobalai Owens Gap
Parks & reserves 1 0
Waterways 20 41

Mobility

Owens Gap sits further from the CBD (298.1 km vs 282 km).

Manobalai Owens Gap
Walkability score 0/100 5/100
Distance to Sydney 282 km 298.1 km
+6% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 216 min 219 min
Electric vehicle share 0.2%
postcode 2333
 0.2%
postcode 2337
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 42
postcode 2333
 41
postcode 2337

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.

Manobalai Owens Gap
Car (driver) 57.7% / 68.9%
Manobalai — Car (driver): 57.7% Owens Gap — Car (driver): 68.9%
Worked from Home 42.3% / 24.4%
Manobalai — Worked from Home: 42.3% Owens Gap — Worked from Home: 24.4%
Car (passenger) — / 6.7%
Manobalai — Car (passenger): not among its largest Owens Gap — Car (passenger): 6.7%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (68.9%).

Setting

Manobalai Owens Gap
Elevation 340 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 335 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Manobalai Owens Gap
Connectivity score 15/100 19/100
Most common technology Satellite (Sky Muster)
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
24 premises
 0%
38 premises

Climate

Manobalai Owens Gap
Annual rainfall 631 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 31.6°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 4.1°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Manobalai Owens Gap
PM2.5 —
same for both
PM10 15.5 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ —
same for both

Council rates

Manobalai Owens Gap
Average residential rate $936/yr $968/yr
Council Muswellbrook Upper Hunter

Federal electorate

Manobalai Owens Gap
Division New England
same for both
Member Barnaby Joyce
same for both
Party The Nationals
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Manobalai Owens Gap
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Manobalai

Retirees Rural

Owens Gap

Family River Rural Young Families

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Manobalai

Manobalai vs Giants Creek Manobalai vs Castle Rock Manobalai vs Wybong Manobalai vs Bunnan

Other comparisons with Owens Gap

Owens Gap vs Moobi Owens Gap vs Upper Dartbrook Owens Gap vs Bunnan
Full data on Manobalai Full data on Owens Gap
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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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