Martindale vs Howes Valley

Martindale is the younger of the two, with a median age of 39 against 51 in Howes Valley. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Martindale, most households are couple families. In Howes Valley, the large majority of households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Martindale: a median of $1.58 million, against $475,000 in Howes Valley, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Howes Valley tends to suit 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

They split

one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here

  • Martindale is already more of a family suburb (64% vs 21%)
  • Howes Valley has more parks and reserves (3 vs 0)

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

First-home buyers

Howes Valley

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper houses ($475,000 vs $1,582,000)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

They split

one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here

  • Martindale leaves renters under less rental stress (18% vs 23%)
  • Howes Valley has cheaper rent ($175/wk vs $325/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Howes Valley

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • sits closer to the CBD (179.4 km vs 276.1 km)
  • has a shorter drive in (163 min vs 215 min)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Too close to call

Nothing among the 4 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

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

Investors

Martindale

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (5.0% vs -35.5%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Martindale Howes Valley
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.

Martindale Howes Valley
Walkability 0 / 0
Martindale — Walkability: 0/100 Howes Valley — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 51 / 58
Martindale — Safety: 51/100 Howes Valley — Safety: 58/100
Low fire risk 16 / 14
Martindale — Low fire risk: 16/100 Howes Valley — Low fire risk: 14/100

Demographics

Martindale has higher household incomes ($94,224 vs $38,948); Martindale has more residents (168 vs 80).

Martindale Howes Valley
Population 168
+52% vs other
 80
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +5.0% -35.5%
Median age 39 51
Median household income $94,224/yr
+59% vs other
 $38,948/yr
Median weekly rent $325/wk
+46% vs other
 $175/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Martindale Howes Valley
0-4 6.0% / 3.8%
Martindale — 0-4: 6.0% Howes Valley — 0-4: 3.8%
5-14 11.9% / 13.8%
Martindale — 5-14: 11.9% Howes Valley — 5-14: 13.8%
15-19 8.3% / 6.2%
Martindale — 15-19: 8.3% Howes Valley — 15-19: 6.2%
20-24 10.7% / —
Martindale — 20-24: 10.7% Howes Valley — 20-24: not among its largest
25-34 9.5% / —
Martindale — 25-34: 9.5% Howes Valley — 25-34: not among its largest
35-44 11.9% / 8.8%
Martindale — 35-44: 11.9% Howes Valley — 35-44: 8.8%
45-54 16.1% / 26.2%
Martindale — 45-54: 16.1% Howes Valley — 45-54: 26.2%
55-64 8.9% / 22.5%
Martindale — 55-64: 8.9% Howes Valley — 55-64: 22.5%
65-74 12.5% / 15.0%
Martindale — 65-74: 12.5% Howes Valley — 65-74: 15.0%
75-84 6.0% / 5.0%
Martindale — 75-84: 6.0% Howes Valley — 75-84: 5.0%
85+ — / —
Martindale — 85+: not among its largest Howes Valley — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (26.2%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Martindale 27.7% lone person
Martindale — Lone Person: 27.7% Martindale — Couple Families: 57.4% Martindale — One Parent Families: 6.4% Martindale — Group Household: 8.5%
Howes Valley 78.6% lone person
Howes Valley — Lone Person: 78.6% Howes Valley — Couple Families: 0.0% Howes Valley — One Parent Families: 21.4% Howes Valley — Group Household: 0.0%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families Group Household

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Martindale 13.2% renting
Martindale — Owned Outright: 52.8% Martindale — Mortgage: 34.0% Martindale — Renting: 13.2%
Howes Valley 18.2% renting
Howes Valley — Owned Outright: 51.5% Howes Valley — Mortgage: 30.3% Howes Valley — Renting: 18.2%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Martindale 100.0% houses
Martindale — Houses: 100.0%
Howes Valley 100.0% houses
Howes Valley — Houses: 100.0%
Houses

Qualifications

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

Martindale Howes Valley
Certificate III & IV 25.0% / 20.0%
Martindale — Certificate III & IV: 25.0% Howes Valley — Certificate III & IV: 20.0%
Bachelor Degree 8.3% / 7.5%
Martindale — Bachelor Degree: 8.3% Howes Valley — Bachelor Degree: 7.5%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 6.0% / 5.0%
Martindale — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.0% Howes Valley — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.0%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (25.0%).

Property market

Martindale Howes Valley
Median house price $1,582,000 $475,000
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price —
same for both

Zoning mix

Martindale has more land zoned for conservation (82% vs 54%); Howes Valley has more rural and farming land (46% vs 18%).

Martindale Howes Valley
Environmental 82% 54%
Rural and farming 18% 46%
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

Martindale Howes Valley
New dwellings approved 71
across Muswellbrook
 121
across Singleton
Approvals change year on year +13% +46%

Ranking within NSW

Martindale Howes Valley
House price Higher than 77% of NSW Higher than 14% of NSW
Income Higher than 61% of NSW Higher than 4% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 10% of NSW Higher than 31% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 26% of NSW Higher than 49% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 33% of NSW Higher than 26% of NSW
NBN connectivity Higher than 5% of NSW Higher than 17% of NSW

Liveability

Martindale Howes Valley
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 6/10
 below-average income
decile 3/10

Risk profile

Martindale Howes Valley
Bushfire High
84/100
 High
86/100
Crime Moderate
49/100
 Moderate
42/100
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

Martindale Howes Valley
Inside the suburb 1 0
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Martindale

  • Martindale Public School Government · Primary

Schools in Howes Valley

No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.

Amenities in the suburb

Martindale Howes Valley
Parks & reserves 0 3
Waterways 17 96

Mobility

Martindale sits further from the CBD (276.1 km vs 179.4 km).

Martindale Howes Valley
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Sydney 276.1 km
+35% vs other
 179.4 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 215 min 163 min
Electric vehicle share 0.3%
postcode 2328
 0.2%
postcode 2330
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 44
postcode 2328
 54
postcode 2330

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.

Martindale Howes Valley
Car (driver) 62.0% / 33.3%
Martindale — Car (driver): 62.0% Howes Valley — Car (driver): 33.3%
Worked from Home 21.7% / 66.7%
Martindale — Worked from Home: 21.7% Howes Valley — Worked from Home: 66.7%
Walked Only 10.9% / —
Martindale — Walked Only: 10.9% Howes Valley — Walked Only: not among its largest
Car (passenger) 5.4% / —
Martindale — Car (passenger): 5.4% Howes Valley — Car (passenger): not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (66.7%).

Setting

Martindale Howes Valley
Elevation 296 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 301 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Martindale Howes Valley
Connectivity score 15/100
same for both
Most common technology Satellite (Sky Muster)
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
38 premises
 0%
55 premises

Climate

Martindale Howes Valley
Annual rainfall 965 mm 804 mm
Summer max (Jan) 23.4°C 30.0°C
Winter min (Jul) 3.0°C 5.1°C

Air quality (annual mean)

Martindale Howes Valley
PM2.5 —
same for both
PM10 17.7 µg/m³ 16.7 µg/m³
NO₂ —
same for both

Council rates

Martindale Howes Valley
Average residential rate $936/yr $1,287/yr
Council Muswellbrook Singleton

Federal electorate

Martindale Howes Valley
Division New England Hunter
Member Barnaby Joyce Dan Repacholi
Party The Nationals Australian Labor Party

First Home Owner Grant

Martindale Howes Valley
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Martindale

Rural

Howes Valley

Affordable Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Martindale

Martindale vs Denman Martindale vs Putty Martindale vs Yarrawa Martindale vs Widden Martindale vs Bureen Martindale vs Dalswinton

Other comparisons with Howes Valley

Howes Valley vs Broke Howes Valley vs Milbrodale Howes Valley vs Putty Howes Valley vs Paynes Crossing
Full data on Martindale Full data on Howes Valley
Unlock full address-level data — $29/month

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.

Save this page for later

We'll email you a link to this page so you can finish reading it on any device. We use your address once to send it and don't keep it.

or