Matcham vs Erina Heights
Erina Heights is the younger of the two, with a median age of 41 against 44 in Matcham. In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are couple families. Houses cost more in Matcham: a median of $2.52 million, against $1.2 million in Erina Heights, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Erina Heights tends to suit 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
Erina Heights
ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more childcare (3 vs 0)
- has more schools inside the suburb (2 vs 0)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Erina Heights
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper houses ($1,200,000 vs $2,525,000)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Erina Heights
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a bigger rental market to choose from (16% vs 6%)
- has cheaper rent ($485/wk vs $550/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Erina Heights
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (48/100 vs 12/100)
- has a shorter drive in (76 min vs 84 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (83.5 km vs 87 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Erina Heights
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is more walkable (48/100 vs 12/100)
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
Matcham and Erina Heights 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
Matcham has more residents (1,038 vs 454); Matcham has higher household incomes ($174,720 vs $146,588).
| Matcham | Erina Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,038 +56% vs other | 454 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +5.2% | +7.8% |
| Median age | 44 | 41 |
| Median household income | $174,720/yr +16% vs other | $146,588/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $550/wk +12% vs other | $485/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.3%).
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 (18.4%).
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 (6.8%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Matcham | Erina Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $2,525,000 | $1,200,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | $2,850,000 | — |
Zoning mix
Matcham has more land zoned for conservation (99% vs 82%).
| Matcham | Erina Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental | 99% | 82% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 0% | 18% |
| 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
| Matcham | Erina Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 1,441 across Central Coast (NSW) same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +67% same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Matcham | Erina Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 91% of NSW | Higher than 92% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 98% of NSW | Higher than 94% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 60% of NSW | Higher than 81% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 36% of NSW | Higher than 18% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 83% of NSW | Higher than 89% of NSW |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 65% of NSW | Higher than 66% of NSW |
Liveability
Erina Heights is more walkable (48 vs 12).
| Matcham | Erina Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | B | — |
| Score | 55/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 10/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
Matcham carries more bushfire risk (67 vs 0).
| Matcham | Erina Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Moderate 67/100 | None 0/100 |
| Crime | Low 31/100 | Low 28/100 |
| 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
| Matcham | Erina Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 | 2 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 | 1 |
| Rated below peers | 0 | 1 |
Schools in Matcham
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Schools in Erina Heights
- Central Coast Grammar School Independent · Combined at peers
- Erina Heights Public School Government · Primary below peers
Amenities in the suburb
| Matcham | Erina Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Cafes & restaurants | 0 | 1 |
| Parks & reserves | 1 | 0 |
| Childcare | 0 | 3 |
| Pharmacies | 0 | 1 |
| Waterways | 17 | 0 |
Mobility
Matcham sits further from the CBD (87 km vs 83.5 km).
| Matcham | Erina Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 12/100 | 48/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 87 km +4% vs other | 83.5 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 84 min | 76 min |
| Public transport score | 26/100 Bus | 79/100 Bus |
| Peak arrivals per hour | 6.0 7-9am + 5-7pm | 81.5 7-9am + 5-7pm |
| Median peak wait | 2 min scheduled, not actual | 0 min scheduled, not actual |
| Electric vehicle share | 1.1% postcode 2250 | 1.4% postcode 2260 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 36 postcode 2250 | 37 postcode 2260 |
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 (52.0%).
Setting
| Matcham | Erina Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 105 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 47 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 3.2 km 3.3 km to a named beach | 3.4 km 3.8 km to a named beach |
NBN connectivity
| Matcham | Erina Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 44/100 | 47/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the node same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 378 premises | 4% 200 premises |
Climate
| Matcham | Erina Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,272 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 26.4°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 10.6°C same for both | |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Matcham | Erina Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 5.1 µg/m³ same for both | |
| PM10 | 14.8 µg/m³ same for both | |
| NO₂ | 0.36 pphm same for both | |
Council rates
| Matcham | Erina Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,409/yr same for both | |
| Council | Central Coast (NSW) same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Matcham | Erina Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Dobell | Robertson |
| Member | Emma Mcbride | Gordon Reid |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Matcham | Erina Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Matcham
Other comparisons with Erina Heights
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.