Mount Keira vs Kembla Heights
Mount Keira is the younger of the two, with a median age of 40 against 44 in Kembla Heights. In both, the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Mount Keira, the large majority of households own their home and most households are couple families. In Kembla Heights, the large majority of households rent. On these figures, Mount Keira tends to suit couples, while Kembla Heights suits renters and share households.
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
Mount Keira
ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more parks and reserves (5 vs 1)
- carries lower crime risk (34/100 vs 86/100)
- is already more of a family suburb (72% vs 51%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
Renters
Kembla Heights
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a bigger rental market to choose from (100% vs 16%)
- has cheaper rent ($355/wk vs $420/wk)
- But Mount Keira leaves renters under less rental stress (17% vs 28%)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Mount Keira
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (77 min vs 85 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (80.6 km vs 86.2 km)
- But Kembla Heights is more walkable (35/100 vs 26/100)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 4 things we measure here
- Mount Keira carries lower crime risk (34/100 vs 86/100)
- Kembla Heights is more walkable (35/100 vs 26/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Mount Keira
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (1.6% vs -26.1%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Mount Keira and Kembla 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
Mount Keira has more residents (1,691 vs 88); Mount Keira has higher household incomes ($128,752 vs $65,780).
| Mount Keira | Kembla Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,691 +95% vs other | 88 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +1.6% | -26.1% |
| Median age | 40 | 44 |
| Median household income | $128,752/yr +49% vs other | $65,780/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $420/wk +15% vs other | $355/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (21.6%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
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 (4.5%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.3%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Mount Keira | Kembla Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,245,500 | — |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 24 days from 10 sales | — |
Zoning mix
| Mount Keira | Kembla Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental | 85% | 95% |
| Residential | 8% | 0% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 6% | 1% |
| Rural and farming | 0% | 4% |
| Parks and recreation | 1% | 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
| Mount Keira | Kembla Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 1,476 across Wollongong same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -31% same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Mount Keira | Kembla Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 64% of NSW | — |
| Income | Higher than 88% of NSW | Higher than 28% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 73% of NSW | Higher than 77% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 68% of NSW | — |
| EV adoption | Higher than 86% of NSW | Higher than 82% of NSW |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 100% of NSW | Higher than 26% of NSW |
Liveability
Kembla Heights is more walkable (35 vs 26).
| Mount Keira | Kembla Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | C | — |
| Score | 48/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 10/10 | very advantaged area decile 9/10 |
Risk profile
Kembla Heights carries more crime risk (86 vs 34).
| Mount Keira | Kembla Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | High 82/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Low 34/100 | High 86/100 |
| 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 | 1 within 5 km | 5 within 5 km |
Schools
| Mount Keira | Kembla Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 1 | 0 |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
| Universities within 10 km | 1 UOW Wollongong, 4.6 km | 1 UOW Wollongong, 7.8 km |
Schools in Mount Keira
- Mount Keira Public School Government · Primary at peers
Schools in Kembla Heights
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Mount Keira | Kembla Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 5 | 1 |
| Waterways | 2 | 1 |
Mobility
Kembla Heights sits further from the CBD (86.2 km vs 80.6 km).
| Mount Keira | Kembla Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 26/100 | 35/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 80.6 km | 86.2 km +7% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 77 min | 85 min |
| Public transport score | 67/100 Bus | 23/100 Bus |
| Peak arrivals per hour | 26.5 7-9am + 5-7pm | 2.8 7-9am + 5-7pm |
| Median peak wait | 1 min scheduled, not actual same for both | |
| Electric vehicle share | 1.3% postcode 2500 | 1.1% postcode 2526 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 14 postcode 2500 | 47 postcode 2526 |
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 (83.8%).
Setting
| Mount Keira | Kembla Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 382 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 254 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 4.6 km 4.7 km to a named beach | 8.0 km |
NBN connectivity
| Mount Keira | Kembla Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 100/100 | 17/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the premises | Satellite (Sky Muster) |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 100% 617 premises | 0% 7 premises |
Climate
| Mount Keira | Kembla Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 974 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Mount Keira | Kembla Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 6.2 µg/m³ | 5.9 µg/m³ |
| PM10 | 18.2 µg/m³ | 19.8 µg/m³ |
| NO₂ | 0.66 pphm | 0.45 pphm |
Council rates
| Mount Keira | Kembla Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,751/yr same for both | |
| Council | Wollongong same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Mount Keira | Kembla Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Cunningham same for both | |
| Member | Alison Byrnes same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Mount Keira | Kembla Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Mount Keira
Kembla Heights
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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.