New Brighton vs South Golden Beach
South Golden Beach is the younger of the two, with a median age of 40 against 45 in New Brighton. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. Houses cost more in New Brighton: a median of $1.54 million, against $1.37 million in South Golden Beach, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, New Brighton tends to suit share households and older residents, while South Golden Beach 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
South Golden Beach
ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here
- carries lower crime risk (46/100 vs 80/100)
- is already more of a family suburb (59% vs 47%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
South Golden Beach
ahead on 2 of the 2 things we measure here
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (29% vs 37%)
- has cheaper houses ($1,370,000 vs $1,538,750)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
South Golden Beach
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a bigger rental market to choose from (34% vs 22%)
- has cheaper rent ($509/wk vs $600/wk)
- leaves renters under less rental stress (31% vs 37%)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
New Brighton
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- sits closer to the CBD (767.4 km vs 773.6 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here
- New Brighton has more residents already 65 and over (23% vs 10%)
- South Golden Beach carries lower crime risk (46/100 vs 80/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
South Golden Beach
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (9.6% vs 3.4%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
New Brighton and South Golden Beach 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
South Golden Beach has more residents (887 vs 368); New Brighton rents higher ($600/wk vs $509/wk).
| New Brighton | South Golden Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 368 | 887 +141% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +3.4% | +9.6% |
| Median age | 45 | 40 |
| Median household income | $84,968/yr | $84,240/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $600/wk +15% vs other | $509/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.8%).
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 (16.3%).
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 (3.6%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| New Brighton | South Golden Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,538,750 | $1,370,000 |
| Median unit price | — | $940,000 |
| Median land price | — | $860,000 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | — | 36 days from 8 sales |
Zoning mix
New Brighton has more land zoned for conservation (61% vs 29%).
| New Brighton | South Golden Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental | 61% | 29% |
| Residential | 3% | 38% |
| Other and special use | 27% | 29% |
| Rural and farming | 7% | 4% |
| 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
| New Brighton | South Golden Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 129 across Byron same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -65% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| New Brighton | South Golden Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | — | 4.2% $950/wk on $1.18M |
| Units | — same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| New Brighton | South Golden Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 76% of NSW | Higher than 71% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 54% of NSW | Higher than 51% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 77% of NSW same for both | |
| Affordability | Higher than 21% of NSW | Higher than 28% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 85% of NSW same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 94% of NSW | Higher than 96% of NSW |
| Rental yield (houses) | — | Higher than 82% of NSW |
Liveability
| New Brighton | South Golden Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — | B |
| Score | — | 53/100 |
| Socio-economic band | advantaged area decile 8/10 | advantaged area decile 7/10 |
Risk profile
New Brighton carries more crime risk (80 vs 46).
| New Brighton | South Golden Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | High 80/100 | Moderate 46/100 |
| Flood | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | Low 33/100 | Low 13/100 |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 0 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| New Brighton | South Golden Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| 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
| New Brighton | South Golden Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Cafes & restaurants | 0 | 1 |
| Parks & reserves | 3 | 1 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 1 | 0 |
| Beaches | 1 | 0 |
Mobility
South Golden Beach sits further from the CBD (773.6 km vs 767.4 km).
| New Brighton | South Golden Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 36/100 | 35/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 767.4 km | 773.6 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 492 min | 494 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 1.2% postcode 2483 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 72 postcode 2483 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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (63.6%).
Setting
| New Brighton | South Golden Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | -1 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 5 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 210 m 1.9 km to a named beach | 474 m 4.3 km to a named beach |
NBN connectivity
| New Brighton | South Golden Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 88/100 | 93/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the premises same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 59% 235 premises | 72% 420 premises |
Climate
| New Brighton | South Golden Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,569 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 29.1°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 9.1°C same for both | |
Council rates
| New Brighton | South Golden Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,577/yr same for both | |
| Council | Byron same for both | |
Federal electorate
| New Brighton | South Golden Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Richmond same for both | |
| Member | Justine Elliot same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| New Brighton | South Golden Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 New Brighton
Other comparisons with South Golden Beach
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.