North Nowra vs West Nowra

West Nowra is the younger of the two, with a median age of 33 against 39 in North Nowra. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. On these figures, North Nowra tends to suit older residents.

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

North Nowra

ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more parks and reserves (17 vs 2)
  • has more schools inside the suburb (3 vs 0)

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

First-home buyers

North Nowra

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper units ($470,000 vs $665,000)

Weighs house prices, unit prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

West Nowra

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($350/wk vs $380/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

North Nowra

ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (63/100 vs 23/100)
  • has a shorter drive in (133 min vs 142 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (162.6 km vs 166.5 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

North Nowra

ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (63/100 vs 23/100)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (21% vs 13%)

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

Investors

West Nowra

ahead on 2 of the 2 things we measure here

  • is growing faster (7.0% vs 1.1%)
  • returns a higher gross yield on houses (4.7% vs 3.7%)

Weighs house yield and population growth.

Where they sit

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

North Nowra West Nowra
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.

North Nowra West Nowra
Walkability 63 / 23
North Nowra — Walkability: 63/100 West Nowra — Walkability: 23/100
Safety 43 / 45
North Nowra — Safety: 43/100 West Nowra — Safety: 45/100
Low fire risk 61 / 53
North Nowra — Low fire risk: 61/100 West Nowra — Low fire risk: 53/100

Demographics

North Nowra has more residents (5,856 vs 1,504); North Nowra skews older (39 vs 33).

North Nowra West Nowra
Population 5,856
+74% vs other
 1,504
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +1.1% +7.0%
Median age 39 33
Median household income $73,372/yr $77,636/yr
+6% vs other
Median weekly rent $380/wk
+8% vs other
 $350/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

North Nowra West Nowra
0-4 6.6% / 7.8%
North Nowra — 0-4: 6.6% West Nowra — 0-4: 7.8%
5-14 13.3% / 13.8%
North Nowra — 5-14: 13.3% West Nowra — 5-14: 13.8%
15-19 5.2% / 6.1%
North Nowra — 15-19: 5.2% West Nowra — 15-19: 6.1%
20-24 4.8% / 7.6%
North Nowra — 20-24: 4.8% West Nowra — 20-24: 7.6%
25-34 13.5% / 16.8%
North Nowra — 25-34: 13.5% West Nowra — 25-34: 16.8%
35-44 12.0% / 11.4%
North Nowra — 35-44: 12.0% West Nowra — 35-44: 11.4%
45-54 11.2% / 10.0%
North Nowra — 45-54: 11.2% West Nowra — 45-54: 10.0%
55-64 12.2% / 13.4%
North Nowra — 55-64: 12.2% West Nowra — 55-64: 13.4%
65-74 11.2% / 8.1%
North Nowra — 65-74: 11.2% West Nowra — 65-74: 8.1%
75-84 7.1% / 4.1%
North Nowra — 75-84: 7.1% West Nowra — 75-84: 4.1%
85+ 3.1% / 1.0%
North Nowra — 85+: 3.1% West Nowra — 85+: 1.0%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.8%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

North Nowra 39.2% couple families
North Nowra — Couple Families: 39.2% North Nowra — Lone Person: 37.0% North Nowra — One Parent Families: 18.8% North Nowra — Group Household: 3.5% North Nowra — Other Families: 1.5%
West Nowra 37.6% couple families
West Nowra — Couple Families: 37.6% West Nowra — Lone Person: 30.4% West Nowra — One Parent Families: 25.6% West Nowra — Group Household: 4.4% West Nowra — Other Families: 2.1%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

North Nowra 28.7% renting
North Nowra — Owned Outright: 37.9% North Nowra — Mortgage: 33.3% North Nowra — Renting: 28.7%
West Nowra 38.3% renting
West Nowra — Owned Outright: 26.4% West Nowra — Mortgage: 35.3% West Nowra — Renting: 38.3%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

North Nowra West Nowra
Certificate III & IV 19.1% / 19.5%
North Nowra — Certificate III & IV: 19.1% West Nowra — Certificate III & IV: 19.5%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.4% / 8.0%
North Nowra — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.4% West Nowra — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.0%
Bachelor Degree 9.3% / 4.9%
North Nowra — Bachelor Degree: 9.3% West Nowra — Bachelor Degree: 4.9%
Postgraduate Degree 2.8% / 1.4%
North Nowra — Postgraduate Degree: 2.8% West Nowra — Postgraduate Degree: 1.4%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.0% / 1.0%
North Nowra — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.0% West Nowra — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.0%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.5%).

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.

North Nowra West Nowra
England 4.7% / 2.7%
North Nowra — England: 4.7% West Nowra — England: 2.7%
New Zealand 1.4% / 0.9%
North Nowra — New Zealand: 1.4% West Nowra — New Zealand: 0.9%
Philippines 0.8% / 0.8%
North Nowra — Philippines: 0.8% West Nowra — Philippines: 0.8%
India 1.0% / 0.5%
North Nowra — India: 1.0% West Nowra — India: 0.5%
Scotland 0.4% / 0.3%
North Nowra — Scotland: 0.4% West Nowra — Scotland: 0.3%
Germany 0.5% / —
North Nowra — Germany: 0.5% West Nowra — Germany: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (4.7%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

North Nowra 89.5% houses
North Nowra — Houses: 89.5% North Nowra — Townhouses: 8.2% North Nowra — Flats / Apartments: 2.3%
West Nowra 88.2% houses
West Nowra — Houses: 88.2% West Nowra — Townhouses: 10.4% West Nowra — Flats / Apartments: 1.4%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

North Nowra West Nowra
Median house price $780,000 $740,000
Median unit price $470,000 $665,000
Median land price — $600,000
Typical days to sell (houses) 25 days
from 47 sales
 56 days
from 12 sales

House price by bedroom count

Only bed counts both suburbs published enough sales for. Sale counts are shown because the buckets differ in depth.

North Nowra West Nowra
3 bed $750K / $680K
North Nowra — 3 bed: $750K (58 sales) West Nowra — 3 bed: $680K (26 sales)

58 vs 26 sales

4 bed $855K / $796K
North Nowra — 4 bed: $855K (43 sales) West Nowra — 4 bed: $796K (10 sales)

43 vs 10 sales

Zoning mix

West Nowra has more land zoned for conservation (64% vs 44%).

North Nowra West Nowra
Environmental 44% 64%
Residential 33% 21%
Parks and recreation 14% 9%
Rural and farming 6% 0%
Infrastructure and transport 3% 4%
Industrial 1%
same for both
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

North Nowra West Nowra
New dwellings approved 854
across Shoalhaven
same for both
Approvals change year on year -10%
same for both

Gross rental yield

Gross — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. From median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.

North Nowra West Nowra
Houses 3.7%
$582/wk on $812K
 4.7%
$600/wk on $665K
Units —
same for both

Ranking within NSW

North Nowra West Nowra
House price Higher than 28% of NSW Higher than 25% of NSW
Income Higher than 40% of NSW —
Schools Higher than 73% of NSW —
Walkability Higher than 86% of NSW Higher than 72% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 64% of NSW —
EV adoption Higher than 45% of NSW
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 90% of NSW Higher than 99% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 59% of NSW Higher than 93% of NSW

Liveability

North Nowra is more walkable (63 vs 23); North Nowra scores higher overall (48 vs 28).

North Nowra West Nowra
Grade C D
Score 48/100 28/100
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 4/10
 below-average income
decile 2/10

Risk profile

North Nowra West Nowra
Bushfire Low
39/100
 Moderate
47/100
Crime Moderate
57/100
 Moderate
55/100
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 8
within 5 km
 11
within 5 km

Schools

North Nowra West Nowra
Inside the suburb 3 0
Rated above peers 1 0
Rated at peers 1 0
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in North Nowra

  • North Nowra Public School Government · Primary above peers
  • Illaroo Road Public School Government · Primary at peers
  • Havenlee School Government · Combined · Special school

Schools in West Nowra

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

Amenities in the suburb

North Nowra West Nowra
Cafes & restaurants 1 0
Parks & reserves 17 2
Childcare 3
same for both
Pharmacies 2 0
Banks & Bank@Post 1 0
Fuel stations 1 0
Waterways 0 1

Mobility

West Nowra sits further from the CBD (166.5 km vs 162.6 km).

North Nowra West Nowra
Walkability score 63/100 23/100
Distance to Sydney 162.6 km 166.5 km
+2% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 133 min 142 min
Public transport score 61/100
Bus
 24/100
Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 24.0
7-9am + 5-7pm
 4.5
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 1 min
scheduled, not actual
 2 min
scheduled, not actual
Electric vehicle share 0.4%
postcode 2541
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 44
postcode 2541
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.

North Nowra West Nowra
Car (driver) 81.1% / 85.5%
North Nowra — Car (driver): 81.1% West Nowra — Car (driver): 85.5%
Worked from Home 9.9% / 5.2%
North Nowra — Worked from Home: 9.9% West Nowra — Worked from Home: 5.2%
Car (passenger) 5.7% / 7.0%
North Nowra — Car (passenger): 5.7% West Nowra — Car (passenger): 7.0%
Walked Only 2.2% / 1.0%
North Nowra — Walked Only: 2.2% West Nowra — Walked Only: 1.0%
Bicycle 0.8% / 0.8%
North Nowra — Bicycle: 0.8% West Nowra — Bicycle: 0.8%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (85.5%).

Setting

North Nowra West Nowra
Elevation 70 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 62 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 14.9 km 13.7 km

NBN connectivity

North Nowra West Nowra
Connectivity score 82/100 100/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 65%
2,734 premises
 100%
725 premises

Climate

North Nowra West Nowra
Annual rainfall 974 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) —
same for both
Winter min (Jul) —
same for both

Council rates

North Nowra West Nowra
Average residential rate $1,501/yr
same for both
Council Shoalhaven
same for both

Federal electorate

North Nowra West Nowra
Division Gilmore
same for both
Member Fiona Phillips
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

North Nowra West Nowra
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

North Nowra

Large Blocks Parks Quiet

West Nowra

Acreage

More comparisons

Other comparisons with North Nowra

North Nowra vs Nowra North Nowra vs Bomaderry North Nowra vs Bangalee North Nowra vs Mundamia North Nowra vs Longreach

Other comparisons with West Nowra

West Nowra vs Nowra West Nowra vs South Nowra West Nowra vs Mundamia
Full data on North Nowra Full data on West Nowra
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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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