North Shields vs Point Boston

Point Boston is the younger of the two, with a median age of 36 against 49 in North Shields. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In North Shields, most households are couple families. Houses cost more in Point Boston: a median of $740,000, against $550,000 in North Shields. On these figures, North Shields tends to suit couples, older residents, 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

Point Boston

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has more separate houses rather than flats (105% vs 94%)

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

First-home buyers

North Shields

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper houses ($550,000 vs $740,000)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Point Boston

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (38% vs 14%)

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

Commuting to the city

Too close to call

Nothing among the 3 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

North Shields

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has more residents already 65 and over (26% vs 6%)

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

Investors

Point Boston

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (138.5% vs -5.8%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

North Shields and Point Boston 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 Shields Point Boston
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 Shields Point Boston
Walkability 0 / 0
North Shields — Walkability: 0/100 Point Boston — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 55 / 61
North Shields — Safety: 55/100 Point Boston — Safety: 61/100
Low fire risk 15 / 69
North Shields — Low fire risk: 15/100 Point Boston — Low fire risk: 69/100

Demographics

North Shields has more residents (338 vs 62); North Shields skews older (49 vs 36).

North Shields Point Boston
Population 338
+82% vs other
 62
Population trend (2016 → 2021) -5.8% +138.5%
Median age 49 36
Median household income $90,116/yr
+17% vs other
 $74,724/yr
Median weekly rent $345/wk
+4% vs other
 $330/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

North Shields Point Boston
0-4 7.7% / 6.5%
North Shields — 0-4: 7.7% Point Boston — 0-4: 6.5%
5-14 10.1% / 14.5%
North Shields — 5-14: 10.1% Point Boston — 5-14: 14.5%
15-19 5.6% / 6.5%
North Shields — 15-19: 5.6% Point Boston — 15-19: 6.5%
20-24 1.8% / —
North Shields — 20-24: 1.8% Point Boston — 20-24: not among its largest
25-34 10.1% / 4.8%
North Shields — 25-34: 10.1% Point Boston — 25-34: 4.8%
35-44 10.4% / 19.4%
North Shields — 35-44: 10.4% Point Boston — 35-44: 19.4%
45-54 11.5% / 17.7%
North Shields — 45-54: 11.5% Point Boston — 45-54: 17.7%
55-64 18.0% / 14.5%
North Shields — 55-64: 18.0% Point Boston — 55-64: 14.5%
65-74 16.3% / 6.5%
North Shields — 65-74: 16.3% Point Boston — 65-74: 6.5%
75-84 5.9% / —
North Shields — 75-84: 5.9% Point Boston — 75-84: not among its largest
85+ 3.3% / —
North Shields — 85+: 3.3% Point Boston — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.4%).

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.

North Shields Point Boston
England 3.0% / 21.0%
North Shields — England: 3.0% Point Boston — England: 21.0%
New Zealand 1.5% / —
North Shields — New Zealand: 1.5% Point Boston — New Zealand: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (21.0%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

North Shields 57.5% couple families
North Shields — Couple Families: 57.5% North Shields — Lone Person: 34.2% North Shields — One Parent Families: 8.2%
Point Boston 42.9% couple families
Point Boston — Couple Families: 42.9% Point Boston — Lone Person: 35.7% Point Boston — One Parent Families: 21.4%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

North Shields 94.2% houses
North Shields — Houses: 94.2% North Shields — Townhouses: 5.0% North Shields — Flats / Apartments: 0.8%
Point Boston 105.3% houses
Point Boston — Houses: 105.3% Point Boston — Townhouses: 0.0% Point Boston — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Qualifications

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

North Shields Point Boston
Certificate III & IV 15.4% / 11.3%
North Shields — Certificate III & IV: 15.4% Point Boston — Certificate III & IV: 11.3%
Bachelor Degree 5.9% / 14.5%
North Shields — Bachelor Degree: 5.9% Point Boston — Bachelor Degree: 14.5%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.0% / 8.1%
North Shields — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.0% Point Boston — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.1%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.8% / —
North Shields — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.8% Point Boston — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest
Postgraduate Degree 0.9% / —
North Shields — Postgraduate Degree: 0.9% Point Boston — Postgraduate Degree: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (15.4%).

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

North Shields 14.5% renting
North Shields — Owned Outright: 46.2% North Shields — Mortgage: 39.3% North Shields — Renting: 14.5%
Point Boston 38.1% renting
Point Boston — Owned Outright: 23.8% Point Boston — Mortgage: 38.1% Point Boston — Renting: 38.1%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Property market

North Shields Point Boston
Median house price $550,000 $740,000
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price — $110,000

Zoning mix

Point Boston has more land zoned for conservation (80% vs 4%); North Shields has more rural and farming land (71% vs 4%).

North Shields Point Boston
Environmental 4% 80%
Rural and farming 71% 4%
Infrastructure and transport 25% 0%
Residential 1% 15%
Industrial 0% 1%
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 Shields Point Boston
New dwellings approved 39
across Lower Eyre Peninsula
same for both
Approvals change year on year +29%
same for both

Ranking within SA

North Shields Point Boston
House price —
same for both
Income Higher than 69% of SA Higher than 49% of SA
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 34% of SA Higher than 30% of SA
Affordability —
same for both
EV adoption Higher than 3% of SA
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 61% of SA Higher than 34% of SA

Liveability

North Shields Point Boston
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 4/10
same for both

Risk profile

North Shields carries more bushfire risk (85 vs 31).

North Shields Point Boston
Bushfire High
85/100
 Low
31/100
Crime Moderate
45/100
 Low
39/100
Flood —
same for both
Coastal erosion Low
28/100
 Low
20/100
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 1
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

North Shields Point Boston
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

North Shields Point Boston
Parks & reserves 1
same for both
Fuel stations 1 0
Waterways 3 0

Mobility

North Shields Point Boston
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Adelaide 641.3 km 642.1 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 421 min
same for both
Electric vehicle share 0.1%
postcode 5607
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 59
postcode 5607
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 Shields Point Boston
Car (driver) 77.3% / 100.0%
North Shields — Car (driver): 77.3% Point Boston — Car (driver): 100.0%
Worked from Home 12.5% / —
North Shields — Worked from Home: 12.5% Point Boston — Worked from Home: not among its largest
Walked Only 7.8% / —
North Shields — Walked Only: 7.8% Point Boston — Walked Only: not among its largest
Car (passenger) 2.3% / —
North Shields — Car (passenger): 2.3% Point Boston — Car (passenger): not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (100.0%).

Setting

North Shields Point Boston
Elevation 51 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 34 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 2.4 km 498 m

NBN connectivity

North Shields Point Boston
Connectivity score 30/100 23/100
Most common technology Fixed wireless
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
145 premises
 0%
48 premises

Council rates

North Shields Point Boston
Average residential rate $1,789/yr
same for both
Council Lower Eyre Peninsula
same for both

Federal electorate

North Shields Point Boston
Division Grey
same for both
Member Tom Venning
same for both
Party Liberal
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

North Shields Point Boston
Grant amount $15,000
same for both
Property price cap —
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

North Shields

Coastal Retirees Rural

Point Boston

Affordable Coastal Rural
Full data on North Shields Full data on Point Boston
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.

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