Orchard Hills vs Erskine Park
Erskine Park is the younger of the two, with a median age of 37 against 47 in Orchard Hills. 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 Orchard Hills: a median of $3.1 million, against $1.21 million in Erskine Park. Erskine Park is closer to the city centre: 44.2 km, against 51.4 km. On these figures, Orchard Hills tends to suit older residents, while Erskine Park suits families with children 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
Erskine Park
ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more parks and reserves (7 vs 3)
- carries lower crime risk (46/100 vs 66/100)
- But Orchard Hills has more schools rated above their peers (1 vs 0)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Erskine Park
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper houses ($1,210,000 vs $3,105,000)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Too close to call
Nothing among the 3 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Erskine Park
ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here
- is more walkable (50/100 vs 0/100)
- sits closer to the CBD (44.2 km vs 51.4 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, rail access, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Erskine Park
ahead on 3 of the 5 things we measure here
- is more walkable (50/100 vs 0/100)
- has more GPs (2 vs 0)
- carries lower crime risk (46/100 vs 66/100)
- But Orchard Hills has more residents already 65 and over (21% vs 11%)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Erskine Park
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (0.8% vs -4.2%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Orchard Hills and Erskine Park 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
Erskine Park has more residents (6,486 vs 1,798); Orchard Hills skews older (47 vs 37).
| Orchard Hills | Erskine Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,798 | 6,486 +261% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | -4.2% | +0.8% |
| Median age | 47 | 37 |
| Median household income | $118,508/yr | $122,148/yr +3% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $450/wk same for both | |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.6%).
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 (17.4%).
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 (3.8%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Orchard Hills | Erskine Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $3,105,000 | $1,210,000 |
| Median unit price | — | $885,000 |
| Median land price | $905,000 | — |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 26 days from 5 sales | 26 days from 28 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.
6 vs 37 sales
8 vs 7 sales
Zoning mix
Erskine Park has more industrially zoned land (48% vs 3%); Orchard Hills has more rural and farming land (33% vs 0%).
| Orchard Hills | Erskine Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial | 3% | 48% |
| Environmental | 43% | 17% |
| Rural and farming | 33% | 0% |
| Residential | 3% | 23% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 11% | 4% |
| Parks and recreation | 6% | 7% |
| Planning zones cover 99% of Orchard Hills and 100% of Erskine Park. The rest is unzoned land such as water or road reserve. | ||
| 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
| Orchard Hills | Erskine Park | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 1,063 across Penrith same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -78% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Orchard Hills | Erskine Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | — | 3.9% $850/wk on $1.14M |
| Units | — same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Orchard Hills | Erskine Park | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 94% of NSW | Higher than 61% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 83% of NSW | Higher than 85% of NSW |
| Schools | Higher than 49% of NSW | — |
| Walkability | Higher than 3% of NSW | Higher than 81% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 8% of NSW | Higher than 67% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 74% of NSW | Higher than 50% of NSW |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 74% of NSW | Higher than 84% of NSW |
| Rental yield (houses) | — | Higher than 67% of NSW |
Liveability
Erskine Park is more walkable (50 vs 0).
| Orchard Hills | Erskine Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | C same for both | |
| Score | 38/100 | 41/100 |
| Socio-economic band | advantaged area decile 7/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
Orchard Hills carries more crime risk (66 vs 46); Erskine Park carries more bushfire risk (82 vs 66).
| Orchard Hills | Erskine Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Moderate 66/100 | High 82/100 |
| Crime | Moderate 66/100 | Moderate 46/100 |
| 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 | 4 within 5 km | 12 within 5 km |
Schools
| Orchard Hills | Erskine Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 4 | 2 |
| Rated above peers | 1 | 0 |
| Rated at peers | 3 | 1 |
| Rated below peers | 0 | 1 |
| Universities within 10 km | 1 Western Sydney University - Penrith, 4.9 km | 1 Western Sydney University - Penrith, 8.7 km |
| Full-time students aged 15–24 | 2.8% | 2.3% |
Schools in Orchard Hills
- Montgrove College Independent · Combined above peers
- Orchard Hills Public School Government · Primary at peers
- Penrith Anglican College Independent · Combined at peers
- Penrith Christian School Independent · Combined at peers
Schools in Erskine Park
- James Erskine Public School Government · Primary at peers
- Erskine Park High School Government · Secondary below peers
Amenities in the suburb
| Orchard Hills | Erskine Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 0 | 2 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 2 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 3 | 7 |
| Childcare | 7 | 6 |
| GPs | 0 | 2 |
| Pharmacies | 1 same for both | |
| Fuel stations | 0 | 1 |
| Waterways | 26 | 2 |
Mobility
Orchard Hills sits further from the CBD (51.4 km vs 44.2 km).
| Orchard Hills | Erskine Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 | 50/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 51.4 km +14% vs other | 44.2 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 51 min | 47 min |
| Public transport score | 79/100 Bus same for both | |
| Peak arrivals per hour | 52.8 7-9am + 5-7pm | 143.0 7-9am + 5-7pm |
| Median peak wait | 1 min scheduled, not actual | 0 min scheduled, not actual |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.8% postcode 2748 | 0.5% postcode 2759 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 56 postcode 2748 | 55 postcode 2759 |
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 (61.6%).
Setting
| Orchard Hills | Erskine Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 49 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 63 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 42.8 km | 37.0 km |
NBN connectivity
| Orchard Hills | Erskine Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 67/100 | 75/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the premises | Hybrid fibre-coaxial |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 38% 711 premises | 3% 2,236 premises |
Climate
| Orchard Hills | Erskine Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 822 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Orchard Hills | Erskine Park | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 5.6 µg/m³ same for both | |
| PM10 | 17.6 µg/m³ same for both | |
| NO₂ | 0.55 pphm same for both | |
Council rates
| Orchard Hills | Erskine Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,547/yr same for both | |
| Council | Penrith same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Orchard Hills | Erskine Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Lindsay | Mcmahon |
| Member | Melissa Mcintosh | Chris Bowen |
| Party | Liberal | Australian Labor Party |
First Home Owner Grant
| Orchard Hills | Erskine Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Erskine Park
More comparisons
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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.