Pelican vs Swansea

Pelican is the younger of the two, with a median age of 48 against 53 in Swansea. In both, most households own their home and most homes are detached houses. In Swansea, about half of households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Swansea: a median of $1.15 million, against $1 million in Pelican, though rent is higher in Pelican. On these figures, Swansea tends to suit people living alone.

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

Pelican

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more separate houses rather than flats (94% vs 68%)
  • is already more of a family suburb (62% vs 45%)
  • carries lower crime risk (57/100 vs 76/100)
  • But Swansea has more parks and reserves (8 vs 3)

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

First-home buyers

Pelican

ahead on 2 of the 2 things we measure here

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (28% vs 42%)
  • has cheaper houses ($1,000,000 vs $1,150,000)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Swansea

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (30% vs 19%)
  • has cheaper rent ($330/wk vs $370/wk)
  • But Pelican leaves renters under less rental stress (26% vs 32%)

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

Commuting to the city

Swansea

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (81/100 vs 56/100)
  • sits closer to the CBD (128.9 km vs 131.8 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Swansea

ahead on 4 of the 5 things we measure here

  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (32% vs 6%)
  • has more GPs (4 vs 0)
  • is more walkable (81/100 vs 56/100)
  • But Pelican carries lower crime risk (57/100 vs 76/100)

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

Investors

Too close to call

Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Pelican Swansea
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.

Pelican Swansea
Walkability 56 / 81
Pelican — Walkability: 56/100 Swansea — Walkability: 81/100
Safety 43 / 24
Pelican — Safety: 43/100 Swansea — Safety: 24/100
Low fire risk 57 / 80
Pelican — Low fire risk: 57/100 Swansea — Low fire risk: 80/100

Demographics

Swansea has more residents (5,044 vs 874); Pelican has higher household incomes ($75,296 vs $53,924).

Pelican Swansea
Population 874 5,044
+477% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) -0.8% -0.3%
Median age 48 53
Median household income $75,296/yr
+28% vs other
 $53,924/yr
Median weekly rent $370/wk
+11% vs other
 $330/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Pelican Swansea
0-4 5.9% / 4.2%
Pelican — 0-4: 5.9% Swansea — 0-4: 4.2%
5-14 11.3% / 9.3%
Pelican — 5-14: 11.3% Swansea — 5-14: 9.3%
15-19 3.4% / 4.6%
Pelican — 15-19: 3.4% Swansea — 15-19: 4.6%
20-24 4.3% / 4.1%
Pelican — 20-24: 4.3% Swansea — 20-24: 4.1%
25-34 7.4% / 8.5%
Pelican — 25-34: 7.4% Swansea — 25-34: 8.5%
35-44 13.5% / 8.6%
Pelican — 35-44: 13.5% Swansea — 35-44: 8.6%
45-54 12.7% / 13.4%
Pelican — 45-54: 12.7% Swansea — 45-54: 13.4%
55-64 16.0% / 15.2%
Pelican — 55-64: 16.0% Swansea — 55-64: 15.2%
65-74 16.2% / 15.4%
Pelican — 65-74: 16.2% Swansea — 65-74: 15.4%
75-84 8.7% / 11.9%
Pelican — 75-84: 8.7% Swansea — 75-84: 11.9%
85+ 1.8% / 4.7%
Pelican — 85+: 1.8% Swansea — 85+: 4.7%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.2%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Pelican 33.8% lone person
Pelican — Lone Person: 33.8% Pelican — Couple Families: 44.6% Pelican — One Parent Families: 16.9% Pelican — Group Household: 2.6% Pelican — Other Families: 2.2%
Swansea 49.7% lone person
Swansea — Lone Person: 49.7% Swansea — Couple Families: 25.9% Swansea — One Parent Families: 19.1% Swansea — Group Household: 3.2% Swansea — Other Families: 2.1%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Pelican 18.9% renting
Pelican — Owned Outright: 51.7% Pelican — Mortgage: 29.4% Pelican — Renting: 18.9%
Swansea 29.5% renting
Swansea — Owned Outright: 44.5% Swansea — Mortgage: 26.0% Swansea — Renting: 29.5%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Pelican Swansea
Certificate III & IV 23.5% / 21.5%
Pelican — Certificate III & IV: 23.5% Swansea — Certificate III & IV: 21.5%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.4% / 6.1%
Pelican — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.4% Swansea — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.1%
Bachelor Degree 6.8% / 5.9%
Pelican — Bachelor Degree: 6.8% Swansea — Bachelor Degree: 5.9%
Postgraduate Degree 0.9% / 0.9%
Pelican — Postgraduate Degree: 0.9% Swansea — Postgraduate Degree: 0.9%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 0.3% / 0.9%
Pelican — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 0.3% Swansea — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 0.9%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (23.5%).

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.

Pelican Swansea
England 1.9% / 3.2%
Pelican — England: 1.9% Swansea — England: 3.2%
New Zealand 1.1% / 1.1%
Pelican — New Zealand: 1.1% Swansea — New Zealand: 1.1%
Philippines — / 0.6%
Pelican — Philippines: not among its largest Swansea — Philippines: 0.6%
Ireland 0.3% / —
Pelican — Ireland: 0.3% Swansea — Ireland: not among its largest
Germany — / 0.3%
Pelican — Germany: not among its largest Swansea — Germany: 0.3%
Scotland — / 0.3%
Pelican — Scotland: not among its largest Swansea — Scotland: 0.3%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (3.2%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Pelican 94.2% houses
Pelican — Houses: 94.2% Pelican — Flats / Apartments: 1.4% Pelican — Townhouses: 4.3%
Swansea 68.0% houses
Swansea — Houses: 68.0% Swansea — Flats / Apartments: 23.1% Swansea — Townhouses: 8.8%
Houses Flats / Apartments Townhouses

Property market

Pelican Swansea
Median house price $1,000,000 $1,150,000
Median unit price — $780,000
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) 40 days
from 9 sales
 38 days
from 61 sales

Zoning mix

Pelican Swansea
Residential 37% 46%
Environmental 36% 38%
Infrastructure and transport 17% 3%
Parks and recreation 10% 11%
Commercial 0% 2%
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

Pelican Swansea
New dwellings approved 1,212
across Lake Macquarie
same for both
Approvals change year on year +2%
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.

Pelican Swansea
Houses — 3.8%
$750/wk on $1.02M
Units —
same for both

Ranking within NSW

Pelican Swansea
House price Higher than 51% of NSW Higher than 53% of NSW
Income Higher than 43% of NSW Higher than 14% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 83% of NSW Higher than 92% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 43% of NSW Higher than 18% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 77% of NSW
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 70% of NSW Higher than 78% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) — Higher than 64% of NSW

Liveability

Swansea is more walkable (81 vs 56).

Pelican Swansea
Grade C
same for both
Score 41/100 40/100
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 4/10
 below-average income
decile 2/10

Risk profile

Pelican carries more bushfire risk (43 vs 20); Swansea carries more crime risk (76 vs 57).

Pelican Swansea
Bushfire Moderate
43/100
 Low
20/100
Crime Moderate
57/100
 High
76/100
Flood Not mapped
no mapped data here
same for both
Coastal erosion None
0/100
 Moderate
68/100
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 1
within 5 km
 0
within 5 km

Schools

Pelican Swansea
Inside the suburb 1 2
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 1 2
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Pelican

  • Pelican Flat Public School Government · Primary at peers

Schools in Swansea

  • St Patrick's Primary School Catholic · Primary at peers
  • Swansea Public School Government · Primary at peers

Amenities in the suburb

Pelican Swansea
Supermarkets 0 2
Parks & reserves 3 8
Childcare 1 2
GPs 0 4
Pharmacies 0 2
Police stations 0 1
Banks & Bank@Post 0 3
EV chargers 0 1

Mobility

Pelican sits further from the CBD (131.8 km vs 128.9 km).

Pelican Swansea
Walkability score 56/100 81/100
Distance to Sydney 131.8 km
+2% vs other
 128.9 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 105 min 101 min
Public transport score 72/100
Bus
 78/100
Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 26.5
7-9am + 5-7pm
 86.8
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 1 min
scheduled, not actual
 0 min
scheduled, not actual
Electric vehicle share 0.9%
postcode 2281
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 45
postcode 2281
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.

Pelican Swansea
Car (driver) 75.6% / 72.6%
Pelican — Car (driver): 75.6% Swansea — Car (driver): 72.6%
Worked from Home 22.4% / 19.9%
Pelican — Worked from Home: 22.4% Swansea — Worked from Home: 19.9%
Car (passenger) 2.0% / 3.6%
Pelican — Car (passenger): 2.0% Swansea — Car (passenger): 3.6%
Walked Only — / 2.3%
Pelican — Walked Only: not among its largest Swansea — Walked Only: 2.3%
Bus — / 1.1%
Pelican — Bus: not among its largest Swansea — Bus: 1.1%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (75.6%).

Setting

Pelican Swansea
Elevation 4 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 3 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 1.2 km
1.8 km to a named beach
 656 m
2.0 km to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Pelican Swansea
Connectivity score 61/100 72/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 29%
406 premises
 39%
2,849 premises

Climate

Pelican Swansea
Annual rainfall 1,025 mm 1,272 mm
Summer max (Jan) 25.4°C 26.4°C
Winter min (Jul) 10.2°C 10.6°C

Air quality (annual mean)

Pelican Swansea
PM2.5 5.0 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 11.6 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ 0.27 pphm
same for both

Council rates

Pelican Swansea
Average residential rate $1,708/yr
same for both
Council Lake Macquarie
same for both

Federal electorate

Pelican Swansea
Division Shortland
same for both
Member Pat Conroy
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Pelican Swansea
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Pelican

Coastal Large Blocks Parks Quiet Retirees

Swansea

Coastal Parks Retirees

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Full data on Pelican Full data on Swansea
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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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