Richmond Vale vs Elrington

Richmond Vale is the younger of the two, with a median age of 43 against 51 in Elrington. In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are couple families. On these figures, Richmond Vale tends to suit people living alone and 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

Elrington

ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here

  • carries lower crime risk (43/100 vs 99/100)
  • is already more of a family suburb (82% vs 60%)

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

First-home buyers

Richmond Vale

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (17% vs 27%)

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Elrington

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($100/wk vs $240/wk)

Weighs rent and rental stress.

Commuting to the city

Richmond Vale

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • sits closer to the CBD (142 km vs 144.6 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Elrington

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • carries lower crime risk (43/100 vs 99/100)

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

Investors

Elrington

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (34.8% vs 13.1%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Richmond Vale Elrington
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.

Richmond Vale Elrington
Walkability 0 / 0
Richmond Vale — Walkability: 0/100 Elrington — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 1 / 57
Richmond Vale — Safety: 1/100 Elrington — Safety: 57/100
Low fire risk 37 / 36
Richmond Vale — Low fire risk: 37/100 Elrington — Low fire risk: 36/100

Demographics

Richmond Vale rents higher ($240/wk vs $100/wk); Richmond Vale has higher household incomes ($162,448 vs $95,836).

Richmond Vale Elrington
Population 95 155
+63% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +13.1% +34.8%
Median age 43 51
Median household income $162,448/yr
+41% vs other
 $95,836/yr
Median weekly rent $240/wk
+58% vs other
 $100/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Richmond Vale Elrington
0-4 7.4% / 2.6%
Richmond Vale — 0-4: 7.4% Elrington — 0-4: 2.6%
5-14 15.8% / 13.5%
Richmond Vale — 5-14: 15.8% Elrington — 5-14: 13.5%
15-19 3.2% / 3.2%
Richmond Vale — 15-19: 3.2% Elrington — 15-19: 3.2%
20-24 3.2% / 2.6%
Richmond Vale — 20-24: 3.2% Elrington — 20-24: 2.6%
25-34 8.4% / 3.2%
Richmond Vale — 25-34: 8.4% Elrington — 25-34: 3.2%
35-44 9.5% / 13.5%
Richmond Vale — 35-44: 9.5% Elrington — 35-44: 13.5%
45-54 10.5% / 13.5%
Richmond Vale — 45-54: 10.5% Elrington — 45-54: 13.5%
55-64 31.6% / 24.5%
Richmond Vale — 55-64: 31.6% Elrington — 55-64: 24.5%
65-74 11.6% / 14.8%
Richmond Vale — 65-74: 11.6% Elrington — 65-74: 14.8%
75-84 — / —
Richmond Vale — 75-84: not among its largest Elrington — 75-84: not among its largest
85+ — / —
Richmond Vale — 85+: not among its largest Elrington — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (31.6%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Richmond Vale 60.0% couple families
Richmond Vale — Couple Families: 60.0% Richmond Vale — Lone Person: 40.0% Richmond Vale — One Parent Families: 0.0%
Elrington 66.7% couple families
Elrington — Couple Families: 66.7% Elrington — Lone Person: 18.2% Elrington — One Parent Families: 15.2%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Richmond Vale 17.2% renting
Richmond Vale — Owned Outright: 44.8% Richmond Vale — Mortgage: 37.9% Richmond Vale — Renting: 17.2%
Elrington 0.0% renting
Elrington — Owned Outright: 45.7% Elrington — Mortgage: 54.3% Elrington — Renting: 0.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Richmond Vale 100.0% houses
Richmond Vale — Houses: 100.0%
Elrington 100.0% houses
Elrington — Houses: 100.0%
Houses

Qualifications

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

Richmond Vale Elrington
Certificate III & IV 17.9% / 25.8%
Richmond Vale — Certificate III & IV: 17.9% Elrington — Certificate III & IV: 25.8%
Bachelor Degree 11.6% / 9.7%
Richmond Vale — Bachelor Degree: 11.6% Elrington — Bachelor Degree: 9.7%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.4% / 7.7%
Richmond Vale — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.4% Elrington — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.7%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 4.2% / 3.2%
Richmond Vale — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 4.2% Elrington — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 3.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (25.8%).

Property market

Richmond Vale Elrington
Median house price — $1,950,000
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price $462,000 —

Zoning mix

Elrington has more land zoned for conservation (58% vs 22%); Richmond Vale has more rural and farming land (74% vs 40%).

Richmond Vale Elrington
Rural and farming 74% 40%
Environmental 22% 58%
Industrial 2% 0%
Infrastructure and transport 1%
same for both
Residential 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

Richmond Vale Elrington
New dwellings approved 719
across Cessnock
same for both
Approvals change year on year -31%
same for both

Ranking within NSW

Richmond Vale Elrington
House price — Higher than 84% of NSW
Income Higher than 97% of NSW Higher than 63% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 29% of NSW Higher than 6% of NSW
Affordability — Higher than 16% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 56% of NSW Higher than 34% of NSW
NBN connectivity Higher than 40% of NSW Higher than 44% of NSW

Liveability

Richmond Vale Elrington
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 8/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 6/10

Risk profile

Richmond Vale carries more crime risk (99 vs 43).

Richmond Vale Elrington
Bushfire Moderate
63/100
 Moderate
64/100
Crime High
99/100
 Moderate
43/100
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 1
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Richmond Vale Elrington
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

Richmond Vale Elrington
Waterways 1 0

Mobility

Elrington sits further from the CBD (144.6 km vs 142 km).

Richmond Vale Elrington
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Sydney 142 km 144.6 km
+2% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 107 min 110 min
Electric vehicle share 0.5%
postcode 2323
 0.4%
postcode 2325
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 44
postcode 2323
 51
postcode 2325

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.

Richmond Vale Elrington
Car (driver) 77.8% / 76.4%
Richmond Vale — Car (driver): 77.8% Elrington — Car (driver): 76.4%
Worked from Home 11.1% / 18.2%
Richmond Vale — Worked from Home: 11.1% Elrington — Worked from Home: 18.2%
Walked Only 11.1% / —
Richmond Vale — Walked Only: 11.1% Elrington — Walked Only: not among its largest
Car (passenger) — / 5.5%
Richmond Vale — Car (passenger): not among its largest Elrington — Car (passenger): 5.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (77.8%).

Setting

Richmond Vale Elrington
Elevation 26 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 60 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 24.7 km 30.3 km

NBN connectivity

Richmond Vale Elrington
Connectivity score 27/100 29/100
Most common technology Fixed wireless
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
35 premises
 0%
62 premises

Climate

Richmond Vale Elrington
Annual rainfall 804 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 30.0°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 5.1°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Richmond Vale Elrington
PM2.5 6.1 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 16.5 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ 0.53 pphm
same for both

Council rates

Richmond Vale Elrington
Average residential rate $1,405/yr
same for both
Council Cessnock
same for both

Federal electorate

Richmond Vale Elrington
Division Hunter
same for both
Member Dan Repacholi
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Richmond Vale Elrington
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Richmond Vale

Family Rural

Elrington

Premium Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Richmond Vale

Richmond Vale vs West Wallsend Richmond Vale vs Abermain Richmond Vale vs Pelaw Main Richmond Vale vs Mulbring Richmond Vale vs Buchanan Richmond Vale vs Stockrington

Other comparisons with Elrington

Elrington vs Abermain Elrington vs Kearsley Elrington vs Mulbring Elrington vs Quorrobolong Elrington vs Neath Elrington vs Abernethy
Full data on Richmond Vale Full data on Elrington
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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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