Rose Valley vs Willow Vale
Rose Valley is the younger of the two, with a median age of 43 against 50 in Willow Vale. 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 Rose Valley: a median of $4.7 million, against $1.2 million in Willow Vale, though rent is higher in Willow Vale. On these figures, Rose Valley tends to suit families with children, while Willow Vale suits people living alone 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
Rose Valley
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is already more of a family suburb (77% vs 69%)
Weighs schools, house stock, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Willow Vale
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper houses ($1,195,000 vs $4,700,000)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Rose Valley
ahead on 2 of the 2 things we measure here
- leaves renters under less rental stress (14% vs 33%)
- has cheaper rent ($300/wk vs $600/wk)
Weighs rent and rental stress.
Commuting to the city
Rose Valley
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- sits closer to the CBD (131.2 km vs 134.1 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Willow Vale
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has more residents already 65 and over (25% vs 18%)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, and walkability.
Investors
Rose Valley
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (14.5% vs -7.6%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Rose Valley and Willow Vale 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
Willow Vale rents higher ($600/wk vs $300/wk); Rose Valley has higher household incomes ($111,800 vs $95,316).
| Rose Valley | Willow Vale | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 87 +16% vs other | 73 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +14.5% | -7.6% |
| Median age | 43 | 50 |
| Median household income | $111,800/yr +15% vs other | $95,316/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $300/wk | $600/wk +100% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.2%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.5%).
Property market
| Rose Valley | Willow Vale | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $4,700,000 | $1,195,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | $4,050,000 | — |
Zoning mix
Rose Valley has more land zoned for conservation (34% vs 20%); Willow Vale has more rural and farming land (77% vs 64%).
| Rose Valley | Willow Vale | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 64% | 77% |
| Environmental | 34% | 20% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 1% | 3% |
| 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
| Rose Valley | Willow Vale | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 159 across Kiama same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -35% same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Rose Valley | Willow Vale | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 98% of NSW | Higher than 62% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 77% of NSW | Higher than 62% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 60% of NSW | Higher than 55% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 2% of NSW | Higher than 47% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 84% of NSW same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 55% of NSW | Higher than 43% of NSW |
Liveability
| Rose Valley | Willow Vale | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 10/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
Willow Vale carries more bushfire risk (85 vs 0).
| Rose Valley | Willow Vale | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 | High 85/100 |
| Crime | — same for both | |
| 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 | 0 within 5 km | 1 within 5 km |
Schools
| Rose Valley | Willow Vale | |
|---|---|---|
| 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
| Rose Valley | Willow Vale | |
|---|---|---|
| Waterways | 5 | 1 |
Mobility
Willow Vale sits further from the CBD (134.1 km vs 131.2 km).
| Rose Valley | Willow Vale | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 12/100 | 8/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 131.2 km | 134.1 km +2% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 112 min | 113 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 1.2% postcode 2534 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 46 postcode 2534 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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (66.0%).
Setting
| Rose Valley | Willow Vale | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 36 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 74 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 3.0 km 3.0 km to a named beach | 3.7 km 4.0 km to a named beach |
NBN connectivity
| Rose Valley | Willow Vale | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 30/100 | 28/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 39 premises | 0% 33 premises |
Climate
| Rose Valley | Willow Vale | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 974 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Rose Valley | Willow Vale | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 5.1 µg/m³ same for both | |
| PM10 | 14.3 µg/m³ same for both | |
| NO₂ | 0.37 pphm same for both | |
Council rates
| Rose Valley | Willow Vale | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,898/yr same for both | |
| Council | Kiama same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Rose Valley | Willow Vale | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Gilmore same for both | |
| Member | Fiona Phillips same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Rose Valley | Willow Vale | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Rose Valley
Other comparisons with Willow Vale
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.