Smiths Lake vs Tarbuck Bay

In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Tarbuck Bay, about half of households are 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

They split

one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here

  • Smiths Lake has more parks and reserves (6 vs 1)
  • Tarbuck Bay carries lower crime risk (44/100 vs 62/100)

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

First-home buyers

Too close to call

Nothing among the 2 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Smiths Lake

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • leaves renters under less rental stress (31% vs 42%)
  • has cheaper rent ($380/wk vs $430/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Tarbuck Bay

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a shorter drive in (198 min vs 204 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (273 km vs 277.6 km)
  • But Smiths Lake is more walkable (25/100 vs 14/100)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

They split

one each way, out of the 4 things we measure here

  • Smiths Lake is more walkable (25/100 vs 14/100)
  • Tarbuck Bay carries lower crime risk (44/100 vs 62/100)

Weighs 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

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

Smiths Lake Tarbuck Bay
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.

Smiths Lake Tarbuck Bay
Walkability 25 / 14
Smiths Lake — Walkability: 25/100 Tarbuck Bay — Walkability: 14/100
Safety 38 / 56
Smiths Lake — Safety: 38/100 Tarbuck Bay — Safety: 56/100
Low fire risk 9 / 11
Smiths Lake — Low fire risk: 9/100 Tarbuck Bay — Low fire risk: 11/100

Demographics

Smiths Lake has more residents (1,332 vs 194); Smiths Lake has higher household incomes ($62,920 vs $53,092).

Smiths Lake Tarbuck Bay
Population 1,332
+85% vs other
 194
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +7.9% +3.2%
Median age 49 48
Median household income $62,920/yr
+16% vs other
 $53,092/yr
Median weekly rent $380/wk $430/wk
+13% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Smiths Lake Tarbuck Bay
0-4 4.5% / 1.5%
Smiths Lake — 0-4: 4.5% Tarbuck Bay — 0-4: 1.5%
5-14 13.3% / 14.9%
Smiths Lake — 5-14: 13.3% Tarbuck Bay — 5-14: 14.9%
15-19 4.4% / 9.3%
Smiths Lake — 15-19: 4.4% Tarbuck Bay — 15-19: 9.3%
20-24 3.4% / 2.1%
Smiths Lake — 20-24: 3.4% Tarbuck Bay — 20-24: 2.1%
25-34 7.8% / 4.6%
Smiths Lake — 25-34: 7.8% Tarbuck Bay — 25-34: 4.6%
35-44 10.8% / 8.8%
Smiths Lake — 35-44: 10.8% Tarbuck Bay — 35-44: 8.8%
45-54 12.7% / 13.9%
Smiths Lake — 45-54: 12.7% Tarbuck Bay — 45-54: 13.9%
55-64 17.3% / 16.5%
Smiths Lake — 55-64: 17.3% Tarbuck Bay — 55-64: 16.5%
65-74 16.1% / 12.4%
Smiths Lake — 65-74: 16.1% Tarbuck Bay — 65-74: 12.4%
75-84 7.8% / 7.7%
Smiths Lake — 75-84: 7.8% Tarbuck Bay — 75-84: 7.7%
85+ 1.0% / 2.1%
Smiths Lake — 85+: 1.0% Tarbuck Bay — 85+: 2.1%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.3%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Smiths Lake 41.2% lone person
Smiths Lake — Lone Person: 41.2% Smiths Lake — Couple Families: 33.7% Smiths Lake — One Parent Families: 20.3% Smiths Lake — Group Household: 3.3% Smiths Lake — Other Families: 1.5%
Tarbuck Bay 49.0% lone person
Tarbuck Bay — Lone Person: 49.0% Tarbuck Bay — Couple Families: 28.6% Tarbuck Bay — One Parent Families: 22.4% Tarbuck Bay — Group Household: 0.0% Tarbuck Bay — Other Families: 0.0%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Smiths Lake 16.9% renting
Smiths Lake — Owned Outright: 47.3% Smiths Lake — Mortgage: 35.8% Smiths Lake — Renting: 16.9%
Tarbuck Bay 8.7% renting
Tarbuck Bay — Owned Outright: 46.4% Tarbuck Bay — Mortgage: 44.9% Tarbuck Bay — Renting: 8.7%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

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.

Smiths Lake Tarbuck Bay
England 4.0% / 4.6%
Smiths Lake — England: 4.0% Tarbuck Bay — England: 4.6%
Germany 0.5% / 2.6%
Smiths Lake — Germany: 0.5% Tarbuck Bay — Germany: 2.6%
New Zealand 1.4% / —
Smiths Lake — New Zealand: 1.4% Tarbuck Bay — New Zealand: not among its largest
Ireland 0.7% / —
Smiths Lake — Ireland: 0.7% Tarbuck Bay — Ireland: not among its largest
Scotland 0.6% / —
Smiths Lake — Scotland: 0.6% Tarbuck Bay — Scotland: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (4.6%).

Qualifications

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

Smiths Lake Tarbuck Bay
Certificate III & IV 21.1% / 19.6%
Smiths Lake — Certificate III & IV: 21.1% Tarbuck Bay — Certificate III & IV: 19.6%
Bachelor Degree 9.8% / 6.7%
Smiths Lake — Bachelor Degree: 9.8% Tarbuck Bay — Bachelor Degree: 6.7%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 8.9% / 6.2%
Smiths Lake — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.9% Tarbuck Bay — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.2%
Postgraduate Degree 3.1% / 3.1%
Smiths Lake — Postgraduate Degree: 3.1% Tarbuck Bay — Postgraduate Degree: 3.1%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.3% / 1.5%
Smiths Lake — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.3% Tarbuck Bay — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (21.1%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Smiths Lake 99.6% houses
Smiths Lake — Houses: 99.6% Smiths Lake — Townhouses: 1.2%
Tarbuck Bay 100.0% houses
Tarbuck Bay — Houses: 100.0% Tarbuck Bay — Townhouses: 0.0%
Houses Townhouses

Property market

Smiths Lake Tarbuck Bay
Median house price $825,000 $835,000
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price $507,500 —
Typical days to sell (houses) 57 days
from 24 sales
 —

Zoning mix

Tarbuck Bay has more rural and farming land (97% vs 23%); Smiths Lake has more land zoned for conservation (72% vs 3%).

Smiths Lake Tarbuck Bay
Rural and farming 23% 97%
Environmental 72% 3%
Infrastructure and transport 4% 0%
Residential 1% 0%
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

Smiths Lake Tarbuck Bay
New dwellings approved 743
across Mid-Coast
same for both
Approvals change year on year +327%
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.

Smiths Lake Tarbuck Bay
Houses 2.7%
$600/wk on $1.16M
 —
Units —
same for both

Ranking within NSW

Smiths Lake Tarbuck Bay
House price Higher than 36% of NSW Higher than 44% of NSW
Income Higher than 25% of NSW Higher than 13% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 72% of NSW Higher than 64% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 43% of NSW Higher than 26% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 45% of NSW
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 67% of NSW Higher than 74% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 10% of NSW —

Liveability

Smiths Lake is more walkable (25 vs 14).

Smiths Lake Tarbuck Bay
Grade D —
Score 22/100 —
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 4/10
 below-average income
decile 2/10

Risk profile

Smiths Lake carries more crime risk (62 vs 44).

Smiths Lake Tarbuck Bay
Bushfire High
91/100
 High
89/100
Crime Moderate
62/100
 Moderate
44/100
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 0
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Smiths Lake Tarbuck Bay
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

Smiths Lake Tarbuck Bay
Supermarkets 1 0
Cafes & restaurants 1 0
Parks & reserves 6 1
Childcare 1 0
Waterways 2 3

Mobility

Smiths Lake sits further from the CBD (277.6 km vs 273 km).

Smiths Lake Tarbuck Bay
Walkability score 25/100 14/100
Distance to Sydney 277.6 km
+2% vs other
 273 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 204 min 198 min
Electric vehicle share 0.4%
postcode 2428
same for both
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 41
postcode 2428
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.

Smiths Lake Tarbuck Bay
Car (driver) 70.9% / 78.5%
Smiths Lake — Car (driver): 70.9% Tarbuck Bay — Car (driver): 78.5%
Worked from Home 20.6% / 9.2%
Smiths Lake — Worked from Home: 20.6% Tarbuck Bay — Worked from Home: 9.2%
Walked Only 3.1% / 7.7%
Smiths Lake — Walked Only: 3.1% Tarbuck Bay — Walked Only: 7.7%
Car (passenger) 5.4% / 4.6%
Smiths Lake — Car (passenger): 5.4% Tarbuck Bay — Car (passenger): 4.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (78.5%).

Setting

Smiths Lake Tarbuck Bay
Elevation 0 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 26 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 2.1 km
2.9 km to a named beach
 4.0 km

NBN connectivity

Smiths Lake Tarbuck Bay
Connectivity score 52/100 66/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 13%
1,046 premises
 40%
119 premises

Council rates

Smiths Lake Tarbuck Bay
Average residential rate $1,560/yr
same for both
Council Mid-Coast
same for both

Federal electorate

Smiths Lake Tarbuck Bay
Division Lyne
same for both
Member Alison Penfold
same for both
Party The Nationals
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Smiths Lake Tarbuck Bay
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Smiths Lake

Acreage Coastal

Tarbuck Bay

River Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Smiths Lake

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Other comparisons with Tarbuck Bay

Tarbuck Bay vs Bungwahl Tarbuck Bay vs Charlotte Bay
Full data on Smiths Lake Full data on Tarbuck Bay
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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