Spring Grove vs Fernside

In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Spring Grove, most households are couple families. On these figures, Spring Grove tends to suit couples and older residents.

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

  • Spring Grove carries lower crime risk (17/100 vs 86/100)
  • Fernside is already more of a family suburb (79% vs 70%)

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

First-home buyers

Spring Grove

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (26% vs 37%)

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Fernside

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (29% vs 8%)

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

Commuting to the city

They split

one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here

  • Spring Grove sits closer to the CBD (721 km vs 738.4 km)
  • Fernside is more walkable (16/100 vs 6/100)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Spring Grove

ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here

  • carries lower crime risk (17/100 vs 86/100)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (22% vs 11%)
  • But Fernside is more walkable (16/100 vs 6/100)

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

Investors

Spring Grove

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (23.4% vs 14.6%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Spring Grove Fernside
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.

Spring Grove Fernside
Walkability 6 / 16
Spring Grove — Walkability: 6/100 Fernside — Walkability: 16/100
Safety 83 / 14
Spring Grove — Safety: 83/100 Fernside — Safety: 14/100
Low fire risk 61 / 57
Spring Grove — Low fire risk: 61/100 Fernside — Low fire risk: 57/100

Demographics

Spring Grove has more residents (532 vs 55); Spring Grove has higher household incomes ($95,524 vs $84,448).

Spring Grove Fernside
Population 532
+90% vs other
 55
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +23.4% +14.6%
Median age 43 42
Median household income $95,524/yr
+12% vs other
 $84,448/yr
Median weekly rent $350/wk
same for both

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Spring Grove Fernside
0-4 4.3% / —
Spring Grove — 0-4: 4.3% Fernside — 0-4: not among its largest
5-14 17.7% / 20.0%
Spring Grove — 5-14: 17.7% Fernside — 5-14: 20.0%
15-19 4.7% / 7.3%
Spring Grove — 15-19: 4.7% Fernside — 15-19: 7.3%
20-24 5.5% / —
Spring Grove — 20-24: 5.5% Fernside — 20-24: not among its largest
25-34 9.0% / 5.5%
Spring Grove — 25-34: 9.0% Fernside — 25-34: 5.5%
35-44 11.7% / 20.0%
Spring Grove — 35-44: 11.7% Fernside — 35-44: 20.0%
45-54 10.0% / 20.0%
Spring Grove — 45-54: 10.0% Fernside — 45-54: 20.0%
55-64 15.4% / 12.7%
Spring Grove — 55-64: 15.4% Fernside — 55-64: 12.7%
65-74 13.5% / 5.5%
Spring Grove — 65-74: 13.5% Fernside — 65-74: 5.5%
75-84 6.6% / —
Spring Grove — 75-84: 6.6% Fernside — 75-84: not among its largest
85+ 1.5% / 5.5%
Spring Grove — 85+: 1.5% Fernside — 85+: 5.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.0%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Spring Grove 63.5% couple families
Spring Grove — Couple Families: 63.5% Spring Grove — Lone Person: 26.9% Spring Grove — One Parent Families: 6.7% Spring Grove — Group Household: 2.9%
Fernside 42.1% couple families
Fernside — Couple Families: 42.1% Fernside — Lone Person: 21.1% Fernside — One Parent Families: 36.8% Fernside — Group Household: 0.0%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Spring Grove 7.8% renting
Spring Grove — Owned Outright: 50.0% Spring Grove — Mortgage: 42.2% Spring Grove — Renting: 7.8%
Fernside 29.2% renting
Fernside — Owned Outright: 45.8% Fernside — Mortgage: 25.0% Fernside — Renting: 29.2%
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.

Spring Grove Fernside
Brazil — / 5.5%
Spring Grove — Brazil: not among its largest Fernside — Brazil: 5.5%
England 1.9% / —
Spring Grove — England: 1.9% Fernside — England: not among its largest
Philippines 0.6% / —
Spring Grove — Philippines: 0.6% Fernside — Philippines: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (5.5%).

Qualifications

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

Spring Grove Fernside
Certificate III & IV 20.7% / 12.7%
Spring Grove — Certificate III & IV: 20.7% Fernside — Certificate III & IV: 12.7%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 5.1% / 14.5%
Spring Grove — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.1% Fernside — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 14.5%
Postgraduate Degree 2.6% / 10.9%
Spring Grove — Postgraduate Degree: 2.6% Fernside — Postgraduate Degree: 10.9%
Bachelor Degree 7.5% / 5.5%
Spring Grove — Bachelor Degree: 7.5% Fernside — Bachelor Degree: 5.5%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.1% / —
Spring Grove — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.1% Fernside — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.7%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Spring Grove 100.0% houses
Spring Grove — Houses: 100.0%
Fernside 100.0% houses
Fernside — Houses: 100.0%
Houses

Property market

Spring Grove Fernside
Median house price $1,135,000 —
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price —
same for both

Zoning mix

Spring Grove Fernside
Rural and farming 96% 99%
Residential 4% 0%
Environmental 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

Spring Grove Fernside
New dwellings approved 24
across Richmond Valley
 138
across Lismore
Approvals change year on year -78% +0%

Ranking within NSW

Spring Grove Fernside
House price Higher than 52% of NSW —
Income Higher than 63% of NSW Higher than 51% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 51% of NSW Higher than 66% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 60% of NSW —
EV adoption Higher than 16% of NSW Higher than 57% of NSW
NBN connectivity Higher than 63% of NSW Higher than 31% of NSW

Liveability

Fernside is more walkable (16 vs 6).

Spring Grove Fernside
Grade C —
Score 45/100 —
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 7/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 4/10

Risk profile

Fernside carries more crime risk (86 vs 17).

Spring Grove Fernside
Bushfire Low
39/100
 Moderate
43/100
Crime Low
17/100
 High
86/100
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

Spring Grove Fernside
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

Spring Grove Fernside
Waterways 4 3

Mobility

Fernside sits further from the CBD (738.4 km vs 721 km).

Spring Grove Fernside
Walkability score 6/100 16/100
Distance to Sydney 721 km 738.4 km
+2% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 486 min
same for both
Electric vehicle share 0.2%
postcode 2470
 0.6%
postcode 2480
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 67
postcode 2470
 69
postcode 2480

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.

Spring Grove Fernside
Car (driver) 82.8% / 72.4%
Spring Grove — Car (driver): 82.8% Fernside — Car (driver): 72.4%
Worked from Home 15.7% / 13.8%
Spring Grove — Worked from Home: 15.7% Fernside — Worked from Home: 13.8%
Walked Only — / 13.8%
Spring Grove — Walked Only: not among its largest Fernside — Walked Only: 13.8%
Car (passenger) 1.5% / —
Spring Grove — Car (passenger): 1.5% Fernside — Car (passenger): not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (82.8%).

Setting

Spring Grove Fernside
Elevation 114 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 21 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 38.8 km 36.6 km

NBN connectivity

Spring Grove Fernside
Connectivity score 30/100 22/100
Most common technology Fixed wireless
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
185 premises
 0%
18 premises

Council rates

Spring Grove Fernside
Average residential rate $1,282/yr $1,487/yr
Council Richmond Valley Lismore

Federal electorate

Spring Grove Fernside
Division Page
same for both
Member Kevin Hogan
same for both
Party The Nationals
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Spring Grove Fernside
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Spring Grove

Rural

Fernside

Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Spring Grove

Spring Grove vs Casino Spring Grove vs North Casino Spring Grove vs Caniaba Spring Grove vs McKees Hill Spring Grove vs Bentley Spring Grove vs Naughtons Gap

Other comparisons with Fernside

Fernside vs Caniaba Fernside vs Bentley Fernside vs Leycester Fernside vs Tuncester
Full data on Spring Grove Full data on Fernside
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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