Stroud Road vs Wards River
Stroud Road is the younger of the two, with a median age of 49 against 55 in Wards River. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Wards River, about half of households are people living alone. On these figures, Wards River tends to suit people living alone 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
Stroud Road
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (20/100 vs 47/100)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Stroud Road
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (23% vs 43%)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Stroud Road
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- leaves renters under less rental stress (15% vs 34%)
- has cheaper rent ($223/wk vs $270/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Stroud Road
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- sits closer to the CBD (226.1 km vs 240.5 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
They split
one each way, out of the 4 things we measure here
- Stroud Road carries lower crime risk (20/100 vs 47/100)
- Wards River has more residents already 65 and over (30% vs 22%)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Stroud Road
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (5.2% vs 0.0%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Stroud Road and Wards River 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
Stroud Road has higher household incomes ($77,116 vs $40,716); Stroud Road has more residents (242 vs 178).
| Stroud Road | Wards River | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 242 +26% vs other | 178 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +5.2% | +0.0% |
| Median age | 49 | 55 |
| Median household income | $77,116/yr +47% vs other | $40,716/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $223/wk | $270/wk +21% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.8%).
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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (2.9%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 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 (21.1%).
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Stroud Road | Wards River | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $850,000 | $875,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
Zoning mix
| Stroud Road | Wards River | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 100% same for both | |
| 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
| Stroud Road | Wards River | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 743 across Mid-Coast same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +327% same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Stroud Road | Wards River | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 38% of NSW | Higher than 37% of NSW |
| Income | — | Higher than 5% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 2% of NSW | Higher than 51% of NSW |
| Affordability | — | Higher than 15% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 71% of NSW | Higher than 41% of NSW |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 44% of NSW | Higher than 43% of NSW |
Liveability
| Stroud Road | Wards River | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | mid-range socio-economic decile 4/10 | high-need area decile 1/10 |
Risk profile
Wards River carries more crime risk (47 vs 20).
| Stroud Road | Wards River | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Moderate 54/100 | Moderate 61/100 |
| Crime | Low 20/100 | Moderate 47/100 |
| 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 | 0 within 5 km |
Schools
| Stroud Road | Wards River | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Schools in Stroud Road
- Stroud Road Public School Government · Primary
Schools in Wards River
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Stroud Road | Wards River | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 1 same for both | |
| Waterways | 13 | 38 |
Mobility
Wards River sits further from the CBD (240.5 km vs 226.1 km).
| Stroud Road | Wards River | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 | 6/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 226.1 km | 240.5 km +6% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 182 min same for both | |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.7% postcode 2415 | 0.4% postcode 2422 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 81 postcode 2415 | 57 postcode 2422 |
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 (73.3%).
Setting
| Stroud Road | Wards River | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 156 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 99 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 37.6 km | 49.7 km |
NBN connectivity
| Stroud Road | Wards River | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 29/100 | 28/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 124 premises | 0% 103 premises |
Climate
| Stroud Road | Wards River | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,327 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Stroud Road | Wards River | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,560/yr same for both | |
| Council | Mid-Coast same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Stroud Road | Wards River | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Lyne same for both | |
| Member | Alison Penfold same for both | |
| Party | The Nationals same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Stroud Road | Wards River | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Stroud Road
Other comparisons with Wards River
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.