Sunshine Bay vs Surf Beach
Surf Beach is the younger of the two, with a median age of 53 against 56 in Sunshine Bay. In both, most households own their home, most homes are detached houses, and 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
Sunshine Bay
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (31/100 vs 52/100)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Sunshine Bay
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper land ($360,000 vs $600,000)
Weighs house prices, unit prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.
Renters
Surf Beach
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($330/wk vs $370/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Sunshine Bay
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (45/100 vs 32/100)
- sits closer to the CBD (286.6 km vs 289.6 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Sunshine Bay
ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here
- carries lower crime risk (31/100 vs 52/100)
- is more walkable (45/100 vs 32/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Sunshine Bay
ahead on 2 of the 2 things we measure here
- is growing faster (17.9% vs 3.2%)
- returns a higher gross yield on houses (4.0% vs 3.3%)
Weighs house yield and population growth.
Where they sit
Sunshine Bay and Surf Beach 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
Surf Beach has more residents (1,934 vs 1,439); Sunshine Bay rents higher ($370/wk vs $330/wk).
| Sunshine Bay | Surf Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,439 | 1,934 +34% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +17.9% | +3.2% |
| Median age | 56 | 53 |
| Median household income | $59,176/yr +3% vs other | $57,148/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $370/wk +11% vs other | $330/wk |
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.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.8%).
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 (5.8%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Sunshine Bay | Surf Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $800,000 | $777,000 |
| Median unit price | $520,000 | $545,000 |
| Median land price | $360,000 | $600,000 |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 70 days from 30 sales | 47 days from 49 sales |
House price by bedroom count
Only bed counts both suburbs published enough sales for. Sale counts are shown because the buckets differ in depth.
7 vs 9 sales
26 vs 43 sales
32 vs 26 sales
6 vs 5 sales
Zoning mix
| Sunshine Bay | Surf Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Residential | 76% | 57% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 0% | 20% |
| Environmental | 19% | 12% |
| Industrial | 0% | 9% |
| Parks and recreation | 3% | 2% |
| Commercial | 1% | 0% |
| Planning zones cover 99% of Sunshine Bay and 100% of Surf Beach. The rest is unzoned land such as water or road reserve. | ||
| 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
| Sunshine Bay | Surf Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 211 across Eurobodalla same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -9% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Sunshine Bay | Surf Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 4.0% $650/wk on $850K | 3.3% $600/wk on $954K |
| Units | — same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Sunshine Bay | Surf Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 37% of NSW | Higher than 31% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 21% of NSW | Higher than 17% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 80% of NSW | Higher than 75% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 38% of NSW | Higher than 41% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 62% of NSW same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 82% of NSW | Higher than 74% of NSW |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 72% of NSW | Higher than 33% of NSW |
Liveability
Sunshine Bay scores higher overall (52 vs 22); Sunshine Bay is more walkable (45 vs 32).
| Sunshine Bay | Surf Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | B | D |
| Score | 52/100 | 22/100 |
| Socio-economic band | below-average income decile 3/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
Surf Beach carries more bushfire risk (90 vs 0); Surf Beach carries more crime risk (52 vs 31).
| Sunshine Bay | Surf Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 | High 90/100 |
| Crime | Low 31/100 | Moderate 52/100 |
| Flood | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | Low 35/100 | Low 20/100 |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 5 within 5 km | 4 within 5 km |
Schools
| Sunshine Bay | Surf Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 1 | 0 |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Schools in Sunshine Bay
- Sunshine Bay Public School Government · Primary at peers
Schools in Surf Beach
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Sunshine Bay | Surf Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Cafes & restaurants | 1 | 2 |
| Childcare | 1 | 0 |
| GPs | 0 | 1 |
| Pharmacies | 0 | 1 |
| Beaches | 0 | 1 |
| Waterways | 3 | 4 |
Mobility
Surf Beach sits further from the CBD (289.6 km vs 286.6 km).
| Sunshine Bay | Surf Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 45/100 | 32/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 286.6 km | 289.6 km +1% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 237 min | 240 min |
| Public transport score | 44/100 Bus | 56/100 Bus |
| Peak arrivals per hour | 14.5 7-9am + 5-7pm | 21.5 7-9am + 5-7pm |
| Median peak wait | 1 min scheduled, not actual same for both | |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.6% postcode 2536 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 41 postcode 2536 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 (80.6%).
Setting
| Sunshine Bay | Surf Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 24 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 33 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 549 m 611 m to a named beach | 780 m 813 m to a named beach |
NBN connectivity
| Sunshine Bay | Surf Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 75/100 | 66/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the premises | Fibre to the node |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 55% 943 premises | 41% 1,399 premises |
Climate
| Sunshine Bay | Surf Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 914 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 23.7°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 7.5°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Sunshine Bay | Surf Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,246/yr same for both | |
| Council | Eurobodalla same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Sunshine Bay | Surf Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Gilmore same for both | |
| Member | Fiona Phillips same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Sunshine Bay | Surf Beach | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Sunshine Bay
Other comparisons with Surf Beach
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.