The Junction vs Bar Beach

In both, most households own their home. Houses cost more in Bar Beach: a median of $3.61 million, against $2.08 million in The Junction, though rent is higher in The Junction. On these figures, The Junction tends to suit 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

The Junction

ahead on 3 of the 6 things we measure here

  • has more childcare (4 vs 0)
  • has more schools inside the suburb (2 vs 0)
  • has more separate houses rather than flats (54% vs 40%)

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

First-home buyers

The Junction

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper houses ($2,085,000 vs $3,610,000)

Weighs house prices, unit prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Bar Beach

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • leaves renters under less rental stress (17% vs 24%)
  • has cheaper rent ($393/wk vs $470/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Too close to call

Nothing among the 3 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Bar Beach

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (60% vs 46%)

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

Where they sit

The Junction and Bar 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.

The Junction Bar Beach
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.

The Junction Bar Beach
Walkability 91 / 89
The Junction — Walkability: 91/100 Bar Beach — Walkability: 89/100
Safety 5 / 8
The Junction — Safety: 5/100 Bar Beach — Safety: 8/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
The Junction — Low fire risk: 100/100 Bar Beach — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Bar Beach has more residents (1,292 vs 994); Bar Beach has higher household incomes ($119,600 vs $99,632).

The Junction Bar Beach
Population 994 1,292
+30% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) — +2.9%
Median age 43 41
Median household income $99,632/yr $119,600/yr
+20% vs other
Median weekly rent $470/wk
+16% vs other
 $393/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

The Junction Bar Beach
0-4 3.8% / 3.4%
The Junction — 0-4: 3.8% Bar Beach — 0-4: 3.4%
5-14 9.9% / 9.0%
The Junction — 5-14: 9.9% Bar Beach — 5-14: 9.0%
15-19 5.6% / 6.3%
The Junction — 15-19: 5.6% Bar Beach — 15-19: 6.3%
20-24 7.5% / 9.6%
The Junction — 20-24: 7.5% Bar Beach — 20-24: 9.6%
25-34 15.4% / 14.6%
The Junction — 25-34: 15.4% Bar Beach — 25-34: 14.6%
35-44 10.0% / 10.9%
The Junction — 35-44: 10.0% Bar Beach — 35-44: 10.9%
45-54 12.9% / 15.9%
The Junction — 45-54: 12.9% Bar Beach — 45-54: 15.9%
55-64 14.8% / 15.1%
The Junction — 55-64: 14.8% Bar Beach — 55-64: 15.1%
65-74 10.5% / 9.4%
The Junction — 65-74: 10.5% Bar Beach — 65-74: 9.4%
75-84 6.8% / 4.8%
The Junction — 75-84: 6.8% Bar Beach — 75-84: 4.8%
85+ 2.7% / 1.2%
The Junction — 85+: 2.7% Bar Beach — 85+: 1.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (15.9%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

The Junction 40.4% lone person
The Junction — Lone Person: 40.4% The Junction — Couple Families: 36.0% The Junction — Group Household: 11.6% The Junction — One Parent Families: 10.9% The Junction — Other Families: 1.1%
Bar Beach 44.5% lone person
Bar Beach — Lone Person: 44.5% Bar Beach — Couple Families: 32.6% Bar Beach — Group Household: 13.0% Bar Beach — One Parent Families: 7.3% Bar Beach — Other Families: 2.6%
Lone Person Couple Families Group Household One Parent Families Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

The Junction 32.6% renting
The Junction — Owned Outright: 44.8% The Junction — Mortgage: 22.6% The Junction — Renting: 32.6%
Bar Beach 42.2% renting
Bar Beach — Owned Outright: 33.3% Bar Beach — Mortgage: 24.5% Bar Beach — Renting: 42.2%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

The Junction Bar Beach
Bachelor Degree 23.3% / 25.6%
The Junction — Bachelor Degree: 23.3% Bar Beach — Bachelor Degree: 25.6%
Certificate III & IV 10.1% / 10.1%
The Junction — Certificate III & IV: 10.1% Bar Beach — Certificate III & IV: 10.1%
Postgraduate Degree 7.8% / 10.0%
The Junction — Postgraduate Degree: 7.8% Bar Beach — Postgraduate Degree: 10.0%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 9.2% / 6.7%
The Junction — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 9.2% Bar Beach — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.7%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 3.5% / 3.1%
The Junction — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 3.5% Bar Beach — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 3.1%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (25.6%).

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.

The Junction Bar Beach
England 2.3% / 3.7%
The Junction — England: 2.3% Bar Beach — England: 3.7%
New Zealand 0.9% / 1.7%
The Junction — New Zealand: 0.9% Bar Beach — New Zealand: 1.7%
India 1.2% / 0.7%
The Junction — India: 1.2% Bar Beach — India: 0.7%
Sri Lanka 1.0% / —
The Junction — Sri Lanka: 1.0% Bar Beach — Sri Lanka: not among its largest
South Africa — / 0.9%
The Junction — South Africa: not among its largest Bar Beach — South Africa: 0.9%
Bangladesh 0.6% / —
The Junction — Bangladesh: 0.6% Bar Beach — Bangladesh: not among its largest
Italy — / 0.5%
The Junction — Italy: not among its largest Bar Beach — Italy: 0.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (3.7%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

The Junction 53.8% houses
The Junction — Houses: 53.8% The Junction — Flats / Apartments: 13.9% The Junction — Townhouses: 32.3%
Bar Beach 40.2% houses
Bar Beach — Houses: 40.2% Bar Beach — Flats / Apartments: 39.2% Bar Beach — Townhouses: 20.7%
Houses Flats / Apartments Townhouses

Property market

The Junction Bar Beach
Median house price $2,085,000 $3,610,000
Median unit price $832,750 $757,500
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) 17 days
from 3 sales
 82 days
from 4 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.

The Junction Bar Beach
3 bed $2.2M / $2.31M
The Junction — 3 bed: $2.2M (9 sales) Bar Beach — 3 bed: $2.31M (5 sales)

9 vs 5 sales

4 bed $2.23M / $3.83M
The Junction — 4 bed: $2.23M (7 sales) Bar Beach — 4 bed: $3.83M (8 sales)

7 vs 8 sales

Zoning mix

The Junction has more commercially zoned land (13% vs 0%).

The Junction Bar Beach
Residential 80% 58%
Parks and recreation 7% 41%
Commercial 13% 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

The Junction Bar Beach
New dwellings approved 912
across Newcastle
same for both
Approvals change year on year +77%
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.

The Junction Bar Beach
Houses 2.1%
$835/wk on $2.05M
 —
Units —
same for both

Ranking within NSW

The Junction Bar Beach
House price Higher than 86% of NSW Higher than 95% of NSW
Income — Higher than 84% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 97% of NSW Higher than 96% of NSW
Affordability — Higher than 7% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 89% of NSW Higher than 91% of NSW
NBN connectivity Higher than 69% of NSW Higher than 68% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 3% of NSW —

Liveability

The Junction Bar Beach
Grade B
same for both
Score 62/100
same for both
Socio-economic band very advantaged area
decile 10/10
 very advantaged area
decile 9/10

Risk profile

The Junction Bar Beach
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime High
95/100
 High
92/100
Flood Not mapped
no mapped data here
same for both
Coastal erosion None
0/100
 Moderate
49/100
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 9
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

The Junction Bar Beach
Inside the suburb 2 0
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 1 0
Rated below peers 1 0
Universities within 10 km 2
The University of Newcastle (Newcastle City), 2.2 km
 2
The University of Newcastle (Newcastle City), 1.7 km
Full-time students aged 15–24 4.1% 4.7%

Schools in The Junction

  • St Joseph's Primary School Catholic · Primary at peers
  • The Junction Public School Government · Primary below peers

Schools in Bar Beach

No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.

Amenities in the suburb

The Junction Bar Beach
Supermarkets 2 0
Cafes & restaurants 6 2
Parks & reserves 0 1
Childcare 4 0
Pharmacies 2 0
Banks & Bank@Post 2 0

Mobility

The Junction Bar Beach
Walkability score 91/100 89/100
Distance to Sydney 160.6 km 161 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 126 min 127 min
Public transport score 79/100
Bus
 78/100
Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 72.8
7-9am + 5-7pm
 29.5
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 1 min
scheduled, not actual
same for both
Electric vehicle share 1.5%
postcode 2291
 1.7%
postcode 2300
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 35
postcode 2291
 12
postcode 2300

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.

The Junction Bar Beach
Car (driver) 48.5% / 57.1%
The Junction — Car (driver): 48.5% Bar Beach — Car (driver): 57.1%
Worked from Home 37.1% / 31.2%
The Junction — Worked from Home: 37.1% Bar Beach — Worked from Home: 31.2%
Walked Only 8.4% / 4.5%
The Junction — Walked Only: 8.4% Bar Beach — Walked Only: 4.5%
Car (passenger) 3.0% / 2.9%
The Junction — Car (passenger): 3.0% Bar Beach — Car (passenger): 2.9%
Bicycle 2.1% / 3.0%
The Junction — Bicycle: 2.1% Bar Beach — Bicycle: 3.0%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (57.1%).

Setting

The Junction Bar Beach
Elevation 10 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 18 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 743 m
794 m to a named beach
 207 m
344 m to a named beach

NBN connectivity

The Junction Bar Beach
Connectivity score 59/100 56/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 26%
758 premises
 20%
717 premises

Climate

The Junction Bar Beach
Annual rainfall 1,025 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 25.4°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 10.2°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

The Junction Bar Beach
PM2.5 6.5 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 21.7 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ 0.64 pphm
same for both

Council rates

The Junction Bar Beach
Average residential rate $1,783/yr
same for both
Council Newcastle
same for both

Federal electorate

The Junction Bar Beach
Division Newcastle
same for both
Member Sharon Claydon
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

The Junction Bar Beach
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

The Junction

Beach Coastal Parks Premium Professionals Townhouses

Bar Beach

Apartments Beach Beachfront Coastal Luxury Professionals Townhouses

More comparisons

Other comparisons with The Junction

The Junction vs Merewether The Junction vs Hamilton South The Junction vs Cooks Hill

Other comparisons with Bar Beach

Bar Beach vs Merewether Bar Beach vs Cooks Hill Bar Beach vs The Hill
Full data on The Junction Full data on Bar Beach
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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