Tintenbar vs Brooklet
Tintenbar is the younger of the two, with a median age of 46 against 51 in Brooklet. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Tintenbar, most households are couple families. In Brooklet, about half of households are couple families. On these figures, Brooklet tends to suit 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
Tintenbar
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is already more of a family suburb (75% vs 62%)
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
Brooklet
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- leaves renters under less rental stress (21% vs 29%)
- has cheaper rent ($440/wk vs $555/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Tintenbar
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (34/100 vs 8/100)
- has a shorter drive in (472 min vs 481 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (738.3 km vs 746.8 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Tintenbar
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is more walkable (34/100 vs 8/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Where they sit
Tintenbar and Brooklet 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
Tintenbar has more residents (618 vs 253); Tintenbar rents higher ($555/wk vs $440/wk).
| Tintenbar | Brooklet | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 618 +59% vs other | 253 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | — | -1.6% |
| Median age | 46 | 51 |
| Median household income | $98,592/yr | $108,316/yr +10% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $555/wk +21% vs other | $440/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.2%).
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 (18.2%).
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 (5.5%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Tintenbar | Brooklet | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,900,000 | $1,950,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 54 days from 9 sales | — |
Zoning mix
Tintenbar has more rural and farming land (94% vs 41%).
| Tintenbar | Brooklet | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 94% | 41% |
| Other and special use | 4% | 59% |
| Environmental | 2% | 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
| Tintenbar | Brooklet | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 238 across Ballina same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +210% same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Tintenbar | Brooklet | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 83% of NSW | Higher than 79% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 67% of NSW | Higher than 74% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 76% of NSW | Higher than 51% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 18% of NSW | Higher than 33% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 82% of NSW | Higher than 95% of NSW |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 56% of NSW | Higher than 49% of NSW |
Liveability
Tintenbar is more walkable (34 vs 8).
| Tintenbar | Brooklet | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | B | — |
| Score | 56/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 9/10 | very advantaged area decile 10/10 |
Risk profile
| Tintenbar | Brooklet | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Moderate 53/100 | Moderate 52/100 |
| 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
| Tintenbar | Brooklet | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Tintenbar
- Teven-Tintenbar Public School Government · Primary at peers
Schools in Brooklet
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Tintenbar | Brooklet | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 2 | 0 |
| Childcare | 2 | 0 |
| GPs | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 1 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 13 | 3 |
Mobility
Brooklet sits further from the CBD (746.8 km vs 738.3 km).
| Tintenbar | Brooklet | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 34/100 | 8/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 738.3 km | 746.8 km +1% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 472 min | 481 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 1.1% postcode 2478 | 2.4% postcode 2479 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 66 postcode 2478 | 86 postcode 2479 |
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 (66.9%).
Setting
| Tintenbar | Brooklet | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 35 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 106 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 7.9 km | 9.3 km |
NBN connectivity
| Tintenbar | Brooklet | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 30/100 same for both | |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 233 premises | 0% 113 premises |
Council rates
| Tintenbar | Brooklet | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,264/yr same for both | |
| Council | Ballina same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Tintenbar | Brooklet | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Richmond same for both | |
| Member | Justine Elliot same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Tintenbar | Brooklet | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Tintenbar
Other comparisons with Brooklet
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.