Towamba vs Kiah
In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and about half of households are people living alone. On these figures, Kiah tends to suit couples.
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
- Towamba has more schools rated above their peers (1 vs 0)
- Kiah carries lower crime risk (17/100 vs 61/100)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Towamba
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (25% vs 39%)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Towamba
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($150/wk vs $215/wk)
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
- Towamba sits closer to the CBD (556 km vs 564.5 km)
- Kiah has a shorter drive in (398 min vs 416 min)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Kiah
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (17/100 vs 61/100)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Towamba
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (6.4% vs -28.9%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Towamba and Kiah 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
Towamba has more residents (249 vs 101); Kiah rents higher ($215/wk vs $150/wk).
| Towamba | Kiah | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 249 +59% vs other | 101 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +6.4% | -28.9% |
| Median age | 53 same for both | |
| Median household income | $42,016/yr | $54,132/yr +29% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $150/wk | $215/wk +43% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (24.8%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
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 (5.9%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.9%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Towamba | Kiah | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $585,000 | $560,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — | $440,000 |
Zoning mix
| Towamba | Kiah | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 73% | 75% |
| Environmental | 27% | 25% |
| 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
| Towamba | Kiah | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 109 across Bega Valley same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -32% same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Towamba | Kiah | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 20% of NSW | Higher than 18% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 5% of NSW | Higher than 14% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 10% of NSW | Higher than 46% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 39% of NSW | Higher than 62% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 69% of NSW | Higher than 15% of NSW |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 6% of NSW | Higher than 5% of NSW |
Liveability
| Towamba | Kiah | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | high-need area decile 1/10 | below-average income decile 2/10 |
Risk profile
Towamba carries more crime risk (61 vs 17).
| Towamba | Kiah | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | High 93/100 | High 95/100 |
| Crime | Moderate 61/100 | Low 17/100 |
| Flood | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 | Low 12/100 |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 0 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Towamba | Kiah | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 1 | 0 |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Schools in Towamba
- Towamba Public School Government · Primary above peers
Schools in Kiah
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Towamba | Kiah | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 1 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 0 | 1 |
| Beaches | 0 | 1 |
| Waterways | 8 same for both | |
Mobility
Kiah sits further from the CBD (564.5 km vs 556 km).
| Towamba | Kiah | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 | 5/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 556 km | 564.5 km +2% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 416 min | 398 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.7% postcode 2550 | 0.2% postcode 2551 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 61 postcode 2550 | 46 postcode 2551 |
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 (78.8%).
Setting
| Towamba | Kiah | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 136 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 34 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 15.3 km | 7.2 km |
NBN connectivity
| Towamba | Kiah | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 15/100 same for both | |
| Most common technology | Satellite (Sky Muster) same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 91 premises | 0% 30 premises |
Climate
| Towamba | Kiah | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 649 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Towamba | Kiah | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,767/yr same for both | |
| Council | Bega Valley same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Towamba | Kiah | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Eden-monaro same for both | |
| Member | Kristy Mcbain same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Towamba | Kiah | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Towamba
Kiah
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Towamba
Other comparisons with Kiah
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.