Upper Dartbrook vs Big Jacks Creek
In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Upper Dartbrook, about half of households are couple families. In Big Jacks Creek, about half of households are people living alone. On these figures, Upper Dartbrook tends to suit couples, while Big Jacks Creek suits people living alone and families with children.
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
Upper Dartbrook
ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here
- carries lower crime risk (10/100 vs 62/100)
- is already more of a family suburb (63% vs 50%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Big Jacks Creek
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (25% vs 34%)
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
Too close to call
Nothing among the 3 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Upper Dartbrook
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- sits closer to the CBD (298.3 km vs 353.8 km)
- has a shorter drive in (221 min vs 260 min)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Upper Dartbrook
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (10/100 vs 62/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Too close to call
Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Upper Dartbrook and Big Jacks Creek 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
Upper Dartbrook has more residents (152 vs 61); Big Jacks Creek has higher household incomes ($110,448 vs $95,836).
| Upper Dartbrook | Big Jacks Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 152 +60% vs other | 61 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +4.1% | +8.9% |
| Median age | 42 | 44 |
| Median household income | $95,836/yr | $110,448/yr +15% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $235/wk +4% vs other | $225/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (23.0%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 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%).
Property market
| Upper Dartbrook | Big Jacks Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,150,000 | — |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
Zoning mix
Upper Dartbrook has more land zoned for conservation (14% vs 0%); Big Jacks Creek has more rural and farming land (100% vs 86%).
| Upper Dartbrook | Big Jacks Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 86% | 100% |
| Environmental | 14% | 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
| Upper Dartbrook | Big Jacks Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 41 across Upper Hunter | 12 across Liverpool Plains |
| Approvals change year on year | -20% | +33% |
Ranking within NSW
| Upper Dartbrook | Big Jacks Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 59% of NSW | — |
| Income | Higher than 63% of NSW | Higher than 75% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 1% of NSW | Higher than 3% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 50% of NSW | — |
| EV adoption | Higher than 22% of NSW | — |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 29% of NSW | Higher than 1% of NSW |
Liveability
| Upper Dartbrook | Big Jacks Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 9/10 | advantaged area decile 7/10 |
Risk profile
Upper Dartbrook carries more bushfire risk (38 vs 0); Big Jacks Creek carries more crime risk (62 vs 10).
| Upper Dartbrook | Big Jacks Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Low 38/100 | None 0/100 |
| Crime | Low 10/100 | Moderate 62/100 |
| 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 | 0 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Upper Dartbrook | Big Jacks Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 same for both | |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Amenities in the suburb
| Upper Dartbrook | Big Jacks Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 76 | 1 |
Mobility
Big Jacks Creek sits further from the CBD (353.8 km vs 298.3 km).
| Upper Dartbrook | Big Jacks Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Sydney | 298.3 km | 353.8 km +19% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 221 min | 260 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.2% postcode 2336 | 0.0% postcode 2339 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 50 postcode 2336 | 54 postcode 2339 |
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 (81.5%).
Setting
| Upper Dartbrook | Big Jacks Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 343 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 414 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Upper Dartbrook | Big Jacks Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 20/100 | 15/100 |
| Most common technology | Satellite (Sky Muster) same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 50 premises | 0% 14 premises |
Climate
| Upper Dartbrook | Big Jacks Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 631 mm | 650 mm |
| Summer max (Jan) | 31.6°C | 32.6°C |
| Winter min (Jul) | 4.1°C | 2.6°C |
Council rates
| Upper Dartbrook | Big Jacks Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $968/yr | $934/yr |
| Council | Upper Hunter | Liverpool Plains |
Federal electorate
| Upper Dartbrook | Big Jacks Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | New England same for both | |
| Member | Barnaby Joyce same for both | |
| Party | The Nationals same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Upper Dartbrook | Big Jacks Creek | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Upper Dartbrook
Other comparisons with Big Jacks Creek
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.