Upper Wilsons Creek vs Rowlands Creek

Upper Wilsons Creek is the younger of the two, with a median age of 48 against 59 in Rowlands Creek. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Rowlands Creek, most households are people living alone. Houses cost more in Rowlands Creek: a median of $1.57 million, against $1.1 million in Upper Wilsons Creek, though rent is higher in Upper Wilsons Creek. On these figures, Upper Wilsons Creek tends to suit buyers on a tighter budget, while Rowlands Creek suits 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

Upper Wilsons Creek

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • carries lower crime risk (49/100 vs 81/100)

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

First-home buyers

They split

one each way, out of the 2 things we measure here

  • Upper Wilsons Creek has cheaper houses ($1,100,000 vs $1,575,000)
  • Rowlands Creek leaves households under less mortgage stress (33% vs 40%)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Rowlands Creek

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($231/wk vs $490/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Upper Wilsons Creek

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a shorter drive in (526 min vs 560 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (782.5 km vs 796.9 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Upper Wilsons Creek

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • carries lower crime risk (49/100 vs 81/100)

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 Wilsons Creek and Rowlands 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.

Upper Wilsons Creek Rowlands Creek
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.

Upper Wilsons Creek Rowlands Creek
Walkability 0 / 0
Upper Wilsons Creek — Walkability: 0/100 Rowlands Creek — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 51 / 19
Upper Wilsons Creek — Safety: 51/100 Rowlands Creek — Safety: 19/100
Low fire risk 20 / 39
Upper Wilsons Creek — Low fire risk: 20/100 Rowlands Creek — Low fire risk: 39/100

Demographics

Upper Wilsons Creek rents higher ($490/wk vs $231/wk); Upper Wilsons Creek has higher household incomes ($81,224 vs $43,316).

Upper Wilsons Creek Rowlands Creek
Population 79 84
+6% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +9.7% +13.5%
Median age 48 59
Median household income $81,224/yr
+47% vs other
 $43,316/yr
Median weekly rent $490/wk
+53% vs other
 $231/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Upper Wilsons Creek Rowlands Creek
0-4 7.6% / —
Upper Wilsons Creek — 0-4: 7.6% Rowlands Creek — 0-4: not among its largest
5-14 7.6% / 3.6%
Upper Wilsons Creek — 5-14: 7.6% Rowlands Creek — 5-14: 3.6%
15-19 3.8% / —
Upper Wilsons Creek — 15-19: 3.8% Rowlands Creek — 15-19: not among its largest
20-24 — / —
Upper Wilsons Creek — 20-24: not among its largest Rowlands Creek — 20-24: not among its largest
25-34 12.7% / 4.8%
Upper Wilsons Creek — 25-34: 12.7% Rowlands Creek — 25-34: 4.8%
35-44 20.3% / 14.3%
Upper Wilsons Creek — 35-44: 20.3% Rowlands Creek — 35-44: 14.3%
45-54 11.4% / 9.5%
Upper Wilsons Creek — 45-54: 11.4% Rowlands Creek — 45-54: 9.5%
55-64 19.0% / 25.0%
Upper Wilsons Creek — 55-64: 19.0% Rowlands Creek — 55-64: 25.0%
65-74 22.8% / 27.4%
Upper Wilsons Creek — 65-74: 22.8% Rowlands Creek — 65-74: 27.4%
75-84 8.9% / —
Upper Wilsons Creek — 75-84: 8.9% Rowlands Creek — 75-84: not among its largest
85+ — / 3.6%
Upper Wilsons Creek — 85+: not among its largest Rowlands Creek — 85+: 3.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (27.4%).

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.

Upper Wilsons Creek Rowlands Creek
England 6.3% / 7.1%
Upper Wilsons Creek — England: 6.3% Rowlands Creek — England: 7.1%
France 3.8% / —
Upper Wilsons Creek — France: 3.8% Rowlands Creek — France: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (7.1%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Upper Wilsons Creek 36.8% lone person
Upper Wilsons Creek — Lone Person: 36.8% Upper Wilsons Creek — Couple Families: 42.1% Upper Wilsons Creek — Group Household: 21.1% Upper Wilsons Creek — One Parent Families: 0.0%
Rowlands Creek 64.0% lone person
Rowlands Creek — Lone Person: 64.0% Rowlands Creek — Couple Families: 24.0% Rowlands Creek — Group Household: 0.0% Rowlands Creek — One Parent Families: 12.0%
Lone Person Couple Families Group Household One Parent Families

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Upper Wilsons Creek 100.0% houses
Upper Wilsons Creek — Houses: 100.0% Upper Wilsons Creek — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Rowlands Creek 94.3% houses
Rowlands Creek — Houses: 94.3% Rowlands Creek — Flats / Apartments: 5.7%
Houses Flats / Apartments

Qualifications

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

Upper Wilsons Creek Rowlands Creek
Certificate III & IV 20.3% / 19.0%
Upper Wilsons Creek — Certificate III & IV: 20.3% Rowlands Creek — Certificate III & IV: 19.0%
Bachelor Degree 15.2% / 10.7%
Upper Wilsons Creek — Bachelor Degree: 15.2% Rowlands Creek — Bachelor Degree: 10.7%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 6.3% / 9.5%
Upper Wilsons Creek — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.3% Rowlands Creek — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 9.5%
Postgraduate Degree 6.3% / 6.0%
Upper Wilsons Creek — Postgraduate Degree: 6.3% Rowlands Creek — Postgraduate Degree: 6.0%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.3%).

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Upper Wilsons Creek 14.8% renting
Upper Wilsons Creek — Owned Outright: 37.0% Upper Wilsons Creek — Mortgage: 48.1% Upper Wilsons Creek — Renting: 14.8%
Rowlands Creek 13.5% renting
Rowlands Creek — Owned Outright: 75.7% Rowlands Creek — Mortgage: 10.8% Rowlands Creek — Renting: 13.5%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Property market

Upper Wilsons Creek Rowlands Creek
Median house price $1,100,000 $1,575,000
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price —
same for both

Zoning mix

Upper Wilsons Creek has more land zoned for conservation (81% vs 65%); Rowlands Creek has more rural and farming land (34% vs 19%).

Upper Wilsons Creek Rowlands Creek
Environmental 81% 65%
Rural and farming 19% 34%
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 Wilsons Creek Rowlands Creek
New dwellings approved 129
across Byron
 331
across Tweed
Approvals change year on year -65% -50%

Ranking within NSW

Upper Wilsons Creek Rowlands Creek
House price Higher than 57% of NSW Higher than 77% of NSW
Income Higher than 48% of NSW Higher than 6% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 8% of NSW Higher than 21% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 41% of NSW Higher than 4% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 89% of NSW Higher than 64% of NSW
NBN connectivity Higher than 4% of NSW Higher than 30% of NSW

Liveability

Upper Wilsons Creek Rowlands Creek
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 6/10
 below-average income
decile 2/10

Risk profile

Rowlands Creek carries more crime risk (81 vs 49); Upper Wilsons Creek carries more bushfire risk (80 vs 61).

Upper Wilsons Creek Rowlands Creek
Bushfire High
80/100
 Moderate
61/100
Crime Moderate
49/100
 High
81/100
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 Wilsons Creek Rowlands 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 Wilsons Creek Rowlands Creek
Parks & reserves 0 1
Waterways 2
same for both

Mobility

Rowlands Creek sits further from the CBD (796.9 km vs 782.5 km).

Upper Wilsons Creek Rowlands Creek
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Sydney 782.5 km 796.9 km
+2% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 526 min 560 min
Electric vehicle share 1.5%
postcode 2482
 0.6%
postcode 2484
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 89
postcode 2482
 76
postcode 2484

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.

Upper Wilsons Creek Rowlands Creek
Car (driver) 57.1% / 100.0%
Upper Wilsons Creek — Car (driver): 57.1% Rowlands Creek — Car (driver): 100.0%
Worked from Home 32.1% / —
Upper Wilsons Creek — Worked from Home: 32.1% Rowlands Creek — Worked from Home: not among its largest
Car (passenger) 10.7% / —
Upper Wilsons Creek — Car (passenger): 10.7% Rowlands Creek — Car (passenger): not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (100.0%).

Setting

Upper Wilsons Creek Rowlands Creek
Elevation 320 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 182 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 16.6 km 20.1 km

NBN connectivity

Upper Wilsons Creek Rowlands Creek
Connectivity score 15/100 21/100
Most common technology Satellite (Sky Muster)
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
19 premises
 0%
37 premises

Climate

Upper Wilsons Creek Rowlands Creek
Annual rainfall 1,569 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 29.1°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 9.1°C
same for both

Council rates

Upper Wilsons Creek Rowlands Creek
Average residential rate $1,577/yr $1,745/yr
Council Byron Tweed

Federal electorate

Upper Wilsons Creek Rowlands Creek
Division Richmond
same for both
Member Justine Elliot
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Upper Wilsons Creek Rowlands Creek
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Upper Wilsons Creek

Retirees Rural

Rowlands Creek

Retirees Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Upper Wilsons Creek

Upper Wilsons Creek vs Wilsons Creek Upper Wilsons Creek vs Upper Main Arm Upper Wilsons Creek vs Huonbrook Upper Wilsons Creek vs Palmwoods

Other comparisons with Rowlands Creek

Rowlands Creek vs Uki Rowlands Creek vs Smiths Creek Rowlands Creek vs Upper Main Arm Rowlands Creek vs Huonbrook Rowlands Creek vs Doon Doon Rowlands Creek vs Chowan Creek
Full data on Upper Wilsons Creek Full data on Rowlands Creek
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.

Save this page for later

We'll email you a link to this page so you can finish reading it on any device. We use your address once to send it and don't keep it.

or