Wakefield vs Awaba

In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are couple families. Houses cost more in Wakefield: a median of $1.73 million, against $735,000 in Awaba, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Wakefield tends to suit families with children, while Awaba suits 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

They split

one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here

  • Wakefield is already more of a family suburb (79% vs 67%)
  • Awaba carries lower crime risk (82/100 vs 97/100)

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

First-home buyers

Awaba

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper houses ($735,000 vs $1,725,700)

Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.

Renters

Awaba

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($300/wk vs $353/wk)

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

Commuting to the city

Awaba

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • sits closer to the CBD (128.6 km vs 136.7 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Awaba

ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here

  • has more residents already 65 and over (15% vs 9%)
  • carries lower crime risk (82/100 vs 97/100)

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

Investors

Awaba

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (7.0% vs 0.0%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

Wakefield and Awaba drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.

Wakefield Awaba
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.

Wakefield Awaba
Walkability 13 / 18
Wakefield — Walkability: 13/100 Awaba — Walkability: 18/100
Safety 3 / 18
Wakefield — Safety: 3/100 Awaba — Safety: 18/100
Low fire risk 30 / 33
Wakefield — Low fire risk: 30/100 Awaba — Low fire risk: 33/100

Demographics

Awaba has more residents (430 vs 144); Wakefield has higher household incomes ($118,612 vs $89,752).

Wakefield Awaba
Population 144 430
+199% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +0.0% +7.0%
Median age 40
same for both
Median household income $118,612/yr
+24% vs other
 $89,752/yr
Median weekly rent $353/wk
+15% vs other
 $300/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Wakefield Awaba
0-4 8.3% / 4.2%
Wakefield — 0-4: 8.3% Awaba — 0-4: 4.2%
5-14 17.4% / 15.8%
Wakefield — 5-14: 17.4% Awaba — 5-14: 15.8%
15-19 2.1% / 7.9%
Wakefield — 15-19: 2.1% Awaba — 15-19: 7.9%
20-24 6.2% / 6.7%
Wakefield — 20-24: 6.2% Awaba — 20-24: 6.7%
25-34 4.9% / 10.5%
Wakefield — 25-34: 4.9% Awaba — 25-34: 10.5%
35-44 16.7% / 9.3%
Wakefield — 35-44: 16.7% Awaba — 35-44: 9.3%
45-54 15.3% / 17.2%
Wakefield — 45-54: 15.3% Awaba — 45-54: 17.2%
55-64 14.6% / 15.6%
Wakefield — 55-64: 14.6% Awaba — 55-64: 15.6%
65-74 6.9% / 8.8%
Wakefield — 65-74: 6.9% Awaba — 65-74: 8.8%
75-84 2.1% / 4.4%
Wakefield — 75-84: 2.1% Awaba — 75-84: 4.4%
85+ — / 1.9%
Wakefield — 85+: not among its largest Awaba — 85+: 1.9%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.4%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Wakefield 66.7% couple families
Wakefield — Couple Families: 66.7% Wakefield — Lone Person: 21.4% Wakefield — One Parent Families: 11.9% Wakefield — Group Household: 0.0%
Awaba 57.1% couple families
Awaba — Couple Families: 57.1% Awaba — Lone Person: 28.6% Awaba — One Parent Families: 10.2% Awaba — Group Household: 4.1%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Wakefield 13.2% renting
Wakefield — Owned Outright: 52.6% Wakefield — Mortgage: 34.2% Wakefield — Renting: 13.2%
Awaba 8.6% renting
Awaba — Owned Outright: 39.6% Awaba — Mortgage: 51.8% Awaba — Renting: 8.6%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Wakefield 100.0% houses
Wakefield — Houses: 100.0% Wakefield — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Awaba 97.9% houses
Awaba — Houses: 97.9% Awaba — Flats / Apartments: 2.1%
Houses Flats / Apartments

Qualifications

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

Wakefield Awaba
Certificate III & IV 18.1% / 22.6%
Wakefield — Certificate III & IV: 18.1% Awaba — Certificate III & IV: 22.6%
Bachelor Degree 13.9% / 8.8%
Wakefield — Bachelor Degree: 13.9% Awaba — Bachelor Degree: 8.8%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 5.6% / 4.9%
Wakefield — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.6% Awaba — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 4.9%
Postgraduate Degree 2.1% / 0.9%
Wakefield — Postgraduate Degree: 2.1% Awaba — Postgraduate Degree: 0.9%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.1% / 0.7%
Wakefield — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.1% Awaba — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 0.7%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.6%).

Property market

Wakefield Awaba
Median house price $1,725,700 $735,000
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price $2,788,500 —

Zoning mix

Wakefield Awaba
Environmental 70% 80%
Infrastructure and transport 15% 11%
Rural and farming 14% 5%
Residential 0% 3%
Parks and recreation 0% 1%
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

Wakefield Awaba
New dwellings approved 1,212
across Lake Macquarie
same for both
Approvals change year on year +2%
same for both

Ranking within NSW

Wakefield Awaba
House price Higher than 81% of NSW Higher than 29% of NSW
Income Higher than 83% of NSW Higher than 58% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 62% of NSW Higher than 68% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 36% of NSW Higher than 77% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 13% of NSW Higher than 61% of NSW
NBN connectivity Higher than 16% of NSW Higher than 67% of NSW

Liveability

Wakefield Awaba
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band advantaged area
decile 8/10
 below-average income
decile 3/10

Risk profile

Wakefield carries more crime risk (97 vs 82).

Wakefield Awaba
Bushfire High
70/100
 Moderate
67/100
Crime High
97/100
 High
82/100
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 3
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Wakefield Awaba
Inside the suburb 1
same for both
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 0 1

Schools in Wakefield

  • Wakefield School Government · Secondary · Special school

Schools in Awaba

  • Awaba Public School Government · Primary below peers

Amenities in the suburb

Wakefield Awaba
Parks & reserves 1
same for both
Waterways 1 7

Mobility

Wakefield sits further from the CBD (136.7 km vs 128.6 km).

Wakefield Awaba
Walkability score 13/100 18/100
Distance to Sydney 136.7 km
+6% vs other
 128.6 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 107 min 105 min
Electric vehicle share 0.2%
postcode 2278
 0.6%
postcode 2283
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 62
postcode 2278
 48
postcode 2283

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.

Wakefield Awaba
Car (driver) 64.4% / 76.3%
Wakefield — Car (driver): 64.4% Awaba — Car (driver): 76.3%
Worked from Home 35.6% / 18.6%
Wakefield — Worked from Home: 35.6% Awaba — Worked from Home: 18.6%
Car (passenger) — / 5.1%
Wakefield — Car (passenger): not among its largest Awaba — Car (passenger): 5.1%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (76.3%).

Setting

Wakefield Awaba
Elevation 49 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 57 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 13.9 km 11.5 km

NBN connectivity

Wakefield Awaba
Connectivity score 15/100 50/100
Most common technology Satellite (Sky Muster) Fibre to the node
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
26 premises
 10%
161 premises

Climate

Wakefield Awaba
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)

Wakefield Awaba
PM2.5 6.1 µg/m³ 5.0 µg/m³
PM10 16.5 µg/m³ 11.6 µg/m³
NO₂ 0.53 pphm 0.27 pphm

Council rates

Wakefield Awaba
Average residential rate $1,708/yr
same for both
Council Lake Macquarie
same for both

Federal electorate

Wakefield Awaba
Division Hunter
same for both
Member Dan Repacholi
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Wakefield Awaba
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Wakefield

Family Professionals Rural

Awaba

Rural Trains

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Wakefield

Wakefield vs Teralba Wakefield vs Killingworth Wakefield vs Fassifern Wakefield vs Freemans Waterhole

Other comparisons with Awaba

Awaba vs Cooranbong Awaba vs Toronto Awaba vs Wangi Wangi Awaba vs Blackalls Park Awaba vs Rathmines Awaba vs Arcadia Vale
Full data on Wakefield Full data on Awaba
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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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