Wallsend vs New Lambton Heights

In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In New Lambton Heights, most households are couple families. Houses cost more in New Lambton Heights: a median of $1.28 million, against $849,000 in Wallsend, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Wallsend tends to suit people living alone and buyers on a tighter budget, while New Lambton Heights suits families with children and couples.

Wallsend and New Lambton Heights are both Newcastle suburbs, but they differ significantly in affluence and character. New Lambton Heights has substantially higher median household income ($142,584 versus $72,852) and property prices—median houses sell for $1,225,000 compared to $837,000—placing it in the highest socio-economic decile. Wallsend is more walkable (89 versus 57) and offers better rental yield on houses (4.2% versus 3.7%), though it carries higher crime risk (86 versus 62). New Lambton Heights scores better on liveability overall, while both suburbs are similarly distant from the CBD. Choose Wallsend if walkability and rental income appeal to you; New Lambton Heights suits buyers prioritising higher incomes and premium property values.

Written by an AI language model from the figures below. Every number in it is checked against those figures before it is published.

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

  • Wallsend has more parks and reserves (26 vs 2)
  • New Lambton Heights is already more of a family suburb (78% vs 50%)

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

First-home buyers

Wallsend

ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here

  • has cheaper houses ($848,750 vs $1,280,000)
  • has cheaper units ($647,500 vs $965,000)
  • But New Lambton Heights leaves households under less mortgage stress (20% vs 28%)

Weighs house prices, unit prices, land prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Wallsend

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (38% vs 12%)
  • has cheaper rent ($375/wk vs $483/wk)
  • But New Lambton Heights leaves renters under less rental stress (18% vs 27%)

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

Commuting to the city

Wallsend

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • is more walkable (89/100 vs 57/100)
  • sits closer to the CBD (150.4 km vs 152.8 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Wallsend

ahead on 3 of the 5 things we measure here

  • has more units and townhouses to downsize into (22% vs 2%)
  • has more GPs (8 vs 2)
  • is more walkable (89/100 vs 57/100)
  • But New Lambton Heights carries lower crime risk (64/100 vs 86/100)

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

Investors

Wallsend

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • returns a higher gross yield on houses (4.2% vs 3.3%)

Weighs house yield and population growth.

Where they sit

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

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
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.

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
Walkability 89 / 57
Wallsend — Walkability: 89/100 New Lambton Heights — Walkability: 57/100
Safety 14 / 36
Wallsend — Safety: 14/100 New Lambton Heights — Safety: 36/100
Low fire risk 57 / 54
Wallsend — Low fire risk: 57/100 New Lambton Heights — Low fire risk: 54/100

Demographics

Wallsend has more residents (13,244 vs 2,610); New Lambton Heights has higher household incomes ($142,584 vs $72,852).

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
Population 13,244
+80% vs other
 2,610
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +6.2% +6.4%
Median age 39 41
Median household income $72,852/yr $142,584/yr
+96% vs other
Median weekly rent $375/wk $483/wk
+29% vs other

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
0-4 5.4% / 5.1%
Wallsend — 0-4: 5.4% New Lambton Heights — 0-4: 5.1%
5-14 10.2% / 16.6%
Wallsend — 5-14: 10.2% New Lambton Heights — 5-14: 16.6%
15-19 5.2% / 7.3%
Wallsend — 15-19: 5.2% New Lambton Heights — 15-19: 7.3%
20-24 8.0% / 4.9%
Wallsend — 20-24: 8.0% New Lambton Heights — 20-24: 4.9%
25-34 15.8% / 7.9%
Wallsend — 25-34: 15.8% New Lambton Heights — 25-34: 7.9%
35-44 11.9% / 13.8%
Wallsend — 35-44: 11.9% New Lambton Heights — 35-44: 13.8%
45-54 11.1% / 15.0%
Wallsend — 45-54: 11.1% New Lambton Heights — 45-54: 15.0%
55-64 11.6% / 12.9%
Wallsend — 55-64: 11.6% New Lambton Heights — 55-64: 12.9%
65-74 9.9% / 10.4%
Wallsend — 65-74: 9.9% New Lambton Heights — 65-74: 10.4%
75-84 6.7% / 4.6%
Wallsend — 75-84: 6.7% New Lambton Heights — 75-84: 4.6%
85+ 4.3% / 1.5%
Wallsend — 85+: 4.3% New Lambton Heights — 85+: 1.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (16.6%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Wallsend 31.8% couple families
Wallsend — Couple Families: 31.8% Wallsend — Lone Person: 41.1% Wallsend — One Parent Families: 17.9% Wallsend — Group Household: 7.3% Wallsend — Other Families: 2.0%
New Lambton Heights 62.3% couple families
New Lambton Heights — Couple Families: 62.3% New Lambton Heights — Lone Person: 18.3% New Lambton Heights — One Parent Families: 16.2% New Lambton Heights — Group Household: 2.6% New Lambton Heights — Other Families: 0.5%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Wallsend 38.2% renting
Wallsend — Owned Outright: 30.5% Wallsend — Mortgage: 31.2% Wallsend — Renting: 38.2%
New Lambton Heights 12.5% renting
New Lambton Heights — Owned Outright: 41.7% New Lambton Heights — Mortgage: 45.7% New Lambton Heights — Renting: 12.5%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

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

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
Bachelor Degree 11.1% / 20.7%
Wallsend — Bachelor Degree: 11.1% New Lambton Heights — Bachelor Degree: 20.7%
Certificate III & IV 17.0% / 10.2%
Wallsend — Certificate III & IV: 17.0% New Lambton Heights — Certificate III & IV: 10.2%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 6.7% / 8.1%
Wallsend — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.7% New Lambton Heights — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 8.1%
Postgraduate Degree 3.7% / 9.2%
Wallsend — Postgraduate Degree: 3.7% New Lambton Heights — Postgraduate Degree: 9.2%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 1.2% / 2.9%
Wallsend — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 1.2% New Lambton Heights — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.9%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.7%).

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.

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
England 1.7% / 3.3%
Wallsend — England: 1.7% New Lambton Heights — England: 3.3%
China 1.1% / 1.3%
Wallsend — China: 1.1% New Lambton Heights — China: 1.3%
New Zealand 0.8% / 1.5%
Wallsend — New Zealand: 0.8% New Lambton Heights — New Zealand: 1.5%
India 1.0% / 1.0%
Wallsend — India: 1.0% New Lambton Heights — India: 1.0%
Philippines 0.9% / —
Wallsend — Philippines: 0.9% New Lambton Heights — Philippines: not among its largest
South Africa — / 0.5%
Wallsend — South Africa: not among its largest New Lambton Heights — South Africa: 0.5%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (3.3%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Wallsend 77.7% houses
Wallsend — Houses: 77.7% Wallsend — Townhouses: 16.9% Wallsend — Flats / Apartments: 5.4%
New Lambton Heights 97.9% houses
New Lambton Heights — Houses: 97.9% New Lambton Heights — Townhouses: 1.3% New Lambton Heights — Flats / Apartments: 0.8%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Property market

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
Median house price $848,750 $1,280,000
Median unit price $647,500 $965,000
Median land price $585,000 $560,000
Typical days to sell (houses) 20 days
from 142 sales
 38 days
from 15 sales

House price by bedroom count

Only bed counts both suburbs published enough sales for. Sale counts are shown because the buckets differ in depth.

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
3 bed $840K / $1.16M
Wallsend — 3 bed: $840K (194 sales) New Lambton Heights — 3 bed: $1.16M (31 sales)

194 vs 31 sales

4 bed $955K / $1.38M
Wallsend — 4 bed: $955K (62 sales) New Lambton Heights — 4 bed: $1.38M (34 sales)

62 vs 34 sales

5 bed $1M / $1.32M
Wallsend — 5 bed: $1M (11 sales) New Lambton Heights — 5 bed: $1.32M (16 sales)

11 vs 16 sales

Zoning mix

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
Residential 40% 38%
Environmental 36% 30%
Infrastructure and transport 11% 31%
Parks and recreation 7% 1%
Industrial 3% 0%
Commercial 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

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
New dwellings approved 912
across Newcastle
same for both
Approvals change year on year +77%
same for both

Gross rental yield

Gross — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. From median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
Houses 4.2%
$700/wk on $860K
 3.3%
$900/wk on $1.44M
Units 3.9%
$525/wk on $705K
 —

Ranking within NSW

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
House price Higher than 36% of NSW Higher than 67% of NSW
Income Higher than 39% of NSW Higher than 92% of NSW
Schools Higher than 55% of NSW —
Walkability Higher than 96% of NSW Higher than 83% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 55% of NSW Higher than 71% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 76% of NSW Higher than 87% of NSW
NBN connectivity Higher than 71% of NSW Higher than 77% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 83% of NSW Higher than 32% of NSW
Rental yield (units) Higher than 18% of NSW —

Liveability

Wallsend is more walkable (89 vs 57); New Lambton Heights scores higher overall (54 vs 42).

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
Grade C B
Score 42/100 54/100
Socio-economic band below-average income
decile 3/10
 very advantaged area
decile 10/10

Risk profile

Wallsend carries more crime risk (86 vs 64).

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
Bushfire Moderate
43/100
 Moderate
46/100
Crime High
86/100
 Moderate
64/100
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
 4
within 5 km

Schools

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
Inside the suburb 4 2
Rated above peers 1 0
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 3 0
Universities within 10 km 1
The University of Newcastle (Callaghan), 4.1 km
 2
The University of Newcastle (Callaghan), 4.1 km
Full-time students aged 15–24 2.6%
same for both

Schools in Wallsend

  • Callaghan College Wallsend Campus Government · Secondary above peers
  • Plattsburg Public School Government · Primary below peers
  • St Patrick's Primary School Catholic · Primary below peers
  • Wallsend Public School Government · Primary below peers

Schools in New Lambton Heights

  • New Lambton Heights Infants School Government · Primary
  • John Hunter Hospital School Government · Combined · Special school

Amenities in the suburb

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
Supermarkets 2 0
Cafes & restaurants 7 1
Parks & reserves 26 2
Childcare 9 1
GPs 8 2
Pharmacies 3
same for both
Hospitals 0 2
Banks & Bank@Post 5 0
Fuel stations 5 0
EV chargers 1 0
Waterways 7 2

Mobility

New Lambton Heights sits further from the CBD (152.8 km vs 150.4 km).

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
Walkability score 89/100 57/100
Distance to Sydney 150.4 km 152.8 km
+2% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 111 min 113 min
Public transport score 79/100
Bus
same for both
Peak arrivals per hour 508.2
7-9am + 5-7pm
 153.0
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 0 min
scheduled, not actual
same for both
Electric vehicle share 0.9%
postcode 2287
 1.4%
postcode 2305
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 42
postcode 2287
 38
postcode 2305

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.

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
Car (driver) 69.2% / 60.4%
Wallsend — Car (driver): 69.2% New Lambton Heights — Car (driver): 60.4%
Worked from Home 21.7% / 32.2%
Wallsend — Worked from Home: 21.7% New Lambton Heights — Worked from Home: 32.2%
Car (passenger) 4.9% / 3.5%
Wallsend — Car (passenger): 4.9% New Lambton Heights — Car (passenger): 3.5%
Walked Only 1.9% / 1.7%
Wallsend — Walked Only: 1.9% New Lambton Heights — Walked Only: 1.7%
Bus 1.9% / 1.2%
Wallsend — Bus: 1.9% New Lambton Heights — Bus: 1.2%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (69.2%).

Setting

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
Elevation 37 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 84 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 9.3 km 6.1 km

NBN connectivity

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
Connectivity score 62/100 71/100
Most common technology Fibre to the node
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 32%
6,452 premises
 47%
1,025 premises

Climate

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
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)

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
PM2.5 6.1 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 16.5 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ 0.53 pphm
same for both

Council rates

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
Average residential rate $1,783/yr
same for both
Council Newcastle
same for both

Federal electorate

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
Division Newcastle
same for both
Member Sharon Claydon
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Wallsend New Lambton Heights
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Wallsend

Parks Regional Centre River

New Lambton Heights

Large Blocks Professionals Quiet River

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Wallsend

Wallsend vs Cameron Park Wallsend vs Fletcher Wallsend vs Maryland Wallsend vs Edgeworth Wallsend vs Elermore Vale Wallsend vs Lambton

Other comparisons with New Lambton Heights

New Lambton Heights vs New Lambton New Lambton Heights vs Elermore Vale New Lambton Heights vs Lambton New Lambton Heights vs Kotara New Lambton Heights vs Rankin Park New Lambton Heights vs Garden Suburb
Full data on Wallsend Full data on New Lambton Heights
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