Castle Cove NSW 2069
Located in New South Wales, Castle Cove sits 13 km from Sydney CBD, around 22 minutes by car. The suburb has 2,643 residents, a median age of 46, and a median household income of $178,828 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the top 20% nationally. Population grew 3.5% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $1,000 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $4,000. The area shows no recorded bushfire exposure. 1 school sits within the suburb boundary, and walkability is moderate.
Is Castle Cove a good suburb?
Castle Cove scores a A+ (87/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on transit, safety, and community, weaker on prices.
Mixed results
1 school
Close to the CBD
Walkability 54/100 · 12.9 km · 22 min drive to Sydney
Above the state median
Median $3.94M · Less affordable than 88% of NSW
Low all-round risk
Fire 0/100 · Crime 22/100
Very advantaged
SEIFA decile 10/10 · median age 46 · 2,643 residents
Liveability Rating
87 / 100 · Ranked #76 in NSWEach bar is Castle Cove's rank among NSW suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better). Scored on 4 of 5 factors: no school data, so the other factors carry its weight.
No flood data is published for New South Wales — a blank here means we hold no data, not that there is no risk.
How do you rate the liveability in Castle Cove?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
87 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataCastle Cove's house market is moving lower: the median sale price reached $3.94 million, roughly 12% below where it sat a year earlier.
$3,940,000
9% above its 4 neighbours (median $3,600,000)
Based on 26 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 24 days — median across 10 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 3 bed 7 sales $3.52M
- 4 bed 7 sales $4M
- 5 bed 9 sales $4.3M
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Castle Cove are currently listed at around $4.2 million on average, with the typical listing on the market for 16 days. Based on 3 houses listed in the past six months.
$4.2M
3 houses listed in the last 6 months — typical time on market 16 days.
3 of the suburb's 877 dwellings (0.3%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Castle Cove rent for around $2,000 a week on average, based on 6 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
$2,000/wk
6 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
7 rentals advertised against an estimated 102 rented homes (6.9%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- 2-bed units
- $895/wk
- 30 bonds
- +54% since 2021
Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2069 (NSW publishes bonds by postcode, which can cover several suburbs). Change since 2021 compares the median of the first four quarters with the last four. Asking rents above come from advertised listings.
Rental affordability
June quarter 202583 Unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 36% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2069.
SGS Rental Affordability Index: a score of 100 means rent takes 30% of income, the usual housing-stress line; lower scores are less affordable. "Region" is the capital city or the rest of the state.
Gross rental yield
Indicative$2,000/week ($104,000 a year) on a $4.2 million median
Based on a small sample (3 listings) — indicative only.
Gross yield — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. Calculated from median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.
Short-Stay Rentals
6 active Airbnb listings: 5 whole homes and 1 room. Whole homes are about 0.5% of the suburb's homes.
Airbnb only, as at Jun 2026; other platforms are not included. Active means reviewed in the past 12 months. The share is against private dwellings at the 2021 Census.
Is Castle Cove safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Castle Cove sits in the low band, with 36 incidents recorded in 2025 — down roughly 22% on the prior year.
36 offences
21.7% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20253 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital
Crashes are counted where they happened, so a main road through the suburb carries people passing through; this is not a measure of risk to residents. Roads are listed with 3 or more serious crashes.
Council Flood Studies
Willoughby City Council has published 2 flood studies on the NSW Flood Data Portal. The mapped flood areas are in those studies; SuburbScan does not hold them.
Schools
One school serve Castle Cove, and performance is broadly on par with peer-suburb schools.
- • 273 students in one school (avg 273)
Primary
Universities nearby
- 5.6 kmAustralian Catholic University-North Sydney CampusAustralian Catholic University · 95 courses
- 8.1 kmMacquarie University Wallumattagal Campus at North RydeMacquarie University · 459 courses
- 9.2 kmSydney C.Q.U. CampusCentral Queensland University · 54 courses
4.0% of residents here are full-time university students aged 15–24.
Distance is measured to the suburb centre. A campus nearby does not by itself mean a student rental market — most suburbs within a few kilometres of one have a student share close to the national norm, and the figure above is what tells them apart.
Walkability
Castle Cove is somewhat walkable on foot — at 54/100, a short cluster of errands work on foot but most trips still benefit from a car.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Castle Cove.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 80.5 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 31.2 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 22.0 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 19.3 hours
Scheduled service only, based on the 21 October 2026 timetable. Reliability (delays, cancellations) not measured.
NBN connectivity
The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Castle Cove.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 52%
- Premises covered
- 1,030
NBN Co fixed-line and fixed-wireless premises, as at 30 December 2025. Higher-quality technologies (full fibre) score above copper, wireless, and satellite. Actual speeds depend on your plan.
Amenities
Willoughby: council population
The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this suburb alone — this suburb's own population is in the census section above.
Socio-economic profile
The ABS scores 8 small areas inside this suburb and averages them into the single decile above. Every one of them ranks in that same decile, so the average describes the whole suburb.
Castle Cove is home to about 2,600 residents, with a median age of 46, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $179,000 a year, with unemployment at 3.8%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
2,643
Median Age
46
Median Household Income
$178,828/yr
Census Median Rent
$1,000/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$4,000/mo
Avg Household Size
2.9
Median Personal Income
$63,388/yr
Unemployment Rate
3.8%
Unoccupied Dwellings
7.4%
Total Dwellings
877
Owner-Occupier Rate
88.4%
Houses
90.3%
Rental Stress
29.1%
Mortgage Stress
26.8%
Work From Home
62.5%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 60.0%
- English Spoken at Home
- 67.7%
- Employment Rate
- 55.4%
- Completed Year 12
- 62.7%
Occupations
Religion
Country of Birth (overseas)
Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.
When They Arrived
Share of all residents by the year they arrived in Australia. Periods cover different numbers of years, so compare the shape rather than the bar widths.
83 residents (3.1%) arrived since 2016. Australia’s borders were closed to most arrivals from March 2020, so the last two years of that period are much smaller than the ones before them — nationally 260,799 people arrived in 2019 against 28,521 in 2021.
Where New Residents Came From
Where residents aged five and over lived five years before the 2021 Census, for those who lived somewhere else.
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 2,554 residents aged five and over. Areas are ABS statistical regions. Small counts are approximate: the ABS adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
Languages Spoken at Home
Top languages other than English, as a share of all residents.
Age Distribution
Family & Household Composition
Commute to Work
30% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (352 of 1,176).
City centre: the ABS area around each capital's CBD, such as Sydney Inner City or Perth City (which takes in Subiaco and Leederville). 2021 Census place of work.
Local Jobs
People who work in this suburb against employed people who live here, 2021 Census.
About 384 people work here; 1,176 employed residents live here.
Mostly a place people commute from: 0.3 jobs per working resident. At least 67% of employed residents must work outside the suburb.
Counts are by place of work and place of usual residence. The ABS counts jobs in zones; where a zone spans several places, its jobs are shared out by land use. The ABS also adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,275 a year through Willoughby based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Environmental 69%
- Residential 19%
- Parks and recreation 8%
- Infrastructure and transport 1%
- Not zoned 3%
Planning zones cover 98% of the suburb's area. The rest is unzoned land such as water or road reserve.
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 — the property page shows the zone for one address.
Building Approvals: Willoughby
In the year to August 2026, 249 new dwellings were approved across Willoughby. That mix is 77 houses and 172 units. Approvals are up 457.9% on the same period a year earlier.
Aboriginal Land Council
Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council.
Local Aboriginal Land Councils are statutory bodies under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983, responsible for land claims and land management for their members. Their boundaries are administrative and are not a statement of whose Country this is. NSW does not publish a register of Aboriginal parties by area — they are registered for each project.
Air Quality
MODERATEPM2.5 averaged 5.4 µg/m³ in 2025 — below Australia's NEPM annual standard (8 µg/m³), slightly above the stricter WHO guideline (5 µg/m³). 1 day exceeded the daily threshold of 25 µg/m³.
PM10 averaged 14.2 µg/m³ · NO₂ averaged 0.23 pphm. Days over the limit in 2025: PM10 1 · NO₂ 0 · ozone 3.
From the Macquarie Park monitoring station, 9.3 km away.
Climate & Setting
from Macquarie Park (Willandra Village), 9.5 kmHigh rainfall.
- Elevation
- 77 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 4.0 km
- 1.0 km to a named beach
- Annual rainfall
- 1,176 mm
- 92 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- —
- Winter min (Jul)
- —
Elevation is the ground at the suburb centre, from Geoscience Australia's National Digital Elevation Model. Approximate — it reads high in dense built-up areas. It is a measure of height above sea level and not an indicator of flood risk, which depends on height above nearby waterways.
Industrial Emissions Nearby
3 facilities within 5 km- 4.4 kmWaste Treatment and Disposal ServicesTop reported: Particulate Matter ≤10.0 µm (PM10) · Zinc and compounds · Chromium (III) compounds
- 4.5 kmHospitals (Except Psychiatric Hospitals)Top reported: Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide · Particulate Matter ≤10.0 µm (PM10)
- 4.5 kmIron and Steel CastingTop reported: Particulate Matter ≤10.0 µm (PM10) · Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide
EV adoption
In postcode 2069, 439 of 9,333 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 5.8% (539 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 10.5%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 2069, 1,532 rooftop-solar systems totalling 12.8 MW have been installed since 2001, against 5,193 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 167 went up in the last year.
Counts every system certified since 2001, so a roof re-fitted with a newer system is counted twice, and small commercial systems are included alongside houses — useful for comparing postcodes, not an estimate of how many homes have working panels today.
2026 covers part of the year only, to 2026-07.
First Home Owner Grant
FY2026-27$10,000 for new homes priced up to $600,000.
Off-the-plan or contracted-build value cap is $750,000 (vs $600,000 for completed new homes). Stamp duty concessions are a separate scheme (First Home Buyers Assistance).
Mortgage repayments
1 mortgage broker is registered in this suburb, 12 across postcode 2069.
Transfer duty at the owner-occupier rate, and it excludes first home buyer concessions — those can cut it substantially or remove it entirely. Excludes legal, inspection and lender fees. Check with Revenue NSW
The First Home Owner Grant applies to newly built homes only, so it isn't available on an established purchase. A first home buyer building or buying new under $600,000 may qualify for $10,000 — see what qualifies with Revenue NSW.
At $3,940,000 this is $3,340,000 above the $600,000 First Home Owner Grant cap. A first home buyer may qualify for $10,000 on a newly built home — check eligibility with Revenue NSW.
A deposit under 20% usually attracts Lenders Mortgage Insurance, which this doesn't include.
Principal and interest over 30 years, fixed rate. Excludes fees, offset, redraw and LMI. Default rate is the median comparison rate across 1788 advertised products as at 2026-10-26 — indicative only, and not an offer. Your rate depends on the lender, your deposit and your circumstances. Not financial advice.
Federal Electorate
Currently held by Nicolette Boele Independent
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Nicolette Boele | 45.0% | 55.0% | +1.2 |
| 2022 | Paul Fletcher | 43.5% | 56.5% | -10.0 |
| 2019 | Paul Fletcher | 33.4% | 66.6% | -4.5 |
Results are per division — federal electoral boundaries are redrawn periodically, so the history reflects this division's past, not necessarily the exact suburb's voters across time.
State Electorate
Currently held by Tim James Liberal
Next state election: 13 March 2027.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Tim James LP | 52.6% |
| 2019 | Gladys Berejiklian LP | 71.0% |
| 2015 | Gladys Berejiklian LP | 74.4% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2021, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this suburb's voters. Results: © State of New South Wales through the NSW Electoral Commission, CC BY 4.0, adapted.
Looking at a specific address in Castle Cove?
Every figure above is a suburb average, and an average smooths over the difference between a street of family homes and a block of flats. Look up one address and you get the census for the few hundred people around it, its own nearest schools and stops, and what the state has mapped for that block.
- The census for a few hundred neighbours, not all 2,643 residents
- Nearest and zoned schools, with the walk from that door
- Flood, bushfire and noise mapping, where the state publishes it
Free to look up. Subscribers see every section in full — $29/month.
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Suburbs to avoid in Sydney There is no list of bad suburbs, but there are hazards the state measures and publishes — recorded crime, bushfire exposure, flood overlays and aircraft noise. Sydney suburbs ranked on them, with what the numbers do and don't mean.Nearby suburbs
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Common questions about Castle Cove
Is Castle Cove a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Castle Cove is low (22/100, ranked against other NSW suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Castle Cove?
Castle Cove has no recorded bushfire history. These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Castle Cove a good place to live?
Castle Cove has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of A+ (87/100), ranked against other NSW suburbs on school quality (25%), safety (25%), SEIFA socio-economic advantage (25%), walkability (15%) and CBD access (10%). Whether it suits you depends on what you weigh — each of those is on this page.
What is the population of Castle Cove?
Castle Cove, NSW had a population of 2,643 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Castle Cove, NSW?
The postcode for Castle Cove, NSW is 2069.
How far is Castle Cove from Sydney?
Castle Cove is 13 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 22 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Castle Cove?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Castle Cove was $178,828 a year. It is the most recent suburb-level income figure until 2026 Census results are released in 2027.
What is the median weekly rent in Castle Cove?
The median advertised rent in Castle Cove is $2,000 a week for houses (6 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Castle Cove?
The median age of residents in Castle Cove was 46 at the 2021 ABS Census.
How are the schools in Castle Cove?
There is 1 school inside the Castle Cove boundary: 1 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Castle Cove walkable?
Castle Cove scores 54/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it somewhat walkable. The score is a weighted average of public transport, schools, parks, supermarkets, GPs, pharmacies, childcare, and hospitals within walking distance.
What is the air quality in Castle Cove?
The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Castle Cove (Macquarie Park) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 5.4 µg/m³ and PM10 of 14.2 µg/m³. That puts Castle Cove below the Australian NEPM annual standard of 8 µg/m³ but above the stricter WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.
What is the weather like in Castle Cove?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Castle Cove, Macquarie Park (Willandra Village) (9.5 km away), 1,176 mm of rain a year over 92 rainy days over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Castle Cove?
First-home buyers in NSW may be eligible for $10,000 towards new homes with a purchase price up to $600,000. The grant is administered by Revenue NSW; confirm current eligibility before signing a contract — state rules and amounts can change.
What council does Castle Cove belong to?
Castle Cove sits within the Willoughby local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Castle Cove?
The average residential rates bill through Willoughby is $1,275 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Castle Cove?
Across Willoughby, 249 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 457.9% on the same period a year earlier. These are LGA-level totals — every suburb in the council shares the same figure.
Which federal electorate is Castle Cove in?
Castle Cove sits within the federal Division of Bradfield, currently held by Nicolette Boele (Independent).
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Data freshness
- Census · 2021
- Median sale prices · Oct 2026
- For-sale & rental market · Oct 2026
- Council rates · FY 2024–25
- Building approvals · Aug 2026
- Schools · 2025
- Public transport · Oct 2026
- NBN connectivity · Dec 2025
- Crime · 2025
- Road crashes · 2021–2025
- Air quality · 2025
- Climate · 2006–2026
- Socio-economic (SEIFA) · 2021
- EV adoption · Jan 2025
- First Home Owner Grant · Sep 2026
- Federal electorate · 2025
- Short-stay rentals · Jun 2026
- State electorate · 2023
- Amenities · Sep 2026
- Health & emergency facilities · Sep 2026
- Industrial emissions (NPI) · 2024/2025
- Coastal erosion · 1988–2025
- Aircraft noise · 2024
Vintages show when each source's data is from. See all data sources.
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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.