Cessnock NSW 2325
Located in New South Wales, Cessnock sits 152 km from Sydney CBD, around 1 hour 55 minutes by car. The suburb has 16,300 residents, a median age of 40, and a median household income of $61,984 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the bottom 20% nationally. The suburb grew 7.4% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $320 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,499. Cessnock is characterised by high crime risk. 4 schools sit within the suburb boundary, and walkability is high.
Is Cessnock a good suburb?
Cessnock scores a D (24/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on transit, weaker on schools, safety, and community.
Below the state average
4 schools · Bottom 9% in NSW
Very walkable
Walkability 88/100 · 152.3 km · 117 min drive to Sydney
Around the state median
Median $700K · Cheaper than 76% of NSW
High crime risk
Fire 58/100 · Crime 89/100
Highly disadvantaged
SEIFA decile 1/10 · median age 40 · 16,300 residents
Liveability Rating
24 / 100 · Ranked #1386 in NSWEach bar is Cessnock's rank among NSW suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better).
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 Cessnock?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
24 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataCessnock's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $700,000, roughly 14% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$700,000
In line with its 8 neighbours (median $685,000)
Based on 424 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 22 days — median across 214 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 60 sales $620K
- 3 bed 233 sales $685K
- 4 bed 101 sales $761K
- 5 bed 14 sales $920K
- 6 bed 5 sales $942K
Units
$525,000
Based on 27 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 28 days — median across 12 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 16 sales $520K
- 3 bed 9 sales $595K
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Cessnock are currently listed at around $755,000 on average. Based on 171 houses listed in the past six months.
Houses
$755K
171 houses listed in the last 6 months.
Units
$522K
10 units listed in the last 6 months.
181 of the suburb's 5,643 dwellings (3.2%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Cessnock rent for around $600 a week on average, based on 133 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
Houses
$600/wk
133 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Units
$455/wk
20 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
153 rentals advertised against an estimated 2,206 rented homes (6.9%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- 3-bed houses
- $580/wk
- 93 bonds
- +43% since 2021
- 2-bed units
- $485/wk
- 36 bonds
- +48% since 2021
Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2325 (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 2025105 Moderately unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 29% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2325.
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$600/week ($31,000 a year) on a $755,000 median
$455/week ($24,000 a year) on a $522,000 median
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.
Is Cessnock safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Cessnock sits in the high band, with 1,750 incidents recorded in 2025 — down about 3% on the prior year.
1,750 offences
3.0% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–202539 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital, 2 of them fatal
Where they happened
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
Cessnock City Council has published 8 flood studies on the NSW Flood Data Portal. The mapped flood areas are in those studies; SuburbScan does not hold them.
- Black Creek Nulkaba to Branxton (Stage 2) Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan 2026
- Greta Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan 2025
- Greta Flood Study 2019
- Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan Report Cessnock City (Black Creek Stage 1) 2016
- Black Creek Flood Study: Nulkaba to Branxton (Stage 2) 2015
Schools
Four schools serve Cessnock, and performance is broadly on par with peer-suburb schools.
- • 1,891 students across 4 schools (avg 473)
- • Sectors: 3 Government, 1 Catholic
- • ICSEA 835-975, median 898 (below the national baseline of 1000)
- • Largest: Mount View High School (930 students)
Primary
Secondary
Walkability
Cessnock is very walkable on foot — at 88/100, most daily errands can be done on foot. Within the suburb there are 4 supermarkets, 22 parks and 4 cafes to anchor that walking radius.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Cessnock.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 149.0 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 90.4 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 34.7 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 0 min
- Span of service
- 16.7 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 Cessnock.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 37%
- Premises covered
- 7,577
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
Cessnock: 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 36 small areas inside this suburb and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 6 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this suburb rank well above the average and parts well below it.
Cessnock is home to about 16,300 residents, with a median age of 40, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $62,000 a year, with unemployment at 6.8%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
16,300
Median Age
40
Median Household Income
$61,984/yr
Census Median Rent
$320/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,499/mo
Avg Household Size
2.4
Median Personal Income
$30,576/yr
Unemployment Rate
6.8%
Unoccupied Dwellings
10.4%
Total Dwellings
5,643
Owner-Occupier Rate
60.9%
Houses
84.1%
Rental Stress
26.8%
Mortgage Stress
29.0%
Work From Home
12.7%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
300 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 81 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 2,128 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 85.9%
- English Spoken at Home
- 82.4%
- Employment Rate
- 40.7%
- Completed Year 12
- 21.8%
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.
143 residents (0.9%) 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.
3.3% of residents (512) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney (418).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 15,370 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
1% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (38 of 5,499).
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 5,438 people work here; 5,499 employed residents live here.
Roughly as many jobs as working residents (1.0 per resident).
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 $1,405 a year through Cessnock based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Rural and farming 53%
- Residential 24%
- Environmental 8%
- Infrastructure and transport 7%
- Parks and recreation 6%
- Industrial 1%
- Zones under 1% 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 — the property page shows the zone for one address.
Building Approvals: Cessnock
In the year to August 2026, 719 new dwellings were approved across Cessnock. That mix is 560 houses and 159 units. Approvals are down 31.1% on the same period a year earlier.
Aboriginal Land Council
Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Mindaribba 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 6.3 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 17.5 µg/m³ · NO₂ averaged 0.72 pphm. Days over the limit in 2025: PM10 1 · NO₂ 0 · ozone 0.
From the Beresfield monitoring station, 28.2 km away.
Climate & Setting
from Cessnock Airport AWS, 5.4 kmModerate rainfall — hot summers, cold winters with occasional frost.
- Elevation
- 94 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 37.4 km
- Annual rainfall
- 804 mm
- 80 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 30.0°C
- 20 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 5.1°C
- 11 frost days ≤ 0°C
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
2 facilities within 5 km- 2.3 kmSewerage and Drainage ServicesTop reported: Total Nitrogen · Ammonia (total) · Total Phosphorus
- 2.8 kmWaste Remediation and Materials Recovery ServicesTop reported: Carbon monoxide · Oxides of Nitrogen · Sulfur dioxide
EV adoption
In postcode 2325, 86 of 24,360 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 2.0% (480 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 2.3%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 2325, 6,158 rooftop-solar systems totalling 44.0 MW have been installed since 2001, against 12,075 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 521 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
3 mortgage brokers are registered in this suburb, 4 across postcode 2325.
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 $700,000 this is $100,000 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 Dan Repacholi Australian Labor Party
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Dan Repacholi | 59.5% | 40.5% | +4.7 |
| 2022 | Dan Repacholi | 54.0% | 46.0% | -1.1 |
| 2019 | Joel Fitzgibbon | 53.0% | 47.0% | +9.5 |
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 Clayton Barr Labor
Next state election: 13 March 2027.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Clayton Barr ALP | 73.4% |
| 2019 | Clayton Barr ALP | 69.3% |
| 2015 | Clayton Barr ALP | 72.0% |
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 Cessnock?
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 16,300 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.
Featured in
- #4 in Newcastle suburbs where 2-bedroom unit rents rose most
- #5 in Newcastle suburbs with the most rooftop solar
- #6 in Newcastle suburbs where 3-bedroom house rents rose most
- #7 in Newcastle suburbs where the most Filipino is spoken at home
- #10 in Newcastle suburbs that added the most residents, 2016-2021
- #15 in Best Newcastle suburbs for good public primary schools
Nearby suburbs
Abermain NSW 2326
Aberdare NSW 2325
Bellbird NSW 2325
Pokolbin NSW 2320
Kearsley NSW 2325
Bellbird Heights NSW 2325
Compare Cessnock to another suburb
Side-by-side stats for any other NSW suburb — type a name and pick one.
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Common questions about Cessnock
Is Cessnock a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Cessnock is high (89/100, ranked against other NSW suburbs on offences per resident). Offences against shops, venues and visitors are divided by the people who live here, so suburbs with large daytime or visitor populations rank higher than living there may feel.
What natural hazards affect Cessnock?
Cessnock has a moderate recorded bushfire history (58/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Cessnock a good place to live?
Cessnock has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (24/100), 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 Cessnock?
Cessnock, NSW had a population of 16,300 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Cessnock, NSW?
The postcode for Cessnock, NSW is 2325.
How far is Cessnock from Sydney?
Cessnock is 152 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 117 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Cessnock?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Cessnock was $61,984 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 Cessnock?
The median advertised rent in Cessnock is $600 a week for houses (133 listings) and $455 a week for units (20 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Cessnock?
The median age of residents in Cessnock was 40 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Cessnock at risk of bushfire?
Cessnock has a moderate recorded bushfire history (58/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the suburb relative to its size, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history. It records where fire has burned, not a bushfire-prone land designation, which your council's planning scheme sets.
How are the schools in Cessnock?
There are 4 schools inside the Cessnock boundary: 4 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Cessnock walkable?
Cessnock scores 88/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it very 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 Cessnock?
The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Cessnock (Beresfield) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 6.3 µg/m³ and PM10 of 17.5 µg/m³. That puts Cessnock 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 Cessnock?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Cessnock, Cessnock Airport AWS (5.4 km away), summer days average 30°C, winter nights 5.1°C, 804 mm of rain a year over 80 rainy days, and 20 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Cessnock?
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 Cessnock belong to?
Cessnock sits within the Cessnock local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Cessnock?
The average residential rates bill through Cessnock is $1,405 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Cessnock?
Across Cessnock, 719 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 31.1% 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 Cessnock in?
Cessnock sits within the federal Division of Hunter, currently held by Dan Repacholi (Australian Labor Party).
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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
- 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.