Cooks Hill NSW 2300
Located in New South Wales, Cooks Hill sits 160 km from Sydney CBD, around 2 hours 5 minutes by car. The suburb has 3,774 residents, a median age of 35, and a median household income of $97,812 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the top 20% nationally. The suburb grew 4.2% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $430 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $2,297. Cooks Hill is characterised by high crime risk and no recorded bushfire exposure. 1 school sits within the suburb boundary, and walkability is high.
Is Cooks Hill a good suburb?
Cooks Hill scores a B (64/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on transit and community, weaker on prices and safety.
Mixed results
1 school
Very walkable
Walkability 95/100 · 160 km · 124 min drive to Sydney
Above the state median
Median $1.82M · Pricier than 77% of NSW
High crime risk
Fire 0/100 · Crime 92/100
Very advantaged
SEIFA decile 10/10 · median age 35 · 3,774 residents
Liveability Rating
64 / 100 · Ranked #416 in NSWEach bar is Cooks Hill'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 Cooks Hill?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
64 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median Unit Price
Public listings dataCooks Hill's unit market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $810,000, about 6% above where it sat a year earlier.
Units
$810,000
16% below its 5 neighbours (median $962,500)
Based on 51 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 31 days — median across 11 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 1 bed 11 sales $655K
- 2 bed 25 sales $795K
- 3 bed 15 sales $1.25M
Houses
$1,816,000
10% above its 4 neighbours (median $1,650,000)
Based on 47 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 25 days — median across 16 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 12 sales $1.25M
- 3 bed 21 sales $1.82M
- 4 bed 12 sales $2.16M
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Cooks Hill are currently listed at around $1.39 million on average. Based on 6 houses listed in the past six months.
Houses
$1.39M
6 houses listed in the last 6 months.
Units
$768K
6 units listed in the last 6 months.
12 of the suburb's 1,717 dwellings (0.7%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Cooks Hill rent for around $810 a week on average, based on 14 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
Houses
$810/wk
14 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Units
$630/wk
26% below its 3 neighbours (median $850/wk)
17 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
31 rentals advertised against an estimated 972 rented homes (3.2%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- 3-bed houses
- $868/wk
- 16 bonds
- +34% since 2021
- 2-bed units
- $768/wk
- 92 bonds
- +33% since 2021
Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2300 (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 202584 Unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 36% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2300.
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$810/week ($42,000 a year) on a $1.39 million median
Based on a small sample (6 listings) — indicative only.
$630/week ($33,000 a year) on a $768,000 median
Based on a small sample (6 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.
Is Cooks Hill safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Cooks Hill sits in the high band, with 528 incidents recorded in 2025 — down about 4% on the prior year.
528 offences
4.3% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20258 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital
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
Newcastle 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 serves Cooks Hill, but none have published comparable ratings yet.
Primary
Universities nearby
- 1.3 kmThe University of Newcastle (Newcastle City)University of Newcastle · 108 courses
- 7.5 kmThe University of Newcastle (Callaghan)University of Newcastle · 326 courses
5.8% 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
Cooks Hill is exceptionally walkable on foot — at 95/100, daily errands don't require a car at all. Within the suburb there are 2 supermarkets, 1 park and 25 cafes to anchor that walking radius.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Cooks Hill.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 57.8 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 43.7 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 22.4 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 18.6 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 Cooks Hill.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 21%
- Premises covered
- 2,333
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
Newcastle: 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 10 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.
Cooks Hill is home to about 3,800 residents, with a median age of 35, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $98,000 a year, with unemployment at 3.9%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
3,774
Median Age
35
Median Household Income
$97,812/yr
Census Median Rent
$430/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$2,297/mo
Avg Household Size
2.0
Median Personal Income
$53,300/yr
Unemployment Rate
3.9%
Unoccupied Dwellings
13.3%
Total Dwellings
1,717
Owner-Occupier Rate
43.4%
Houses
17.4%
Rental Stress
22.9%
Mortgage Stress
28.2%
Work From Home
34.7%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
240 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 7 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 946 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 81.0%
- English Spoken at Home
- 88.4%
- Employment Rate
- 65.8%
- Completed Year 12
- 62.1%
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.
92 residents (2.4%) 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.
9.3% of residents (337) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney (232).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 3,624 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
2% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (37 of 2,203).
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.
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,783 a year through Newcastle based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Residential 89%
- Parks and recreation 7%
- Commercial 4%
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: Newcastle
In the year to August 2026, 912 new dwellings were approved across Newcastle. That mix is 266 houses and 646 units. Approvals are up 77.4% on the same period a year earlier.
Aboriginal Land Council
Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Awabakal 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 6.5 µg/m³ in 2025 — below Australia's NEPM annual standard (8 µg/m³), slightly above the stricter WHO guideline (5 µg/m³). 3 days exceeded the daily threshold of 25 µg/m³.
PM10 averaged 21.7 µg/m³ · NO₂ averaged 0.64 pphm. Days over the limit in 2025: PM10 8 · NO₂ 0 · ozone 1.
From the Newcastle monitoring station, 0.8 km away.
Climate & Setting
from Newcastle Nobbys Signal Station AWS, 3.3 kmHigh rainfall — warm summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 10 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 737 m
- 998 m to a named beach
- Annual rainfall
- 1,025 mm
- 91 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 25.4°C
- 4 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 10.2°C
- 0 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
11 facilities within 5 km- 2.3 kmPetroleum Product WholesalingTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds · n-Hexane · Ethanol
- 2.4 kmPort and Water Transport Terminal OperationsTop reported: Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide · Total Volatile Organic Compounds
- 3.0 kmPetroleum Product WholesalingTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds · Xylenes (individual or mixed isomers) · Toluene (methylbenzene)
- 3.2 kmOther Petroleum and Coal Product ManufacturingTop reported: Oxides of Nitrogen · Particulate Matter ≤10.0 µm (PM10) · Carbon monoxide
- 3.4 kmSewerage and Drainage ServicesTop reported: Total Nitrogen · Ammonia (total) · Total Phosphorus
EV adoption
In postcode 2300, 165 of 9,960 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 6.8% (682 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 8.5%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 2300, 803 rooftop-solar systems totalling 6.4 MW have been installed since 2001, against 6,937 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 70 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, 16 across postcode 2300.
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 $810,000 this is $210,000 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 Sharon Claydon Australian Labor Party
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Sharon Claydon | 70.8% | 29.2% | +2.9 |
| 2022 | Sharon Claydon | 68.0% | 32.0% | -4.2 |
| 2019 | Sharon Claydon | 63.8% | 36.2% | +0.0 |
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 Crakanthorp Labor
Next state election: 13 March 2027.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Tim Crakanthorp ALP | 72.6% |
| 2019 | Tim Crakanthorp ALP | 67.7% |
| 2015 | Tim Crakanthorp ALP | 57.4% |
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 Cooks Hill?
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 3,774 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
- #2 in Newcastle suburbs with the largest non-religious population
- #3 in Newcastle suburbs with the most apartments
- #3 in Newcastle's most educated suburbs
- #4 in The best beachside suburbs in Newcastle
- #4 in Newcastle suburbs that suit young professionals
- #5 in Best Newcastle suburbs to rent in
- #7 in Newcastle suburbs with the most parkland nearby
- #7 in Highest-yielding Newcastle suburbs (units)
- #7 in Newcastle suburbs where the most residents moved from a capital city
- #8 in Most walkable suburbs in Newcastle
- #12 in Best Newcastle suburbs for first-home buyers (units)
- #13 in Sportiest Newcastle suburbs
- #14 in Newcastle suburbs with the deepest rental markets
- #15 in The most liveable suburbs in Newcastle
Nearby suburbs
Hamilton South NSW 2303
Newcastle NSW 2300
The Hill NSW 2300
Newcastle West NSW 2302
Bar Beach NSW 2300
The Junction NSW 2291
Compare Cooks Hill 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 Cooks Hill
Is Cooks Hill a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Cooks Hill is high (92/100, 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 Cooks Hill?
Cooks Hill has no recorded bushfire history. These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Cooks Hill a good place to live?
Cooks Hill has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of B (64/100), 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 Cooks Hill?
Cooks Hill, NSW had a population of 3,774 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Cooks Hill, NSW?
The postcode for Cooks Hill, NSW is 2300.
How far is Cooks Hill from Sydney?
Cooks Hill is 160 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 124 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Cooks Hill?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Cooks Hill was $97,812 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 Cooks Hill?
The median advertised rent in Cooks Hill is $810 a week for houses (14 listings) and $630 a week for units (17 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Cooks Hill?
The median age of residents in Cooks Hill was 35 at the 2021 ABS Census.
How are the schools in Cooks Hill?
There is 1 school inside the Cooks Hill boundary, none of which has enough NAPLAN and ICSEA data for a quality band.
Is Cooks Hill walkable?
Cooks Hill scores 95/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it exceptionally 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 Cooks Hill?
The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Cooks Hill (Newcastle) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 6.5 µg/m³ and PM10 of 21.7 µg/m³. That puts Cooks Hill 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 Cooks Hill?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Cooks Hill, Newcastle Nobbys Signal Station AWS (3.3 km away), summer days average 25.4°C, winter nights 10.2°C, 1,025 mm of rain a year over 91 rainy days, and 4 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Cooks Hill?
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 Cooks Hill belong to?
Cooks Hill sits within the Newcastle local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Cooks Hill?
The average residential rates bill through Newcastle is $1,783 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Cooks Hill?
Across Newcastle, 912 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 77.4% 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 Cooks Hill in?
Cooks Hill sits within the federal Division of Newcastle, currently held by Sharon Claydon (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.