Curl Curl NSW 2096

Curl Curl sits 18 km from Sydney CBD in New South Wales, around 30 minutes by car. Census data records 2,364 residents with a median age of 40 and a median household income of $201,240 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the top 20% nationally. The suburb fell 2.1% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $705 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $3,775. Curl Curl is characterised by no recorded bushfire exposure. 2 schools sit within the suburb boundary, and walkability is moderate.

Is Curl Curl a good suburb?

Curl Curl scores a A (84/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on transit and community, weaker on prices.

Schools

Mixed results

2 schools

Transit

Very walkable

Walkability 65/100 · 18 km · 30 min drive to Sydney

Prices

Above the state median

Median $4.11M · Less affordable than 83% of NSW

Safety

Moderate crime risk

Fire 0/100 · Crime 46/100

Community

Very advantaged

SEIFA decile 10/10 · median age 40 · 2,364 residents

A

Liveability Rating

84 / 100 · Ranked #119 in NSW

Each bar is Curl Curl'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.

Schools quality no data
too few schools to rate
Safety
82
Bushfire None · Crime Moderate

No flood data is published for New South Wales — a blank here means we hold no data, not that there is no risk.

Socio-economic
97
Very advantaged
Walkability
62
Walkable
CBD access
88
18.0 km · 30 min drive to Sydney
How it's calculated: Safety rank 82 × 25% + Socio-economic rank 97 × 25% + Walkability rank 62 × 15% + CBD access rank 88 × 10% = 84 / 100. Missing components rebalance the remaining weights.
Additional risks: Coastal erosion Low

How do you rate the liveability in Curl Curl?

Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.

Our score

84 / 100

From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.

Residents say

…

AwfulPoorAverageGoodGreat
What applies here? (optional)

One rating per person. You can change yours at any time.

Median House Price

Public listings data

Curl Curl's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $4.11 million, about 6% above where it sat a year earlier.

Houses

$4,110,000

last 6 quarters
Pricier than 97% of NSW

8% above its 4 neighbours (median $3,800,000)

↑ +6.1% year-on-year

Based on 41 recorded sales in the last 24 months.

Typically sold in 24 days — median across 7 sales that recorded a listing period

By bedrooms

  • 3 bed 12 sales $3.92M
  • 4 bed 12 sales $3.77M
  • 5 bed 16 sales $4.72M

Units

$1,600,000

33% above its 3 neighbours (median $1,202,500)

↑ +21.9% year-on-year

Based on 13 recorded sales in the last 24 months.

By bedrooms

  • 2 bed 8 sales $1.59M

Rental Market

Advertised rents · last 6 months

Houses in Curl Curl rent for around $2,500 a week on average, based on 8 houses listed for rent in the past six months.

$2,500/wk

→ 0.0% vs previous 6 months from $2,500/wk

8 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.

10 rentals advertised against an estimated 167 rented homes (6.0%) in the last 6 months.

Rent agreed on new leases

Jul–Sep 2026
2-bed units
$900/wk
92 bonds
+34% since 2021

Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2096 (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 2025

86 Unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 35% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2096.

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.

Short-Stay Rentals

17 active Airbnb listings: 16 whole homes and 1 room. Whole homes are about 2.0% 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 Curl Curl safe? Crime statistics

2025

Crime in Curl Curl sits in the moderate band, with 61 incidents recorded in 2025 — up about 5% on the prior year.

61 offences

5.2% since 2024
Sexual Offences 25 (41.0%)
Theft 13 (21.3%)
Property Damage 8 (13.1%)
Harassment & Stalking 5 (8.2%)
Drug Offences 4 (6.6%)
Assault 3 (4.9%)
Disorderly Conduct 2 (3.3%)
Weapons Offences 1 (1.6%)

Crime Trend

Serious Road Crashes

2021–2025

2 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

Northern Beaches Council has published 17 flood studies on the NSW Flood Data Portal. The mapped flood areas are in those studies; SuburbScan does not hold them.

All 17 on the portal

Coastal Erosion

39
monitoring points
within 5 km
26
actively eroding
> 0.1 m/yr retreat
-0.27
worst rate (m/yr)
Moderate
513 m
nearest coastline
monitoring point

Shoreline Change Summary

1988–2025
Stable or accreting 25 (64%)
Moderate erosion (0.1–0.3 m/yr) 14 (36%)
Significant erosion (> 0.3 m/yr) 0 (0%)

Nearest Eroding Coastline

Distance
513 m
Rate
-0.07 m/yr
Net Movement
-4.1 m
Certainty
good

Data Quality

High certainty: 32 of 39 points (82%)

Schools

Two schools serve Curl Curl, but none have published comparable ratings yet.

—
No rated schools
2 schools in this suburb
2 unrated
  • • 647 students in one school (avg 647)
  • • Largest: Northern Beaches Secondary College Freshwater Senior Campus (647 students)

Secondary

Government · 11-12 · 647 students
ICSEA 1098 (higher than 84% of Australian schools) · 38% top-SEA students

Combined

Walkability

Curl Curl is somewhat walkable on foot — at 65/100, a short cluster of errands work on foot but most trips still benefit from a car.

65
out of 100
Somewhat Walkable
Top 14% in NSW
Public Transport within 1 km 72
Schools within 1.5 km 100
Parks within 800 m 100
Supermarkets within 1 km 0
GPs within 1 km 0
Pharmacies within 1 km 60
Childcare within 1 km 100
Hospitals within 5 km 80

Public transport

Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Curl Curl.

94
out of 100
Top 4% in NSW
Bus
Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
136.2 arrivals/hr
Off-peak weekday
76.1 arrivals/hr
Saturday
53.9 arrivals/hr
Median peak wait
0 min
Span of service
19.1 hours
Direct to CBD (peak)
1 min wait

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 Curl Curl.

88
connectivity score / 100
Top 6% in NSW
Most common
Fibre to the curb
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
44%
Premises covered
876
Technology mix
Fibre to the curb (FTTC) 51%
Fibre to the premises (FTTP) 44%
Fibre to the building (FTTB) 4%

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

Supermarkets
None
Shopping Centres
None
Cafes & Restaurants
1 in suburb
Parks & Reserves
5 in suburb
Sport & Recreation
7 in suburb
Beaches
None
Waterways
2 in suburb
Childcare
None
GPs
None
Pharmacies
None
Hospitals
1 in suburb
Police Stations
None
Banks & Bank@Post
None
Fuel Stations
None
EV Chargers
None
Pubs & Bars
None
Arts & Culture
None
Places of Worship
None

Northern Beaches: council population

The whole council area, not just Curl Curl · estimated residents
at 30 June 2025
Residents
272,656
+0.5% in a year
Change
+1,416
people since 2024
Density
1,073
people per km² across the council area
What drove the change
Natural increase
+692
births minus deaths
Net internal migration
-2,600
moves within Australia
Net overseas migration
+3,324
arrivals minus departures

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

ABS SEIFA · ranked against every suburb in Australia, and within the state
2021 census
Advantage and disadvantage
10/10
10/10 within NSW
income, education, jobs and housing together
Economic resources
10/10
10/10 within NSW
income against housing cost and household size
Education and occupation
10/10
10/10 within NSW
qualifications and job type, income excluded
How evenly that is spread

The ABS scores 6 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.

Curl Curl is home to about 2,400 residents, with a median age of 40, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $201,000 a year, with unemployment at 3.6%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

2,364

2.1% since 2016

Median Age

40

5.3% since 2016

Median Household Income

$201,240/yr

43.7% since 2016
Top 1% in NSW

Census Median Rent

$705/wk

13.7% since 2016

Census Median Mortgage

$3,775/mo

21.8% since 2016

Avg Household Size

3.0

no change since 2016

Median Personal Income

$65,520/yr

22.2% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

3.6%

5.9% since 2016

Unoccupied Dwellings

7.7%

1.3% since 2016

Total Dwellings

742

0.1% since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

77.5%

2.5% since 2016

Houses

75.5%

6.8% since 2016

Rental Stress

18.2%

20.9% since 2016

Mortgage Stress

22.5%

15.4% since 2016

Work From Home

55.3%

458.6% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Houses 560 (75.5%)
Flats / Apartments 125 (16.8%)
Townhouses 57 (7.7%)

Property Ownership

Mortgage 294 (40.1%)
Owned Outright 274 (37.4%)
Renting 165 (22.5%)
Of those rentals, social housing 13 (7.9%)

10 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 3 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 165 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.

Demographics

Born in Australia
72.7%
English Spoken at Home
87.8%
Employment Rate
65.8%
4.6% since 2016
Completed Year 12
57.2%

Occupations

Professionals 409 (33.1%)
Managers 293 (23.7%)
Clerical & Administrative 125 (10.1%)
Technicians & Trades 123 (10.0%)
Community & Personal Service 110 (8.9%)
Sales 79 (6.4%)
Labourers 52 (4.2%)
Machinery Operators & Drivers 25 (2.0%)

Religion

No Religion 1,128 (47.7%)
Christianity 1,054 (44.6%)
Buddhism 16 (0.7%)
Hinduism 8 (0.3%)
Islam 8 (0.3%)
Judaism 5 (0.2%)
Other Religions 3 (0.1%)

Country of Birth (overseas)

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.

England 191 (8.1%)
New Zealand 51 (2.2%)
South Africa 28 (1.2%)
Ireland 19 (0.8%)
Scotland 17 (0.7%)
Germany 17 (0.7%)
Brazil 16 (0.7%)
Italy 15 (0.6%)

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.

2016-2021 59 (2.5%)
2011-2015 81 (3.4%)
2001-2010 161 (6.8%)
1991-2000 86 (3.6%)
1981-1990 63 (2.7%)
Before 1981 109 (4.6%)

59 residents (2.5%) 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.

Overseas 94 (4.2%)
Sydney - North Sydney and Hornsby 59 (2.6%)
Sydney - Eastern Suburbs 20 (0.9%)

Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 2,246 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.

French 14 (0.6%)
Italian 12 (0.5%)
Spanish 12 (0.5%)
German 10 (0.4%)
Mandarin 3 (0.1%)

Age Distribution

0-4 118 (5.0%)
5-14 367 (15.5%)
15-19 203 (8.6%)
20-24 140 (5.9%)
25-34 227 (9.6%)
35-44 275 (11.6%)
45-54 456 (19.3%)
55-64 292 (12.4%)
65-74 166 (7.0%)
75-84 87 (3.7%)
85+ 40 (1.7%)

Family & Household Composition

Couple Families 364 (65.1%)
Lone Person 106 (19.0%)
One Parent Families 59 (10.6%)
Group Household 24 (4.3%)
Other Families 6 (1.1%)

Commute to Work

Worked from Home 592 (55.3%)
Car (driver) 394 (36.8%)
Car (passenger) 29 (2.7%)
Bus 21 (2.0%)
Walked Only 21 (2.0%)
Bicycle 14 (1.3%)

22% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (275 of 1,234).

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

Bachelor Degree 543 (23.0%)
Postgraduate Degree 199 (8.4%)
Certificate III & IV 192 (8.1%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 174 (7.4%)
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 58 (2.5%)

Cars per Dwelling

0 cars 18 (2.4%)
1 car 211 (28.5%)
2 cars 332 (44.9%)
3 cars 118 (15.9%)
4+ cars 60 (8.1%)

Council Rates

Northern Beaches
FY 2024-25

Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,696 a year through Northern Beaches based on 2024 figures.

Avg residential rate
$1,696/yr
38% above the NSW average of $1,230 · median of 128 councils
Valuation basis
Unimproved Value
land only

How this land is zoned

Share of Curl Curl's area by planning zone
2026-09
  • Parks and recreation 55%
  • Residential 44%

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: Northern Beaches

The whole council area, not just Curl Curl · new residential dwellings
to 2026-08

In the year to August 2026, 620 new dwellings were approved across Northern Beaches. That mix is 331 houses and 289 units. Approvals are up 50.6% on the same period a year earlier.

Trailing 12 months
620dwellings
+50.6% YoY
Houses
331
detached dwellings
Units
289
townhouses + apartments

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

MODERATE

PM2.5 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 13.8 µg/m³ · NO₂ averaged 0.84 pphm. Days over the limit in 2025: PM10 0 · NO₂ 0 · ozone 0.

From the Cook And Phillip monitoring station, 13.5 km away.

Climate & Setting

from Macquarie Park (Willandra Village), 16.5 km

High rainfall.

Elevation
12 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean
504 m
628 m 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

EV adoption

2.3%
of light vehicles are electric
Up from 0.29% in 2021
+0.7 points this year
Top 6% in NSW

In postcode 2096, 217 of 9,497 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 3.5% (330 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 5.8%.

Electric share, year by year
2021
0.29%
2022
0.52%
2023
0.87%
2024
1.61%
2025
2.28%

Rooftop solar

19
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 7.2 kW each

In postcode 2096, 1,200 rooftop-solar systems totalling 8.6 MW have been installed since 2001, against 6,330 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 130 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.

Systems installed, year by year
2019
51
2020
111
2021
89
2022
134
2023
135
2024
110
2025
94
2026
79

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).

Verify eligibility with Revenue NSW

Mortgage repayments

I'm looking for
Deposit
$
%
Monthly repayment
$21,435
Loan amount
$3,288,000
Total interest over 30 years
$4,428,708

5 mortgage brokers are registered in postcode 2096.

Deposit
$822,000
Stamp duty
$210,937
Cash needed at settlement
$1,032,937

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.

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 2026-10-27 — indicative only, and not an offer. Your rate depends on the lender, your deposit and your circumstances. Not financial advice.

Federal Electorate

Division of Warringah

Currently held by Zali Steggall Independent

Year Winner 2PP ALP 2PP LNP Swing
2025 Zali Steggall 54.5% 45.5% +5.2
2022 Zali Steggall 48.6% 51.4% -0.7
2019 Zali Steggall 47.9% 52.1% -9.0

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

Manly District

Currently held by James Griffin Liberal

Next state election: 13 March 2027.

Year Winner Won with
2023 James Griffin LP 54.9%
2019 James Griffin LP 62.9%
2015 Mike Baird LP 74.5%

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 Curl Curl?

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.

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Checking the whole city?

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 Curl Curl

Is Curl Curl a safe place to live?

Recorded crime in Curl Curl is moderate (46/100, ranked against other NSW suburbs on offences per resident).

What natural hazards affect Curl Curl?

Curl Curl has no recorded bushfire history. These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.

Is Curl Curl a good place to live?

Curl Curl has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of A (84/100), 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 Curl Curl?

Curl Curl, NSW had a population of 2,364 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Curl Curl, NSW?

The postcode for Curl Curl, NSW is 2096.

How far is Curl Curl from Sydney?

Curl Curl is 18 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 30 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Curl Curl?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Curl Curl was $201,240 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 Curl Curl?

The median advertised rent in Curl Curl is $2,500 a week for houses (8 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.

What is the median age in Curl Curl?

The median age of residents in Curl Curl was 40 at the 2021 ABS Census.

How are the schools in Curl Curl?

There are 2 schools inside the Curl Curl boundary, none of which has enough NAPLAN and ICSEA data for a quality band.

Is Curl Curl walkable?

Curl Curl scores 65/100 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 Curl Curl?

The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Curl Curl (Cook And Phillip) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 6.3 µg/m³ and PM10 of 13.8 µg/m³. That puts Curl Curl 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 Curl Curl?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Curl Curl, Macquarie Park (Willandra Village) (16.5 km away), 1,176 mm of rain a year over 92 rainy days over 2006-2026.

Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Curl Curl?

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 Curl Curl belong to?

Curl Curl sits within the Northern Beaches local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.

How much are council rates in Curl Curl?

The average residential rates bill through Northern Beaches is $1,696 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.

How much is being built near Curl Curl?

Across Northern Beaches, 620 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 50.6% 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 Curl Curl in?

Curl Curl sits within the federal Division of Warringah, currently held by Zali Steggall (Independent).

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Data freshness

Vintages show when each source's data is from. See all data sources.

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