Jewells NSW 2280

Jewells sits 141 km from Sydney CBD in New South Wales, around 1 hour 55 minutes by car. Census data records 2,452 residents with a median age of 45 and a median household income of $90,064 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the top 40% nationally. Population grew 1.9% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $450 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $2,160. The area shows high bushfire risk. All 1 school within the suburb boundary rank above the state average, and walkability is moderate.

Is Jewells a good suburb?

Jewells scores a C (46/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on transit and community.

Schools

Mixed results

1 school · 1 above peer schools

Transit

Very walkable

Walkability 67/100 · 140.7 km · 114 min drive to Sydney

Prices

Around the state median

Median $1.07M

Safety

Moderate bushfire risk

Fire 67/100 · Crime 49/100

Community

Advantaged

SEIFA decile 8/10 · median age 45 · 2,452 residents

C

Liveability Rating

46 / 100 · Ranked #852 in NSW

Each bar is Jewells'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
26
Bushfire Moderate · 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
57
Advantaged
Walkability
64
Walkable
CBD access
43
140.7 km · 114 min drive to Sydney
How it's calculated: Safety rank 26 × 25% + Socio-economic rank 57 × 25% + Walkability rank 64 × 15% + CBD access rank 43 × 10% = 46 / 100. Missing components rebalance the remaining weights.

How do you rate the liveability in Jewells?

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

Our score

46 / 100

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

Residents say

…

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Median House Price

Public listings data

Jewells's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $1.07 million, about 1% above where it sat a year earlier.

$1,068,750

last 6 quarters

3% above its 4 neighbours (median $1,035,000)

↑ +1.5% year-on-year

Based on 68 recorded sales in the last 24 months.

Typically sold in 18 days — median across 26 sales that recorded a listing period

By bedrooms

  • 3 bed 40 sales $1.02M
  • 4 bed 22 sales $1.17M

Currently for Sale

Last 6 months

Houses in Jewells are currently listed at around $998,000 on average. Based on 3 houses listed in the past six months.

$998K

3 houses listed in the last 6 months.

3 of the suburb's 914 dwellings (0.3%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.

Rental Market

Advertised rents · last 6 months

Houses in Jewells rent for around $815 a week on average, based on 6 houses listed for rent in the past six months.

$815/wk

↓ −3.0% vs previous 6 months from $840/wk

6 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.

6 rentals advertised against an estimated 78 rented homes (7.7%) in the last 6 months.

Rent agreed on new leases

Jul–Sep 2026
3-bed houses
$730/wk
54 bonds
+41% since 2021
2-bed units
$518/wk
14 bonds
+34% since 2021

Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2280 (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

87 Unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 34% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2280.

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
House
4.2% above the typical range
Top 16% in NSW

$815/week ($42,000 a year) on a $998,000 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.

Is Jewells safe? Crime statistics

2025

Crime in Jewells sits in the moderate band, with 77 incidents recorded in 2025 — down roughly 27% on the prior year.

77 offences

26.7% since 2024
Theft 41 (53.2%)
Assault 9 (11.7%)
Property Damage 9 (11.7%)
Harassment & Stalking 7 (9.1%)
Disorderly Conduct 3 (3.9%)
Drug Offences 3 (3.9%)
Arson 2 (2.6%)
Robbery 2 (2.6%)
Sexual Offences 1 (1.3%)

Crime Trend

Serious Road Crashes

2021–2025

5 crashes

where someone was killed or admitted to hospital

Where they happened

Pacific Highway 3 (60.0%)

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

Lake Macquarie City Council has published 14 flood studies on the NSW Flood Data Portal. The mapped flood areas are in those studies; SuburbScan does not hold them.

All 14 on the portal

Schools

One school serve Jewells, and the cohort skews above peer-suburb performance. Jewells Primary School leads the pack.

62
out of 100
Average
1 school in this suburb
1 above similar
  • • 262 students in one school (avg 262)

Primary

Government · K-6 · 262 students
ICSEA 1026 (higher than 58% of Australian schools) · 20% top-SEA students
Above similar

Walkability

Jewells is somewhat walkable on foot — at 67/100, a short cluster of errands work on foot but most trips still benefit from a car.

67
out of 100
Somewhat Walkable
Top 13% in NSW
Public Transport within 1 km 67
Schools within 1.5 km 60
Parks within 800 m 60
Supermarkets within 1 km 60
GPs within 1 km 80
Pharmacies within 1 km 60
Childcare within 1 km 80
Hospitals within 5 km 80

Public transport

Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Jewells.

79
out of 100
Top 23% in NSW
Bus
Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
37.2 arrivals/hr
Off-peak weekday
27.0 arrivals/hr
Saturday
18.9 arrivals/hr
Median peak wait
0 min
Span of service
18.7 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 Jewells.

70
connectivity score / 100
Top 23% in NSW
Most common
Fibre to the node
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
46%
Premises covered
1,036
Technology mix
Fibre to the node (FTTN) 54%
Fibre to the premises (FTTP) 46%
Satellite (Sky Muster) (SATELLITE) 0%

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

Lake Macquarie: council population

The whole council area, not just Jewells · estimated residents
at 30 June 2025
Residents
224,540
+1.1% in a year
Change
+2,396
people since 2024
Density
346
people per km² across the council area
What drove the change
Natural increase
+246
births minus deaths
Net internal migration
+1,535
moves within Australia
Net overseas migration
+615
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
8/10
7/10 within NSW
income, education, jobs and housing together
Economic resources
8/10
7/10 within NSW
income against housing cost and household size
Education and occupation
6/10
5/10 within NSW
qualifications and job type, income excluded
How evenly that is spread

The ABS scores 7 small areas inside this suburb and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 4 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this suburb rank well above the average and parts well below it.

Jewells is home to about 2,500 residents, with a median age of 45, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $90,000 a year, with unemployment at 3.2%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

2,452

1.9% since 2016

Median Age

45

no change since 2016

Median Household Income

$90,064/yr

16.1% since 2016

Census Median Rent

$450/wk

9.8% since 2016

Census Median Mortgage

$2,160/mo

17.3% since 2016

Avg Household Size

2.6

no change since 2016

Median Personal Income

$40,976/yr

19.4% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

3.2%

38.5% since 2016

Unoccupied Dwellings

2.7%

48.1% since 2016

Total Dwellings

914

3.6% since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

91.5%

0.8% since 2016

Houses

89.8%

2.8% since 2016

Rental Stress

26.0%

5.5% since 2016

Mortgage Stress

28.8%

1.1% since 2016

Work From Home

25.0%

455.6% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Houses 821 (89.8%)
Townhouses 86 (9.4%)
Flats / Apartments 7 (0.8%)

Property Ownership

Owned Outright 402 (47.2%)
Mortgage 378 (44.4%)
Renting 72 (8.5%)

Demographics

Born in Australia
88.5%
English Spoken at Home
93.3%
Employment Rate
55.9%
0.7% since 2016
Completed Year 12
35.3%

Occupations

Professionals 234 (20.7%)
Technicians & Trades 220 (19.5%)
Clerical & Administrative 165 (14.6%)
Community & Personal Service 157 (13.9%)
Managers 125 (11.1%)
Sales 93 (8.2%)
Labourers 72 (6.4%)
Machinery Operators & Drivers 59 (5.2%)

Religion

Christianity 1,314 (53.6%)
No Religion 982 (40.0%)
Islam 18 (0.7%)
Buddhism 10 (0.4%)
Other Religions 9 (0.4%)
Judaism 4 (0.2%)

Country of Birth (overseas)

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.

England 57 (2.3%)
New Zealand 27 (1.1%)
Scotland 19 (0.8%)
Germany 16 (0.7%)
Philippines 10 (0.4%)
Italy 6 (0.2%)
Greece 6 (0.2%)
South Africa 5 (0.2%)

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 25 (1.0%)
2011-2015 17 (0.7%)
2001-2010 26 (1.1%)
1991-2000 20 (0.8%)
1981-1990 28 (1.1%)
Before 1981 106 (4.3%)

25 residents (1.0%) 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.

4.5% of residents (106) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney (70).

Hunter Valley exc Newcastle 31 (1.3%)
Overseas 26 (1.1%)

Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 2,339 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.

Thai 5 (0.2%)
Cantonese 4 (0.2%)
German 4 (0.2%)
Italian 3 (0.1%)
Croatian 3 (0.1%)

Age Distribution

0-4 113 (4.6%)
5-14 316 (12.9%)
15-19 124 (5.1%)
20-24 115 (4.7%)
25-34 230 (9.4%)
35-44 303 (12.4%)
45-54 297 (12.1%)
55-64 261 (10.6%)
65-74 409 (16.7%)
75-84 204 (8.3%)
85+ 69 (2.8%)

Family & Household Composition

Couple Families 306 (54.5%)
Lone Person 151 (26.9%)
One Parent Families 83 (14.8%)
Group Household 17 (3.0%)
Other Families 4 (0.7%)

Commute to Work

Car (driver) 668 (70.1%)
Worked from Home 238 (25.0%)
Car (passenger) 37 (3.9%)
Bus 4 (0.4%)
Train 3 (0.3%)
Walked Only 3 (0.3%)

1% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (12 of 1,129).

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 397 people work here; 1,129 employed residents live here.

Mostly a place people commute from: 0.4 jobs per working resident. At least 60% 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

Certificate III & IV 495 (20.2%)
Bachelor Degree 289 (11.8%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 213 (8.7%)
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 52 (2.1%)
Postgraduate Degree 45 (1.8%)

Cars per Dwelling

0 cars 20 (2.2%)
1 car 251 (27.8%)
2 cars 419 (46.5%)
3 cars 134 (14.9%)
4+ cars 76 (8.4%)

Council Rates

Lake Macquarie
FY 2024-25

Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,708 a year through Lake Macquarie based on 2024 figures.

Avg residential rate
$1,708/yr
39% above the NSW average of $1,230 · median of 128 councils
Valuation basis
Unimproved Value
land only

How this land is zoned

Share of Jewells's area by planning zone
2026-09
  • Environmental 62%
  • Residential 28%
  • Parks and recreation 4%
  • Rural and farming 3%
  • Infrastructure and transport 2%
  • 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: Lake Macquarie

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

In the year to August 2026, 1,212 new dwellings were approved across Lake Macquarie. That mix is 846 houses and 366 units. Approvals are up 1.6% on the same period a year earlier.

Trailing 12 months
1,212dwellings
+1.6% YoY
Houses
846
detached dwellings
Units
366
townhouses + apartments

Aboriginal Land Council

Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Bahtabah 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 6.5 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, 11.0 km away.

Climate & Setting

from Newcastle Nobbys Signal Station AWS, 14.5 km

High rainfall — warm summers, mild winters.

Elevation
12 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean
2.3 km
3.0 km 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

1 facility within 5 km

EV adoption

0.7%
of light vehicles are electric
Up from 0.07% in 2021
+0.2 points this year

In postcode 2280, 146 of 20,726 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 2.9% (604 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 3.6%.

Electric share, year by year
2021
0.07%
2022
0.09%
2023
0.19%
2024
0.47%
2025
0.70%

Rooftop solar

44
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 6.6 kW each

In postcode 2280, 4,867 rooftop-solar systems totalling 32.0 MW have been installed since 2001, against 11,097 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 349 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
271
2020
462
2021
423
2022
332
2023
498
2024
420
2025
310
2026
222

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
$5,574
Loan amount
$855,000
Total interest over 30 years
$1,151,626

17 mortgage brokers are registered in postcode 2280.

Deposit
$213,750
Stamp duty
$42,281
Cash needed at settlement
$256,031

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 Shortland

Currently held by Pat Conroy Australian Labor Party

Year Winner 2PP ALP 2PP LNP Swing
2025 Pat Conroy 61.5% 38.5% +5.5
2022 Pat Conroy 55.8% 44.2% -1.4
2019 Pat Conroy 54.5% 45.5% +5.5

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

Swansea District

Currently held by Yasmin Catley Labor

Next state election: 13 March 2027.

Year Winner Won with
2023 Yasmin Catley ALP 65.5%
2019 Yasmin Catley ALP 60.6%
2015 Yasmin Catley ALP 63.0%

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 Jewells?

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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Common questions about Jewells

Is Jewells a safe place to live?

Recorded crime in Jewells is moderate (49/100, ranked against other NSW suburbs on offences per resident).

What natural hazards affect Jewells?

Jewells has a moderate recorded bushfire history (67/100, 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 Jewells a good place to live?

Jewells has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of C (46/100), 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 Jewells?

Jewells, NSW had a population of 2,452 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Jewells, NSW?

The postcode for Jewells, NSW is 2280.

How far is Jewells from Sydney?

Jewells is 141 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 114 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Jewells?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Jewells was $90,064 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 Jewells?

The median advertised rent in Jewells is $815 a week for houses (6 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.

What is the median age in Jewells?

The median age of residents in Jewells was 45 at the 2021 ABS Census.

Is Jewells at risk of bushfire?

Jewells has a moderate recorded bushfire history (67/100). 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 Jewells?

There is 1 school inside the Jewells boundary: 1 above similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).

Is Jewells walkable?

Jewells scores 67/100 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 Jewells?

The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Jewells (Newcastle) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 6.5 µg/m³ and PM10 of 21.7 µg/m³. That puts Jewells 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 Jewells?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Jewells, Newcastle Nobbys Signal Station AWS (14.5 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 Jewells?

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 Jewells belong to?

Jewells sits within the Lake Macquarie local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.

How much are council rates in Jewells?

The average residential rates bill through Lake Macquarie is $1,708 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.

How much is being built near Jewells?

Across Lake Macquarie, 1,212 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 1.6% 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 Jewells in?

Jewells sits within the federal Division of Shortland, currently held by Pat Conroy (Australian Labor Party).

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