Otford NSW 2508

Otford is a suburb in New South Wales, 62 km from Sydney CBD, around 1 hour 10 minutes by car. Population is 396; the median age is 40 and the median household income is $143,000 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the top 20% nationally. The suburb grew 7.3% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $550 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $2,739. Otford is characterised by high bushfire risk and high coastal erosion risk. All 1 school within the suburb boundary rank above the state average, and walkability is low.

This suburb is too small to rate.

The Liveability Rating is calculated for suburbs of 500 residents or more, and this one has 396. Below that the school, census and safety figures behind the score cover too few people to rank fairly against the rest of the state. The individual measures further down this page are still shown.

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Median House Price

Public listings data

The median house sale price in Otford sits at $1.4 million, broadly flat year-on-year. That said, only five sales settled in the quarter, so the median is a noisy signal — treat it as a direction rather than a level.

$1,400,000

Based on only 5 sales — small sample, take as indicative.

By bedrooms

  • 3 bed 5 sales $1.4M

Rental Market

Rent agreed on new leases

Jul–Sep 2026
All rentals
$810/wk
32 bonds
+28% since 2021

Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2508 (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

81 Unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 37% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2508.

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.

Is Otford safe? Crime statistics

2025

Crime in Otford sits in the moderate band, with 15 incidents recorded in 2025 — up roughly 150% on the prior year.

15 offences

150.0% since 2024
Theft 7 (46.7%)
Arson 2 (13.3%)
Disorderly Conduct 2 (13.3%)
Assault 1 (6.7%)
Drug Offences 1 (6.7%)
Weapons Offences 1 (6.7%)
Sexual Offences 1 (6.7%)

Crime Trend

Serious Road Crashes

2021–2025

10 crashes

where someone was killed or admitted to hospital

Where they happened

Lady Wakehurst Drive 10 (100.0%)

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

Wollongong City Council has published 22 flood studies on the NSW Flood Data Portal. The mapped flood areas are in those studies; SuburbScan does not hold them.

All 22 on the portal

Coastal Erosion

100
monitoring points
within 5 km
80
actively eroding
> 0.1 m/yr retreat
-0.82
worst rate (m/yr)
Significant
1.2 km
nearest coastline
monitoring point

Shoreline Change Summary

1989–2025
Stable or accreting 69 (69%)
Moderate erosion (0.1–0.3 m/yr) 25 (25%)
Significant erosion (> 0.3 m/yr) 6 (6%)

Nearest Eroding Coastline

Distance
1.2 km
Rate
-0.19 m/yr
Net Movement
-11.6 m
Certainty
likely rocky coastline

Data Quality

High certainty: 13 of 100 points (13%)

Schools

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

62
out of 100
Average
1 school in this suburb
1 above similar
  • • 48 students in one school (avg 48)

Primary

Government · K-6 · 48 students
ICSEA 1104 (higher than 85% of Australian schools) · 47% top-SEA students
Above similar

Walkability

Otford is car-dependent on foot — at 33/100, most errands require a car.

33
out of 100
Car-Dependent
Top 24% in NSW
Public Transport within 1 km 55
Schools within 1.5 km 60
Parks within 800 m 60
Supermarkets within 1 km 0
GPs within 1 km 0
Pharmacies within 1 km 0
Childcare within 1 km 0
Hospitals within 5 km 0

Public transport

Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Otford.

35
out of 100
RailBus
Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
2.5 arrivals/hr
Off-peak weekday
2.6 arrivals/hr
Saturday
1.1 arrivals/hr
Median peak wait
20 min
Span of service
21.3 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 Otford.

47
connectivity score / 100
Most common
Fibre to the node
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
5%
Premises covered
148
Technology mix
Fibre to the node (FTTN) 91%
Fibre to the premises (FTTP) 5%
Satellite (Sky Muster) (SATELLITE) 3%

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
1 in suburb
Sport & Recreation
1 in suburb
Beaches
2 in suburb
Waterways
6 in suburb
Childcare
None
GPs
None
Pharmacies
None
Hospitals
None
Police Stations
None
Banks & Bank@Post
None
Fuel Stations
None
EV Chargers
None
Pubs & Bars
None
Arts & Culture
None
Places of Worship
None

Wollongong: council population

The whole council area, not just Otford · estimated residents
at 30 June 2025
Residents
224,327
+1.0% in a year
Change
+2,123
people since 2024
Density
328
people per km² across the council area
What drove the change
Natural increase
+562
births minus deaths
Net internal migration
-112
moves within Australia
Net overseas migration
+1,673
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
9/10 within NSW
income against housing cost and household size
Education and occupation
10/10
10/10 within NSW
qualifications and job type, income excluded

Otford is home to 396 residents, with a median age of 40, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $143,000 a year, with unemployment at 5.7%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

396

7.3% since 2016

Median Age

40

2.4% since 2016

Median Household Income

$143,000/yr

13.3% since 2016
Top 7% in NSW

Census Median Rent

$550/wk

12.2% since 2016

Census Median Mortgage

$2,739/mo

14.9% since 2016

Avg Household Size

2.9

3.3% since 2016

Median Personal Income

$64,220/yr

22.5% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

5.7%

307.1% since 2016

Unoccupied Dwellings

8.0%

2.4% since 2016

Total Dwellings

125

2.5% since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

88.1%

0.6% since 2016

Houses

99.2%

8.1% since 2016

Rental Stress

20.0%

1.0% since 2016

Mortgage Stress

23.0%

1.8% since 2016

Work From Home

53.4%

775.4% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Houses 124 (99.2%)
Townhouses 5 (4.0%)

Property Ownership

Mortgage 63 (50.0%)
Owned Outright 48 (38.1%)
Renting 15 (11.9%)

Demographics

Born in Australia
74.7%
English Spoken at Home
87.6%
Employment Rate
66.6%
4.4% since 2016
Completed Year 12
49.5%

Occupations

Professionals 71 (34.0%)
Managers 36 (17.2%)
Technicians & Trades 25 (12.0%)
Clerical & Administrative 23 (11.0%)
Community & Personal Service 13 (6.2%)
Machinery Operators & Drivers 8 (3.8%)
Sales 4 (1.9%)
Labourers 3 (1.4%)

Religion

No Religion 246 (62.1%)
Christianity 108 (27.3%)
Buddhism 4 (1.0%)
Hinduism 3 (0.8%)

Country of Birth (overseas)

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.

England 27 (6.8%)
South Africa 4 (1.0%)
New Zealand 3 (0.8%)
Scotland 3 (0.8%)
Germany 3 (0.8%)
Ireland 3 (0.8%)

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 0 (0.0%)
2011-2015 6 (1.5%)
2001-2010 23 (5.8%)
1991-2000 15 (3.8%)
1981-1990 12 (3.0%)
Before 1981 17 (4.3%)

0 residents (0.0%) 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.

Languages Spoken at Home

Top languages other than English, as a share of all residents.

Spanish 5 (1.3%)
Mandarin 3 (0.8%)

Age Distribution

0-4 30 (7.6%)
5-14 58 (14.6%)
15-19 13 (3.3%)
20-24 17 (4.3%)
25-34 42 (10.6%)
35-44 66 (16.7%)
45-54 60 (15.2%)
55-64 66 (16.7%)
65-74 29 (7.3%)
75-84 9 (2.3%)

Family & Household Composition

Couple Families 61 (64.9%)
Lone Person 22 (23.4%)
Group Household 7 (7.4%)
One Parent Families 4 (4.3%)

Commute to Work

Worked from Home 95 (53.4%)
Car (driver) 69 (38.8%)
Walked Only 8 (4.5%)
Car (passenger) 3 (1.7%)
Train 3 (1.7%)

17% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (36 of 209).

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 60 (15.2%)
Certificate III & IV 54 (13.6%)
Postgraduate Degree 50 (12.6%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 32 (8.1%)
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 10 (2.5%)

Cars per Dwelling

0 cars 3 (2.4%)
1 car 38 (30.4%)
2 cars 60 (48.0%)
3 cars 19 (15.2%)
4+ cars 12 (9.6%)

Council Rates

Wollongong
FY 2024-25

Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,751 a year through Wollongong based on 2024 figures.

Avg residential rate
$1,751/yr
42% above the NSW average of $1,230 · median of 128 councils
Valuation basis
Unimproved Value
land only

How this land is zoned

Share of Otford's area by planning zone
2026-09
  • Environmental 93%
  • Infrastructure and transport 5%
  • Not zoned 2%

Planning zones cover 99% 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: Wollongong

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

In the year to August 2026, 1,476 new dwellings were approved across Wollongong. That mix is 422 houses and 1,054 units. Approvals are down 31.3% on the same period a year earlier.

Trailing 12 months
1,476dwellings
-31.3% YoY
Houses
422
detached dwellings
Units
1,054
townhouses + apartments

Aboriginal Land Council

Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Illawarra 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 5.8 µg/m³ in 2025 — below Australia's NEPM annual standard (8 µg/m³), slightly above the stricter WHO guideline (5 µg/m³).

PM10 averaged 14.8 µg/m³ · NO₂ averaged 0.97 pphm. Days over the limit in 2025: PM10 0 · NO₂ 0 · ozone 1.

From the Campbelltown West monitoring station, 24.6 km away.

Climate & Setting

from Lucas Heights (Ansto), 17.4 km

High rainfall.

Elevation
173 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean
1.1 km
1.2 km to a named beach
Annual rainfall
1,038 mm
89 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

1 facility within 5 km

EV adoption

1.2%
of light vehicles are electric
Up from 0.07% in 2021
+0.3 points this year
Top 15% in NSW

In postcode 2508, 86 of 6,921 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 3.0% (208 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 4.2%.

Electric share, year by year
2021
0.07%
2022
0.18%
2023
0.44%
2024
0.94%
2025
1.24%

Rooftop solar

43
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 7.0 kW each

In postcode 2508, 1,385 rooftop-solar systems totalling 9.7 MW have been installed since 2001, against 3,241 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 139 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
99
2020
131
2021
114
2022
133
2023
127
2024
101
2025
93
2026
103

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
$7,302
Loan amount
$1,120,000
Total interest over 30 years
$1,508,562

2 mortgage brokers are registered in postcode 2508.

Deposit
$280,000
Stamp duty
$58,287
Cash needed at settlement
$338,287

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 Cunningham

Currently held by Alison Byrnes Australian Labor Party

Year Winner 2PP ALP 2PP LNP Swing
2025 Alison Byrnes 67.5% 32.5% +2.5
2022 Alison Byrnes 64.7% 35.3% -1.3
2019 Sharon Bird 63.4% 36.6% -0.1

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

Heathcote District

Currently held by Maryanne Stuart Labor

Next state election: 13 March 2027.

Year Winner Won with
2023 Maryanne Stuart ALP 60.0%
2019 Lee Evans LP 55.0%
2015 Lee Evans LP 57.6%

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 Otford?

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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Nearby suburbs

Compare Otford 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 Otford

Is Otford a safe place to live?

Recorded crime in Otford is moderate (50/100, ranked against other NSW suburbs on offences per resident).

What natural hazards affect Otford?

Otford has a high recorded bushfire history (91/100, 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.

What is the population of Otford?

Otford, NSW had a population of 396 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Otford, NSW?

The postcode for Otford, NSW is 2508.

How far is Otford from Sydney?

Otford is 62 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 69 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Otford?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Otford was $143,000 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 Otford?

There are too few current rental listings in Otford for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $550, across all dwelling types.

What is the median age in Otford?

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

Is Otford at risk of bushfire?

Otford has a high recorded bushfire history (91/100). 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 Otford?

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

Is Otford walkable?

Otford scores 33/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it car-dependent. 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 Otford?

The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Otford (Campbelltown West) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 5.8 µg/m³ and PM10 of 14.8 µg/m³. That puts Otford 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 Otford?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Otford, Lucas Heights (Ansto) (17.4 km away), 1,038 mm of rain a year over 89 rainy days over 2006-2026.

Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Otford?

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 Otford belong to?

Otford sits within the Wollongong local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.

How much are council rates in Otford?

The average residential rates bill through Wollongong is $1,751 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.

How much is being built near Otford?

Across Wollongong, 1,476 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 31.3% 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 Otford in?

Otford sits within the federal Division of Cunningham, currently held by Alison Byrnes (Australian Labor Party).

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