Located in New South Wales, Swansea sits 129 km from Sydney CBD, around 1 hour 40 minutes by car. The suburb has 5,044 residents, a median age of 53, and a median household income of $53,924 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the bottom 20% nationally. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $330 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,908. Swansea is characterised by high crime risk and high coastal erosion risk. 2 schools sit within the suburb boundary, and walkability is high.
Is Swansea a good suburb?
Swansea scores a C (40/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on transit, weaker on prices, safety, and community.
Mixed results
2 schools
Very walkable
Walkability 81/100 · 128.9 km · 101 min drive to Sydney
Above the state median
Median $1.15M · Less affordable than 82% of NSW
High crime risk
Fire 20/100 · Crime 76/100
Highly disadvantaged
SEIFA decile 2/10 · median age 53 · 5,044 residents
Liveability Rating
40 / 100 · Ranked #1011 in NSWEach bar is Swansea'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 Swansea?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
40 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataSwansea's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $1.15 million, roughly 13% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$1,150,000
14% below its 5 neighbours (median $1,345,000)
Based on 120 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 38 days — median across 61 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 17 sales $870K
- 3 bed 54 sales $1.09M
- 4 bed 38 sales $1.3M
- 5 bed 7 sales $1.18M
Units
$780,000
Based on 11 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 7 sales $715K
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Swansea are currently listed at around $1.02 million on average. Based on 14 houses listed in the past six months.
$1.02M
14 houses listed in the last 6 months.
16 of the suburb's 2,212 dwellings (0.7%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Swansea rent for around $750 a week on average, based on 26 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
$750/wk
26 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
27 rentals advertised against an estimated 653 rented homes (4.1%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- 3-bed houses
- $770/wk
- 26 bonds
- +35% since 2021
Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2281 (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 202579 Severely unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 38% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2281.
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$750/week ($39,000 a year) on a $1.02 million 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 Swansea safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Swansea sits in the high band, with 303 incidents recorded in 2025 — down roughly 15% on the prior year.
303 offences
15.4% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–202512 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
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.
- North Creek (Warners Bay) Flood Risk Management Study and Plan, January 2026 2026
- Morans, Stockton, Mullards, Clacks, Melaleuca and Dora Creeks Flood Study - November 2025 2025
- Lake Macquarie City Flood Studies & Floodplain Risk Management Studies/Plans 2025
- North Creek Warners Bay Flood Study (Final Report) January 2025 2025
- Flood Studies for Eight Residual Lake Macquarie Waterway Tributary Catchments 2021
Coastal Erosion
Shoreline Change Summary
1988–2025Nearest Eroding Coastline
- Distance
- 747 m
- Rate
- -0.34 m/yr
- Net Movement
- -5.7 m
- Certainty
- good
Data Quality
Schools
Two schools serve Swansea, and performance is broadly on par with peer-suburb schools.
- • 364 students across 2 schools (avg 182)
- • Sectors: 1 Catholic, 1 Government
- • ICSEA 923-1041, median 982 (around the national baseline of 1000)
- • Largest: Swansea Public School (199 students)
Primary
Walkability
Swansea is very walkable on foot — at 81/100, most daily errands can be done on foot.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Swansea.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 86.8 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 48.7 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 35.9 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 0 min
- Span of service
- 17.6 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 Swansea.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 39%
- Premises covered
- 2,849
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
Lake Macquarie: 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 17 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.
Swansea is home to about 5,000 residents, with a median age of 53 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $54,000 a year, with unemployment at 6.2%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
5,044
Median Age
53
Median Household Income
$53,924/yr
Census Median Rent
$330/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,908/mo
Avg Household Size
2.2
Median Personal Income
$29,588/yr
Unemployment Rate
6.2%
Unoccupied Dwellings
10.5%
Total Dwellings
2,212
Owner-Occupier Rate
70.5%
Houses
68.0%
Rental Stress
31.8%
Mortgage Stress
42.5%
Work From Home
19.9%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
102 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 35 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 613 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 85.2%
- English Spoken at Home
- 92.6%
- Employment Rate
- 41.5%
- Completed Year 12
- 24.8%
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.
25 residents (0.5%) 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.
4.9% of residents (235) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney (209).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 4,831 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 (11 of 1,810).
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 $1,708 a year through Lake Macquarie based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Residential 46%
- Environmental 38%
- Parks and recreation 11%
- Infrastructure and transport 3%
- Commercial 2%
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
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.
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
CLEANPM2.5 averaged 5 µg/m³ in 2025 — below the WHO 2021 annual guideline (5 µg/m³). 1 day exceeded the daily threshold of 25 µg/m³.
PM10 averaged 11.6 µg/m³ · NO₂ averaged 0.27 pphm. Days over the limit in 2025: PM10 1 · NO₂ 0 · ozone 0.
From the Morisset monitoring station, 7.9 km away.
Climate & Setting
from Norah Head AWS, 21.8 kmHigh rainfall — warm summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 3 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 656 m
- 2.0 km to a named beach
- Annual rainfall
- 1,272 mm
- 104 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 26.4°C
- 3 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 10.6°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.
EV adoption
In postcode 2281, 107 of 11,946 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 2.8% (337 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 3.7%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 2281, 3,160 rooftop-solar systems totalling 21.5 MW have been installed since 2001, against 6,971 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 221 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 postcode 2281.
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 $1,150,000 this is $550,000 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 2026-10-27 — 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 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
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 Swansea?
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 5,044 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.
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- #13 in Newcastle suburbs with the highest EV adoption today
Nearby suburbs
Compare Swansea to another suburb
Side-by-side stats for any other NSW suburb — type a name and pick one.
Or jump straight to a nearby comparison:
Common questions about Swansea
Is Swansea a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Swansea is high (76/100, 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 Swansea?
Swansea has a low recorded bushfire history (20/100, 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 Swansea a good place to live?
Swansea has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of C (40/100), 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 Swansea?
Swansea, NSW had a population of 5,044 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Swansea, NSW?
The postcode for Swansea, NSW is 2281.
How far is Swansea from Sydney?
Swansea is 129 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 101 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Swansea?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Swansea was $53,924 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 Swansea?
The median advertised rent in Swansea is $750 a week for houses (26 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Swansea?
The median age of residents in Swansea was 53 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Swansea at risk of bushfire?
Swansea has a low recorded bushfire history (20/100). 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 Swansea?
There are 2 schools inside the Swansea boundary: 2 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Swansea walkable?
Swansea scores 81/100 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 Swansea?
The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Swansea (Morisset) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 5.0 µg/m³ and PM10 of 11.6 µg/m³. That puts Swansea below the WHO annual guideline of 5 µg/m³.
What is the weather like in Swansea?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Swansea, Norah Head AWS (21.8 km away), summer days average 26.4°C, winter nights 10.6°C, 1,272 mm of rain a year over 104 rainy days, and 3 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Swansea?
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 Swansea belong to?
Swansea 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 Swansea?
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 Swansea?
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 Swansea in?
Swansea sits within the federal Division of Shortland, currently held by Pat Conroy (Australian Labor Party).
Search another suburb or address
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.