Tweed Heads NSW 2485
Located in New South Wales, Tweed Heads sits 810 km from Sydney CBD, around 8 hours 40 minutes by car. The suburb has 9,176 residents, a median age of 55, and a median household income of $59,176 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the lower-middle tier nationally. The suburb grew 12.2% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $403 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,733. Tweed Heads is characterised by high crime risk and high coastal erosion risk. 2 schools sit within the suburb boundary, and walkability is high.
Is Tweed Heads a good suburb?
Tweed Heads scores a C (43/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on transit, weaker on prices and safety.
Mixed results
2 schools
Very walkable
Walkability 80/100 · 810.2 km · 518 min drive to Sydney
Above the state median
Median $1.5M · Less affordable than 93% of NSW
High crime risk
Fire 0/100 · Crime 91/100
Below-average income
SEIFA decile 4/10 · median age 55 · 9,176 residents
Liveability Rating
43 / 100 · Ranked #951 in NSWEach bar is Tweed Heads'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 Tweed Heads?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
43 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median Unit Price
Public listings dataTweed Heads's unit market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $930,000, about 6% above where it sat a year earlier.
Units
$930,000
Based on 174 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 30 days — median across 86 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 1 bed 10 sales $708K
- 2 bed 110 sales $880K
- 3 bed 40 sales $1.11M
Houses
$1,500,000
30% above its 3 neighbours (median $1,150,000)
Based on 70 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 28 days — median across 38 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 13 sales $1.11M
- 3 bed 28 sales $1.5M
- 4 bed 20 sales $1.64M
- 5 bed 8 sales $1.85M
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Tweed Heads are currently listed at around $1.4 million on average. Based on 29 houses listed in the past six months.
Houses
$1.4M
29 houses listed in the last 6 months.
Units
$1.03M
63 units listed in the last 6 months.
92 of the suburb's 4,149 dwellings (2.2%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Tweed Heads rent for around $900 a week on average, based on 23 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
Houses
$900/wk
23 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Units
$800/wk
37 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
60 rentals advertised against an estimated 1,473 rented homes (4.1%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- 3-bed houses
- $938/wk
- 18 bonds
- +38% since 2021
- 2-bed units
- $730/wk
- 49 bonds
- +52% since 2021
Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2485 (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 202576 Severely unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 39% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2485.
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$900/week ($47,000 a year) on a $1.4 million median
$800/week ($42,000 a year) on a $1.03 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.
Short-Stay Rentals
82 active Airbnb listings: 70 whole homes and 12 rooms. Whole homes are about 1.4% 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 Tweed Heads safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Tweed Heads sits in the high band, with 1,220 incidents recorded in 2025 — down about 2% on the prior year.
1,220 offences
2.4% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–202520 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital, 1 of them fatal
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
Tweed Shire Council has published 8 flood studies on the NSW Flood Data Portal. The mapped flood areas are in those studies; SuburbScan does not hold them.
Aircraft Noise
ANEF Contour Details
Moderate impact — noise insulation required
Noticeable aircraft noise
Coastal Erosion
Shoreline Change Summary
1988–2025Nearest Eroding Coastline
- Distance
- 1.8 km
- Rate
- -0.04 m/yr
- Net Movement
- -2.2 m
- Certainty
- good
Data Quality
Schools
Two schools serve Tweed Heads, and performance is broadly on par with peer-suburb schools.
- • 696 students across 2 schools (avg 348)
- • Sectors: 1 Catholic, 1 Government
- • ICSEA 984-1069, median 1026 (above the national baseline of 1000)
- • Largest: Tweed Heads Public School (394 students)
Primary
Universities nearby
0.8% 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
Tweed Heads is very walkable on foot — at 80/100, most daily errands can be done on foot. Within the suburb there are 5 supermarkets, 11 parks and 7 cafes to anchor that walking radius.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Tweed Heads.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 26.0 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 23.9 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 24.2 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 23.8 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 Tweed Heads.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 22%
- Premises covered
- 6,360
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
Tweed: 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 22 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.
Tweed Heads is home to about 9,200 residents, with a median age of 55 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $59,000 a year, with unemployment at 5.7%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
9,176
Median Age
55
Median Household Income
$59,176/yr
Census Median Rent
$403/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,733/mo
Avg Household Size
2.0
Median Personal Income
$34,320/yr
Unemployment Rate
5.7%
Unoccupied Dwellings
16.4%
Total Dwellings
4,149
Owner-Occupier Rate
64.5%
Houses
24.9%
Rental Stress
35.4%
Mortgage Stress
35.1%
Work From Home
16.1%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
123 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 37 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 1,407 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 70.9%
- English Spoken at Home
- 83.8%
- Employment Rate
- 43.7%
- Completed Year 12
- 40.0%
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.
313 residents (3.4%) 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.
7.7% of residents (675) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney (320).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 8,780 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 (65 of 3,567).
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 6,376 people work here; 3,567 employed residents live here.
A jobs hub: 1.8 jobs for every working resident. At least 44% of the people who work here must live elsewhere.
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
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,745 a year through Tweed based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Residential 62%
- Parks and recreation 12%
- Environmental 9%
- Commercial 7%
- Industrial 6%
- 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: Tweed
In the year to August 2026, 331 new dwellings were approved across Tweed. That mix is 187 houses and 144 units. Approvals are down 49.7% on the same period a year earlier.
Aboriginal Land Council
Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Tweed Byron 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.
Climate & Setting
from Coolangatta, 3.3 kmHigh rainfall — mild summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 13 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 1.4 km
- 1.4 km to a named beach
- Annual rainfall
- 1,637 mm
- 113 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 28.6°C
- 0 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 10.5°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
4 facilities within 5 km- 3.2 kmPetroleum Product WholesalingTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds · Cumene (1-methylethylbenzene) · Xylenes (individual or mixed isomers)
- 3.4 kmPetroleum Product WholesalingTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds · Benzene · Toluene (methylbenzene)
- 4.4 kmWaste Treatment and Disposal ServicesTop reported: Chlorine & compounds · Ammonia (total) · Total Volatile Organic Compounds
- 4.5 kmWater SupplyTop reported: Boron & compounds · Fluoride compounds · Total Nitrogen
EV adoption
In postcode 2485, 59 of 9,119 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 3.7% (336 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 4.3%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 2485, 3,070 rooftop-solar systems totalling 17.9 MW have been installed since 2001, against 7,690 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 138 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
10 mortgage brokers are registered in this suburb.
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 $930,000 this is $330,000 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 Justine Elliot Australian Labor Party
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Justine Elliot | 60.0% | 40.0% | +1.8 |
| 2022 | Justine Elliot | 58.2% | 41.8% | -4.2 |
| 2019 | Justine Elliot | 54.1% | 45.9% | -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
Currently held by Geoff Provest The Nationals
Next state election: 13 March 2027.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Geoff Provest NP | 53.6% |
| 2019 | Geoff Provest NP | 55.0% |
| 2015 | Geoff Provest NP | 53.2% |
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 Tweed Heads?
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 9,176 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
- #1 in Gold Coast suburbs where seniors live
- #4 in Gold Coast suburbs where the most people cycle to work
- #6 in Most walkable suburbs in Gold Coast
- #9 in Gold Coast suburbs with the most apartments
- #10 in Gold Coast suburbs with the biggest house blocks
- #10 in Gold Coast suburbs where the most homes are owned outright
- #14 in Gold Coast suburbs with the deepest rental markets
Nearby suburbs
Compare Tweed Heads 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 Tweed Heads
Is Tweed Heads a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Tweed Heads is high (91/100, 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 Tweed Heads?
Tweed Heads has no recorded bushfire history. Part of it sits inside an aircraft noise contour. These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Tweed Heads a good place to live?
Tweed Heads has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of C (43/100), 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 Tweed Heads?
Tweed Heads, NSW had a population of 9,176 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Tweed Heads, NSW?
The postcode for Tweed Heads, NSW is 2485.
How far is Tweed Heads from Sydney?
Tweed Heads is 810 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 518 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Tweed Heads?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Tweed Heads was $59,176 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 Tweed Heads?
The median advertised rent in Tweed Heads is $900 a week for houses (23 listings) and $800 a week for units (37 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Tweed Heads?
The median age of residents in Tweed Heads was 55 at the 2021 ABS Census.
How are the schools in Tweed Heads?
There are 2 schools inside the Tweed Heads boundary: 2 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Tweed Heads walkable?
Tweed Heads scores 80/100 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 weather like in Tweed Heads?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Tweed Heads, Coolangatta (3.3 km away), summer days average 28.6°C, winter nights 10.5°C, 1,637 mm of rain a year over 113 rainy days, and 0 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Tweed Heads?
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 Tweed Heads belong to?
Tweed Heads sits within the Tweed local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Tweed Heads?
The average residential rates bill through Tweed is $1,745 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Tweed Heads?
Across Tweed, 331 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 49.7% 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 Tweed Heads in?
Tweed Heads sits within the federal Division of Richmond, currently held by Justine Elliot (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
- Climate · 2006–2026
- Socio-economic (SEIFA) · 2021
- EV adoption · Jan 2025
- First Home Owner Grant · Sep 2026
- Federal electorate · 2025
- Short-stay rentals · Jun 2026
- 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.