Tweed Heads West NSW 2485
Located in New South Wales, Tweed Heads West sits 812 km from Sydney CBD, around 8 hours 35 minutes by car. The suburb has 6,176 residents, a median age of 47, and a median household income of $53,508 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the bottom 20% nationally. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $350 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,664. The area shows high aircraft noise risk and high crime risk. Walkability is moderate.
Is Tweed Heads West a good suburb?
Tweed Heads West scores a C (36/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — weaker on prices and community.
Some car dependence
Walkability 40/100 · 811.9 km · 517 min drive to Sydney
Above the state median
Median $1.1M · Less affordable than 84% of NSW
Moderate crime risk
Fire 0/100 · Crime 63/100
Highly disadvantaged
SEIFA decile 2/10 · median age 47 · 6,176 residents
Liveability Rating
36 / 100 · Ranked #1111 in NSWEach bar is Tweed Heads West'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 West?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
36 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataTweed Heads West's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $1.1 million, about 8% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$1,100,000
11% below its 3 neighbours (median $1,240,000)
Based on 118 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 28 days — median across 68 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 15 sales $830K
- 3 bed 55 sales $1.05M
- 4 bed 37 sales $1.28M
- 5 bed 5 sales $1.29M
Units
$658,750
29% below its 3 neighbours (median $930,000)
Based on 60 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 26 days — median across 23 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 51 sales $651K
- 3 bed 7 sales $790K
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Tweed Heads West are currently listed at around $825,000 on average. Based on 39 houses listed in the past six months.
Houses
$825K
39 houses listed in the last 6 months.
Units
$722K
17 units listed in the last 6 months.
56 of the suburb's 2,654 dwellings (2.1%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Tweed Heads West rent for around $985 a week on average, based on 10 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
Houses
$985/wk
10 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Units
$660/wk
6 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
16 rentals advertised against an estimated 820 rented homes (2.0%) 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$985/week ($51,000 a year) on a $825,000 median
$660/week ($34,000 a year) on a $722,000 median
Based on a small sample (6 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.
Short-Stay Rentals
26 active Airbnb listings: 18 whole homes and 8 rooms. Whole homes are about 0.6% 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 West safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Tweed Heads West sits in the moderate band, with 314 incidents recorded in 2025 — down about 2% on the prior year.
314 offences
2.5% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20258 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
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
Unacceptable for residential
Significant impact — conditional building
Significant impact — conditional building
Moderate impact — noise insulation required
Noticeable aircraft noise
Schools
Universities nearby
1.0% 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 West is car-dependent on foot — at 40/100, most errands require a car.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Tweed Heads West.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 73.2 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 43.4 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 23.2 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 0 min
- Span of service
- 17.9 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 West.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 23%
- Premises covered
- 3,103
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 19 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 West is home to about 6,200 residents, with a median age of 47, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $54,000 a year, with unemployment at 5.8%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
6,176
Median Age
47
Median Household Income
$53,508/yr
Census Median Rent
$350/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,664/mo
Avg Household Size
2.1
Median Personal Income
$31,824/yr
Unemployment Rate
5.8%
Unoccupied Dwellings
8.1%
Total Dwellings
2,654
Owner-Occupier Rate
69.1%
Houses
56.4%
Rental Stress
34.0%
Mortgage Stress
37.3%
Work From Home
11.0%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
67 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 10 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 788 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 73.2%
- English Spoken at Home
- 83.3%
- Employment Rate
- 45.8%
- Completed Year 12
- 32.9%
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.
169 residents (2.7%) 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.
5.2% of residents (305) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Brisbane (123).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 5,877 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 (23 of 2,422).
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 638 people work here; 2,422 employed residents live here.
Mostly a place people commute from: 0.3 jobs per working resident. At least 71% 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
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
- Other and special use 25%
- Infrastructure and transport 23%
- Environmental 21%
- Residential 20%
- Rural and farming 5%
- Parks and recreation 4%
- Industrial 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: 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, 1.7 kmHigh rainfall — mild summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 0 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 2.8 km
- 2.8 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- 2.3 kmPetroleum Product WholesalingTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds · Cumene (1-methylethylbenzene) · Xylenes (individual or mixed isomers)
- 2.5 kmPetroleum Product WholesalingTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds · Benzene · Toluene (methylbenzene)
- 2.7 kmWaste Treatment and Disposal ServicesTop reported: Chlorine & compounds · Ammonia (total) · Total Volatile Organic Compounds
- 3.0 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 postcode 2485.
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 $1,100,000 this is $500,000 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 West?
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 6,176 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 Highest-yielding Gold Coast suburbs (houses)
- #3 in Gold Coast suburbs with the most parkland nearby
- #9 in Gold Coast suburbs where seniors live
- #10 in Highest-yielding Gold Coast suburbs (units)
- #10 in Gold Coast suburbs with the largest Sikh community
- #15 in Gold Coast suburbs where the most homes are owned outright
Nearby suburbs
Compare Tweed Heads West 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 Tweed Heads West
Is Tweed Heads West a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Tweed Heads West is moderate (63/100, ranked against other NSW suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Tweed Heads West?
Tweed Heads West 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 West a good place to live?
Tweed Heads West has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of C (36/100), 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 West?
Tweed Heads West, NSW had a population of 6,176 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Tweed Heads West, NSW?
The postcode for Tweed Heads West, NSW is 2485.
How far is Tweed Heads West from Sydney?
Tweed Heads West is 812 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 517 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 West?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Tweed Heads West was $53,508 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 West?
The median advertised rent in Tweed Heads West is $985 a week for houses (10 listings) and $660 a week for units (6 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Tweed Heads West?
The median age of residents in Tweed Heads West was 47 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Tweed Heads West walkable?
Tweed Heads West scores 40/100 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 weather like in Tweed Heads West?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Tweed Heads West, Coolangatta (1.7 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 West?
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 West belong to?
Tweed Heads West 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 West?
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 West?
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 West in?
Tweed Heads West 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.