Median house price
$1.11M
+2.2% change
NSW · Central Coast Council
Horsfield Bay, 2256
Est. population · Jun 2025
832
Growth (1 yr)
0.0%
Growth (5 yr)
+0.8%
Median age
46
Median income
$2,083/wk
Employment rate
61.3%
Median house price · October to December 2025
$1,107,000
Languages at home
10.2%non-English
Most common: Afrikaans, German, Portuguese
2021 Census · usual residence
Desirability score
- Excellent transport
- Education hub
- High desirability
Suburb profile
Horsfield Bay is a practical smaller community in Central Coast Council, with a familiar suburban feel rather than a self-contained town centre. You get space and calm here, while the city and neighbouring suburbs are still close enough for regular outings. The area suits established families and long-term locals, with a strong presence of young families throughout.
Everyday cafés are limited locally, with the wider metro area covering the bigger food and entertainment trips. Local green pockets are modest, with bigger outdoor outings usually found in neighbouring areas. Day-to-day life is more car-oriented here, with buses covering longer trips across the wider area.
Housing is expensive relative to much of the state. This is a mature, settled pocket where the existing streetscape still defines the local character.
The overall desirability read is below average, pulled by softer growth momentum and safety compared with similar metro suburbs, though community and employment, plus schools and education remain brighter spots. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.
At a glance
Horsfield Bay snapshot
A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk
Median rent
$595/wk
Houses $625 · Units $520
Population (ERP)
832
0.0% annual growth
Dwelling vacancy
9.2%
Census unoccupied dwellings
Livability profile
Desirability pillars vs the peer median (50th percentile)
How it compares
Relative standing using percentiles, ranks, and national deciles
Desirability
#148
among Metro Sydney · Mature
Safety
81st
percentile in state (higher = safer)
Pop. growth
22nd
percentile in NSW
Advantage (IRSAD)
10/10
national SEIFA decile
School ICSEA
56th
percentile among schools with ICSEA
Population growth
Recent ERP change over 1 and 5 years
Housing mix
Dwelling types from the 2021 Census
Risks & flags
Quick scan — open a section below for full context
Living here
Desirability
Ranks & confidence
- Desirability score
- 22.4/100 — Below average
- National rank
- 6550th in Australia
- State rank
- 2084th in NSW
- Peer rank
- #148 among Metro Sydney · Mature suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #879 among Metro Sydney suburbs
- Data confidence
- 79%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
Housing
- Flats / units (January to March 2026)
- $520
- Houses (January to March 2026)
- $625
- All types (January to March 2026)
- $595
- Rental bonds lodged (January to March 2026)
- 127
- Median house price (October to December 2025)
- $1,107,000
- Median price change
- +2.2%
Median weekly rent from NSW DCJ rent tables. Figures can be unreliable where few bonds were lodged in the quarter.
Contributes to desirability score · Housing (15%) · Future Growth (7%)
Median price, rental yield and vacancy Recent price momentum
Data sources & freshness
- DCJ rent and sales tables — NSW Department of Communities and Justice · January to March 2026; October to December 2025 · Updated · Quarterly releases
Population
Estimated resident population
832(June 2025)
0.0% annual · +0.8% over 5 years · 22th percentile in NSW
Growth figures & methodology
- Annual growth
- 0.0%
- 5-year growth
- +0.8%
- Change in 1 year
- 0
- Change in 5 years
- +7
- Growth rank in NSW
- 22th percentile
ABS Estimated Resident Population allocated to this suburb from SA2-level data. Not an official ABS suburb count.
Methodology
Figures are allocated from ABS Estimated Resident Population at Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2), using 2021 Census share within overlapping SA2 regions. Where Census data is unavailable, area overlap is used instead.
The dashed chart line is a simple growth-trend estimate to June 2030 (~850), extrapolated at +0.5% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.
2021 Census figures
2021 Census
- Population
- 501
- Median age
- 46
- Median household income / week
- $2,083
- Dwelling vacancy
- 9.2%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 19 of 206
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,167
- Employment rate
- 61.3%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 188 / 4 / 0
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Employment, household income and age diversity (2021 Census)
Data sources & freshness
- 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated
The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
- Estimated Resident Population — Australian Bureau of Statistics · 2025 · Updated · SA2 ERP allocated to suburb boundaries
Community & culture
No 2021 Census cultural diversity data for this suburb yet.
Data sources & freshness
- 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated
The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
Crime & safety
Reported offences decreased compared with the previous period.
Offence counts & rates
- Total offences (Jan 2025 to Dec 2025)
- 93
- Against the person
- 20
- Against property
- 24
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 111.8
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 25 residents
- State safety percentile
- 80.5th (lower crime is better)
- Decrease (daily rate)
- -1.8%
Most common offence types
- Breach Bail Conditions335
- Domestic Violence Related Assault113
- Intimidation, Stalking And Harassment142
- Malicious Damage To Property158
- Transport Regulatory Offences375
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Crime rate and year-on-year trend
Data sources & freshness
- BOCSAR postcode crime statistics — NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research · Jan 2024 to Dec 2024 → Jan 2025 to Dec 2025; Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 · Updated · Rolling 12-month windows
Family & Lifestyle
Schools & preschools
- Schools within 2 km
- 2
- Median school ICSEA (2 schools)
- 1,023.5
- Median ICSEA percentile
- 56th
School list
- St John the Baptist Catholic Primary SchoolPrimary · Catholic · ICSEA 1081 · 79th percentile · LBOTE 17% · 551 students · Top SEA quarter 31% · 1.2 km awayView on My School →
- Brisbane Water Secondary College Umina CampusSecondary · Government · ICSEA 966 · 32th percentile · LBOTE 10% · 787 students · Top SEA quarter 7% · 1.8 km awayView on My School →
Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)
School and preschool counts, median school ICSEA
Data sources & freshness
- ACARA school locations — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · 2025 · Updated · Annual release
- School ICSEA scores — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · 2025 · Updated · Annual release
Public transport
6 public transport stops in this suburb
- Horsfield Rd At Woy Woy Rd
- Woy Woy Rd At Banyo Cl
- Woy Woy Rd At Banyo Cl
- Woy Woy Rd Opp Banyo Cl
- Woy Woy Rd Opp Banyo Cl
Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)
Public transport stop coverage
Data sources & freshness
- Timetables Complete GTFS stops (© Transport for NSW, CC BY 4.0) — Transport for NSW — Open Data Hub · current · Updated · Nightly GTFS feed
Amenities
3 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
Local character & venue list
Local character
- Limited walkable amenities nearby
- Walkability proxy
- 9/100
- Cafés per 1,000 residents
- 0
- Food & drink per 1,000 residents
- 0
- Parks per 1,000 residents
- 0
Transport(3)
3 bus stops
Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe). Transport stops are summarised by type rather than listed individually.
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Food, shopping, recreation and sport (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- Local amenity insights — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated
Health access
- Nearest hospital
- Think Well Hypnotherapy (7.5 km)
- Nearest hospital type
- Hospital
- Nearest hospital emergency
- Emergency department
Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)
Hospitals and GP clinics
Data sources & freshness
- Hospitals & clinics — OpenStreetMap + state health datasets · current · Updated
NDIS participation
- NDIS participants (31 March 2026)
- 34
- Participants per 1,000 residents
- 40.9
Active NDIS participants allocated from NDIA Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2, ASGS 2016) counts to this suburb boundary. Not an official suburb-level NDIS figure · as at 31 March 2026.
For NDIS spend and service-demand exploration by SA2 or postcode, see the Care Sector Demand Map.
Data sources & freshness
- NDIS participants by SA2 — National Disability Insurance Agency · 2026-Q1 · Updated · Quarterly SA2 counts allocated to suburb boundaries
Weather
Typical conditions by season for suburbs in the same ~44 km climate area. Rainfall totals are summed from monthly WorldClim layers; rainy-day counts are approximate.
Summer (Dec–Feb)
- Usual max / min
- 25° / 17°
- Rainfall
- 321 mm · ~40 rainy days
Autumn (Mar–May)
- Usual max / min
- 22° / 14°
- Rainfall
- 359 mm · ~45 rainy days
Winter (Jun–Aug)
- Usual max / min
- 17° / 8°
- Rainfall
- 263 mm · ~33 rainy days
Spring (Sep–Nov)
- Usual max / min
- 21° / 12°
- Rainfall
- 242 mm · ~30 rainy days
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Temperature and humidity comfort
Data sources & freshness
- Seasonal climate normals — WorldClim 2.1 · Updated
Future & Planning
Planning & development
Development applications from NSW Planning Portal.
2026· 2 proposals
August 2026
- Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure44 HORSFIELD ROAD HORSFIELD BAY 2256Under Assessment
April 2026
- Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure21 GABAGONG ROAD HORSFIELD BAY 2256Determined
2025· 3 proposals
December 2025
- Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure33 GABAGONG ROAD HORSFIELD BAY 2256Determined
April 2025
- Erection of a new structure; Swimming pool15 GOONDI CLOSE HORSFIELD BAY 2256Determined
February 2025
- Secondary dwelling; Erection of a new structure14 HORSFIELD ROAD HORSFIELD BAY 2256Determined
2024· 2 proposals
July 2024
- Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure14 HORSFIELD ROAD HORSFIELD BAY 2256Determined
March 2024
- Erection of a new structure; Garage, carport or carparking space44 HORSFIELD ROAD HORSFIELD BAY 2256Withdrawn
2023· 1 proposal
July 2023
- Dwelling33 GABAGONG ROAD HORSFIELD BAY 2256Determined
2022· 2 proposals
April 2022
- Pools / decks / fencing15 GOONDI CLOSE HORSFIELD BAY 2256Withdrawn
February 2022
- Alterations and additions to residential development17 KUNALA LANE HORSFIELD BAY 2256Determined
2021· 5 proposals
June 2021
- Balconies, decks, patios, terraces or verandahs3 horsefield road, horsefield bayDetermined
- Secondary dwelling38 HORSFIELD ROAD HORSFIELD BAY 2256Determined
May 2021
- Shed23 GABAGONG ROAD HORSFIELD BAY 2256Determined
February 2021
- Dwelling; Balconies, decks, patios, terraces or verandahs25 HORSFIELD ROAD HORSFIELD BAY 2256Determined
- Alterations and additions to residential development60 HORSFIELD ROAD HORSFIELD BAY 2256Determined
2020· 3 proposals
December 2020
- Garages, carports and car parking spaces27a gabagong road Horsfield Bay NSW 2256Determined
October 2020
- Shed18 BANYO CLOSE HORSFIELD BAY 2256Determined
- Secondary dwelling38 HORSFIELD ROAD HORSFIELD BAY 2256Determined
Contributes to desirability score · Future Growth (7%)
Development and planning activity
Data sources & freshness
- Online DA development application register — NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure · 2026 · Updated · Daily feed (from Oct 2018)
Hazards
- Bushfire planning zone
- Overlay applies
Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via NSW bush fire prone land mapping.
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Bushfire hazard overlays
Data sources & freshness
- Hazard planning overlays — State government hazard layers · current · Updated
Politics & representation
- Federal electorate
- Robertson
- Member of Parliament
- Gordon REID (Australian Labor Party)
- Results from
- 2025 federal election
- Electorate enrolment (2025)
- 114,922
- Turnout (2025)
- 92.5%
- Swing since 2022 (2025)
- +7.1 pp toward Labor
Two-party preferred (2025)
Coalition 40.6%Labor 59.4%
Estimated suburb voting profile
Estimated from 8 nearby ordinary polling places (up to 3.8 km away).
Coalition 33.7%Labor 66.3%
6.9 percentage points more Labor-leaning than the electorate
Estimated swing since 2022: +8.4 pp toward Labor
Nearest polling places
- Woy Woy WestLabor 64.9% · Coalition 35.1% TPP (2025)0.9 km away
- Umina CentralLabor 65.8% · Coalition 34.2% TPP (2025)2.0 km away
- Woy WoyLabor 72.0% · Coalition 28.0% TPP (2025)2.2 km away
- Woy Woy SouthLabor 70.4% · Coalition 29.6% TPP (2025)2.3 km away
- UminaLabor 64.3% · Coalition 35.6% TPP (2025)2.9 km away
Federal electorate from AEC federal division boundaries (2025 redistribution). Division-level results are official AEC figures from the latest general election, with by-election updates where applicable. The estimated suburb profile blends up to eight nearest ordinary polling booths in the same electorate using inverse-distance weighting from the suburb centroid — an approximation, not official AEC data. Nearest polling places are shown for reference.
Data sources & freshness
- Federal election results — Australian Electoral Commission · Updated · 2025 election with by-election overlays
Socio-economic
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 10/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 9/10
ABS Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), 2021 release — the latest available, derived from the 2021 Census. Deciles rank suburbs nationally from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest).
What do IRSAD and IRSD measure?
IRSAD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage. Combines indicators of advantage (e.g. high income, skilled occupations) and disadvantage. Higher decile = more advantaged relative to other Australian areas.
IRSD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage. Focuses on disadvantage only (e.g. low income, unemployment, limited education). Higher decile = less disadvantage nationally.
A new SEIFA edition typically follows each census; the ABS has not announced a release date beyond 2021.
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD decile)
Data sources & freshness
- SEIFA 2021 (IRSAD / IRSD) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated
More in Central Coast Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of New South Wales.