NSW · Cessnock Council
Pokolbin, NSW, 2320
Desirability index
#228 among Country & regional suburbs
Suburb snapshot
Pokolbin is a small locality in the Cessnock area, home to around 1,049 residents (2021 Census). Recent indicators show 4,159 offences in Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 with falling year-on-year trends (-5%), roughly 3964.7 offences per 1,000 residents, median weekly rent around $600 (flats $485, houses $620), strong public transport coverage with many public transport stops, a quieter amenity profile than busier neighbouring suburbs, and notable planning and development activity on record. Snapshot data also shows parks or public open space within the suburb.
Population
- Population
- 1,049
- Median age
- 57
- Median household income / week
- $2,395
- Dwelling vacancy
- 34.1%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 207 of 607
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,550
- Employment rate
- 58.9%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 17 / 0 / 0
Data sources & freshness
- 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 Census release
The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
Housing
- Flats / units (January to March 2026)
- $485
- Houses (January to March 2026)
- $620
- All types (January to March 2026)
- $600
- Rental bonds lodged (January to March 2026)
- 357
Median weekly rent from NSW DCJ rent tables. Figures can be unreliable where few bonds were lodged in the quarter.
Data sources & freshness
- DCJ rent tables — NSW Department of Communities and Justice · Period: January to March 2026 · Updated on site · Quarterly releases
Crime & safety
- Total offences (Jan 2025 to Dec 2025)
- 4,159
- Against the person
- 1,143
- Against property
- 1,512
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 3,964.7
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 1 residents
- State safety percentile
- 56.3th (lower crime is better)
- Year-on-year change
- -5.4%
Most common offence types
- Breach Bail Conditions609
- Domestic Violence Related Assault329
- Intimidation, Stalking And Harassment381
- Malicious Damage To Property307
- Steal From Motor Vehicle237
Data sources & freshness
- BOCSAR postcode crime statistics — NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research · Period: Jan 2024 to Dec 2024 → Jan 2025 to Dec 2025; Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 · Updated on site · Rolling 12-month windows
Public transport
33 public transport stops in this suburb
- Broke Rd At McDonalds Rd
- Broke Rd At Wine Country Dr
- McDonalds Rd After Wine Country Dr
- McDonalds Rd Before Deaseys Rd
- McDonalds Rd Opp Deaseys Rd
Data sources & freshness
- GTFS public transport stops — State transport authority open-data feeds · Period: current · Updated on site · GTFS static feed
Planning & development
Development applications from NSW Planning Portal (lodged 2020–2026).
527 planning-related records
2026· 29 proposals
June 2026
- Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure32 CEDAR DRIVE POKOLBIN 2320Additional Information Requested
- Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure118 CASUARINA DRIVE POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Subdivision963 WINE COUNTRY DRIVE POKOLBIN 2320Under Assessment
- Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure33 PAPERBARK DRIVE POKOLBIN 2320Determined
May 2026
- Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure; Air transport premises455 WINE COUNTRY DRIVE POKOLBIN 2320Under Assessment
- Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure14 ANGOPHORA DRIVE POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Subdivision963 WINE COUNTRY DRIVE POKOLBIN 2320Withdrawn
- Change of use of land or a building or the classification of a building under the Building Code of Australia; Function centre336C OLD NORTH ROAD POKOLBIN 2320Additional Information Requested
- Subdivision447 DE BEYERS ROAD POKOLBIN 2320Under Assessment
April 2026
- Bed and breakfast accommodation; Change of use of land or a building or the classification of a building under the Building Code of Australia; Tourist and visitor accommodation120 OLD NORTH ROAD POKOLBIN 2320Under Assessment
- Erection of a new structure; Swimming pool24 PAPERBARK DRIVE POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure26 BLUE CLIFF ROAD POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Shed; Erection of a new structure257 HERMITAGE ROAD POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure95 CASUARINA DRIVE POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Erection of a new structure; Agriculture749 DE BEYERS ROAD POKOLBIN 2320Additional Information Requested
- Erection of a new structure; Swimming pool17 PEPPERTREE DRIVE POKOLBIN 2320Determined
March 2026
- Office Premise; Temporary building, structure or use963 WINE COUNTRY DRIVE POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Erection of a new structure; Swimming pool8 AZAPA LANE POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure66 CASUARINA DRIVE POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Erection of a new structure; Controlled access road2342 BROKE ROAD POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure24 PAPERBARK DRIVE POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Erection of a new structure; Serviced apartment119 MCDONALDS ROAD POKOLBIN 2320Determined
February 2026
- Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure; Residential Accommodation1 WATTLE CLOSE POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Bed and breakfast accommodation; Erection of a new structure; Tourist and visitor accommodation78 BENTWOOD DRIVE POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Commercial development; Hours of operation and trading2198 BROKE ROAD POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Subdivision298 MCDONALDS ROAD POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure17 PEPPERTREE DRIVE POKOLBIN 2320Determined
January 2026
- Erection of a new structure; Residential Accommodation221 DE BEYERS ROAD POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Erection of a new structure; Swimming pool10 MACULATA ACCESS POKOLBIN 2320Determined
2025· 67 proposals
December 2025
- Subdivision963 WINE COUNTRY DRIVE POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure; Residential Accommodation78 CASUARINA DRIVE POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Shed; Erection of a new structure; Carport; Earthworks, retaining walls and structural support; Tourist and visitor accommodation14-18 SPRING HARVEST CLOSE POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure2 VERDALE CLOSE POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Erection of a new structure; Serviced apartment119 MCDONALDS ROAD POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure27 VERDALE CLOSE POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure; Residential Accommodation12 VERDALE CLOSE POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure; Swimming pool2 MAGNOLIA CLOSE POKOLBIN 2320Determined
November 2025
- Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure13 MAPLE DRIVE POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Demolition; Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure1744 BROKE ROAD POKOLBIN 2320Determined
- Erection of a new structure; Serviced apartment119 MCDONALDS ROAD POKOLBIN 2320Determined
2024· 74 proposals
74 proposals lodged in 2024. Individual listings are kept for the most recent proposals.
2023· 82 proposals
82 proposals lodged in 2023. Individual listings are kept for the most recent proposals.
2022· 118 proposals
118 proposals lodged in 2022. Individual listings are kept for the most recent proposals.
2021· 108 proposals
108 proposals lodged in 2021. Individual listings are kept for the most recent proposals.
2020· 49 proposals
49 proposals lodged in 2020. Individual listings are kept for the most recent proposals.
Data sources & freshness
- Online DA development application register — NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure · Period: 2020; 2020–2026; 2021… · Updated on site · Daily open-data feed (applications from Oct 2018)
Amenities
8 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
- Harrigan'sAlcohol
- EnzoCafe
Broke Road
- Harrigan's Irish PubCafe
2090 Broke Road, Pokolbin
- The Alpaca BarnClothes
- Waste Basket
- David Hook WinesWine
- Scarborough WineWine
179 Gillards Road
- Tyrrell's WinesWine
1838 Broke Road
Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe).
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Parks & reserves
2 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Hunter Valley GardensPark
- Pokolbin ParkPark
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Period: current · Updated on site
Socio-economic (SEIFA)
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 10/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 10/10
SEIFA indexes from ABS 2021. Decile 10 = most advantaged / least disadvantaged in Australia.
Data sources & freshness
- SEIFA 2021 (IRSAD / IRSD) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 SEIFA release
Hazards
- Bushfire planning zone
- Overlay applies
Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via NSW bush fire prone land mapping.
Data sources & freshness
- Hazard planning overlays — State government hazard layers · Period: current · Updated on site
Green cover
- Parks & woodland (OSM)
- 113
- Parks (OSM)
- 7
OpenStreetMap parks and natural woodland features mapped within the suburb boundary.
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap green cover features — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Desirability index
- Desirability score
- 75.2/100
- Cohort rank
- #228 among Country & regional suburbs
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived score) · Period: current · Updated on site · Derived from source metrics
Recent changes
- Broke Rd At McDonalds Rdtransport
- Broke Rd At Wine Country Drtransport
- McDonalds Rd After Wine Country Drtransport
- McDonalds Rd Before Deaseys Rdtransport
- McDonalds Rd Opp Deaseys Rdtransport
- Hunter Valley Gardensgovernmentpark
- Pokolbin Parkgovernmentpark
- Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure; Air transport premisesplanning455 WINE COUNTRY DRIVE POKOLBIN 2320Lodged 12 May 2026 · Under Assessment
- Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure; Swimming poolplanning2 MAGNOLIA CLOSE POKOLBIN 2320Lodged 03 Dec 2025 · Determined
- Bed and breakfast accommodation; Change of use of land or a building or the classification of a building under the Building Code of Australia; Tourist and visitor accommodationplanning120 OLD NORTH ROAD POKOLBIN 2320Lodged 29 Apr 2026 · Under Assessment
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Updated on site
- Online DA development application register — NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure · Updated on site · Daily open-data feed (applications from Oct 2018)
- GTFS public transport stops — State transport authority open-data feeds · Updated on site · GTFS static feed
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