Newcastle - Cooks Hill

Newcastle - Cooks Hill lies within the top quartile of areas nationally for population growth performance according to AreaSearch analysis of recent, and medium to long-term trends

Newcastle - Cooks Hill's population is around 14,560 as of November 2025. This reflects an increase of 1,755 people since the 2021 Census, which reported a population of 12,805 people. The change is inferred from the estimated resident population of 14,264 from the ABS in June 2024 and an additional 420 validated new addresses since the Census date. This level of population equates to a density ratio of 3,658 persons per square kilometer, placing it in the upper quartile relative to national locations assessed by AreaSearch. Newcastle - Cooks Hill's growth rate of 13.7% since the 2021 census exceeded the non-metro area's growth rate of 5.1%. Population growth for the area was primarily driven by overseas migration, contributing approximately 55.9% of overall population gains during recent periods.

AreaSearch is adopting ABS/Geoscience Australia projections for each SA2 area, as released in 2024 with 2022 as the base year. For areas not covered by this data, AreaSearch is utilising NSW State Government's SA2 level projections, released in 2022 with 2021 as the base year. Growth rates by age group from these aggregations are applied to all areas for years 2032 to 2041. Future population dynamics anticipate exceptional growth, placing Newcastle - Cooks Hill in the top 10 percent of non-metropolitan areas nationally. By 2041, based on latest annual ERP population numbers, the area is expected to increase by 6,824 persons, reflecting an overall increase of 44.8% over the 17 years.

The level of residential development activity in Newcastle - Cooks Hill was found to be higher than 90% of real estate markets across the country

Newcastle - Cooks Hill has seen approximately 236 dwelling approvals per year. From FY-21 to FY-25, 1,180 homes were approved, with an additional 3 approved in FY-26 so far. Over the past five financial years, about 1.7 new residents have been added annually per dwelling constructed. However, this has eased to 1 person per dwelling over the last two financial years.

The average construction value of new homes is $496,000. Commercial approvals totalled $207.4 million in FY-26. Compared to Rest of NSW, Newcastle - Cooks Hill has 220.0% higher new home approvals per person. Recent construction comprises mostly townhouses or apartments (98.0%), with standalone homes making up only 2.0%. The area shows characteristics of growth, with around 29 people added per dwelling approval. Population forecasts indicate Newcastle - Cooks Hill will gain approximately 6,528 residents by 2041.

Current development levels appear aligned with future requirements, maintaining stable market conditions without significant price pressures.

Newcastle - Cooks Hill has strong levels of nearby infrastructure activity, ranking in the top 30% nationally

Changes to local infrastructure significantly affect an area's performance. AreaSearch has identified 55 projects likely impacting the region. Notable ones include East End Newcastle, Dairy Farmers Towers, The Store Newcastle, and Pottery Lane Residential Development - Newcastle. Below is a list detailing those most relevant.

Professional plan users can use the search below to filter and access additional projects.

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Employment performance in Newcastle - Cooks Hill exceeds national averages across key labour market indicators

Newcastle - Cooks Hill has an educated workforce with strong professional services representation. Its unemployment rate was 3.3% in the past year, lower than Rest of NSW's 3.8%.

Employment growth was estimated at 3.4%. As of September 2025, 9,540 residents are employed, with a 0.5% lower unemployment rate and 68.5% workforce participation compared to Rest of NSW's 56.4%. Key industries include health care & social assistance, professional & technical, and education & training. The area specializes in professional & technical jobs, with an employment share 2.4 times the regional level.

Agriculture, forestry & fishing employs only 0.5% of local workers, below Rest of NSW's 5.3%. There are 1.7 workers per resident, indicating it functions as an employment hub attracting workers from surrounding areas. Over the year to September 2025, employment increased by 3.4%, labour force by 4.1%, leading to a 0.6 percentage point unemployment rise. In comparison, Rest of NSW saw employment decline by 0.5% and unemployment rise by 0.4 percentage points. State-level data from 25-Nov-25 shows NSW employment contracted by 0.03%, with an unemployment rate of 3.9%. National projections forecast total employment growth of 6.6% over five years and 13.7% over ten years, but local industry-specific growth rates may differ significantly. Applying these projections to Newcastle - Cooks Hill's employment mix suggests potential local employment increases of 7.5% over five years and 15.2% over ten years, though this is a simplified extrapolation for illustrative purposes.

The area exhibits notably strong income performance, ranking higher than 70% of areas assessed nationally through AreaSearch analysis

AreaSearch's latest postcode level ATO data for financial year ended June 2022 shows median income in Newcastle - Cooks Hill SA2 was $59,678 and average income was $92,896. This contrasts with Rest of NSW's median income of $49,459 and average income of $62,998 for the same period. Based on Wage Price Index growth rate of 12.61% from financial year ended June 2022 to September 2025, estimated median income would be approximately $67,203 and average income would be around $104,610 by September 2025. According to Census 2021 data, individual earnings in Newcastle - Cooks Hill SA2 rank at the 88th percentile nationally ($1,149 weekly), while household income ranks at the 61st percentile. Income distribution shows that 32.4% of residents (4,717 people) fall into the $1,500 to $2,999 bracket, aligning with the surrounding region where this cohort represents 29.9%. High housing costs consume 17.6% of income, but strong earnings place disposable income at the 59th percentile. The area's SEIFA income ranking places it in the 8th decile.

Newcastle - Cooks Hill features a more urban dwelling mix with significant apartment living, with a higher proportion of rental properties than the broader region

Newcastle - Cooks Hill's dwelling structure, as per the latest Census, consisted of 11.7% houses and 88.3% other dwellings (including semi-detached, apartments, 'other' dwellings). This contrasts with Non-Metro NSW, where 70.5% were houses and 29.5% were other dwellings. Home ownership in Newcastle - Cooks Hill stood at 26.1%, with mortgaged dwellings at 19.7% and rented ones at 54.2%. The median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,169, higher than Non-Metro NSW's average of $1,962. Median weekly rent in the area was $445, compared to Non-Metro NSW's $400. Nationally, Newcastle - Cooks Hill's mortgage repayments were significantly higher at $2,169 versus Australia's average of $1,863, and rents were substantially above the national figure of $375.

Newcastle - Cooks Hill features high concentrations of lone person households and group households, with a lower-than-average median household size

Family households account for 49.2% of all households, including 12.9% couples with children, 29.1% couples without children, and 6.2% single parent families. Non-family households constitute the remaining 50.8%, with lone person households at 40.8% and group households making up 10.1%. The median household size is 1.9 people, which is smaller than the Rest of NSW average of 2.4.

The educational profile of Newcastle - Cooks Hill exceeds national averages, with above-average qualification levels and academic performance metrics

Newcastle - Cooks Hill has a notably high level of educational attainment, with 48.0% of residents aged 15 and above holding university qualifications. This figure is significantly higher than the broader benchmarks of 21.3% in the Rest of NSW and 26.1% in the SA4 region. The area's strong educational advantage is reflected in its high proportion of residents with bachelor degrees (30.7%), postgraduate qualifications (13.3%), and graduate diplomas (4.0%). Vocational credentials are also prevalent, with 27.1% of residents aged 15 and above holding such qualifications, including advanced diplomas (10.4%) and certificates (16.7%).

Educational participation is notably high in the area, with 27.5% of residents currently enrolled in formal education. This includes 12.8% in tertiary education, 4.9% in primary education, and 4.5% pursuing secondary education.

Transport servicing is high compared to other areas nationally based on assessment of service frequency, route connectivity and accessibility

Newcastle-Cooks Hill has 82 active public transport stops. These include ferry, lightrail, and bus services. There are 42 individual routes operating, providing a total of 9,015 weekly passenger trips.

The average distance to the nearest stop for residents is 116 meters. Services run an average of 1,287 trips per day across all routes, which equals approximately 109 weekly trips per stop.

Newcastle - Cooks Hill's residents are healthier than average in comparison to broader Australia with prevalence of common health conditions quite low across both younger and older age cohorts

Newcastle - Cooks Hill residents show low prevalence of common health conditions across both younger and older age groups. Approximately 68% of residents have private health cover, higher than the 55.6% in Rest of NSW and the national average of 55.3%. Mental health issues and asthma are the most prevalent conditions, affecting 10.7% and 7.9% of residents respectively.

68.1% of residents report no medical ailments, compared to 64.9% in Rest of NSW. As of 2021, 18.3% of residents are aged 65 and over (2,671 people), higher than the 16.7% in Rest of NSW. Health outcomes among seniors are particularly strong, outperforming the general population in health metrics.

Newcastle - Cooks Hill ranks below the Australian average when compared to other local markets across a number of language and cultural background related metrics

Newcastle-Cooks Hill, surveyed in 2016, showed low cultural diversity with 87.4% Australian citizens, 82.0% born in Australia, and 89.7% speaking English only at home. Christianity dominated at 39.2%. Judaism was overrepresented at 0.2%, compared to the Rest of NSW's 0.1%.

Top ancestral groups were English (30.9%), Australian (22.6%), and Irish (11.2%). Scottish ancestry was notably higher at 9.9% than the regional average of 8.4%. Welsh and Polish ancestries also showed notable divergences, at 0.8% each compared to their respective regional averages of 0.8%.

Newcastle - Cooks Hill's population is slightly younger than the national pattern

Newcastle-Cooks Hill has a median age of 38, which is lower than the Rest of NSW figure at 43 but equivalent to Australia's national norm of 38. The age group of 25-34 years shows strong representation in Newcastle-Cooks Hill at 22.9%, compared to Rest of NSW, whereas the 5-14 cohort is less prevalent at 5.0%. This concentration of the 25-34 age group is well above the national figure of 14.5%. According to the 2021 Census, the 25 to 34 age group has increased from 21.5% to 22.9% of the population in Newcastle-Cooks Hill. Conversely, the 5-14 cohort has declined from 6.2% to 5.0%, and the 45-54 group has decreased from 12.3% to 11.2%. Demographic modeling suggests that Newcastle-Cooks Hill's age profile will change significantly by 2041, with the 25-34 age group projected to grow by 60%, reaching 5,333 people from its current figure of 3,334.