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This analysis uses Suburbs and Localities (SAL) boundaries, which can materially differ from Statistical Areas (SA2) even when sharing the same name.
SAL boundaries are defined by Australia Post and the Australian Bureau of Statistics to represent commonly-known suburb names used in postal addresses.
Statistical Areas (SA2) are designed for census data collection and may combine multiple suburbs or use different geographic boundaries. For comprehensive analysis, consider reviewing both boundary types if available.
est. as @ -- *
2021 Census | -- people
Sales Activity
Curious about local property values? Filter the chart to assess the volume and appreciation (including resales) trends and regional comparisons, or scroll to the map below view this information at an individual property level.
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Population
Population growth drivers in Redhead are slightly above average based on AreaSearch's ranking of recent, and medium term trends
As per ABS population updates for the broader area and new addresses validated by AreaSearch, the estimated population of Redhead as of February 2026 is around 3,756. This figure reflects a decrease of 29 people since the 2021 Census, which reported a population of 3,785. The change is inferred from the resident population of 3,746 estimated by AreaSearch following examination of the latest ERP data release by the ABS in June 2024 and an additional 289 validated new addresses since the Census date. This level of population equates to a density ratio of 1,020 persons per square kilometer, which is relatively in line with averages seen across locations assessed by AreaSearch. Population growth for the suburb was primarily driven by interstate migration that contributed approximately 52.0% 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 any SA2 areas not covered by this data, AreaSearch is utilising the NSW State Government's SA2 level projections, as released in 2022 with 2021 as the base year. Growth rates by age group from these aggregations are also applied to all areas for years 2032 to 2041. Looking at population projections moving forward, an above median population growth of regional areas across the nation is projected, with the suburb expected to increase by 656 persons to 2041 based on aggregated SA2-level projections, reflecting a gain of 17.2% in total over the 17 years.
Frequently Asked Questions - Population
Development
Residential development activity is lower than average in Redhead according to AreaSearch's national comparison of local real estate markets
AreaSearch analysis indicates Redhead averaged approximately 20 new dwelling approvals annually. Between FY-21 and FY-25, around 101 homes were approved, with another 6 so far in FY-26. Each year, about 0.4 new residents arrived per new home over the past five financial years.
This rate suggests new construction is meeting or exceeding demand, providing buyers more options and potentially driving population growth beyond current projections. The average development value was $734,000, indicating a focus on premium market segments with higher-end properties. In FY-26, there have been $1.9 million in commercial approvals, reflecting the area's residential nature.
Compared to Rest of NSW, Redhead had 28.0% more development per person over the past five years, maintaining good buyer choice while supporting existing property values. However, recent periods show a moderation in development activity. The majority (95.0%) of new buildings were detached houses, with only 5.0% townhouses or apartments, preserving Redhead's suburban identity and attracting buyers seeking space. With around 268 people per dwelling approval, the area exhibits low density characteristics. According to AreaSearch's latest quarterly estimate, Redhead is projected to grow by 646 residents through to 2041. While construction pace appears reasonable with expected growth, buyers may face increasing competition as population increases.
Frequently Asked Questions - Development
Infrastructure
Redhead has very high levels of nearby infrastructure activity, ranking in the top 10% nationally
Changes to local infrastructure significantly influence an area's performance. AreaSearch has identified four projects likely impacting this region: Oasis Redhead, Redhead Business Park, First Creek Realignment Project, and Redhead Pump Track. The following details projects expected to be most relevant.
Professional plan users can use the search below to filter and access additional projects.
INFRASTRUCTURE SEARCH
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Frequently Asked Questions - Infrastructure
Lake Macquarie Private Hospital Expansion
A significant redevelopment of Lake Macquarie Private Hospital by Ramsay Health Care. The project involves a nine-storey expansion (SSD-38025700) approved in May 2025, which adds 114 inpatient beds to bring the total to nearly 300. Key features include five new operating theatres, a new main entrance on Casey Street, an expanded emergency department with six bays, six day oncology chairs, ten consulting suites, and enhanced critical care and radiology services. The expansion aims to alleviate capacity strain and create a regionally significant health precinct in the Hunter Region. Construction is phased to ensure clinical services continue throughout the build, with overall completion anticipated in 2027.
Tingira Hills Care Community
Tingira Hills Care Community (formerly Opal Hillside) is a major residential aged care facility in the Lake Macquarie region. It offers 120-128 beds across various room types including single en-suite and companion rooms, catering to permanent, respite, dementia, and palliative care needs. The facility features a dedicated Memory Care Neighborhood, a Wellness Centre for rehabilitation, an on-site cafe, hairdressing salon, and a community bus for outings. Architecturally, it was specifically engineered to manage variable founding conditions and ground movement associated with local mine subsidence.
High Speed Rail - Newcastle to Sydney (Stage 1)
The first stage of Australia's High Speed Rail network involves a 194km dedicated rail line connecting Newcastle to Sydney. The project features trains reaching speeds of 320 km/h on surface sections and 200 km/h in tunnels, aiming to reduce travel time to approximately one hour. Following the 2025 business case evaluation, the project has moved into a two-year Development Phase focusing on design refinement (to 40% maturity), securing planning approvals, and corridor preservation. The route includes approximately 115km of tunneling and six planned stations: Broadmeadow, Lake Macquarie, Gosford, Sydney Central, Parramatta, and Western Sydney International Airport.
Mount Hutton Precinct Area Plan
A comprehensive planning framework integrated into the Lake Macquarie Development Control Plan (DCP) 2014 to manage the growth of the Mount Hutton town centre. The plan facilitates medium-density housing, enhances pedestrian and transport connectivity, and prioritizes ecological rehabilitation. Recent 2024-2025 updates include the rezoning of strategic sites like 1 Progress Road to E1 Local Centre and city-wide Housing Diversity reforms that permit small-lot housing and a broader range of residential types within the precinct to meet growing migration needs.
Lake Macquarie Square
A sub-regional shopping centre located in Mount Hutton, 14km from Newcastle's CBD. The project, originally a $60 million redevelopment completed in 2019 by Charter Hall, consolidated Lake Macquarie Fair and Mount Hutton Plaza into a single, modern retail destination with approximately 24,000 m2 of prime retail space. The centre is anchored by BIG W, Coles, and Woolworths, with over 70 specialty stores, a medical precinct, childcare, and a 24-hour gym. Revelop acquired the asset in February 2025 for $122.5 million.
Swansea Channel Permanent Dredging Solution
A permanent dredging solution for Swansea Channel, the entrance to Lake Macquarie, involving a Beaver 30 dredge vessel and sand transfer system to maintain safe navigation for vessels, with sand pumped to Blacksmiths Beach. The project includes upgrades to the Blacksmiths boat ramp and aims to address ongoing sand accumulation issues.
First Creek Realignment Project
Realignment of First Creek further south at Redhead Beach to reduce scouring of dunes and infrastructure, create a safer flow path, improve emergency and public beach access, and prevent erosion of coastal dunes. The works were undertaken by Lake Macquarie City Council in July 2023 and were expected to take one week to complete.
Newcastle 2040
City of Newcastle's Community Strategic Plan (CSP) setting the shared vision and priorities for the next 10+ years. Originally adopted in 2022 and revised in 2024/25, the updated CSP was endorsed by Council on 15 April 2025. It guides policies, strategies and actions across the LGA and is implemented through the Delivery Program and Operational Plan known as Delivering Newcastle 2040.
Employment
Employment conditions in Redhead demonstrate exceptional strength compared to most Australian markets
Redhead has an educated workforce with significant representation in essential services sectors. The unemployment rate was 1.8% as of December 2025, with estimated employment growth of 1.0% over the past year, according to AreaSearch data aggregation. As of that date, 1910 residents were employed, and the unemployment rate was 2.1% lower than Regional NSW's rate of 3.9%.
Workforce participation was similar to Regional NSW's 61.3%. Census responses indicated that 29.0% of residents worked from home, though Covid-19 lockdown impacts should be considered. Employment is concentrated in health care & social assistance, construction, and education & training sectors.
Conversely, agriculture, forestry & fishing shows lower representation at 0.0% compared to the regional average of 5.3%. The predominantly residential area appears to offer limited local employment opportunities, as suggested by the count of Census working population versus resident population. Over the 12 months to December 2025, employment increased by 1.0%, while labour force increased by 1.5%, causing the unemployment rate to rise by 0.5 percentage points. By comparison, Regional NSW recorded an employment decline of 1.2%, labour force decline of 0.8%, with unemployment rising by 0.4 percentage points. Jobs and Skills Australia's national employment forecasts from May-25 offer insight into potential future demand within Redhead. These projections suggest that national employment should expand by 6.6% over five years and 13.7% over ten years, but growth rates differ significantly between industry sectors. Applying these industry-specific projections to Redhead's employment mix suggests local employment should increase by 7.0% over five years and 14.4% over ten years.
Frequently Asked Questions - Employment
Income
Income levels align closely with national averages, indicating typical economic conditions for Australian communities according to AreaSearch analysis
According to AreaSearch's aggregation of latest postcode level ATO data released for financial year 2023, Redhead had a median income among taxpayers of $55,166 with an average level standing at $74,186. These figures are higher than national averages and compare to levels of $52,390 and $65,215 across Regional NSW respectively. Based on Wage Price Index growth of 8.86% since financial year 2023, current estimates would be approximately $60,054 (median) and $80,759 (average) as of September 2025. According to 2021 Census figures, household, family and personal incomes in Redhead rank modestly between the 41st and 43rd percentiles. The earnings profile shows that the largest segment comprises 26.2% earning $400 - $799 weekly (984 residents), unlike trends in regional levels where 29.9% fall within the $1,500 - $2,999 range. Economic diversity characterizes Redhead with 32.8% in constrained financial circumstances and 30.7% achieving substantial weekly earnings. Housing costs are manageable with 86.7% retained, though disposable income sits below average at the 45th percentile and the area's SEIFA income ranking places it in the 7th decile.
Frequently Asked Questions - Income
Housing
Redhead is characterized by a predominantly suburban housing profile, with above-average rates of outright home ownership
Redhead's dwelling structure, as per the latest Census, consisted of 93.3% houses and 6.7% other dwellings. In comparison, Regional NSW had 82.6% houses and 17.4% other dwellings. Home ownership in Redhead was at 57.2%, with mortgaged dwellings at 29.4% and rented ones at 13.4%. The median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,300, higher than Regional NSW's average of $1,733. The median weekly rent in Redhead was $420, compared to Regional NSW's $330. Nationally, Redhead's mortgage repayments were significantly higher at $2,300 versus the Australian average of $1,863, and rents were substantially above the national figure of $375.
Frequently Asked Questions - Housing
Household Composition
Redhead features high concentrations of lone person households, with a fairly typical median household size
Family households constitute 65.3% of all households, including 32.2% couples with children, 24.9% couples without children, and 7.8% single parent families. Non-family households account for the remaining 34.7%, with lone person households at 32.7% and group households comprising 1.7%. The median household size is 2.4 people, which aligns with the average in Regional NSW.
Frequently Asked Questions - Households
Local Schools & Education
Redhead shows strong educational performance, ranking in the upper quartile nationally when assessed across multiple qualification and achievement indicators
The area's educational profile is notable regionally, with university qualification rates at 29.2% among residents aged 15+, surpassing the Rest of NSW average of 21.3%. This rate also exceeds that of the SA3 area (23.5%). Bachelor degrees are most prevalent at 19.6%, followed by postgraduate qualifications at 6.1% and graduate diplomas at 3.5%.
Trade and technical skills are prominent, with 37.5% of residents aged 15+ holding vocational credentials – advanced diplomas at 11.6% and certificates at 25.9%. Educational participation is notably high, with 30.0% of residents currently enrolled in formal education. This includes 10.8% in primary education, 9.2% in secondary education, and 4.2% pursuing tertiary education.
Frequently Asked Questions - Education
Schools Detail
Nearby Services & Amenities
Transport
Transport servicing is low compared to other areas nationally based on assessment of service frequency, route connectivity and accessibility
Redhead has 37 active public transport stops, all serving buses. These stops are covered by 9 routes offering a total of 116 weekly passenger trips. Transport accessibility is excellent with residents usually within 149 meters of the nearest stop. Most residents commute outward daily. Cars remain the primary mode of transport at 95%. On average, there are 1.5 vehicles per dwelling.
According to the 2021 Census, a high 29% of residents work from home, possibly due to COVID-19 conditions. Service frequency averages 16 trips daily across all routes, equating to about 3 weekly trips per stop.
Frequently Asked Questions - Transport
Transport Stops Detail
Health
Redhead's residents are relatively healthy in comparison to broader Australia with the level of common health conditions among the general population somewhat typical, though higher than the nation's average among older cohorts
Redhead's health metrics align closely with national benchmarks, as assessed by AreaSearch using mortality rates and chronic condition prevalence. The level of common health conditions among Redhead residents is somewhat typical of the general population but higher than the national average for older cohorts.
Private health cover is very high in Redhead, at approximately 56% of the total population (~2,112 people), compared to 51.9% across Regional NSW. The most common medical conditions are arthritis and mental health issues, affecting 9.9 and 8.9% of residents respectively, while 62.0% report being completely clear of medical ailments, compared to 63.3% across Regional NSW. Health outcomes for the under-65 population in Redhead are better than average. The area has 29.3% of residents aged 65 and over (1,100 people), higher than the 23.4% in Regional NSW. Health outcomes among seniors present some challenges but rank lower nationally than those of the broader population.
Frequently Asked Questions - Health
Cultural Diversity
Redhead is considerably less culturally diverse than average when assessed alongside AreaSearch's national rankings for language and cultural background related metrics
Redhead's population shows limited cultural diversity, with 89.5% born in Australia and 93.3% being citizens. English is the primary language spoken at home by 95.7%. Christianity is the dominant religion, practiced by 55.6%, slightly lower than Regional NSW's 55.9%.
The top ancestry groups are English (33.1%), Australian (32.3%), and Scottish (9.6%). Notably, Welsh (0.9%) and Macedonian (0.6%) are more prevalent in Redhead compared to regional averages of 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively. Russian ancestry is also higher at 0.4%.
Frequently Asked Questions - Diversity
Age
Redhead hosts an older demographic, ranking in the top quartile nationwide
Redhead's median age is 47 years, which is significantly higher than Regional NSW's average of 43 years and substantially exceeds the national average of 38 years. The age profile shows that those aged 65-74 make up a particularly prominent 14.9%, while the 25-34 group comprises only 5.1%. This concentration of 65-74 year-olds is well above the national average of 9.5%. Between 2021 and present, the population aged 15-24 has grown from 10.0% to 13.1%, while those aged 65-74 have increased from 13.2% to 14.9%. Conversely, the 55-64 age group has declined from 13.6% to 11.0% and the 85+ group has dropped from 5.9% to 4.0%. By 2041, Redhead's demographic is expected to shift notably. Leading this change, the 75-84 age group is projected to grow by 37%, reaching 536 people from its current level of 390. Meanwhile, the 55-64 and 65-74 cohorts are expected to experience population declines.