Lake Cathie, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Around the national middle
Lake Cathie is more socio-economically advantaged than about 43% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 975, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Is Lake Cathie a good place to live?
There’s no single answer — it depends on what matters to you. So instead of one mystery number, we break it down: a transparent score on each part of life we can back with public data, and an honest “not yet” on the parts we can’t.
Below the national middle on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Lake Cathie from public data. It sits alongside — and reconciles with — the socio-economic Suburb Score above; it is a transparent read, not a complete verdict.
Socio-economic advantage
43/100Around the national middle
Around the national middle — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (43/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
23/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $380 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 23% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- Green spaceNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap green-space mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- TransportNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap public-transport mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- SchoolsNot scored yet — school performance (ACARA / ICSEA) needs a data-reuse licence cleared before we can publish it.
- SafetyNot scored yet — Australia has no single open crime dataset and safety data carries defamation and legal care, so it is gated pending a go/no-go and will be data-only when added.
- CommunityNot scored yet — we won't reduce community to a number from a proxy. We'd rather leave it open than publish an invented value judgement.
A transparent read on public data, not a verdict — and not a measure of any person or community. See our methodology for how each component is worked out and why some aren’t scored yet.
Lake Cathie at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 4,296
- Median age
- 52
- Median weekly household income
- $1,275
- SEIFA score
- 975
- Local government area
- Port Macquarie-Hastings
- Coordinates
- -31.5556, 152.8380
Map of Lake Cathie
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Lake Cathie
What it costs to live in Lake Cathie and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $380
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,850
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 79%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 17%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Lake Cathie demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Lake Cathie demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Lake Cathie using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is seniors (65+) at 31% and 11% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 701 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 385 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 673 | 16% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,187 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,354 | 31% |
Share of the 4,300 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 888 | 52% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 465 | 27% |
| Rented | 291 | 17% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,559 | 91% |
| Townhouses & semis | 92 | 5% |
| Flats & apartments | 61 | 4% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,712 occupied private dwellings in Lake Cathie.
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,485
- Median weekly personal income
- $658
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 459 (11%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 94 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 207 (5%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,501 (43%)
- Labour-force participation
- 49.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 5%
- Employed full-time
- 898
- Employed part-time
- 654
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Weather and climate in Lake Cathie
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Lake Cathie is January (average daytime high around 27.9°C) and the coolest is July (around 18.1°C). The area receives roughly 1070 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27.9°C | 19.6°C | 98 mm |
| Feb | 26.9°C | 19.1°C | 144 mm |
| Mar | 25.6°C | 18.2°C | 233 mm |
| Apr | 23.3°C | 15°C | 71 mm |
| May | 20.6°C | 11.9°C | 42 mm |
| Jun | 18.1°C | 9.7°C | 58 mm |
| Jul | 18.1°C | 8.5°C | 52 mm |
| Aug | 19.5°C | 8.9°C | 38 mm |
| Sep | 21.9°C | 11.1°C | 60 mm |
| Oct | 23.9°C | 13.9°C | 79 mm |
| Nov | 25.4°C | 15.8°C | 78 mm |
| Dec | 26.9°C | 18°C | 117 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Lake Cathie
Is Lake Cathie a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, Lake Cathie rates 36/100 overall (Below the national middle on the data we score). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Lake Cathie?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Lake Cathie was $380, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,850. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Lake Cathie?
Lake Cathie is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Port Macquarie-Hastings local government area.
What is the population of Lake Cathie?
At the 2021 Census, Lake Cathie had a population of about 4,296.
Is Lake Cathie an advantaged area?
Lake Cathie has an ABS SEIFA score of 975, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 43 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 43% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Lake Cathie?
Lake Cathie has average daytime highs of about 23.2°C and overnight lows of about 14.1°C, with roughly 1,070 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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