NSW · Central Coast (NSW) Council
Watanobbi, 2259
Current weather
16.2°CClear sky
56% humidity · 12.3 km/h wind · 21.9° / 13.2° today · 4 mm rain
Updated
Desirability score
- Green suburb
- Excellent transport
- High desirability
Suburb profile
Watanobbi is a practical mid-sized suburb in Central Coast (NSW), well placed for families who want metro access without the inner-city squeeze. Well placed between the city and outer suburbs, it offers practical access in every direction. Leafy streets and shaded corners make the suburb feel greener and more established than many nearby.
Working households and growing families are the backbone of local life, with a strong presence of young families throughout. Daily life is practical and well connected, with the city and nearby suburbs easy to tap into. Green space is a real strength, with parks and playgrounds woven through the suburb.
Public transport links make it easy to move between neighbouring suburbs without relying on the car. Homes are relatively affordable, which helps families and first-time residents put down roots.
The desirability score is below average, weighed down by weaker growth momentum and safety against similar metro suburbs, even with parks and green space and housing affordability holding up better. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.
Population
- Population
- 3,980
- Median age
- 35
- Median household income / week
- $1,315
- Dwelling vacancy
- 3.2%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 47 of 1,456
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,710
- Employment rate
- 49.9%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 139 / 140 / 46
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 · 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)
- $500
- Houses (January to March 2026)
- $700
- All types (January to March 2026)
- $680
- Rental bonds lodged (January to March 2026)
- 472
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 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)
- 438
- Against the person
- 110
- Against property
- 143
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 110.1
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 36 residents
- State safety percentile
- 77.9th (lower crime is better)
- Increase (daily rate)
- +6.3%
Reported offences increased compared with the previous period.
Reported offences by period
Most common offence types
- Breach Bail Conditions789
- Domestic Violence Related Assault437
- Intimidation, Stalking And Harassment636
- Malicious Damage To Property530
- Transport Regulatory Offences1055
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 · 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
40 public transport stops in this suburb
- 156 Pacific Hwy
- Pacific Hwy At Cutler Dr
- Pacific Hwy Before Brittania Dr
- Pacific Hwy Opp 156
- Pacific Hwy Opp Brittania Dr
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 · Period: current · Updated on site · GTFS static feed (updated nightly)
Planning & development
Development applications from NSW Planning Portal (lodged 2020–2026).
69 planning-related records
2026· 1 proposal
June 2026
- Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure2 KITTY PLACE WATANOBBI 2259Under Assessment
2025· 7 proposals
November 2025
- Dual occupancy; Subdivision; Erection of a new structure; Dual occupancy (attached); Residential Accommodation22 FORSTER AVENUE WATANOBBI 2259Withdrawn
October 2025
- Subdivision; Erection of a new structure; Dual occupancy (attached); Earthworks, retaining walls and structural support18 ABBEY CLOSE WATANOBBI 2259Additional Information Requested
- Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure; Erection of a new structure; Balcony, deck, patio, terrace or verandah; Carport; Garage, carport or carparking space46 CASEY DRIVE WATANOBBI 2259Determined
May 2025
- Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure17 ISAACS CLOSE WATANOBBI 2259Determined
March 2025
- Secondary dwelling; Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure; Hours of operation and trading5 KITTY PLACE WATANOBBI 2259Determined
- Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure1A TENNYSON PLACE WATANOBBI 2259Determined
February 2025
- Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure13 FRIENDSHIP PLACE WATANOBBI 2259Determined
2024· 8 proposals
November 2024
- Erection of a new structure; Earthworks, retaining walls and structural support17 ISAACS CLOSE WATANOBBI 2259Determined
July 2024
- Secondary dwelling; Erection of a new structure79 FISHBURN CRESCENT WATANOBBI 2259Determined
June 2024
- Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure33 NICOLE CLOSE WATANOBBI 2259Determined
April 2024
- Dual occupancy; Subdivision; Erection of a new structure; Dual occupancy (attached)12 CEDAR CLOSE WATANOBBI 2259Determined
March 2024
- Dual occupancy; Erection of a new structure; Dual occupancy (attached); Residential Accommodation41 WATANOBBI ROAD WATANOBBI 2259Determined
- Demolition; Dwelling house15 HARRINGTON CLOSE WATANOBBI 2259Determined
- Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure7A CASEY DRIVE WATANOBBI 2259Determined
January 2024
- Dual occupancy; Demolition; Subdivision; Erection of a new structure; Dual occupancy (detached)230 Pacific Highway, Watanobbi NSW 2259Determined
2023· 7 proposals
December 2023
- Erection of a new structure; Dual occupancy (attached)8 WEAVER CRESCENT WATANOBBI 2259Determined
- Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure63 NORTHCOTT AVENUE WATANOBBI 2259Determined
November 2023
- Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure; Earthworks, retaining walls and structural support4 WEAVER CRESCENT WATANOBBI 2259Determined
July 2023
- Dwelling17 ISAACS CLOSE WATANOBBI 2259Determined
June 2023
- Retaining walls, protection of trees1 DE L'ISLE DRIVE WATANOBBI 2259Determined
- Dwelling34 THE GROVE WATANOBBI 2259Determined
- Pools / decks / fencing16 WEAVER CRESCENT WATANOBBI 2259Determined
2022· 10 proposals
December 2022
- Dual occupancy10 CAMDEN WAY WATANOBBI 2259Determined
- Dwelling; Secondary dwelling20 ZELMAN CLOSE WATANOBBI 2259Determined
November 2022
- Pools / decks / fencing16 WEAVER CRESCENT WATANOBBI 2259Determined
September 2022
- Semi-attached dwelling; Demolition; Subdivision of land7A CASEY DRIVE WATANOBBI 2259Determined
August 2022
- Secondary dwelling47 FISHBURN CRESCENT WATANOBBI 2259Determined
- Dwelling34 THE GROVE WATANOBBI 2259Determined
July 2022
- Dual occupancy; Subdivision of land; Retaining walls, protection of trees212 PACIFIC HIGHWAY WATANOBBI 2259Determined
June 2022
- Balconies, decks, patios, terraces or verandahs; Alterations and additions to residential development78 CASEY DRIVE WATANOBBI 2259Determined
- Dual occupancy; Subdivision of land3 HAYDEN CLOSE WATANOBBI 2259Determined
March 2022
- Dual occupancy8 MEAD WAY WATANOBBI 2259Determined
2021· 7 proposals
December 2021
- Dwelling3 VINTAGE COURT WATANOBBI 2259Determined
October 2021
- Balconies, decks, patios, terraces or verandahs; Garages, carports and car parking spaces43 GUARDIAN ROAD WATANOBBI 2259Determined
- Secondary dwelling63 NORTHCOTT AVENUE WATANOBBI 2259Determined
September 2021
- Dwelling; Pools / decks / fencing18 ZELMAN CLOSE WATANOBBI 2259Determined
- Dwelling; Retaining walls, protection of trees6 MCKELL AVENUE WATANOBBI 2259Determined
- Balconies, decks, patios, terraces or verandahs; Alterations and additions to residential development15 FARNOL PLACE WATANOBBI 2259Determined
July 2021
- Dual occupancy; Subdivision of land51 Watanobbi Road Watanobbi 2259Determined
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 · Period: 2020–2026 · Updated on site · Daily open-data feed (applications from Oct 2018)
Amenities
42 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
- Bench (2)
- 156 Pacific HwyBus stop
- 83 Casey DrBus stop
- 86 Casey DrBus stop
- Brittania Dr at The GroveBus stop
- Brittania Dr opp The GroveBus stop
- Casey Dr before Somers DrBus stop
- Casey Dr opp Somers DrBus stop
- Del'isle Dr opp Del'isle Drive Community CentreBus stop
- Del'isle Drive Community Centre, Del'isle DrBus stop
Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe).
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Food, shopping, recreation and sport (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Parks & reserves
4 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Brent Close ReservePark
- Coronet ParkPark
- Spotted Gum ParkPark
- The GrovePark
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Period: current · Updated on site
Socio-economic (SEIFA)
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 2/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 1/10
SEIFA indexes from ABS 2021. Decile 10 = most advantaged / least disadvantaged in Australia.
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD decile)
Data sources & freshness
- SEIFA 2021 (IRSAD / IRSD) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 SEIFA release
Childcare
1 childcare service from OpenStreetMap
- childcarechildcare
Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)
Childcare centre count
Data sources & freshness
- Childcare services — OpenStreetMap · Period: current · Updated on site
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 · Period: current · Updated on site
Green cover
- Parks & woodland (OSM)
- 19
- Parks (OSM)
- 5
OpenStreetMap parks and natural woodland features mapped within the suburb boundary.
Contributes to desirability score · Environment (10%)
Parks and green cover (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap green cover features — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Desirability Index
- Desirability score
- 36.5/100 — Below average
- National rank
- 4110th in Australia
- State rank
- 1298th in NSW
- Peer rank
- #277 among Metro Sydney · Growth area suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #694 among Metro Sydney suburbs
- Data confidence
- 76%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived score) · Period: current · Updated on site · Derived from source metrics
Recent changes
- 156 Pacific Hwyamenitiesbus_stop
- 83 Casey Dramenitiesbus_stop
- 86 Casey Dramenitiesbus_stop
- Australia Postamenitiespost_box
- Benchamenitiesbench
- Benchamenitiesbench
- Brittania Dr at The Groveamenitiesbus_stop
- Brittania Dr opp The Groveamenitiesbus_stop
- Casey Dr before Somers Dramenitiesbus_stop
- Casey Dr opp Somers Dramenitiesbus_stop
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
More in Central Coast (NSW) Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of New South Wales.