NSW · Newcastle Council
Wickham, 2293
Current weather
18.1°CClear sky
64% humidity · 14.1 km/h wind · 21.8° / 14.1° today · 2.4 mm rain
Updated
Desirability score
- Cycling
- Green suburb
- High desirability
Suburb profile
Wickham is a lively inner smaller community with dining, shopping and leisure options right on the doorstep. Connections to the wider metro area are straightforward, with neighbouring communities close at hand. A younger crowd gives the area energy, with a community of people who commute and work locally.
Local shops and services cover the basics well, with more choice a short trip into neighbouring suburbs. Buses and trains connect the area to surrounding suburbs, keeping the wider city within easy reach. Homes here are sought-after, with many people drawn to the lifestyle the area offers.
Construction and infill projects are noticeably reshaping parts of the area.
On the desirability index, the suburb sits below average overall, mainly because housing affordability and transport and access lag similar metro suburbs, despite relative strength in community and employment. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.
Population
- Population
- 1,637
- Median age
- 32
- Median household income / week
- $1,902
- Dwelling vacancy
- 13.9%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 131 of 944
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,024
- Employment rate
- 72.7%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 30 / 256 / 368
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)
- $750
- Houses (January to March 2026)
- $798
- All types (January to March 2026)
- $750
- Rental bonds lodged (January to March 2026)
- 69
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)
- 885
- Against the person
- 32
- Against property
- 123
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 540.6
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 51 residents
- State safety percentile
- 99.8th (lower crime is better)
- Increase (daily rate)
- +22.2%
Reported offences increased compared with the previous period.
Reported offences by period
Most common offence types
- Break And Enter Dwelling30
- Malicious Damage To Property33
- Motor Vehicle Theft32
- Steal From Motor Vehicle47
- Transport Regulatory Offences1390
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
26 public transport stops in this suburb
- Acc ENT2 Station St
- ENT Station St
- FTB Station St
- KAR Station St
- TXI Station St
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).
102 planning-related records
2026· 5 proposals
June 2026
- Demolition8 MARY STREET WICKHAM 2293Under Assessment
April 2026
- Demolition; Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure30 FLEMING STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
March 2026
- Business premises; Commercial development; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure150 HANNELL STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
February 2026
- Community facility; Hours of operation and trading22 ALBERT STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
January 2026
- Residential flat building; Erection of a new structure73 RAILWAY LANE WICKHAM 2293Under Assessment
2025· 13 proposals
December 2025
- Demolition8 MARY STREET WICKHAM 2293Withdrawn
- Multi-dwelling housing; Shop top housing; Erection of a new structure; Car parkU 1 21 RAILWAY STREET WICKHAM 2293Under Assessment
- Business premises; Commercial development; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure150 HANNELL STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
- Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure53 ROBERT STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
October 2025
- Commercial development; Change of use of land or a building or the classification of a building under the Building Code of Australia8-10 ALBERT STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
- Commercial development; Change of use of land or a building or the classification of a building under the Building Code of Australia; Hardware and building supply8-10 ALBERT STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
September 2025
- Commercial development; Office Premise; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure; Retail Premise; Shop; Residential Accommodation10 DANGAR STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
August 2025
- Residential flat building; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure73 RAILWAY LANE WICKHAM 2293Determined
- Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure50A ANNIE STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
July 2025
- Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure; Residential Accommodation10 CHURCH STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
June 2025
- Change of use of land or a building or the classification of a building under the Building Code of Australia; Vehicle repair station41 THROSBY STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
May 2025
- Multi-dwelling housing; Subdivision; Erection of a new structure52 ANNIE STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
- Commercial development; Advertising and signage; Erection of a new structure; Shop; Neighbourhood shop128 HANNELL STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
2024· 17 proposals
December 2024
- Residential flat building; Change of use of land or a building or the classification of a building under the Building Code of Australia73 RAILWAY LANE WICKHAM 2293Determined
November 2024
- Subdivision50 RAILWAY STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
- Erection of a new structure; Swimming pool48 ANNIE STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
October 2024
- Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure; Recreation facility (indoor); Take away food and drink132 HANNELL STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
- Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure45 ROBERT STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
- Commercial development; Change of use of land or a building or the classification of a building under the Building Code of Australia; Vehicle Sales or Hire Premises49 ANNIE STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
September 2024
- Shop top housing; Change of use of land or a building or the classification of a building under the Building Code of Australia116 HANNELL STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
- Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure20 DICKSON STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
August 2024
- Shop top housing; Erection of a new structure1 26 BISHOPSGATE STREET WICKHAM 2293Withdrawn
- Subdivision72 HANNELL STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
July 2024
- Residential flat building; Erection of a new structure73 RAILWAY LANE WICKHAM 2293Withdrawn
- Demolition; Dwelling house2 ALBERT STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
June 2024
- Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure; Residential Accommodation42 FLEMING STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
- Demolition73 RAILWAY LANE WICKHAM 2293Withdrawn
March 2024
- Shop top housing; Erection of a new structure; Residential Accommodation128 HANNELL STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
February 2024
- Commercial development; Hours of operation and trading9 UNION STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
- Advertising and signage; Change of use of land or a building or the classification of a building under the Building Code of Australia; Recreation facility (indoor)14 ALBERT STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
2023· 5 proposals
November 2023
- Shop top housing; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure10 DANGAR STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
October 2023
- Demolition; Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure41 GREY STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
September 2023
- Stratum / community title subdivision52 ANNIE STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
August 2023
- Alterations and additions to residential development21 ALBERT STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
July 2023
- Alterations and additions to residential development18 FLEMING STREET WICKHAM 2293Determined
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
61 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
- The Bottle-O WickhamAlcohol
- Bicycle Parking (2)
- Bicycle rental
- Albert St at Railway StBus stop
- Albert St opp Wickham ParkBus stop
- Branch St at Fleming StBus stop
- Hannell St after Cowper StBus stop
- Hannell St after Greenway StBus stop
- Hannell St at Dickson StBus stop
- Newcastle Interchange, Stewart AvBus 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
2 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Tree of Knowledge ParkPark
- Wickham 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)
- 9/10
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
- KU Wickham PreschoolAlbert Streetkindergarten
Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)
Childcare centre count
Data sources & freshness
- Childcare services — OpenStreetMap · Period: current · Updated on site
Hazards
- Bushfire planning zone
- No overlay at centroid
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)
- 3
- Parks (OSM)
- 3
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
- 27.8/100 — Below average
- National rank
- 5664th in Australia
- State rank
- 1778th in NSW
- Peer rank
- #307 among Metro Sydney · Growth area suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #812 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
- Albert St at Railway Stamenitiesbus_stop
- Albert St opp Wickham Parkamenitiesbus_stop
- Albion Hotelamenitiespub
- Allureamenitiesmassage
- Bearing Dynamicsamenitiescar_parts
- Bicycle Parkingamenitiesbicycle_parking
- Bicycle Parkingamenitiesbicycle_parking
- Bicycle rentalamenitiesbicycle_rental
- Blackwoodsamenitieshardware
- Branch St at Fleming Stamenitiesbus_stop
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
More in Newcastle Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of New South Wales.