Clarence Valley vs Bellingen

Clarence Valley and Bellingen are two New South Wales areas with very different levels of accessibility. Bellingen is far more walkable, with a score of 3.7 (mostly car-dependent) compared to 0.6 (car-dependent) in Clarence Valley. This is seen in the daily reach of residents; 49.5% of Bellingen homes are within a 15-minute walk of groceries and 38.1% are near health services, while Clarence Valley has only 7.2% near shops and 0.0% near health services. Bellingen also has a larger First Nations population, and 36.7% of First Nations people there finished Year 12, which is far higher than the 24.4% in Clarence Valley.

Both areas share very similar First Nations household incomes and almost identical terrain slopes. This common ground exists alongside a gap in First Nations employment, which is well higher in Clarence Valley at 11.3% compared to 4.8% in Bellingen. The typical First Nations personal income is also well higher in Bellingen at $581, while in Clarence Valley it is $443, a figure lower than most Australian areas.