Bellingen vs Bowraville

Bellingen and Bowraville are two nearby areas with very different layouts. Bellingen is much larger and more walkable for daily needs, with 49.5% of homes within a 15-minute walk of groceries and 57.6% near a park. In contrast, Bowraville has no homes within a 15-minute walk of parks or shops, though it is far more compact, with 98% of homes within a 15-minute walk of a school and 84.5% near public transport. Bellingen also has a larger First Nations population and higher typical incomes for this group, including a typical household income of $1,397 compared to $1,031 in Bowraville.

These two areas have tracked similarly since 2011, remaining mostly car-dependent despite their different layouts. They share similar patterns in their First Nations communities, where the typical age is nearly the same in both places (24 in Bellingen and 25 in Bowraville). However, Bellingen sees better educational outcomes for First Nations people, with a Year 12 completion rate of 36.7%, which is far higher than the 24.3% seen in Bowraville.