Lake Macquarie · Council (LGA)
How much of daily life sits within a walk of home — a transparent 0–10 walkability score and the everyday destinations you can reach on foot: shops, public transport, schools, parks and health services, plus the streets and terrain in between.
A mean terrain slope of 7.7% means Lake Macquarie is about as hilly as the state average, contributing to a walkability score of 4.9, which is considered somewhat walkable. While many residents can easily reach public transport, far fewer have essential services like health clinics or groceries within a short walk.
All council (lga) areas, 2021. The marker is Lake Macquarie — somewhat walkable of areas.
| Lake Macquarie | 4.9 |
|---|---|
| Rest of NSW | 4.6 |
| New South Wales | 6.2 |
Share of homes (G-NAF addresses) in Lake Macquarie by walking time to the nearest amenity of each type, on an elevation-aware pedestrian network. How we calculate this →
The overall walkability score and how much of daily life is a short walk away.
Only 52.8% of homes have a 15-minute-city walkshed, a figure far below the New South Wales average of 71.9%. The area's overall walkability score of 4.9 is well below the state figure of 6.2.
4.9
Somewhat walkable of council (lga) areas.
A 0–10 score for how much of daily life sits within an easy walk of the average home — weighing how close groceries, public transport, cafés, parks, health services, schools, culture and everyday services are, and how many of each. Walking times are measured on an elevation-aware pedestrian network, so hills count against reach. The methodology page describes how the score is put together.
4.8
Higher than 72% of council (lga) areas.
How many of the eight everyday amenity types — groceries, food & drink, health, schools, parks, culture, everyday services and public transport — the average home can reach on foot within 15 minutes, out of 8.
52.8%
Higher than 58% of council (lga) areas.
Share of local homes that can reach at least five of the eight everyday amenity types within a 15-minute walk — the "15-minute city" test. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
How many homes can walk to groceries, transport, schools, parks and health services.
Access to public transport is a strong point, with 88.8% of homes within a 10-minute walk, well above the state average. However, other essentials are harder to reach, as health services (32.7%) and groceries (44.1%) are far below the state figures.
44.1%
Lower than 57% of council (lga) areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of groceries or everyday shopping. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
88.8%
Higher than 81% of council (lga) areas.
Share of local homes within a 10-minute walk of a public-transport stop — bus, train, tram or ferry. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
67.1%
Higher than 70% of council (lga) areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of a school. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
87.6%
Higher than 71% of council (lga) areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of a park or area of open space. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
32.7%
Lower than 60% of council (lga) areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of health services such as a GP, pharmacy or hospital. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
Amenity density, how well the streets connect, and how hilly the walk is.
There are 32 street intersections per square kilometre across the area. The number of walkable amenities per 1,000 residents is 12.8, which is a little below the New South Wales figure of 14.7.
12.8
Lower than 78% of council (lga) areas.
Walkable amenities — shops, cafés, parks, health services, schools, cultural and community places, everyday services and public-transport stops — per 1,000 residents. Measures how much is around, apart from how far it is to walk there.
32
Higher than 75% of council (lga) areas.
Walkable street intersections per square kilometre. Denser, better-connected street grids give more direct routes on foot than winding, cul-de-sac layouts.
7.7%
Higher than 86% of council (lga) areas.
Average terrain slope across the area, as a percent grade. Steeper ground shortens how far people will walk; it is already folded into the walkability score through the elevation-aware pedestrian network, and is shown here on its own for context.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Walkability in Lake Macquarie [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/lga/LGA14650/lake-macquarie/topic/walkability
