Crescent Head flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Crescent Head
(Kempsey, NSW) - 182.7 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 3 October 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
182.7 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Crescent Head's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Magenta is where aircraft were observed in the sampled period, brightest below 3,000 ft.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
Aircraft noise and flight paths over Crescent Head
Two different things, kept apart on purpose. The ANEF contour is the planning instrument - a forecast published per airport that planning schemes use to control noise-sensitive development. Observed overflight is what a sampled aircraft-tracking feed actually recorded over the suburb - where aircraft flew, how low and how often.
Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 2 Oct 2026
typical observed square 1 a day
Night movements: not established - night is sampled as often as day, but too few night flights have been seen here to conclude either way.
Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously, so every figure is a floor: aircraft not captured between samples are not represented. Rates are per 500 m square - the busiest square in the suburb, not a count of flights over the suburb - and a square is only rated where enough traffic was seen to measure it. Altitudes are above mean sea level. Flight paths change with runway use, weather, season and airspace design. This is a record of observed traffic; it is not a noise contour and not a planning control.
Crescent Head at a glance
How Crescent Head is zoned
Buying in Crescent Head? The zoning, flood and bushfire lines on the section 10.7 certificate attached to the contract are mapped controls - see our s10.7 certificate guide.
Across its 182.7 km², Crescent Head is highly constrained by planning overlays. Flood mapping covers the suburb and none of it falls within a mapped flood overlay, and 100% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 5 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is National Parks and Nature Reserves. The median lot measures about 846 m² across 1,232 parcels.
Who lives in Crescent Head
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Crescent Head suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.
Socio-economic standing
ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.
Score 970, and decile 4 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Crescent Head's 1,633 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Kempsey Surrounds, the wider ABS statistical area containing Crescent Head. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Crescent Head itself.
9,334 in 2001 to 9,671 in 2025, up 4%.
Source: ABS Census 2021 and SEIFA 2021 (Suburbs and Localities), Regional Population (SA2), CC BY 4.0. Small counts are randomly adjusted by the ABS.
Crescent Head data sources and coverage
“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.
| Dataset | Coverage | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Flood mapping | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Zoning | Mapped | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Heritage and environment | Mapped where published | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies |
| Aircraft noise contours (ANEF) | Not held | NSW Government spatial services, NSW ePlanning and published council flood studies, Defence |
| Observed flight paths | Observed | adsb.lol, under the Open Database License |
| Demographics | Available | Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA) |
Profile last materially updated 3 October 2026. See the methodology and full source list. Source data changes over time and critical decisions should be checked with the responsible authority.
Check a specific Crescent Head address
See exactly which overlays touch a single property - the interactive map is free. Need it on paper? A full planning PDF is just $9.
Aircraft have been seen below 3,000 ft over about 30% of Crescent Head. The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.
Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and an indicative AS 2870 site class for a Crescent Head lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Crescent Head planning - frequently asked
Is Crescent Head flood-prone?
Flood mapping covers Crescent Head and less than 1% of the suburb falls within a mapped flood overlay (the council-wide suburb average is 2%).
Is Crescent Head bushfire-prone?
Around 100% of Crescent Head is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Kempsey average of 94%.
Is Crescent Head under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 30% of Crescent Head, and over about 53% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 2 Oct 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 500 ft, with an average of 3,500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 2 aircraft a day were recorded passing over one 500 m square. Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously and flight paths change with runway use, weather and season; the ANEF contour is the planning instrument.
What is the zoning in Crescent Head?
The dominant planning zone in Crescent Head is National Parks and Nature Reserves, though the suburb also includes Rural Landscape and Environmental Conservation.
Does Crescent Head have heritage-listed places?
Crescent Head has 5 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in Crescent Head?
Across 1,232 surveyed parcels in Crescent Head, the median lot size is about 846 m². There are also 9 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does Crescent Head have a train station?
There is no train station inside Crescent Head itself. The suburb is served by 16 bus stops.
What is the population of Crescent Head?
At the 2021 Census Crescent Head had 1,633 usual residents, with a median age of 50 and an average household size of 2.2 people. The wider Kempsey Surrounds statistical area, which contains Crescent Head, went from 9,334 people in 2001 to 9,671 in 2025, up 4%.
Is Crescent Head an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Crescent Head scores 970 and sits in decile 5 of 10 nationally and decile 4 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Crescent Head?
Median household income in Crescent Head was $1,317 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,218 for the typical suburb in Kempsey. Median rent was $320 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,591 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kundabung | 10.0 km | Not mapped | 100% |
| Cooperabung | 11.8 km | 2% | 100% |
| South Kempsey | 12.4 km | Not mapped | 96% |
| Limeburners Creek Port Macquarie-Hastings |
13.6 km | 74% | 99% |
| Verges Creek | 14.1 km | Not mapped | 100% |
| Belmore River | 14.9 km | Not mapped | 100% |
| Hacks Ferry Port Macquarie-Hastings |
15.9 km | 100% | 98% |
| Burnt Bridge | 16.0 km | Not mapped | 100% |
| East Kempsey | 16.2 km | Not mapped | 73% |
| Hampden Hall | 16.8 km | Not mapped | 99% |