James Creek flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of James Creek
(Clarence Valley, NSW) - 11.16 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 26 September 2026.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
11.16 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to James Creek's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
Aircraft noise and flight paths over James Creek
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 to
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.
James Creek at a glance
How James Creek is zoned
Buying in James Creek? 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 11.16 km², James Creek is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 56% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 94% 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 16,866 m² across 131 parcels.
Who lives in James Creek
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the James Creek 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 1029, and decile 7 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of James Creek's 257 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Maclean - Yamba - Iluka, the wider ABS statistical area containing James Creek. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than James Creek itself.
14,359 in 2001 to 18,562 in 2025, up 29%.
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.
James Creek 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 26 September 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 James Creek 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.
Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and an indicative AS 2870 site class for a James Creek lot.
See what's in the $9 report →James Creek planning - frequently asked
Is James Creek flood-prone?
About 56% of James Creek falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 24%.
Is James Creek bushfire-prone?
Around 94% of James Creek is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Clarence Valley average of 94%.
Is James Creek under a flight path?
No aircraft were observed over James Creek in the period sampled (recent weeks to now). Sampling is intermittent, so that is a floor rather than proof that none fly over. 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 James Creek?
The dominant planning zone in James Creek is National Parks and Nature Reserves, though the suburb also includes Primary Production and Large Lot Residential.
Does James Creek have heritage-listed places?
James Creek has 5 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in James Creek?
Across 131 surveyed parcels in James Creek, the median lot size is about 16,866 m².
Does James Creek have a train station?
There is no train station inside James Creek itself. The suburb is served by 2 bus stops.
What is the population of James Creek?
At the 2021 Census James Creek had 257 usual residents, with a median age of 52 and an average household size of 2.7 people. The wider Maclean - Yamba - Iluka statistical area, which contains James Creek, went from 14,359 people in 2001 to 18,562 in 2025, up 29%.
Is James Creek an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), James Creek scores 1029 and sits in decile 8 of 10 nationally and decile 7 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in James Creek?
Median household income in James Creek was $1,774 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,187 for the typical suburb in Clarence Valley. Median rent was $423 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,733 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Townsend | 2.2 km | 46% | 73% |
| Palmers Channel | 2.6 km | 97% | 98% |
| Maclean | 3.0 km | 65% | 61% |
| Harwood | 4.5 km | 99% | 80% |
| Palmers Island | 4.7 km | 98% | 80% |
| Ashby Island | 4.8 km | 100% | 80% |
| Gulmarrad | 5.5 km | 30% | 98% |
| Ashby | 5.5 km | 35% | 87% |
| Micalo Island | 6.7 km | 100% | 93% |
| Chatsworth | 7.1 km | 99% | 93% |