Karuah flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Karuah
(Port Stephens, NSW) - 74.75 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
74.75 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Karuah'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 Karuah
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: observed, lowest 3,000 ft - night is sampled as often as day, but night traffic is light, so this is a floor and no rate can be put on it.
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.
Karuah at a glance
How Karuah is zoned
Buying in Karuah? 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 74.75 km², Karuah is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 18% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 89% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 3 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Rural Landscape. The median lot measures about 956 m² across 1,706 parcels.
Who lives in Karuah
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Karuah 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 866, and decile 1 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Karuah's 1,618 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Williamtown - Medowie - Karuah, the wider ABS statistical area containing Karuah. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Karuah itself.
10,830 in 2001 to 17,178 in 2025, up 59%.
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.
Karuah 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 Karuah 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 15% of Karuah. 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 Karuah lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Karuah planning - frequently asked
Is Karuah flood-prone?
About 18% of Karuah falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 45%.
Is Karuah bushfire-prone?
Around 89% of Karuah is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Port Stephens average of 82%.
Is Karuah under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 15% of Karuah, and over about 50% 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 5,500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 6 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 Karuah?
The dominant planning zone in Karuah is Rural Landscape, though the suburb also includes National Parks and Nature Reserves and Forestry.
Does Karuah have heritage-listed places?
Karuah has 3 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in Karuah?
Across 1,706 surveyed parcels in Karuah, the median lot size is about 956 m². There are also 7 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does Karuah have a train station?
There is no train station inside Karuah itself. The suburb is served by 42 bus stops.
What is the population of Karuah?
At the 2021 Census Karuah had 1,618 usual residents, with a median age of 50 and an average household size of 2.3 people. The wider Williamtown - Medowie - Karuah statistical area, which contains Karuah, went from 10,830 people in 2001 to 17,178 in 2025, up 59%.
Is Karuah an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Karuah scores 866 and sits in decile 1 of 10 nationally and decile 1 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Karuah?
Median household income in Karuah was $1,061 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,421 for the typical suburb in Port Stephens. Median rent was $300 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,444 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tahlee Mid-Coast |
5.4 km | Not mapped | 99% |
| Carrington Mid-Coast |
6.8 km | Not mapped | 99% |
| Limeburners Creek Mid-Coast |
7.0 km | Not mapped | 98% |
| Swan Bay | 7.8 km | 51% | 99% |
| Twelve Mile Creek | 7.9 km | 34% | 100% |
| North Arm Cove Mid-Coast |
8.5 km | Not mapped | 95% |
| Allworth Mid-Coast |
9.3 km | Not mapped | 94% |
| The Branch Mid-Coast |
11.2 km | Not mapped | 98% |
| Bundabah Mid-Coast |
11.2 km | Not mapped | 96% |
| Oyster Cove | 12.6 km | 55% | 99% |