Pearces Creek flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Pearces Creek
(Ballina, NSW) - 8.36 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
8.36 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Pearces Creek'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 Pearces 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 4 Sep to 2 Oct 2026
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.
Pearces Creek at a glance
How Pearces Creek is zoned
Buying in Pearces 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 8.36 km², Pearces Creek is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 1% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 59% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Primary Production. The median lot measures about 36,128 m² across 82 parcels.
Who lives in Pearces Creek
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Pearces 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 1042, and decile 8 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Pearces Creek's 210 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Ballina Surrounds, the wider ABS statistical area containing Pearces Creek. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Pearces Creek itself.
14,963 in 2001 to 19,370 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.
Pearces 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 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 Pearces 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.
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 Pearces Creek lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Pearces Creek planning - frequently asked
Is Pearces Creek flood-prone?
About 1% of Pearces Creek falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 0%.
Is Pearces Creek bushfire-prone?
Around 59% of Pearces Creek is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Ballina average of 68%.
Is Pearces Creek under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed over about 12% of Pearces Creek in the period sampled, but only above 3,000 ft - the lowest measured was 4,500 ft. 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 Pearces Creek?
The dominant planning zone in Pearces Creek is Primary Production, though the suburb also includes Natural Waterways and Rural Landscape.
Does Pearces Creek have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within Pearces Creek.
What is the typical lot size in Pearces Creek?
Across 82 surveyed parcels in Pearces Creek, the median lot size is about 36,128 m².
Does Pearces Creek have a train station?
There is no train station inside Pearces Creek itself. The suburb is served by 28 bus stops.
What is the population of Pearces Creek?
At the 2021 Census Pearces Creek had 210 usual residents, with a median age of 42 and an average household size of 2.9 people. The wider Ballina Surrounds statistical area, which contains Pearces Creek, went from 14,963 people in 2001 to 19,370 in 2025, up 29%.
Is Pearces Creek an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Pearces Creek scores 1042 and sits in decile 9 of 10 nationally and decile 8 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Pearces Creek?
Median household income in Pearces Creek was $2,285 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,812 for the typical suburb in Ballina. Median rent was $380 a week and the median mortgage repayment $2,383 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booyong Byron |
2.3 km | 20% | 90% |
| Alstonvale | 2.9 km | Not mapped | 57% |
| Fernleigh | 3.1 km | Not mapped | 71% |
| Nashua Byron |
4.5 km | 16% | 85% |
| Tuckombil | 4.6 km | Not mapped | 57% |
| Eltham Lismore |
4.9 km | 10% | 16% |
| Brooklet | 5.7 km | Not mapped | 45% |
| Tintenbar | 5.7 km | Not mapped | 77% |
| Teven | 6.0 km | Not mapped | 82% |
| Mcleans Ridges | 6.0 km | <1% | 32% |