Rankin Park flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Rankin Park
(Newcastle, NSW) - 1.42 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
1.42 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Rankin Park'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 Rankin Park
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 500 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.
Rankin Park at a glance
How Rankin Park is zoned
Buying in Rankin Park? 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 1.42 km², Rankin Park is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 2% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 54% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Low Density Residential. The median lot measures about 674 m² across 1,010 parcels.
Who lives in Rankin Park
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Rankin Park 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 1051, and decile 8 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Rankin Park's 2,547 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Wallsend - Elermore Vale, the wider ABS statistical area containing Rankin Park. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Rankin Park itself.
18,873 in 2001 to 21,955 in 2025, up 16%.
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.
Rankin Park 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 Rankin Park 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 95% of Rankin Park. 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 Rankin Park lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Rankin Park planning - frequently asked
Is Rankin Park flood-prone?
About 2% of Rankin Park falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 39%.
Is Rankin Park bushfire-prone?
Around 54% of Rankin Park is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Newcastle average of 24%.
Is Rankin Park under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 95% of Rankin Park, and over about 100% 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 1,500 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 1 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 Rankin Park?
The dominant planning zone in Rankin Park is Low Density Residential, though the suburb also includes Environmental Management and Environmental Conservation.
Does Rankin Park have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within Rankin Park.
What is the typical lot size in Rankin Park?
Across 1,010 surveyed parcels in Rankin Park, the median lot size is about 674 m².
Does Rankin Park have a train station?
There is no train station inside Rankin Park itself. The suburb is served by 40 bus stops.
What is the population of Rankin Park?
At the 2021 Census Rankin Park had 2,547 usual residents, with a median age of 40 and an average household size of 2.7 people. The wider Wallsend - Elermore Vale statistical area, which contains Rankin Park, went from 18,873 people in 2001 to 21,955 in 2025, up 16%.
Is Rankin Park an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Rankin Park scores 1051 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 Rankin Park?
Median household income in Rankin Park was $2,214 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,818 for the typical suburb in Newcastle. Median rent was $450 a week and the median mortgage repayment $2,000 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiff Heights Lake Macquarie |
1.1 km | Not mapped | 68% |
| New Lambton Heights | 1.3 km | <1% | 76% |
| Elermore Vale | 1.9 km | 3% | 59% |
| Garden Suburb Lake Macquarie |
2.3 km | Not mapped | 69% |
| Kotara | 2.4 km | 22% | 34% |
| Glendale Lake Macquarie |
2.7 km | Not mapped | 53% |
| Lambton | 2.8 km | 17% | 25% |
| Jesmond | 2.8 km | 24% | 7% |
| New Lambton | 2.9 km | 36% | 34% |
| Kotara South Lake Macquarie |
3.0 km | 3% | 27% |