Wahroonga flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Wahroonga
(Ku-Ring-Gai, NSW) - 9.74 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
9.74 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Wahroonga'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 Wahroonga
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 6 a day
Night movements: observed, lowest 2,500 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.
Wahroonga at a glance
How Wahroonga is zoned
Buying in Wahroonga? 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 9.74 km², Wahroonga is highly constrained by planning overlays. Flood mapping covers the suburb and none of it falls within a mapped flood overlay, and 30% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 237 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Low Density Residential. The median lot measures about 972 m² across 5,368 parcels.
Who lives in Wahroonga
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Wahroonga 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 1157, and decile 10 within New South Wales. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Wahroonga's 17,853 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee, the wider ABS statistical area containing Wahroonga. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Wahroonga itself.
16,331 in 2001 to 18,232 in 2025, up 12%.
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.
Wahroonga 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 Wahroonga 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 80% of Wahroonga. The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.
Published flood models are held over parts of Wahroonga. The free check tells you whether one reaches an address; where it does, a Flood Model Report is +$9 with the planning report.
Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and an indicative AS 2870 site class for a Wahroonga lot.
See what's in the $9 report →Wahroonga planning - frequently asked
Is Wahroonga flood-prone?
Flood mapping covers Wahroonga and less than 1% of the suburb falls within a mapped flood overlay (the council-wide suburb average is 3%). Published flood models are held over parts of Wahroonga; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.
Is Wahroonga bushfire-prone?
Around 30% of Wahroonga is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Ku-Ring-Gai average of 46%.
Is Wahroonga under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 80% of Wahroonga, 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 4,000 ft. At the busiest point in the suburb about 61 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 Wahroonga?
The dominant planning zone in Wahroonga is Low Density Residential, though the suburb also includes Environmental Living and Environmental Conservation.
Does Wahroonga have heritage-listed places?
Wahroonga has 237 heritage-listed places on record.
What is the typical lot size in Wahroonga?
Across 5,368 surveyed parcels in Wahroonga, the median lot size is about 972 m². There are also 45 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
Does Wahroonga have a train station?
Yes - Wahroonga has 1 train station: Wahroonga Station. It is also served by 253 bus stops.
What is the population of Wahroonga?
At the 2021 Census Wahroonga had 17,853 usual residents, with a median age of 44 and an average household size of 2.9 people. The wider Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee statistical area, which contains Wahroonga, went from 16,331 people in 2001 to 18,232 in 2025, up 12%.
Is Wahroonga an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Wahroonga scores 1157 and sits in decile 10 of 10 nationally and decile 10 within New South Wales (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Wahroonga?
Median household income in Wahroonga was $2,998 a week at the 2021 Census, against $3,189 for the typical suburb in Ku-Ring-Gai. Median rent was $600 a week and the median mortgage repayment $3,467 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warrawee | 1.0 km | 3% | 2% |
| Normanhurst Hornsby |
1.4 km | 0% | 31% |
| Waitara Hornsby |
1.7 km | 0% | 0% |
| Turramurra | 1.8 km | 2% | 27% |
| Thornleigh Hornsby |
2.8 km | 0% | 41% |
| South Turramurra | 3.2 km | 0% | 67% |
| Hornsby Hornsby |
3.3 km | 0% | 50% |
| North Wahroonga | 3.4 km | 2% | 87% |
| Pymble | 3.6 km | 2% | 18% |
| Asquith Hornsby |
3.9 km | 0% | 52% |