The small but well-off suburb of Catherine Field is located 60km south-west of Sydney and is experiencing marginal growth. It’s a place where the houses are large, where many own their homes outright, and the income is well above the national norm.

These are just some of the findings of the 2016 Census, but there’s more to this semi-rural area than meets the immediate eye.

So let’s take a closer look at Catherine Field and what it offers its residents.

Who lives in Catherine Field

With a median age of 38, residents of Catherine Field represent the national norm, and the resident population is 1657. This indicates a slight population increase on five years ago when the population was 1586.

It includes 52.6% females and 47.4% males, with the largest age brackets being 15-24 years (17.8%), and 45-54 (15.6%). Meanwhile the population of children younger than 15 is 18.1%, and residents aged over 65 comprise 14.9% of residents.

Most residents (86.7%) live in family households, while 12.1% live alone, and 1.2% share with friends.

Of those family households, 60.3% are couples with children and they have on average 2.2 children each. Just under 30% are couples without children, and 9.1% are single parent households.

How Catherine Field fares financially

By and large Catherine Field residents enjoy a well-off lifestyle with a median weekly household income of $1799. That’s $310 better off each week than the NSW norm and $360 greater than the national figure.

It’s also an improvement on five years ago when the median household income was $1476. That was still $240 more than the NSW norm in 2011.

Meanwhile, almost a quarter (24.2%) of households earn more than $3000 gross each week. That’s also a rise on 2011 when 15% had an income above $3000.

Of that income, $2600 goes to a mortgage each month. This is over $600 more than the NSW norm, and $845 more each month than the national median mortgage payment.

It also represents a rise on 2011, when the median monthly mortgage repayment for Catherine Field was $2448.

For those who rent, the weekly price of accommodation is also rising. In 2011 Catherine Field renters paid a median weekly rental price of $330. In 2016 it directly correlated with the NSW median of $380.

How Catherine Field residents live

This house that residents are renting or paying a mortgage on is larger than the norm. Almost all housing stock (98.3%) is separate houses, and most (66.4%) have four bedrooms or more.

Over a quarter (27.3%) are three-bedroom properties, 4.4% have two bedrooms, and only 1% are one bedroom abodes.

Meanwhile an astounding 47.4% of properties are owned outright. This is significantly greater than the national average of 31%. A further 35% of residents are paying a mortgage, while 12.7% rent the property they call home.

This represents major progress on five years ago when only 42.3% owned their property outright, and also represents a general rise in property ownership across the board with rental tenure decreasing from 16.6% in 2011.

The final word

Catherine Field is a financially stable area where residents have been steadily acquiring and paying off their own homes. It remains a small suburb where the lifestyle is semi rural, and large blocks with equally large houses are the norm.

About United Strata

United Strata specialises in real estate within the Macarthur region. We boast a wealth of insight into the current and future position of property in the region.

You can learn more about our services here, or contact us directly for further advice.