Liveability Index
Our Liveability Index measures how people experience places in Port Stephens. We conducted our first survey in September 2020, with over 3,700 people participating.
What is the Liveability Index?
Liveability is what a place is like to live in — a liveable place is a healthy place. We teamed up with PlaceScore to ask:
- what people value about a place — this is called the Care Factor
- how our places are performing — this is called PX
Liveability Index results
In September 2020, Port Stephens scored a PX score of 66 — that's just below the national average of 67.
We found that in Port Stephens, our ideal neighbourhood has:
- locally owned and operated businesses that provide the community with their daily needs
- a well maintained and managed public domain — footpaths, parks, roads and other public assets
- easy to access shared community amenities.
We will run the survey again in 2023–24 to measure outcomes and track changes in values and performance.
Read more about our strengths and areas for improvement:
- Full Report Liveability Index 2020 (PDF 15.9 MB)
- 2 page easy read summary of Liveability Index (PDF 1.5 MB)
Fact Sheets
- Liveability Index Anna Bay Fact Sheet
- Liveability Index Corlette Fact Sheet
- Liveability Index Fern Bay Fact Sheet
- Liveability Index Fingal Bay Fact Sheet
- Liveability Index Karuah Fact Sheet
- Liveability Index Medowie Fact Sheet
- Liveability Index Nelson Bay Fact Sheet
- Liveability Index Raymond Terrace Fact Sheet
- Liveability Index Hinterland Fact Sheet
- Liveability Index Salamander Bay Fact Sheet
- Liveability Index Salt Ash Fact Sheet
- Liveability Index Shoal Bay Fact Sheet
- Liveability Index Soldiers Point Fact Sheet
- Liveability Index Tilligerry Fact Sheet
Benefits of a Liveability Index
The Liveability Index shows us our community's priorities and how places are performing. It helps us prioritise projects that will have the biggest impact on wellbeing. The Liveability Index gives us:
- Baseline and trend data — we can measure change in wellbeing before and after projects. We can also compare this with other streets and towns in Australia.
- Quantitative measures — we can now measure the strengths and weaknesses of places. We can also track their performance over time.
- Evidence-based investment — we can identify the priorities of each local community. This helps us to invest in places based on what is most important to residents and their wellbeing.