Boolaroo is located 19 kilometres west of the Newcastle CBD. It was the epicentre of the 1989 Newcastle earthquake. Boolaroo borders a number of well-known towns and suburbs and for a small strip of land, fronts onto Lake Macquarie itself. Within Boolaroo is Cockle Creek railway station, a small station on the Central Coast & Newcastle Line. Boolaroo is home to several churches, Boolaroo Public School, a library, a cinema and a number of shops, including a small supermarket and a military disposal store. The annual capitol growth for Boolaroo is 6.18%.