Bellingen, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Bellingen sits on the Bellinger River on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, roughly midway between Sydney and Brisbane. It is Gumbaynggirr country, and the town's name is thought to come from a Gumbaynggirr word for the river that early surveyors wrote down as Billingen. Government surveyor Clement Hodgkinson named the district in 1841, town allotments were marked out in 1869, and the first blocks were auctioned in 1870. Bellingen later grew a reputation as an arts and alternative town, and that character still shows in its calendar — a long-running monthly community market, the Bellingen Jazz and Blues Festival, and a Readers and Writers Festival. The heritage Hammond and Wheatley Emporium anchors the main street.
Less advantaged than the national average
Bellingen is more socio-economically advantaged than about 36% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 963, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Is Bellingen a good place to live?
There’s no single answer — it depends on what matters to you. So instead of one mystery number, we break it down: a transparent score on each part of life we can back with public data, and an honest “not yet” on the parts we can’t.
Lower on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Bellingen from public data. It sits alongside — and reconciles with — the socio-economic Suburb Score above; it is a transparent read, not a complete verdict.
Socio-economic advantage
36/100Less advantaged than the national average
Less advantaged than the national average — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (36/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
21/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $390 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 21% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- Green spaceNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap green-space mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- TransportNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap public-transport mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- SchoolsNot scored yet — school performance (ACARA / ICSEA) needs a data-reuse licence cleared before we can publish it.
- SafetyNot scored yet — Australia has no single open crime dataset and safety data carries defamation and legal care, so it is gated pending a go/no-go and will be data-only when added.
- CommunityNot scored yet — we won't reduce community to a number from a proxy. We'd rather leave it open than publish an invented value judgement.
A transparent read on public data, not a verdict — and not a measure of any person or community. See our methodology for how each component is worked out and why some aren’t scored yet.
Bellingen at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 3,923
- Median age
- 44
- Median weekly household income
- $1,268
- SEIFA score
- 963
- Local government area
- Bellingen
- Coordinates
- -30.4540, 152.9079
Map of Bellingen
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Bellingen
What it costs to live in Bellingen and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $390
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,477
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 71%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 26%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Bellingen demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Bellingen demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Bellingen using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is mid-life (45–64) at 28% and 17% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 826 | 21% |
| Youth (15–24) | 388 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 744 | 19% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,108 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 857 | 22% |
Share of the 3,923 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 571 | 39% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 478 | 32% |
| Rented | 380 | 26% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,369 | 93% |
| Townhouses & semis | 80 | 5% |
| Flats & apartments | 10 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,474 occupied private dwellings in Bellingen.
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,535
- Median weekly personal income
- $651
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 608 (17%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 189 (5%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 168 (4%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,604 (55%)
- Labour-force participation
- 55.5%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.1%
- Employed full-time
- 702
- Employed part-time
- 824
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Weather and climate in Bellingen
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Bellingen is January (average daytime high around 27.2°C) and the coolest is July (around 18.3°C). The area receives roughly 1322 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27.2°C | 20.5°C | 119 mm |
| Feb | 26.4°C | 20.1°C | 210 mm |
| Mar | 25.4°C | 19.3°C | 278 mm |
| Apr | 23.2°C | 16.4°C | 85 mm |
| May | 20.7°C | 13.4°C | 63 mm |
| Jun | 18.3°C | 11°C | 76 mm |
| Jul | 18.3°C | 9.5°C | 60 mm |
| Aug | 19.6°C | 9.9°C | 46 mm |
| Sep | 21.6°C | 12.2°C | 66 mm |
| Oct | 23.7°C | 15°C | 96 mm |
| Nov | 25.2°C | 17.1°C | 75 mm |
| Dec | 26.7°C | 19°C | 148 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Bellingen
Is Bellingen a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, Bellingen rates 31/100 overall (Lower on the data we score). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Bellingen?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Bellingen was $390, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,477. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Bellingen?
Bellingen is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Bellingen local government area.
What is the population of Bellingen?
At the 2021 Census, Bellingen had a population of about 3,923.
Is Bellingen an advantaged area?
Bellingen has an ABS SEIFA score of 963, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 36 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 36% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Bellingen?
Bellingen has average daytime highs of about 23°C and overnight lows of about 15.3°C, with roughly 1,322 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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