Bulahdelah, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Bulahdelah is a town on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, about 235 kilometres north of Sydney and 93 kilometres north-east of Newcastle, in the Mid-Coast Council. Its name comes from the Worimi people and is said to mean 'the Great Rock', after the 292-metre mountain that rises beside the town. Alunite was mined on that mountain, known as Alum Mountain, from 1878 to 1927 and again into the 1950s, with a works that refined alum from the ore. Timber was the other mainstay, logged in the surrounding forests until much of the Crown land became national park in 1994. A timber bridge crossed the Myall River in 1892, and the Pacific Highway bypassed the town in 2013, leaving its main street quieter.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Bulahdelah is more socio-economically advantaged than about 4% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 854, 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.
Bulahdelah at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,538
- Median age
- 54
- Median weekly household income
- $963
- SEIFA score
- 854
- Coordinates
- -32.3888, 152.1636
Bulahdelah demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Bulahdelah 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 seniors (65+) at 32%, 20% of homes are rented, and 10% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 214 | 14% |
| Youth (15–24) | 128 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 226 | 15% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 465 | 30% |
| Seniors (65+) | 497 | 32% |
Share of the 1,530 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 316 | 51% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 150 | 24% |
| Rented | 123 | 20% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 597 | 96% |
| Townhouses & semis | 9 | 1% |
| Flats & apartments | 3 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 623 occupied private dwellings in Bulahdelah.
- Median weekly rent
- $295
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,236
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,267
- Median weekly personal income
- $514
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 146 (10%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 49 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 83 (5%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 356 (28%)
- Labour-force participation
- 44.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 7.6%
- Employed full-time
- 267
- Employed part-time
- 211
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.
Common questions about Bulahdelah
Where is Bulahdelah?
Bulahdelah is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
What is the population of Bulahdelah?
At the 2021 Census, Bulahdelah had a population of about 1,538.
Is Bulahdelah an advantaged area?
Bulahdelah has an ABS SEIFA score of 854, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 4 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 4% of Australian suburbs.
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