Byron Bay, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Byron Bay is a coastal town in the far north-east of New South Wales, about 165 km south of Brisbane, sitting beside Cape Byron — the easternmost point of mainland Australia, marked by its landmark lighthouse. It is a major surfing and holiday destination, well known for its beaches and for an alternative, arts-oriented culture and festivals such as Bluesfest. The area lies within the Country of the Bundjalung Nation, and the Arakwal people are recognised among its Traditional Custodians; the locality's traditional name is recorded as Cavvanbah, meaning a meeting place.
More advantaged than the national average
Byron Bay is more socio-economically advantaged than about 78% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1038, 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 Byron Bay 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.
Around the national middle
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Byron Bay 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
78/100More advantaged than the national average
More advantaged than the national average — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (78/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
3/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $600 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 3% 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.
Byron Bay at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 6,330
- Median age
- 39
- Median weekly household income
- $1,561
- SEIFA score
- 1038
- Local government area
- Byron
- Coordinates
- -28.6611, 153.6028
Map of Byron Bay
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Byron Bay
What it costs to live in Byron Bay and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $600
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $2,167
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 55%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 40%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Byron Bay demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Byron Bay demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Byron Bay 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 young adults (25–44) at 37% and 33% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 709 | 11% |
| Youth (15–24) | 591 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 2,336 | 37% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,547 | 24% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,150 | 18% |
Share of the 6,333 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 830 | 35% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 476 | 20% |
| Rented | 949 | 40% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,315 | 56% |
| Townhouses & semis | 583 | 25% |
| Flats & apartments | 299 | 13% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 2,368 occupied private dwellings in Byron Bay.
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,029
- Median weekly personal income
- $805
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,892 (33%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 940 (16%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 129 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 3,618 (66%)
- Labour-force participation
- 59.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.6%
- Employed full-time
- 1,190
- Employed part-time
- 1,677
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 Byron Bay
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Byron Bay is January (average daytime high around 28°C) and the coolest is July (around 19.2°C). The area receives roughly 1239 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28°C | 20°C | 117 mm |
| Feb | 27.3°C | 19.9°C | 196 mm |
| Mar | 26.5°C | 19.1°C | 186 mm |
| Apr | 23.9°C | 15.9°C | 82 mm |
| May | 21.5°C | 13.1°C | 93 mm |
| Jun | 19.2°C | 10.8°C | 80 mm |
| Jul | 19.2°C | 9.7°C | 52 mm |
| Aug | 20.6°C | 10.4°C | 53 mm |
| Sep | 22.7°C | 12.5°C | 48 mm |
| Oct | 24.6°C | 15.2°C | 97 mm |
| Nov | 26.4°C | 17°C | 98 mm |
| Dec | 27.7°C | 19°C | 137 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Byron Bay
Is Byron Bay 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, Byron Bay rates 53/100 overall (Around the national middle). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Byron Bay?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Byron Bay was $600, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,167. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Byron Bay?
Byron Bay is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Byron local government area.
What is the population of Byron Bay?
At the 2021 Census, Byron Bay had a population of about 6,330.
Is Byron Bay an advantaged area?
Byron Bay has an ABS SEIFA score of 1038, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 78 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 78% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Byron Bay?
Byron Bay has average daytime highs of about 24°C and overnight lows of about 15.2°C, with roughly 1,239 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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