Coffs Harbour, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Coffs Harbour sits on the New South Wales mid-north coast, roughly 530 kilometres north of Sydney and 390 kilometres south of Brisbane, on the lands of the Gumbaynggirr people, the Traditional Custodians of this coast, who are said to have known the harbour as Gitten Mirreh, or 'big moon'. The town took its present name after the trader John Korff sheltered here from a storm in 1847; a surveyor later changed the spelling. Once a timber and banana centre, it is best known today for the Big Banana, opened in 1965, and for its beaches, its heritage timber jetty, and the protected waters of the Solitary Islands Marine Park, with Muttonbird Island a short walk from the marina.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Coffs Harbour is more socio-economically advantaged than about 18% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 922, 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.
Coffs Harbour at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 27,089
- Median age
- 43
- Median weekly household income
- $1,231
- SEIFA score
- 922
- Coordinates
- -30.3299, 153.0994
Coffs Harbour demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Coffs Harbour 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 24%, 40% of homes are rented, and 19% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 4,549 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 3,126 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 6,441 | 24% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 6,630 | 24% |
| Seniors (65+) | 6,340 | 23% |
Share of the 27,086 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 3,520 | 33% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 2,590 | 24% |
| Rented | 4,220 | 40% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 6,369 | 60% |
| Townhouses & semis | 1,868 | 18% |
| Flats & apartments | 2,201 | 21% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 10,662 occupied private dwellings in Coffs Harbour.
- Median weekly rent
- $355
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,733
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,542
- Median weekly personal income
- $652
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 4,764 (19%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 3,226 (13%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 1,761 (7%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 9,152 (42%)
- Labour-force participation
- 52.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.1%
- Employed full-time
- 5,869
- Employed part-time
- 4,525
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 Coffs Harbour
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Coffs Harbour is January (average daytime high around 27.1°C) and the coolest is July (around 17.4°C). The area receives roughly 1443 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27.1°C | 18.8°C | 134 mm |
| Feb | 25.8°C | 18.4°C | 224 mm |
| Mar | 24.6°C | 17.7°C | 311 mm |
| Apr | 22.1°C | 14.8°C | 78 mm |
| May | 19.7°C | 11.9°C | 62 mm |
| Jun | 17.3°C | 9.5°C | 76 mm |
| Jul | 17.4°C | 8.3°C | 56 mm |
| Aug | 18.9°C | 8.7°C | 45 mm |
| Sep | 21.1°C | 11°C | 72 mm |
| Oct | 23.5°C | 13.6°C | 117 mm |
| Nov | 25°C | 15.5°C | 95 mm |
| Dec | 26.6°C | 17.5°C | 173 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Coffs Harbour
Where is Coffs Harbour?
Coffs Harbour is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
What is the population of Coffs Harbour?
At the 2021 Census, Coffs Harbour had a population of about 27,089.
Is Coffs Harbour an advantaged area?
Coffs Harbour has an ABS SEIFA score of 922, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 18 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 18% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Coffs Harbour?
Coffs Harbour has average daytime highs of about 22.4°C and overnight lows of about 13.8°C, with roughly 1,443 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
How big is Coffs Harbour?
Coffs Harbour is one of the most populous suburbs in New South Wales — the 20th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 27,089 usual residents).
Where Coffs Harbour ranks
Coffs Harbour appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Largest suburbs in New South Wales#20 of 25
Nearby suburbs in New South Wales
More suburb guides in New South Wales
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.