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.
Is Coffs Harbour 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 3 components we can score for Coffs Harbour 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
18/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (18/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
28/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $355 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 28% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Amenities & access
68/100A good amount mapped nearby
About 41 everyday places (cafés, shops, services and more) mapped within ~1.2 km of the centre. · OpenStreetMap
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- 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.
Coffs Harbour at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 27,089
- Median age
- 43
- Median weekly household income
- $1,231
- SEIFA score
- 922
- Local government area
- Coffs Harbour
- Coordinates
- -30.3299, 153.0994
Map of Coffs Harbour
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Coffs Harbour
What it costs to live in Coffs Harbour and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $355
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,733
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 57%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 40%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Coffs Harbour demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
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% 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.
- 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).
Places in and around Coffs Harbour
Amenities mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre, from OpenStreetMap. A guide to what's nearby — not a complete directory.
Parks & recreation
33 nearbyCoffs F1 Kart Hire/CHMCC Flat Track · Coffs Harbour International Stadium · T Block Gym · Coffs Coast Sport & Leisure Park Field 1 · Coffs Coast Sport & Leisure Park Field 2 · Hockey Coffs Coast
Healthcare
2 nearbyCoffs Harbour Health Campus · Coffs Harbour GP Super Clinic
Schools & education
5 nearbyCoffs Harbour TAFE · St John Paul College · Coffs Harbour Senior College · TAFE NSW Coffs Harbour Education Campus · Southern Cross University Coffs Harbour Campus
Things to do
1 nearbyShare your local knowledge of Coffs Harbour
Lived here or spent time in Coffs Harbour? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Coffs Harbour
Is Coffs Harbour a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage, housing affordability and amenities, Coffs Harbour rates 33/100 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 Coffs Harbour?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Coffs Harbour was $355, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,733. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Coffs Harbour?
Coffs Harbour is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Coffs Harbour local government area.
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.