Gosford, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Gosford is a waterfront city on the Central Coast of New South Wales, set at the northern end of Brisbane Water roughly halfway between Sydney and Newcastle. It is the commercial heart of the region and one of the larger urban centres in the state, governed today by the Central Coast Council. This is Darkinjung country, with the coast-dwelling Guringai people nearby; locals still affectionately call the city 'Gossie'. European settlement began around 1823, and in 1839 the town was named after Archibald Acheson, the second Earl of Gosford and a friend of Governor George Gipps, whose own title traces back to a small place in County Armagh in the north of Ireland. The Main Northern railway reached the town in 1887, and Gosford was proclaimed a city in 1980.
Around the national middle
Gosford is more socio-economically advantaged than about 51% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 988, 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 Gosford 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.
Below the national middle on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Gosford 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
51/100Around the national middle
Around the national middle — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (51/100) 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.
Gosford at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 4,873
- Median age
- 35
- Median weekly household income
- $1,421
- SEIFA score
- 988
- Local government area
- Central Coast (NSW)
- Coordinates
- -33.4209, 151.3406
Map of Gosford
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Gosford
What it costs to live in Gosford and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $390
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,665
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 33%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 65%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Gosford demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Gosford demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Gosford 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 42% and 37% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 552 | 11% |
| Youth (15–24) | 590 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 2,046 | 42% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,056 | 22% |
| Seniors (65+) | 637 | 13% |
Share of the 4,881 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 327 | 14% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 454 | 19% |
| Rented | 1,566 | 65% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 97 | 4% |
| Townhouses & semis | 161 | 7% |
| Flats & apartments | 2,111 | 88% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 2,402 occupied private dwellings in Gosford.
- Average household size
- 1.9 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,849
- Median weekly personal income
- $885
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,698 (37%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 1,386 (31%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 132 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 2,676 (63%)
- Labour-force participation
- 64.5%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.3%
- Employed full-time
- 1,503
- Employed part-time
- 827
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 Gosford
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Gosford is January (average daytime high around 26.9°C) and the coolest is July (around 16.9°C). The area receives roughly 942 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26.9°C | 19.5°C | 93 mm |
| Feb | 26°C | 19.3°C | 100 mm |
| Mar | 24.7°C | 18.3°C | 159 mm |
| Apr | 22.4°C | 15.3°C | 84 mm |
| May | 19.6°C | 12°C | 40 mm |
| Jun | 16.8°C | 9.9°C | 56 mm |
| Jul | 16.9°C | 8.9°C | 58 mm |
| Aug | 17.9°C | 9.3°C | 59 mm |
| Sep | 20.5°C | 11.4°C | 54 mm |
| Oct | 22.8°C | 14°C | 86 mm |
| Nov | 23.8°C | 15.7°C | 69 mm |
| Dec | 26°C | 17.8°C | 84 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Gosford
Is Gosford 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, Gosford rates 41/100 overall (Below the national middle 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 Gosford?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Gosford was $390, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,665. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Gosford?
Gosford is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Central Coast (NSW) local government area.
What is the population of Gosford?
At the 2021 Census, Gosford had a population of about 4,873.
Is Gosford an advantaged area?
Gosford has an ABS SEIFA score of 988, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 51 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 51% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Gosford?
Gosford has average daytime highs of about 22°C and overnight lows of about 14.3°C, with roughly 942 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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