Katoomba, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Katoomba is the chief town of the Blue Mountains, about 100 km west of Sydney and the seat of the City of Blue Mountains council. Perched above the Jamison Valley, it is one of New South Wales's best-known tourist destinations, famous for the Three Sisters rock formation viewed from Echo Point, the steep cliffs and rainforest walking tracks, and Scenic World with its very steep cableway and railway. The name comes from an Aboriginal term recorded as 'Kedumba' or 'Katta-toon-bah', understood to mean 'falling water', after a local waterfall. Katoomba lies on the lands of the Dharug and Gundungurra peoples, its traditional custodians.
Less advantaged than the national average
Katoomba is more socio-economically advantaged than about 38% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 967, 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 Katoomba 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 Katoomba 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
38/100Less advantaged than the national average
Less advantaged than the national average — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (38/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
32/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $350 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 32% 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.
Katoomba at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 8,268
- Median age
- 48
- Median weekly household income
- $1,171
- SEIFA score
- 967
- Local government area
- Blue Mountains
- Coordinates
- -33.7207, 150.2955
Map of Katoomba
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Katoomba
What it costs to live in Katoomba and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $350
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,600
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 63%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 33%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Katoomba demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Katoomba demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Katoomba 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 mid-life (45–64) at 31% and 23% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,142 | 14% |
| Youth (15–24) | 770 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,892 | 23% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 2,526 | 31% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,946 | 24% |
Share of the 8,276 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,321 | 35% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,067 | 28% |
| Rented | 1,259 | 33% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 3,076 | 82% |
| Townhouses & semis | 214 | 6% |
| Flats & apartments | 412 | 11% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 3,757 occupied private dwellings in Katoomba.
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,669
- Median weekly personal income
- $649
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,848 (23%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 812 (10%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 273 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 4,138 (60%)
- Labour-force participation
- 53.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 6%
- Employed full-time
- 1,531
- Employed part-time
- 1,517
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 Katoomba
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Katoomba is January (average daytime high around 26.5°C) and the coolest is July (around 13°C). The area receives roughly 1019 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26.5°C | 15.1°C | 122 mm |
| Feb | 25.1°C | 14.2°C | 121 mm |
| Mar | 22.7°C | 13°C | 172 mm |
| Apr | 19.7°C | 9.6°C | 70 mm |
| May | 16.1°C | 6.2°C | 33 mm |
| Jun | 13.1°C | 4.1°C | 54 mm |
| Jul | 13°C | 3.4°C | 51 mm |
| Aug | 14.2°C | 3.7°C | 56 mm |
| Sep | 17.7°C | 5.8°C | 47 mm |
| Oct | 21°C | 8.8°C | 85 mm |
| Nov | 23.3°C | 10.8°C | 93 mm |
| Dec | 25.5°C | 13.1°C | 115 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Katoomba
Is Katoomba 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, Katoomba rates 36/100 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 Katoomba?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Katoomba was $350, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,600. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Katoomba?
Katoomba is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Blue Mountains local government area.
What is the population of Katoomba?
At the 2021 Census, Katoomba had a population of about 8,268.
Is Katoomba an advantaged area?
Katoomba has an ABS SEIFA score of 967, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 38 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 38% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Katoomba?
Katoomba has average daytime highs of about 19.8°C and overnight lows of about 9°C, with roughly 1,019 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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