Lake Illawarra, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Lake Illawarra is more socio-economically advantaged than about 8% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 880, 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 Lake Illawarra 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 2 components we can score for Lake Illawarra 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
8/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (8/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
36/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $328 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 36% 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.
Lake Illawarra at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 3,288
- Median age
- 43
- Median weekly household income
- $1,069
- SEIFA score
- 880
- Local government area
- Shellharbour
- Coordinates
- -34.5436, 150.8611
Map of Lake Illawarra
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Lake Illawarra
What it costs to live in Lake Illawarra and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $328
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,733
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 48%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 48%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Lake Illawarra demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Lake Illawarra demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Lake Illawarra 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 28% and 20% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 520 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 377 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 796 | 24% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 911 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 690 | 21% |
Share of the 3,294 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 380 | 27% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 300 | 21% |
| Rented | 689 | 48% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 712 | 50% |
| Townhouses & semis | 379 | 27% |
| Flats & apartments | 316 | 22% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,422 occupied private dwellings in Lake Illawarra.
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,451
- Median weekly personal income
- $608
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 599 (20%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 309 (10%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 174 (5%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 931 (35%)
- Labour-force participation
- 48.2%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.3%
- Employed full-time
- 673
- Employed part-time
- 422
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 Lake Illawarra
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Lake Illawarra is January (average daytime high around 27.3°C) and the coolest is July (around 16.5°C). The area receives roughly 1157 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27.3°C | 18.3°C | 114 mm |
| Feb | 26°C | 17.8°C | 144 mm |
| Mar | 24.5°C | 16.8°C | 177 mm |
| Apr | 22.2°C | 14°C | 87 mm |
| May | 19.2°C | 11°C | 54 mm |
| Jun | 16.5°C | 9.1°C | 69 mm |
| Jul | 16.5°C | 8°C | 84 mm |
| Aug | 17.4°C | 8.4°C | 73 mm |
| Sep | 20.2°C | 10.2°C | 53 mm |
| Oct | 22.6°C | 12.6°C | 100 mm |
| Nov | 23.9°C | 14.3°C | 99 mm |
| Dec | 26.1°C | 16.5°C | 103 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Lake Illawarra
Is Lake Illawarra 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, Lake Illawarra rates 17/100 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 Lake Illawarra?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Lake Illawarra was $328, 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 Lake Illawarra?
Lake Illawarra is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Shellharbour local government area.
What is the population of Lake Illawarra?
At the 2021 Census, Lake Illawarra had a population of about 3,288.
Is Lake Illawarra an advantaged area?
Lake Illawarra has an ABS SEIFA score of 880, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 8 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 8% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Lake Illawarra?
Lake Illawarra has average daytime highs of about 21.9°C and overnight lows of about 13.1°C, with roughly 1,157 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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