Merewether, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Merewether is a beachside suburb of Newcastle, about three kilometres south of the city centre, reaching from the sand of Merewether Beach in the east across to Adamstown in the west. Once part of the Burwood Estate, it takes its name from the estate's owner, Edward Christopher Merewether, and grew into a self-governing municipality in 1885 before being folded into the City of Greater Newcastle in 1938. For its first century the district ran on coal: the Newcastle Coal Mining Company worked collieries here until the last pits closed in 1954, served by a private line that slipped past the beach through what are said to be Australia's first two railway tunnels, cut in 1861 and 1862. Today its beachfront is the heart of the suburb.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Merewether is more socio-economically advantaged than about 95% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1100, 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 Merewether 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.
Strong on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Merewether 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
95/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (95/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
15/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $420 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 15% 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.
Merewether at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 11,788
- Median age
- 39
- Median weekly household income
- $2,287
- SEIFA score
- 1100
- Local government area
- Newcastle
- Coordinates
- -32.9482, 151.7423
Map of Merewether
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Merewether
What it costs to live in Merewether and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $420
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $2,457
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 65%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 33%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Merewether demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Merewether demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Merewether 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 27% and 13% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,929 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,668 | 14% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 3,095 | 26% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 3,207 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,886 | 16% |
Share of the 11,785 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,615 | 35% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,356 | 30% |
| Rented | 1,528 | 33% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 2,795 | 61% |
| Townhouses & semis | 881 | 19% |
| Flats & apartments | 904 | 20% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 4,587 occupied private dwellings in Merewether.
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $3,013
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,102
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,449 (13%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 721 (6%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 259 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 6,648 (71%)
- Labour-force participation
- 68.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.1%
- Employed full-time
- 3,793
- Employed part-time
- 2,345
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 Merewether
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Merewether is January (average daytime high around 27.1°C) and the coolest is July (around 17.3°C). The area receives roughly 898 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27.1°C | 20.7°C | 75 mm |
| Feb | 26.2°C | 20.5°C | 92 mm |
| Mar | 25.1°C | 19.6°C | 149 mm |
| Apr | 22.7°C | 16.5°C | 76 mm |
| May | 20°C | 13.2°C | 44 mm |
| Jun | 17.3°C | 11.1°C | 79 mm |
| Jul | 17.3°C | 9.9°C | 56 mm |
| Aug | 18.2°C | 10.3°C | 48 mm |
| Sep | 20.7°C | 12.7°C | 59 mm |
| Oct | 22.7°C | 15.2°C | 79 mm |
| Nov | 24°C | 17°C | 71 mm |
| Dec | 25.9°C | 19°C | 70 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Merewether
Is Merewether 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, Merewether rates 68/100 overall (Strong 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 Merewether?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Merewether was $420, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,457. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Merewether?
Merewether is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Newcastle local government area.
What is the population of Merewether?
At the 2021 Census, Merewether had a population of about 11,788.
Is Merewether an advantaged area?
Merewether has an ABS SEIFA score of 1100, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 95 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 95% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Merewether?
Merewether has average daytime highs of about 22.3°C and overnight lows of about 15.5°C, with roughly 898 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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