Merimbula, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Merimbula is a popular holiday town on the Sapphire Coast, the far south coast of New South Wales, wrapped around the tidal Merimbula Lake about 450 kilometres south of Sydney and some 240 kilometres south-east of Canberra. The town is best known for its clean beaches, its lake and inlet, and the oysters farmed in the surrounding estuaries. Visitors come for swimming, surfing, boating, fishing, scuba diving and seasonal whale watching, and Merimbula Point is noted for fossil-bearing rocks that have yielded ancient species first described there. Tourism is overwhelmingly the main earner, supported by oyster production and a large stock of holiday accommodation, making Merimbula one of the Sapphire Coast's principal resort centres.
Less advantaged than the national average
Merimbula is more socio-economically advantaged than about 34% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 960, 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.
Merimbula at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 3,821
- Median age
- 54
- Median weekly household income
- $1,146
- SEIFA score
- 960
- Coordinates
- -36.8972, 149.9042
Merimbula demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Merimbula 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 seniors (65+) at 33%, 32% of homes are rented, and 18% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 449 | 12% |
| Youth (15–24) | 295 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 738 | 19% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,067 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,264 | 33% |
Share of the 3,813 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 701 | 41% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 382 | 22% |
| Rented | 542 | 32% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,004 | 58% |
| Townhouses & semis | 289 | 17% |
| Flats & apartments | 384 | 22% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,725 occupied private dwellings in Merimbula.
- Median weekly rent
- $310
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,517
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,727
- Median weekly personal income
- $708
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 627 (18%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 196 (5%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 84 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,583 (48%)
- Labour-force participation
- 51.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.8%
- Employed full-time
- 871
- Employed part-time
- 681
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.
Common questions about Merimbula
Where is Merimbula?
Merimbula is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
What is the population of Merimbula?
At the 2021 Census, Merimbula had a population of about 3,821.
Is Merimbula an advantaged area?
Merimbula has an ABS SEIFA score of 960, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 34 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 34% of Australian suburbs.
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