Nowra, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Nowra is the main town of the Shoalhaven region on the New South Wales South Coast, sitting on the Shoalhaven River about 160 kilometres south of Sydney. The district lies on the lands of the Yuin nation, and the name is said to come from a local Aboriginal word for the black cockatoo. The ex-convict businesswoman Mary Reibey took up a land grant in the area in the 1820s; the township was recognised in 1852, gained town status in 1885 and was declared a city in 1979. Long supported by dairy farming and forestry, Nowra is also closely tied to the nearby HMAS Albatross naval air station, and today serves as the commercial heart of a coast known for its beaches and the Shoalhaven River.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Nowra is more socio-economically advantaged than about 3% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 834, 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 Nowra 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 Nowra 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
3/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (3/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
47/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $300 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 47% 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.
Nowra at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 9,956
- Median age
- 40
- Median weekly household income
- $1,037
- SEIFA score
- 834
- Local government area
- Shoalhaven
- Coordinates
- -34.8807, 150.6061
Map of Nowra
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Nowra
What it costs to live in Nowra and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $300
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,500
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 50%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 46%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Nowra demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Nowra demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Nowra 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 24% and 15% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,835 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,145 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 2,389 | 24% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 2,293 | 23% |
| Seniors (65+) | 2,296 | 23% |
Share of the 9,958 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,086 | 28% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 839 | 22% |
| Rented | 1,761 | 46% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 3,120 | 81% |
| Townhouses & semis | 524 | 14% |
| Flats & apartments | 188 | 5% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 3,844 occupied private dwellings in Nowra.
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,327
- Median weekly personal income
- $554
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 1,332 (15%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 755 (8%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 1,225 (12%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 2,714 (34%)
- Labour-force participation
- 43.5%
- Unemployment rate
- 9.2%
- Employed full-time
- 1,718
- Employed part-time
- 1,231
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 Nowra
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Nowra is January (average daytime high around 27.9°C) and the coolest is July (around 16.4°C). The area receives roughly 1022 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27.9°C | 17.9°C | 91 mm |
| Feb | 26.5°C | 17.4°C | 118 mm |
| Mar | 24.8°C | 16.5°C | 141 mm |
| Apr | 22.4°C | 13.7°C | 86 mm |
| May | 19.3°C | 10.8°C | 48 mm |
| Jun | 16.5°C | 8.8°C | 58 mm |
| Jul | 16.4°C | 8°C | 74 mm |
| Aug | 17.5°C | 8.2°C | 89 mm |
| Sep | 20.5°C | 10°C | 53 mm |
| Oct | 23°C | 12.3°C | 83 mm |
| Nov | 24.4°C | 14°C | 91 mm |
| Dec | 26.5°C | 16.1°C | 90 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Nowra
Is Nowra 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, Nowra rates 18/100 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 Nowra?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Nowra was $300, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,500. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Nowra?
Nowra is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Shoalhaven local government area.
What is the population of Nowra?
At the 2021 Census, Nowra had a population of about 9,956.
Is Nowra an advantaged area?
Nowra has an ABS SEIFA score of 834, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 3 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 3% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Nowra?
Nowra has average daytime highs of about 22.1°C and overnight lows of about 12.8°C, with roughly 1,022 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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