Pambula, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Pambula is a town on the Sapphire Coast of New South Wales, about 4 kilometres south of Merimbula and 454 kilometres south of Sydney, in the Bega Valley Shire. The Thaua people are the traditional owners. The name comes from the Dharwa word 'panboola', said to mean 'twin waters'. The Imlay brothers ran cattle here in the 1830s, and a surveyor laid out the village in 1843 on the river flats; after flooding it was moved to higher ground, and the town was proclaimed in 1885. Gold found in 1888 brought a brief boom, dairying followed, and Pambula is still a notable oyster producer. Among its heritage buildings are The Grange of 1844 and the old courthouse, and the Panboola wetlands lie beside the town.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Pambula is more socio-economically advantaged than about 17% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 918, 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 Pambula 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 Pambula 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
17/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (17/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
39/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $313 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 39% 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.
Pambula at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,002
- Median age
- 54
- Median weekly household income
- $1,117
- SEIFA score
- 918
- Local government area
- Bega Valley
- Coordinates
- -36.9300, 149.8767
Map of Pambula
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Pambula
What it costs to live in Pambula and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $313
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,300
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 76%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 22%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Pambula demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Pambula demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Pambula 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% and 13% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 150 | 15% |
| Youth (15–24) | 95 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 151 | 15% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 273 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 333 | 33% |
Share of the 1,002 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 190 | 50% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 98 | 26% |
| Rented | 83 | 22% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 276 | 72% |
| Townhouses & semis | 84 | 22% |
| Flats & apartments | 11 | 3% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 383 occupied private dwellings in Pambula.
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,423
- Median weekly personal income
- $507
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 119 (13%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 28 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 29 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 303 (37%)
- Labour-force participation
- 47.5%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.7%
- Employed full-time
- 196
- Employed part-time
- 173
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.
Share your local knowledge of Pambula
Lived here or spent time in Pambula? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Pambula
Is Pambula 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, Pambula rates 24/100 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 Pambula?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Pambula was $313, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,300. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Pambula?
Pambula is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Bega Valley local government area.
What is the population of Pambula?
At the 2021 Census, Pambula had a population of about 1,002.
Is Pambula an advantaged area?
Pambula has an ABS SEIFA score of 918, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 17 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 17% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in New South Wales
More suburb guides in New South Wales
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.