Port Macquarie, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Port Macquarie sits at the mouth of the Hastings River on the New South Wales Mid North Coast, about 390 kilometres north of Sydney. It lies within Birpai country, and the Birpai people are recognised as the traditional custodians, long knowing the place as Guruk. The explorer John Oxley named the harbour in 1818 after Governor Lachlan Macquarie, and from 1821 it served as a penal settlement for convicts who had reoffended. Today the town trades on its string of surf beaches, the convict-built St Thomas' Anglican Church of the 1820s, and a well-known koala hospital that nurses injured wildlife. The rainforest boardwalk at Sea Acres National Park brings the subtropical coast within easy reach.
Around the national middle
Port Macquarie is more socio-economically advantaged than about 40% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 969, 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.
Port Macquarie at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 47,693
- Median age
- 48
- Median weekly household income
- $1,282
- SEIFA score
- 969
- Coordinates
- -31.4601, 152.8960
Port Macquarie demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Port Macquarie 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 29%, 31% of homes are rented, and 15% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 7,423 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 5,099 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 9,414 | 20% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 11,993 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 13,765 | 29% |
Share of the 47,694 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 7,726 | 39% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 4,836 | 25% |
| Rented | 6,129 | 31% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 13,024 | 66% |
| Townhouses & semis | 3,541 | 18% |
| Flats & apartments | 3,000 | 15% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 19,708 occupied private dwellings in Port Macquarie.
- Median weekly rent
- $380
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,751
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,684
- Median weekly personal income
- $679
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 6,840 (15%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 2,463 (5%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 2,462 (5%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 18,529 (48%)
- Labour-force participation
- 52.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.9%
- Employed full-time
- 10,793
- Employed part-time
- 8,017
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 Port Macquarie
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Port Macquarie is January (average daytime high around 26.2°C) and the coolest is July (around 17.9°C). The area receives roughly 1076 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26.2°C | 21°C | 91 mm |
| Feb | 25.8°C | 20.7°C | 146 mm |
| Mar | 25°C | 19.8°C | 233 mm |
| Apr | 22.9°C | 16.8°C | 78 mm |
| May | 20.4°C | 13.7°C | 52 mm |
| Jun | 18.1°C | 11.5°C | 68 mm |
| Jul | 17.9°C | 10.3°C | 59 mm |
| Aug | 18.8°C | 10.7°C | 38 mm |
| Sep | 20.6°C | 12.9°C | 59 mm |
| Oct | 22.3°C | 15.6°C | 76 mm |
| Nov | 23.8°C | 17.4°C | 74 mm |
| Dec | 25.2°C | 19.5°C | 102 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Port Macquarie
Where is Port Macquarie?
Port Macquarie is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
What is the population of Port Macquarie?
At the 2021 Census, Port Macquarie had a population of about 47,693.
Is Port Macquarie an advantaged area?
Port Macquarie has an ABS SEIFA score of 969, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 40 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 40% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Port Macquarie?
Port Macquarie has average daytime highs of about 22.3°C and overnight lows of about 15.8°C, with roughly 1,076 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
How big is Port Macquarie?
Port Macquarie is one of the most populous suburbs in New South Wales — the 2nd-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 47,693 usual residents).
Where Port Macquarie ranks
Port Macquarie appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Largest suburbs in New South Wales#2 of 25
- Largest suburbs in Australia#10 of 25
Nearby suburbs in New South Wales
More suburb guides in New South Wales
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.