Median house price
—
No data available
NSW · Unincorporated NSW Council
Lord Howe Island
Est. population · Jun 2025
442
Growth (1 yr)
-1.1%
Growth (5 yr)
+0.9%
Median age
46
Median income
$1,699/wk
Employment rate
63.3%
Languages at home
7.7%non-English
Most common: Portuguese, Japanese
2021 Census · usual residence
Desirability score
- Coastal
- Green suburb
- Education hub
- Heritage area
- High desirability
Suburb profile
Well away from Sydney, Lord Howe Island is a coastal smaller community built around sand, sea and space. Established families and long-term residents give the suburb a settled feel, with a strong presence of young families throughout. Local eateries and coffee spots give the area a friendly, everyday social rhythm.
Everyday basics may be close by, but bigger shopping and services typically require a trip to a nearby centre. Green space punches above what many coastal suburbs offer, with parks and playgrounds woven through the suburb. A car helps for most daily errands, with fewer amenities clustered within an easy walk.
Buyers typically pay more than the metro middle for a home here. Tree-lined streets and established homes set the tone, with little pressure to reinvent the neighbourhood.
Against similar coastal suburbs, the suburb sits below average overall, mainly because schools and education lag behind, despite relative strength in safety, plus community and employment. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.
At a glance
Lord Howe Island snapshot
A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk
Median rent
—
No data available
Population (ERP)
442
-1.1% annual growth
Dwelling vacancy
19.0%
Census unoccupied dwellings
Livability profile
Desirability pillars vs the peer median (50th percentile)
How it compares
Relative standing using percentiles, ranks, and national deciles
Desirability
#64
among Coastal & beach · Mature
Pop. growth
2nd
percentile in NSW
Advantage (IRSAD)
7/10
national SEIFA decile
School ICSEA
51st
percentile among schools with ICSEA
Population growth
Recent ERP change over 1 and 5 years
Housing mix
Dwelling types from the 2021 Census
Risks & flags
Quick scan — open a section below for full context
Living here
Desirability
Ranks & confidence
- Desirability score
- 37.4/100 — Below average
- National rank
- 4220th in Australia
- State rank
- 1318th in NSW
- Peer rank
- #64 among Coastal & beach · Mature suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #131 among Coastal & beach suburbs
- Data confidence
- 56%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
Population
Estimated resident population
442(June 2025)
-1.1% annual · +0.9% over 5 years · 2th percentile in NSW
Growth figures & methodology
- Annual growth
- -1.1%
- 5-year growth
- +0.9%
- Change in 1 year
- -5
- Change in 5 years
- +4
- Growth rank in NSW
- 2th percentile
ABS Estimated Resident Population allocated to this suburb from SA2-level data. Not an official ABS suburb count.
Methodology
Figures are allocated from ABS Estimated Resident Population at Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2), using 2021 Census share within overlapping SA2 regions. Where Census data is unavailable, area overlap is used instead.
The dashed chart line is a simple growth-trend estimate to June 2030 (~450), extrapolated at +0.9% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.
2021 Census figures
2021 Census
- Population
- 445
- Median age
- 46
- Median household income / week
- $1,699
- Dwelling vacancy
- 19%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 38 of 200
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,400
- Employment rate
- 63.3%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 126 / 28 / 11
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Employment, household income and age diversity (2021 Census)
Data sources & freshness
- 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated
The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
- Estimated Resident Population — Australian Bureau of Statistics · 2025 · Updated · SA2 ERP allocated to suburb boundaries
Community & culture
No 2021 Census cultural diversity data for this suburb yet.
Data sources & freshness
- 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated
The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
Family & Lifestyle
Schools & preschools
- Schools within 2 km
- 1
- Median school ICSEA
- 1,009
- Median ICSEA percentile
- 51th
School list
- Lord Howe Island Central SchoolCombined · Government · ICSEA 1009 · 51th percentile · LBOTE 29% · 35 students · Top SEA quarter 15%View on My School →
Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)
School and preschool counts, median school ICSEA
Data sources & freshness
- ACARA school locations — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · 2025 · Updated · Annual release
- School ICSEA scores — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · 2025 · Updated · Annual release
Amenities
13 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
1 restaurants · 1 cafes
Local character & venue list
Local character
- Limited walkable amenities nearby
- Great for outdoor family life — 3 parks mapped in suburb
- Walkability proxy
- 4/100
- Cafés per 1,000 residents
- 2.25
- Food & drink per 1,000 residents
- 4.49
- Parks per 1,000 residents
- 6.74
Food & drink(2)
- Airport KioskCafe
- Golf Club Bar and RestaurantRestaurant
Entertainment(3)
- Intermediate Hill Viewing PlatformViewpoint
- Pixie Rourke Memorial SeatViewpoint
- Viewpoint
Other(6)
- Bench (3)
- Capella LodgeGuest House
- Picnic Table
- Lord Howe Island AirportPublic Building
- Weather StationPublic Building
- Telephone
Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe). Transport stops are summarised by type rather than listed individually.
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Food, shopping, recreation and sport (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- Local amenity insights — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated
Parks & reserves
1 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Thompson Memorial ParkPark
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · current · Updated
Green cover
- Parks & woodland (OSM)
- 6
- Parks (OSM)
- 3
OpenStreetMap parks and natural woodland features mapped within the suburb boundary.
Contributes to desirability score · Environment (10%)
Parks and green cover (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap green cover — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated
Health access
- Hospitals & GP clinics in suburb
- 1
- Nearest hospital
- Gower Wilson Memorial Hospital (2.7 km)
- Nearest hospital type
- Hospital
- Nearest hospital emergency
- Emergency department
- Emergency department in suburb
- On site
- Gower Wilson Memorial HospitalHospital
Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)
Hospitals and GP clinics
Data sources & freshness
- Hospitals & clinics — OpenStreetMap + state health datasets · current · Updated
Future & Planning
Heritage
1 heritage place
- Lord Howe Island GroupSouth Pacific Ocean NE of NSW, Lord Howe IslandSHR
Data sources & freshness
- State heritage register — State heritage authority · current · Updated
Hazards
- Bushfire planning zone
- No overlay at centroid
Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via NSW bush fire prone land mapping.
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Bushfire hazard overlays
Data sources & freshness
- Hazard planning overlays — State government hazard layers · current · Updated
Politics & representation
- Federal electorate
- Sydney
- Member of Parliament
- Tanya PLIBERSEK (Australian Labor Party)
- Results from
- 2025 federal election
- Electorate enrolment (2025)
- 127,445
- Turnout (2025)
- 87.4%
- Swing since 2022 (2025)
- +2.4 pp toward Labor
Two-party preferred (2025)
Coalition 21.9%Labor 78.1%
Estimated suburb voting profile
Estimated from 8 nearby ordinary polling places (up to 780.7 km away).
Coalition 25.5%Labor 74.5%
3.6 percentage points more Coalition-leaning than the electorate
Estimated swing since 2022: +4.4 pp toward Labor
Nearest polling places
- Lord Howe IslandLabor 74.5% · Coalition 25.5% TPP (2025)3.1 km away
- Wynyard (Sydney)Labor 66.2% · Coalition 33.8% TPP (2025)780.0 km away
- Surry Hills East (Sydney)Labor 78.8% · Coalition 21.1% TPP (2025)780.1 km away
- Surry Hills NorthLabor 83.7% · Coalition 16.3% TPP (2025)780.2 km away
- Millers PointLabor 57.0% · Coalition 43.0% TPP (2025)780.4 km away
Federal electorate from AEC federal division boundaries (2025 redistribution). Division-level results are official AEC figures from the latest general election, with by-election updates where applicable. The estimated suburb profile blends up to eight nearest ordinary polling booths in the same electorate using inverse-distance weighting from the suburb centroid — an approximation, not official AEC data. Nearest polling places are shown for reference.
Data sources & freshness
- Federal election results — Australian Electoral Commission · Updated · 2025 election with by-election overlays
Socio-economic
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 7/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 8/10
ABS Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), 2021 release — the latest available, derived from the 2021 Census. Deciles rank suburbs nationally from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest).
What do IRSAD and IRSD measure?
IRSAD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage. Combines indicators of advantage (e.g. high income, skilled occupations) and disadvantage. Higher decile = more advantaged relative to other Australian areas.
IRSD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage. Focuses on disadvantage only (e.g. low income, unemployment, limited education). Higher decile = less disadvantage nationally.
A new SEIFA edition typically follows each census; the ABS has not announced a release date beyond 2021.
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD decile)
Data sources & freshness
- SEIFA 2021 (IRSAD / IRSD) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated
More in Unincorporated NSW Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile elsewhere in New South Wales or interstate.