suburb.guide

NSW · Ballina Council

South Ballina, 2478

Est. population · Jun 2025

28

Growth (1 yr)

+3.7%

Growth (5 yr)

+7.7%

Median age

56

Median income

$1,124/wk

Employment rate

61.5%

University qualified

19.2%

Work from home

22.2%

Median house price · October to December 2025

$1,300,000

Languages at home

Mostly English at home

2021 Census · usual residence

  • Beach
  • Holiday parks
  • Rural living
What South Ballina is known for: Beach, Holiday parks, Rural living

Using this data? Cite or embed. Publishers

Suburb snapshot infographic

Download PNG
South Ballina, NSW suburb snapshot — Suburb Guide

Embed this snapshot

The image links to the canonical suburb page. Copy the HTML as-is.

South Ballina, NSW suburb snapshot — Suburb Guide

Cite this suburb snapshot

Suburb Guide, “South Ballina, NSW Suburb Guide”, updated 1 October 2026, https://suburb.guide/nsw/south-ballina

No registration is required. Please keep the link to the suburb page.

Suburb profile

South Ballina is a rural locality in New South Wales, in Ballina Council. It is close to the Richmond River and the River Nature Reserve.

Local amenities are a relative strength, placing it among the highest-ranked rural localities. School access is exceptionally strong. Population has been growing faster than in comparable places, with population growth 115% above the peer median, and university qualifications are a relative strength, with university qualifications 40% above the peer median. Space is a strength, but car dependence is high. Housing is among the most expensive in its peer group. Median house prices have risen 16% year on year.

South Ballina is a better fit for people who value school access and local amenities more than lower housing costs.

Generated from the official metrics on this page. It can omit nuance or contain errors — check the tables and source notes before relying on it.

Strengths and weaknesses

Rural locality · compared with rural localities in New South Wales (2685)

Strengths

  • School access is exceptionally strong
  • Local amenities are a relative strength
  • Population has been growing faster than in comparable places
  • University qualifications are a relative strength

Weaknesses

  • Housing is among the most expensive in its peer group

What stands out

  • Richmond River
  • River Nature Reserve
  • Point Ferry
  • Point Ferry Road
  • River Drive
  • Space is a strength, but car dependence is high

Who it suits

  • StudentsInsufficient data
  • Budget buyersInsufficient data

Housing, growth and risk

How South Ballina compares

A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk

Median house price

$1.3M

+16% change

Median rent

$755/wk

Houses $850 · Units $595

Population (ERP)

28

+3.7% annual growth

Dwelling vacancy

0.0%

Census unoccupied dwellings

How it compares

Relative standing using percentiles, ranks, and national deciles

Crime rate

78th

percentile in state (higher = more crime)

Pop. growth

96th

percentile in NSW

Rented dwellings

23%

2021 Census tenure

Advantage (IRSAD)

6/10

national SEIFA decile

School ICSEA

26th

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

Housing

Flats / units (January to March 2026)
$595
Houses (January to March 2026)
$850
All types (January to March 2026)
$755
Rental bonds lodged (January to March 2026)
236
Median house price (October to December 2025)
$1,300,000
Median price change
+16.1%

Median weekly rent from NSW DCJ rent tables. Figures can be unreliable where few bonds were lodged in the quarter.

Contributes to desirability score · Housing (10%) · Future Growth (6%)

Household crowding and healthy vacancy — not cheapness Modest price change as a healthy-growth band

Data sources & freshness

Population

Estimated resident population

28(June 2025)

+3.7% annual · +7.7% over 5 years · 96th percentile in NSW

Growth figures & methodology
Annual growth
+3.7%
5-year growth
+7.7%
Change in 1 year
+1
Change in 5 years
+2
Growth rank in NSW
96th 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 (~50), extrapolated at +1.4% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.

2021 Census figures

2021 Census

Population
27
Median age
56
Median household income / week
$1,124
Dwelling vacancy
0%
Unoccupied private dwellings
0 of 17
Median monthly mortgage
$1,242
Median weekly rent (2021 Census)
$385
Tenure (owned / mortgaged / rented)
46.2% / 30.8% / 23.1%
Employment rate
61.5%
Travel to work (WFH / public transport / car)
22.2% / 0% / 22.2%
Walked or cycled to work
33.3%
Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
14 / 0 / 0

Contributes to desirability score · Community (12%) · Accessibility (12%) · Future Growth (6%)

Employment, household income and owned-outright tenure (2021 Census) Work-from-home and public-transport commute shares (2021 Census) Five-year population change as a healthy-growth band, not a boom bonus

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community Profile (including method of travel to work and educational attainment) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

    The 2026 Census was conducted 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

Qualifications

19.2% of adults have a university degree, compared with 27.8% across New South Wales. 19.2% have a trade or vocational qualification.

  • University qualified19.2% · 27.8% NSW
  • Trade / vocational19.2% · 15% NSW
  • Year 12 or below61.5% · 47.9% NSW

Highest qualification field

Main field of the highest non-school qualification (2021 Census).

  • Engineering and related technologies53.3%
  • Natural and physical sciences26.7%
  • Management and commerce20%
How these groups are defined
MeasureDefinition
University qualifiedBachelor degree or higher
Diploma qualifiedAdvanced Diploma / Diploma
Trade / vocationalCertificate III + IV
Year 12Year 12 as highest attainment
Below Year 12Year 11 / 10 / 9 or below

People aged 15 years and over, 2021 Census. University, diploma and trade shares match ABS highest educational attainment (HEAP). Year 12 and below Year 12 are combined in the chart because the General Community Profile reports school-only attainment as a residual.

Contributes to desirability score · Community (12%)

University qualifications from the 2021 Census

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community Profile (including method of travel to work and educational attainment) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

    The 2026 Census was conducted in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.

Tax & income

Median taxable income (2023–24)
$52,815

39th percentile in NSW · -10% vs Australia

Median salary / wages (2023–24)
$57,086

32nd percentile in NSW · -12% vs Australia

Residents with rental investments
17.0%

68th percentile in NSW · +23% vs Australia

Median super balance (2023–24)
$81,393

65th percentile in NSW · +29% vs Australia

Residents with business income
14.0%

85th percentile in NSW · +35% vs Australia

Australian Taxation Office Taxation Statistics 2023–24, individuals Table 25. Figures describe taxpayers who live in postcode 2478 — not a suburb-level official statistic. Rental investment is the share of local taxpayers reporting rental income or loss, not the share of local properties owned by investors.

Counts, net rent & state comparison
Taxpayers in this postcode
20,170
Taxpayers reporting net rent
3,385
Median net rent
$2,935
Taxpayers reporting business income
2,924
Taxable income vs state median
-6%
Salary / wages vs state median
-9%
Rental investment vs state median
+21%
Super vs state median
+16%
Business income vs state median
+40%

Percentiles rank this postcode among unique postcodes in NSW, so suburbs that share a postcode are not counted twice. Dollar figures are compared with Australia-wide ATO medians from the same release. Median net rent is among taxpayers who reported the rent label and can be negative.

Data sources & freshness

  • Taxation Statistics 2023–24 — individuals by postcode (Table 25) — Australian Taxation Office · Updated · Annual release; taxpayer residential postcode, not suburb boundary

Community & culture

Language at home
27 English only · 0 other
Non-English at home
0%
Born overseas
0 (0%)
Australian citizens
27

Religion

59.3%No religion

No religion is the most common response at 59.3%, while Christianity accounts for 48.1%.

MeasureSuburbState
No religion59.3%32.8%
Christianity48.1%47.6%

2021 Census — languages spoken at home, birthplace, Indigenous status, and religious affiliation (usual residence). Religion is optional on the Census form.

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community Profile (including method of travel to work and educational attainment) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

    The 2026 Census was conducted in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.

Crime & safety

Offence counts are estimated for this suburb from postcode 2478, which is shared with other suburbs.

Reported offences increased compared with the previous period.

Offence counts & rates
Total offences (Jan 2025 to Dec 2025)
3
Against the person
0
Against property
1
Rate per 1,000 residents
107.1
State crime-rate percentile
77.6th (higher = more crime)
Increase (daily rate)
+50.4%
Recorded road crashes (in suburb)
1
Crash rate per 1,000 residents (state rank)
35.71

Most common offence types

  • Assault Police0
  • Domestic Violence Related Assault0
  • Non-Domestic Violence Related Assault0
  • Sexual Assault0
  • Sexual Touching, Sexual Act And Other Sexual Offences0

Contributes to desirability score · Safety (22%)

Crime rate, offences against the person, year-on-year trend and recorded road crash rates

Data sources & freshness

Family & Lifestyle

Schools & preschools

Schools within 2 km
3
Median school ICSEA (3 schools)
952
Median ICSEA percentile
26th
Primary catchments overlapping suburb
1
Secondary catchments overlapping suburb
1
School list
  • Ballina Public SchoolPrimary · Government · ICSEA 869 · 6th percentile · LBOTE 17% · 254 students · Top SEA quarter 5% · 1.6 km awayView on My School →
  • St Francis Xavier Primary SchoolPrimary · Catholic · ICSEA 1045 · 66th percentile · LBOTE 15% · 398 students · Top SEA quarter 19% · 1.8 km awayView on My School →
  • Ballina Coast High SchoolSecondary · Government · ICSEA 952 · 26th percentile · LBOTE 8% · 722 students · Top SEA quarter 9% · 2.0 km awayView on My School →
School catchments
  • Ballina Coast HSGovernment school catchment overlapping this suburb boundarysecondary_catchment
  • Empire Vale PSGovernment school catchment overlapping this suburb boundaryprimary_catchment

Government school intake zones that overlap this suburb boundary. Living in a catchment does not guarantee enrolment; check the education authority.

Contributes to desirability score · Education (14%)

Median school ICSEA first, then school and catchment counts

Data sources & freshness

Public transport

6 public transport stops in this suburb

  • 370 South Ballina Beach Rd
  • Ballina Beach Nature Resort, South Ballina Beach Rd
  • Ballina Beach Nature Resort, South Ballina Beach Rd
  • Ballina Sea Breeze Holiday Park, South Ballina Bch Rd
  • Ballina Sea Breeze Holiday Park, South Ballina Bch Rd

Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (12%)

Public transport stops per 1,000 residents and walkability

Data sources & freshness

  • Timetables Complete GTFS stops (© Transport for NSW, CC BY 4.0) — Transport for NSW — Open Data Hub · current · Updated · Nightly GTFS feed

Amenities

6 mapped amenities

1 beaches · 2 caravan parks

Local character & venue list

Local character

  • Limited walkable amenities nearby
Walkability proxy
9/100
Cafés per 1,000 residents
0
Food & drink per 1,000 residents
0
Parks per 1,000 residents
0
Sport & outdoors(2)
  • Mobb's BayBeach
  • Richmond River Nature ReserveNature reserve
Camping & holiday parks(2)
  • Ballina Beach VillageCaravan park

    440 South Ballina Beach Road

  • Seabreeze Holiday ParkCaravan park

    344 South Ballina Beach Road

Other(2)
  • Richmond River Nature ReserveAttraction
  • Parking

Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe). Transport stops are summarised by type rather than listed individually. Campgrounds, beaches, wineries and local trails are included when they sit inside the suburb boundary.

Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (12%)

Food, shopping, recreation and sport per 1,000 residents (OpenStreetMap)

Data sources & freshness

  • Local amenity insights — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
  • OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated

Green cover

Green cover of suburb area
0%
Woodland / forest cover
0%
Parks & woodland features (OSM)
0
Parks (OSM)
0
Typical summer maximum
28°C

Green cover is the share of this suburb's boundary overlapping OpenStreetMap parks, woodland and forest polygons — not a satellite tree-canopy product. Summer maximum is the WorldClim / Open-Meteo seasonal normal already collected for Weather.

Contributes to desirability score · Environment (12%)

Tree canopy first, then green-cover area and parks per 1,000

Data sources & freshness

  • OpenStreetMap green cover and tree canopy — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated · Park/woodland polygons intersected with suburb boundaries

Health access

Nearest hospital
Ballina District Hospital (2.3 km)
Nearest hospital type
Hospital
Nearest hospital emergency
Emergency department
GP clinics in suburb
0

GP clinic counts from OpenStreetMap. Bulk-billing figures only include clinics tagged in OSM (sparse and unofficial — not a Medicare list).

Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (12%)

Hospitals, GPs and aged care

Data sources & freshness

NDIS participation

NDIS participants (31 March 2026)
1
Participants per 1,000 residents
35.7

Active NDIS participants allocated from NDIA Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2, ASGS 2016) counts to this suburb boundary. Not an official suburb-level NDIS figure · as at 31 March 2026.

For NDIS spend and service-demand exploration by SA2 or postcode, see the Care Sector Demand Map.

Data sources & freshness

Weather

Typical conditions by season for suburbs in the same ~44 km climate area. Rainfall totals are summed from monthly WorldClim layers; rainy-day counts are approximate.

Summer (Dec–Feb)

Usual max / min
28° / 19°
Rainfall
569 mm · ~71 rainy days

Autumn (Mar–May)

Usual max / min
25° / 16°
Rainfall
612 mm · ~76 rainy days

Winter (Jun–Aug)

Usual max / min
20° / 10°
Rainfall
289 mm · ~36 rainy days

Spring (Sep–Nov)

Usual max / min
25° / 14°
Rainfall
300 mm · ~38 rainy days

Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (12%)

Temperature and humidity comfort

Data sources & freshness

  • Seasonal climate normals — WorldClim 2.1 · Updated

Future & Planning

Planning & development

Development applications from NSW Planning Portal (lodged 2020–2026).

6 planning-related records

2025· 1 proposal

  • August 2025

  • Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure
    352 SOUTH BALLINA BEACH ROAD SOUTH BALLINA 2478Determined
2024· 3 proposals

  • November 2024

  • Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure
    352 SOUTH BALLINA BEACH ROAD SOUTH BALLINA 2478Determined

  • May 2024

  • Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure; Caravan park
    440 South Ballina Beach Rd, South Ballina NSW 2478Determined

  • January 2024

  • Commercial development; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure; Caravan park
    440 SOUTH BALLINA BEACH ROAD SOUTH BALLINA 2478Determined
2023· 1 proposal

  • August 2023

  • Demolition
    344 South Ballina Beach Road South BallinaDetermined
2022· 1 proposal

  • December 2022

  • Demolition; Alterations and additions to commercial development; Other
    440 SOUTH BALLINA BEACH ROAD SOUTH BALLINA 2478Determined

Data sources & freshness

Hazards

Bushfire planning zone
Overlay applies
Flood / inundation overlay
No mapped inundation on suburb boundary

Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via NSW bush fire prone land mapping. Flood cover uses NSW flood planning polygons against the suburb boundary.

Contributes to desirability score · Safety (22%)

Bushfire and flood hazard overlays

Data sources & freshness

  • Bushfire and flood planning overlays — State government hazard layers · current · Updated

Politics & representation

Federal electorate
Richmond
Member of Parliament
Justine ELLIOT (Australian Labor Party)
Results from
2025 federal election
Electorate enrolment (2025)
126,814
Turnout (2025)
89.5%
Swing since 2022 (2025)
+1.8 pp toward Labor

Two-party preferred (2025)

Coalition 40.0%Labor 60.0%

Estimated suburb voting profile

Estimated from 8 nearby ordinary polling places (up to 14.1 km away).

Coalition 38.7%Labor 61.3%

1.3 percentage points more Labor-leaning than the electorate

Estimated swing since 2022: +2.2 pp toward Labor

Nearest polling places

  • Ballina (Richmond)Labor 65.0% · Coalition 35.0% TPP (2025)2.0 km away
  • Ballina WestLabor 54.7% · Coalition 45.3% TPP (2025)2.6 km away
  • Ballina NorthLabor 59.0% · Coalition 41.0% TPP (2025)4.3 km away
  • Ballina EastLabor 62.3% · Coalition 37.7% TPP (2025)4.6 km away
  • Skennars HeadLabor 68.7% · Coalition 31.3% TPP (2025)7.3 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

Socio-economic

IRSAD decile (2021)
6/10
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 (12%)

Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD and IRSD deciles)

Data sources & freshness

More in Ballina Council

Other suburbs in the same local government area.