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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Empire Bay is a coastal suburb in New South Wales, Australia, with a population of approximately 2,522, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 43 km from the Sydney CBD, Empire Bay is a coastal area in New South Wales. The median household income is $97,968 per year.
Strong household incomes in Empire Bay underpin solid property demand. Coastal lifestyle appeal adds a premium that supports long-term demand.
Official Australia Post postcode for Empire Bay. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
Australia Post Postcode Finder →Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Weekly median rent for occupied homes. Live rental data integration coming soon.
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Estimated 1 school within or near this suburb.
Find schools near Empire Bay on My School →Estimated 1 park and green spaces near this suburb.
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Empire Bay is a smaller community of 2,522 — about 47% of the New South Wales suburb median (5,325) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. At $97,968/year, household income in Empire Bay is within 0% of the New South Wales median ($97,552), placing the suburb firmly in the state's mainstream demographic band. Rent of $410/week (82% coverage of the $2,165/month median mortgage) leaves a gap of roughly $388/month that a typical investor bridges with negative gearing, depreciation and capital growth. At 43 km from Sydney, Empire Bay is an outer-metro location where buyers are typically trading commute time for floor space and a lower entry price.
Coastal markets benefit from lifestyle appeal but require a buffer for higher insurance and occasional weather-driven vacancies. Local rents consume roughly 22% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How Empire Bay stacks up against the median of all New South Wales suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Empire Bay sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Empire Bay | NSW median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 2,522 | 5,325 | -53% |
| Median household income | $97,968/yr | $97,552/yr | 0% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $410 | $430 | -5% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $2,165 | $2,167 | 0% |
| Distance to CBD | 43 km | 45 km | -4% |
| Separate houses | 86% | 76% | +10pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Empire Bay — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 2,522 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider New South Wales market over full cycles.
Moderate rental coverage: rent of $410/week covers 82% of a $2,165/month mortgage, leaving a $388/month gap that an investor bridges with equity, depreciation and tax benefits.
With 86% houses in a 2,522-person market, renovation margins depend on individual street and aspect rather than any suburb-wide story — do comparable-sales analysis before committing capital.
Run the numbers on a Empire Bay property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Empire Bay are modest for 2026 — incomes close to the NSW median of $97,552 and a population of 2,522 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~82% of the typical mortgage ($1,777/month rent vs $2,165/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 56/100 places Empire Bay in the mid tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is balanced heading into the second half of 2026.
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Empire Bay scores 56/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a moderate rating. That score is driven by a population of 2,522, median household income of $97,968/year and median weekly rent of $410. Whether it fits your portfolio depends on whether you are targeting cash flow, capital growth, or a value-add renovation — all three are scored with suburb-specific numbers elsewhere on this page.
The main demand drivers in Empire Bay are an above-state-median household income of $97,968/year, a dwelling mix that is 86% separate houses, roughly 1 schools and 1 parks within the catchment. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand and are the factors we weight most heavily in the suburb's investment score.
Empire Bay has a usual resident population of approximately 2,522, compared with a New South Wales suburb median of 5,325 — placing it in the lower half of the state's suburbs by size. Population is the clearest proxy for market depth: more residents mean more transactions and typically a shorter average days-on-market on resale.
Empire Bay sits 43 km straight-line from the Sydney CBD. This is an outer-metro location; local employment and infrastructure announcements tend to move prices more than CBD connectivity alone.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $410 in Empire Bay, equating to approximately $21,320/year in gross rental income (state median $430/week). Market rents have typically drifted above the recorded figure — verify against current listings on realestate.com.au and Domain before making an offer.
The median monthly mortgage repayment in Empire Bay is $2,165, or approximately $25,980/year (vs $2,167/month state median). Stress-test your own borrowing at rates 1–2 percentage points above today's to make sure you can still service the loan through an RBA tightening cycle.
A median weekly rent of $410 works out to $1,777/month, covering 82% of the median mortgage repayment of $2,165/month. That leaves a $388/month shortfall (around $4,656/year before tax benefits), so a typical owner-occupier-priced property here is negatively geared. Actual cash flow depends on your deposit, loan terms, ownership costs and marginal tax rate — run the full numbers in our rental yield calculator.
The main risks are a thin buyer pool (2,522 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $2,165 median mortgage, the broader New South Wales market cycle. Each of these is covered in the Risk Factors section above with suburb-specific numbers rather than generic warnings.
Every number on this page comes from the ABS 2021 Census of Population and Housing, Australia Post postcode reference data, and OpenStreetMap amenity tiles. The investment score, strategy verdicts, and comparison table are computed deterministically from those inputs — no opinion, no estimation. See our full methodology and the data sources and licences for the formulas we use.