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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Sunshine Bay is a coastal suburb in New South Wales, Australia, with a population of approximately 1,439, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 228 km from the Sydney CBD, Sunshine Bay is a coastal area in New South Wales. The median household income is $59,176 per year.
Household earnings in Sunshine Bay are below the state average, which may affect long-term capital growth. Seaside positioning attracts both owner-occupiers and holiday rental demand.
Official Australia Post postcode for Sunshine 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 Sunshine 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.
Sunshine Bay is a smaller community of 1,439 — about 27% of the New South Wales suburb median (5,325) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Sunshine Bay's median household income of $59,176/year is 39% below the New South Wales suburb median ($97,552) — this is an affordability play where returns lean on yield and patient capital growth rather than demographic premium. Median weekly rent of $370 equates to $1,603/month — about 97% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,650/month — meaning rental income covers most of a typical owner's repayment and this is a genuine cash-flow suburb before tax benefits. Sunshine Bay is 228 km from Sydney, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand.
How Sunshine Bay stacks up against the median of all New South Wales suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Sunshine Bay sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Sunshine Bay | NSW median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,439 | 5,325 | -73% |
| Median household income | $59,176/yr | $97,552/yr | -39% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $370 | $430 | -14% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,650 | $2,167 | -24% |
| Distance to CBD | 228 km | 45 km | +407% |
| Separate houses | 65% | 76% | -11pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Sunshine 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 1,439 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider New South Wales market over full cycles.
Strong rental coverage: $370/week (~$1,603/month) covers 97% of the $1,650/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $47/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
Only 65% of dwellings are separate houses (vs 76% NSW median) — this is a unit and townhouse market, where cosmetic flips struggle against body-corporate restrictions, thinner after-reno uplift and competing new supply.
Run the numbers on a Sunshine Bay property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Sunshine Bay are modest for 2026 — incomes 39% below the NSW median of $97,552 and a population of 1,439 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~97% of the typical mortgage ($1,603/month rent vs $1,650/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 35/100 places Sunshine Bay in the lower tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is cautious heading into the second half of 2026.
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Sunshine Bay scores 35/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a weak rating. That score is driven by a population of 1,439, median household income of $59,176/year and median weekly rent of $370. 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 Sunshine Bay are a median household income of $59,176/year, a dwelling mix that is 65% 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.
Sunshine Bay has a usual resident population of approximately 1,439, 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.
Sunshine Bay sits 228 km straight-line from the Sydney CBD. This is a regional market where CBD distance is only indicative — local industry diversity and commute alternatives matter more.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $370 in Sunshine Bay, equating to approximately $19,240/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 Sunshine Bay is $1,650, or approximately $19,800/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 $370 works out to $1,603/month, covering 97% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,650/month. That leaves a $47/month shortfall (around $564/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 (1,439 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,650 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($59,176 vs $97,552 state median), 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.