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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
Wollongong is a coastal suburb in New South Wales, Australia, with a population of approximately 20,446, making it a sizeable community. Located approximately 69 km from the Sydney CBD, Wollongong is a coastal area in New South Wales. The median household income is $80,548 per year.
Moderate income levels in Wollongong indicate steady rental demand from working households. Seaside positioning attracts both owner-occupiers and holiday rental demand.
Official Australia Post postcode for Wollongong. 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 5 schools within or near this suburb.
Find schools near Wollongong on My School →Estimated 8 parks 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.
With 20,446 residents, Wollongong is one of New South Wales's more populous suburbs — roughly 3.8× the state median of 5,325 — giving it a deep buyer and tenant pool that typically supports higher transaction volumes and shorter average days on market. Household income of $80,548/year is 17% below the New South Wales median of $97,552, typically translating into lower entry prices and a tenant base more sensitive to rent increases. Median weekly rent of $410 equates to $1,777/month — about 91% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,950/month — meaning rental income covers most of a typical owner's repayment and this is a genuine cash-flow suburb before tax benefits. Wollongong is 69 km from Sydney, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand. Only 12% of dwellings are separate houses (vs 76% state median), so this is a unit-heavy market where body-corporate decisions and strata supply meaningfully shape investor returns.
Coastal markets benefit from lifestyle appeal but require a buffer for higher insurance and occasional weather-driven vacancies. Local rents consume roughly 26% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
How Wollongong stacks up against the median of all New South Wales suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Wollongong sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Wollongong | NSW median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 20,446 | 5,325 | +284% |
| Median household income | $80,548/yr | $97,552/yr | -17% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $410 | $430 | -5% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,950 | $2,167 | -10% |
| Distance to CBD | 69 km | 45 km | +53% |
| Separate houses | 12% | 76% | -64pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for Wollongong — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Moderate buy-and-hold potential: Wollongong's 20,446-person market and $80,548 median household income work for investors who are selective on street location and property quality rather than counting on a suburb-wide rerating.
Strong rental coverage: $410/week (~$1,777/month) covers 91% of the $1,950/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $173/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.
Only 12% 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 Wollongong property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for Wollongong are modest for 2026 — incomes 17% below the NSW median of $97,552 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~91% of the typical mortgage ($1,777/month rent vs $1,950/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 55/100 places Wollongong 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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Wollongong scores 55/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a moderate rating. That score is driven by a population of 20,446, median household income of $80,548/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 Wollongong are a median household income of $80,548/year, a dwelling mix that is 12% separate houses, roughly 5 schools and 8 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.
Wollongong has a usual resident population of approximately 20,446, compared with a New South Wales suburb median of 5,325 — placing it in the upper 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.
Wollongong sits 69 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 $410 in Wollongong, 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 Wollongong is $1,950, or approximately $23,400/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 91% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,950/month. That leaves a $173/month shortfall (around $2,076/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 interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,950 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($80,548 vs $97,552 state median), a unit-heavy dwelling mix (12% houses) where body-corporate costs and apartment supply affect resale, 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.