Byron Bay property market: the official numbers
The official read on Byron Bay, NSW: who lives there, what they pay in rent and repayments, and where the jobs are. Every figure below is ABS Census 2021 data, linked at the bottom so you can check it yourself.
The straight answer
Byron Bay rented at a median $620/wk in 2021 — 65% above the national median. The typical rent ($2,687/mo) sat right up against the typical repayment ($2,340/mo). Cashflow territory.
Byron Bay by the numbers
The typical repayment ran at about 31% of the median household income. Point-in-time medians, August 2021. Repayments have risen a long way since the 2022–24 rate rises, so use these to compare places, not to price anything today.
The rent-or-buy gap
At the census, the typical monthly rent worked out to $2,687 against a typical mortgage repayment of $2,340:
How to read the rent-repayment gap
The mortgage figure reflects loans and rates as at August 2021, before the 2022–24 rate rises — today's repayment on a new loan would be higher. The rent figure is what tenants were actually paying, not today's asking rents. The useful signal is the shape: where rent and repayments sit close together, buying has historically competed well with renting here; where repayments tower over rent, the market prices in growth. Run your own numbers with the mortgage vs invest tool or what can I afford?
How Byron Bay houses itself
36.8% of Byron Bay households rent — that's the tenant pool an investor here would actually be renting into, and it's a deep pool by national standards.
Who lives here
How to read an age profile
A heavy 25–44 band usually means family housing demand (and pressure on 3–4 bedroom stock); a heavy 65+ band signals downsizer and retiree demand (units, single-level living, proximity to health care). Byron Bay's median age of 39 sits above the national median of 38.
What the local economy runs on
20.1% of Byron Bay's 5,465 workers are in accommodation & food services. That's the engine under local housing demand — worth knowing how it's running before you buy.
What it costs to buy in NSW
We don't republish licensed price feeds, so for today's sale prices check a licensed source. The costs of buying, though, are public and exact:
- Stamp duty in New South Wales — exact duty and first-home-buyer concessions.
- What can I afford? — borrowing power, price range and all-in upfront cash.
- The official NSW price trend — ABS state-level values since 2011, interactive.
Quick answers
What is the median rent in Byron Bay?
At the 2021 Census the median rent in Byron Bay was $620 a week — 65% above the national median ($375/wk). Rents have moved since 2021; check current listings for today's asking rents.
How many people live in Byron Bay?
10,914 people at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 39 (national median: 38). Byron Bay is one of New South Wales's significant urban areas as defined by the ABS.
What do people in Byron Bay do for work?
The biggest employing industry is accommodation & food services, followed by health care & social assistance (ABS Census 2021). The industry mix shapes how resilient local housing demand is.
Where this leaves you
Your call
On the census shape, Byron Bay suits the cashflow buyer: the typical rent ($2,687/mo) sat right up against the typical repayment ($2,340/mo). It's a weaker fit for anyone banking on scarcity to do the work. Size is the catch — at 10,914 people, exits are slow here. Count on months, not weeks, if you ever need to sell.
Whatever you do, check the things the census can't show: today's asking rents, vacancy and days on market in Byron Bay. Then run your own numbers: what can I afford? for borrowing power and upfront cash, and the New South Wales stamp duty calculator for the tax bill.
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General information only — not financial or property advice. All figures are ABS Census 2021 ( official QuickStats for Byron Bay, CC-BY 4.0), which predates the 2022–24 rate rises; conditions have moved since. Last reviewed 10 July 2026.