Coffs Harbour property market: the official numbers
Coffs Harbour, NSW, in official numbers: the people, the rents, the repayments, and the pay cheques behind them. Every figure below is ABS Census 2021 data, linked at the bottom so you can check it yourself.
The straight answer
At the last census, Coffs Harbour's median rent was $375/wk — in line with the national median. Rent all but covered the typical mortgage repayment ($1,625 against $1,733 a month) — that's a cashflow shape, not a scarcity story.
Coffs Harbour by the numbers
The typical repayment ran at about 29% 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.
Renting vs paying a mortgage
At the census, the typical monthly rent worked out to $1,625 against a typical mortgage repayment of $1,733:
What this gap does and doesn't tell you
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?
Who owns, who rents
Renters are 30.1% of Coffs Harbour households. If you're buying to let, that's the depth of your market — about the national norm.
The age mix
What the age mix means for housing
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). Coffs Harbour's median age of 44 sits above the national median of 38.
What keeps Coffs Harbour employed
19.4% of Coffs Harbour's 31,976 workers are in health care & social assistance. That's the engine under local housing demand — worth knowing how it's running before you buy.
Buying costs in NSW, exactly
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 Coffs Harbour?
At the 2021 Census the median rent in Coffs Harbour was $375 a week — in line with the national median ($375/wk). Rents have moved since 2021; check current listings for today's asking rents.
How many people live in Coffs Harbour?
74,195 people at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 44 (national median: 38). Coffs Harbour is one of New South Wales's significant urban areas as defined by the ABS.
What do people in Coffs Harbour do for work?
The biggest employing industry is health care & social assistance, followed by retail trade (ABS Census 2021). The industry mix shapes how resilient local housing demand is.
Who this market suits
Your call
This is a cashflow shape — $1,625 a month in rent against a $1,733 repayment at the census. That suits a buyer who wants the rent to carry the loan, not one chasing a blue-chip postcode. The catch is concentration: health care & social assistance carries 19.4% of local jobs, and that cuts both ways — it drives housing demand in the good years and takes it away in the bad ones.
Whatever you do, check the things the census can't show: today's asking rents, vacancy and days on market in Coffs Harbour. 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 Coffs Harbour, CC-BY 4.0), which predates the 2022–24 rate rises; conditions have moved since. Last reviewed 10 July 2026.