Coffs Coast, NSW
bananas · solitary-islands · eco-destination · coastal
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Move Regional compares towns across QLD, NSW and WA on price, work, schools and lifestyle, so you can find the one that fits.
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Drive to the coast
7 min
By road
Nearest major hospital
9 min
By road
Airport access
3 min
By road
Schools access
Excellent
Average daytime temp
23.7°C
Rainfall
Wet
Coffs Harbour is a full regional coastal city with enough size to support work, schools, healthcare and shopping independently of Brisbane or Sydney. Around 51,000 people live in the urban area, the median age is 44 and population has grown by roughly 9% since 2016.
The airport is only a few minutes away and the major hospital about ten minutes, which makes travel and healthcare unusually convenient. The housing median is around $1.03 million and three-bedroom rents are near $680 a week, so Coffs is no longer cheap even though it remains below many high-profile NSW coastal markets.
Jetty Beach, Muttonbird Island and the broader Solitary Islands coast give the city a strong outdoor identity, while the Big Banana remains part of its tourism image. The urban area is spread out, so a car is useful even though services are comprehensive. Rainfall is high and the climate warm.
Brisbane is roughly 4 hours 10 minutes away, placing Coffs firmly in the category of a self-contained regional move. The appeal is clearest for people seeking coastal access without sacrificing city-level practicality, but it will feel too busy and built-up for anyone seeking a small beach village or a highly intimate community.
28 photos
Families, healthcare and education workers, professionals, remote workers and people who want coastal living without giving up an airport or major services are a strong fit. It also suits anyone who finds smaller towns too limiting but does not want to move back to Newcastle, Sydney or Brisbane.
Coffs is not especially quiet, and a car is useful across the spread-out urban area. Housing is not cheap even though it remains below the NSW median. Brisbane is about 4 hours 11 minutes away, so capital-city access is occasional rather than routine.
Walk Muttonbird Island
Visit Big Banana Fun Park
Swim at Jetty Beach
Explore Solitary Islands coastal walk
Median house price
$1,030,000
7% below the NSW median
Median attached price (townhouse/apartment)
$626,000
Median weekly rent (3-bed house)
$680
≈ $2,947/month
Houses here typically sell from $840,000 to $1,181,000 (25th–75th percentile).
Attached properties typically sell from $528,000 to $747,000.
Sourced from NSW Department of Communities and Justice · January - March 2026 quarter
Healthcare access
Excellent
Shopping & everyday services
Excellent
10+ shopping centres within 20km — a real retail hub
Internet connection
Fixed line
Plus 25 more within 20km — showing the 8 closest.
Job market by industry
Healthcare — 15.7%
Largest share of local jobs
Employment figures cover this town's wider statistical region, not the town alone — you'll see the same figures for Yamba, Bellingen, Dorrigo and Sawtell.
The score ranks this region against other regions for the same occupation, not against other jobs here — a low score means it isn't a regional stronghold for that field, not that there are no vacancies. Counts online job advertisements, so trades and farm work hired by word of mouth are undercounted, and outside capital cities this is published at a regional level larger than one town.
Coffs Harbour (UCL 111002) · 2021 Census
Older than the country as a whole: 24% are 65 or over against 17.2% nationally, and 17.4% are children against 18.2%. Among households, couples without children outnumber couples with them (42.9% of families against 34.9%).
Population
51,069
Population growth
+8.9%
Coffs Harbour - South (SA2 104021085)
Median age
44 years
Labour force participation
54.2%
Growth is measured across the wider area named under the figure, which can be a different size to the town.
Share of total population in each band — rounding means these won't land on exactly 100%.
Couples are a share of total families; lone-person households are a share of total households — different bases, not one breakdown.
Median personal income
$682
Per week · ≈ $35,464/year
Median family income
$1,651
Per week
Median household income
$1,309
Per week
Personal is one person's income; family and household cover everyone living together — a single-income household will show a lower household figure than its highest earner's personal one. Personal income also covers every resident aged 15 and over, retirees included, so it reads low in a town with an older population even where household income is solid.
Owner-occupied
62.9%
Rented
33.4%
Born in Australia
78.3%
Born overseas
15.4%
Doesn't sum to 100% — people who didn't state a birthplace are excluded rather than redistributed.