Mid North Coast, NSW
sleepy · surfy · local · beachside
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Drive to the coast
3 min
By road
Nearest major hospital
20 min
By road
Airport access
1h 16m
By road
Schools access
Excellent
Average daytime temp
24.1°C
Rainfall
Moderate rainfall
Old Bar is a beach town with a stronger permanent-community feel than many holiday destinations of similar size. Around 5,100 people live here, the median age is 50 and population has grown quickly, up roughly 26% since 2016. That growth is noticeable in a place this small, yet the town still feels low-key compared with larger coastal centres.
Housing remains relatively affordable for direct beach access, with a median around $765,000 and three-bedroom rents near $550 a week. Surfing, kiteboarding and long beach walks are the obvious local advantages, while nearby national park country adds more outdoor space without needing to drive far.
Schools are strong and shopping is useful, but the nearest major hospital is about 20 minutes away and dining or cultural options are limited. The airport is around 1 hour 15 minutes away and Sydney about 3 hours 45 minutes by road. Old Bar is not a place to move for nightlife, professional variety or a walkable urban centre.
Its appeal is more straightforward: beach access, a smaller social world and enough basic services to make family life workable. The rapid population rise is changing the scale, but it has not yet turned the town into a busy regional hub.
9 photos
Families, surfers, remote workers and retirees who want the beach close without living in a busy coastal destination can settle easily into Old Bar. The town stays quiet and local. That simplicity means a modest café scene and some driving for services rather than having everything within easy reach.
The town has less dining, creative activity and healthcare depth than larger centres, with the hospital around 20 minutes away. Sydney is roughly 3 hours 45 minutes by road. If you want a walkable centre, broad shopping or a strong social scene, Port Macquarie or Yamba will suit better.
Surf the local reef break or kiteboard
Walk the long sandy beach
Explore nearby coastal national park
Median house price
$765,000
31% below the NSW median
Median attached price (townhouse/apartment)
$450,000
Median weekly rent (3-bed house)
$550
≈ $2,383/month
Houses here typically sell from $583,000 to $985,000 (25th–75th percentile).
Attached properties typically sell from $355,000 to $590,000.
Sourced from NSW Department of Communities and Justice · January - March 2026 quarter
Healthcare access
Good
Shopping & everyday services
Good
4–9 shopping centres within 20km
Internet connection
Fixed line
Plus 11 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 Blueys Beach, Nambucca Heads, Port Macquarie, Seal Rocks, South West Rocks, Taree, Laurieton and Forster-Tuncurry.
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.
Old Bar (SAL 13084) · 2021 Census
Older than the country as a whole: 31.5% are 65 or over against 17.2% nationally, and 17.9% are children against 18.2%. Among households, couples without children outnumber couples with them (49.4% of families against 31.1%).
Population
5,126
Population growth
+26.2%
Old Bar - Manning Point - Red Head (SA2 108051168)
Median age
50 years
Labour force participation
47.6%
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
$613
Per week · ≈ $31,876/year
Median family income
$1,431
Per week
Median household income
$1,170
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
69.5%
Rented
26.1%
Born in Australia
84.2%
Born overseas
9.7%
Doesn't sum to 100% — people who didn't state a birthplace are excluded rather than redistributed.