Mid North Coast, NSW
coastal · family-friendly · koala · outdoorsy
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Drive to the coast
1 min
By road
Nearest major hospital
10 min
By road
Airport access
19 min
By road
Schools access
Excellent
Average daytime temp
23.8°C
Rainfall
Wet
Port Macquarie is a full regional coastal centre, not a beach town that happens to have grown. Around 47,700 people live here, the median age is 48 and population growth has been modest at about 1% since 2016.
The town supports strong schools, healthcare and shopping, with the hospital around ten minutes away and the airport under 20 minutes, so most households can manage life locally without repeated trips to a larger city. Housing sits around a $950,000 median and three-bedroom rents near $650 a week.
Beaches, the coastal walk, Tacking Point and the Koala Hospital give the place an outdoor identity, but the centre also carries traffic, retail and tourism at a scale that smaller coastal communities avoid. Sydney is roughly 4 hours 30 minutes away by road, which makes flying the more practical option for frequent trips.
Rural space is limited within the main urban area. Port Macquarie suits families, retirees and workers who want the coast without sacrificing services, but it is less suitable for people seeking a tiny social circle or a quiet village. The town’s appeal is precisely that it can function as a complete regional base while keeping beach access embedded in ordinary life.
9 photos
Port Macquarie works well if you want the beach lifestyle without shrinking your practical world. Families, professionals, retirees and people working remotely can still rely on substantial schools, healthcare, shopping and airport access. It handles everyday needs in a way many smaller coastal places cannot, while beaches and the outdoors remain central to life.
The town is busy and heavily influenced by tourism, so it does not provide the quiet of Old Bar or South West Rocks. Sydney is around 4 hours 30 minutes away by road. Rural space is limited, and people looking for acreage or a small-community feel may find the centre too developed.
Visit the Koala Hospital
Walk the coastal track to Tacking Point
Choose from a string of beaches around town
More from Londoner in Sydney
If you’re looking for things to do in Port Macquarie, you’re in the right place, as we cover some of the best things Port has to offer.
Read the guideMedian house price
$950,000
14% below the NSW median
Median attached price (townhouse/apartment)
$665,000
Median weekly rent (3-bed house)
$650
≈ $2,817/month
Houses here typically sell from $845,000 to $1,177,000 (25th–75th percentile).
Attached properties typically sell from $599,000 to $800,000.
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 18 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, Old Bar, 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.
Port Macquarie (SAL 13258) · 2021 Census
Older than the country as a whole: 28.9% are 65 or over against 17.2% nationally, and 15.6% are children against 18.2%. Among households, couples without children outnumber couples with them (48.4% of families against 33.1%). Lone-person households are more common than average (31.6% against 25.6%).
Population
47,693
Population growth
+1.4%
Port Macquarie - East (SA2 108041619)
Median age
48 years
Labour force participation
52.4%
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
$679
Per week · ≈ $35,308/year
Median family income
$1,684
Per week
Median household income
$1,282
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
63.8%
Rented
31.1%
Born in Australia
80.9%
Born overseas
14.3%
Doesn't sum to 100% — people who didn't state a birthplace are excluded rather than redistributed.