Coffs Coast, NSW
fig-lined · surfy · cafe-y · headlands
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Photo: BotheredByBees · CC BY 2.0
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Drive to the coast
1 min
By road
Nearest major hospital
12 min
By road
Airport access
12 min
By road
Schools access
Excellent
Average daytime temp
23.7°C
Rainfall
Wet
Sawtell is a compact coastal town with enough cafés, shops and local character to feel more complete than its population of about 3,800 suggests. The median age is 47 and population has grown by only around 4% since 2016, so the town feels established rather than caught in rapid development. Housing sits around an $869,000 median and three-bedroom rents near $700 a week.
For daily essentials, schools, healthcare and shopping are all strong, with the airport and major hospital each about 12 minutes away, which removes many of the practical disadvantages of small-town coastal living. The beach, Boambee Headland, Bonville Creek and local cinema give residents a mix of outdoor and social options within a compact area.
Rainfall is high, keeping the landscape green but also making wet weather part of the climate. Brisbane is more than four hours away by road. Sawtell suits people who want a walkable, café-oriented beach town without giving up access to major services. The compromise is cost and limited rural space: housing is not cheap, and the compact coastal setting means acreage or deep seclusion is not what the town offers.
9 photos
Photo credits: 1. BotheredByBees · CC BY 2.0; 2. Tatters ✾ · CC BY 2.0; 3. JC Merriman · CC BY 4.0; 4. jessdenman · Public Domain Mark 1.0; 5. Geoff & Dianne Rhodes · CC BY 2.0; 6. crissouli · CC BY 2.0
Sawtell suits families, professionals, remote workers and downsizers who want a walkable beach-town routine but do not want to be isolated from hospitals, schools, an airport or major shopping. It is especially good for people who value cafés and dining as much as surf and outdoor access.
Rents are relatively high and the town's popularity means housing is not a bargain despite sitting below the state median. Rainfall is high, and the compact beach setting provides little rural space. For major-city access, Brisbane is about 4 hours 21 minutes away.
Swim at Sawtell Beach
Walk Boambee Headland
Paddle Bonville Creek
Watch films at Sawtell Cinema
Median house price
$869,000
22% below the NSW median
Median attached price (townhouse/apartment)
$610,000
Median weekly rent (3-bed house)
$700
≈ $3,033/month
Houses here typically sell from $831,000 to $1,000,000 (25th–75th percentile).
Attached properties typically sell from $545,000 to $649,000.
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 Coffs Harbour.
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.
Sawtell (SAL 13513) · 2021 Census
Older than the country as a whole: 25.2% are 65 or over against 17.2% nationally, and 16.3% are children against 18.2%. Among households, couples without children outnumber couples with them (46% of families against 35%). Lone-person households are more common than average (31.7% against 25.6%).
Population
3,788
Population growth
+3.5%
Sawtell - Boambee (SA2 104021089)
Median age
47 years
Labour force participation
56%
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
$750
Per week · ≈ $39,000/year
Median family income
$1,866
Per week
Median household income
$1,405
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
65%
Rented
32.5%
Born in Australia
83.1%
Born overseas
11.1%
Doesn't sum to 100% — people who didn't state a birthplace are excluded rather than redistributed.