Clarence Valley, NSW
surfy · foodie · laid-back · holiday-town
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Drive to the coast
2 min
By road
Nearest major hospital
24 min
By road
Airport access
1h 24m
By road
Schools access
Good
Average daytime temp
24.0°C
Rainfall
Wet
Yamba has a permanent community underneath its holiday-town reputation, and that distinction matters if you are considering living there. On an ordinary week, the ocean, river, surfing and fishing are simply part of the local routine; during school holidays, the same streets and beaches can feel much busier.
The town has grown by about 12% since 2016, enough to show continuing demand without turning it into a large centre. Its population is older, with a median age of 57, and healthcare, aged care, retail and local services feature strongly in the employment mix.
The appeal is obvious: beaches are minutes away, the ocean pool and Angourie surf breaks are close, and local seafood is part of the town’s identity. The compromises are more practical. Shopping is limited compared with a regional city, the nearest major hospital is about 24 minutes away, and the airport is roughly 1 hour 25 minutes away.
Housing is also no longer inexpensive, with the median house price around $1.17 million. Brisbane is just over three hours by road, so it is reachable but not woven into everyday life. Yamba suits people happy to let the coast shape the week and accept that peak visitor periods come with the package.
19 photos
Anyone who wants surfing, walking and good food to be part of an ordinary week will understand Yamba's appeal quickly. It can work for people who work remotely, couples and families, provided a tourism-heavy town is not a problem. What you give up is big-city retail and a deep employment market, so that needs to be acceptable from the start.
Tourism is high, so holiday periods can change the feel of the town. Shopping is relatively limited, and the nearest hospital is around 24 minutes away. Brisbane is roughly 3 hours by road and the airport about 84 minutes away, so frequent flying or capital-city travel takes planning.
Swim at Yamba Ocean Pool
Surf around Angourie National Surfing Reserve
Eat local Yamba prawns and explore the beaches
More from Londoner in Sydney
It’s not all about beaches and surfing, discover the best things to do in Yamba in New South Wales as we share our personal highlights of this increasingly popular North Coast town.
Read the guideMedian house price
$1,165,000
5% above the NSW median
Median weekly rent (3-bed house)
$685
≈ $2,968/month
Houses here typically sell from $910,000 to $1,625,000 (25th–75th percentile).
Sourced from NSW Department of Communities and Justice · January - March 2026 quarter
Healthcare access
Good
Shopping & everyday services
Moderate
Supermarket within 10km, limited other retail
Internet connection
Fixed line
Plus 4 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 Bellingen, Dorrigo, Sawtell 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.
Yamba (NSW) (SAL 14476) · 2021 Census
Older than the country as a whole: 37.5% are 65 or over against 17.2% nationally, and 12.9% are children against 18.2%. Among households, couples without children outnumber couples with them (59.2% of families against 25.1%).
Population
6,405
Population growth
+12%
Maclean - Yamba - Iluka (SA2 104011082)
Median age
57 years
Labour force participation
41.8%
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
$602
Per week · ≈ $31,304/year
Median family income
$1,397
Per week
Median household income
$1,106
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
69.3%
Rented
27.2%
Born in Australia
80.9%
Born overseas
12.3%
Doesn't sum to 100% — people who didn't state a birthplace are excluded rather than redistributed.