Berrara NSW 2540

Berrara is a rural locality in New South Wales, 211 km from Sydney CBD, around 2 hours 55 minutes by car. Population is 333; the median age is 59 and the median household income is $65,988 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the top 40% nationally. Population grew 12.1% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $335 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,684. The area shows high bushfire risk. Walkability is low.

This locality is too small to rate.

The Liveability Rating is calculated for suburbs of 500 residents or more, and this one has 333. Below that the school, census and safety figures behind the score cover too few people to rank fairly against the rest of the state. The individual measures further down this page are still shown.

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Median House Price

Public listings data

Berrara's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $1.05 million, roughly 77% above where it sat a year earlier. That said, only nine sales settled in the quarter, so the median is a noisy signal — treat it as a direction rather than a level.

$1,050,000

↑ +77.4% year-on-year

Based on only 9 sales — small sample, take as indicative.

Typically sold in 38 days — median across 3 sales that recorded a listing period

Rental Market

Rent agreed on new leases

Jul–Sep 2026
3-bed houses
$600/wk
116 bonds
+27% since 2021
2-bed units
$470/wk
11 bonds
+30% since 2021

Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2540 (NSW publishes bonds by postcode, which can cover several suburbs). Change since 2021 compares the median of the first four quarters with the last four. Asking rents above come from advertised listings.

Rental affordability

June quarter 2025

100 Moderately unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 30% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2540.

SGS Rental Affordability Index: a score of 100 means rent takes 30% of income, the usual housing-stress line; lower scores are less affordable. "Region" is the capital city or the rest of the state.

Is Berrara safe? Crime statistics

2025

Crime in Berrara sits in the low band, with 8 incidents recorded in 2025 — up roughly 33% on the prior year.

8 offences

33.3% since 2024
Assault 3 (37.5%)
Harassment & Stalking 2 (25.0%)
Disorderly Conduct 1 (12.5%)
Property Damage 1 (12.5%)
Other Offences Against Person 1 (12.5%)

Crime Trend

Serious Road Crashes

2021–2025

No crash in Berrara killed anyone or put anyone in hospital in 2021–2025.

Crashes are counted where they happened, so a main road through the locality carries people passing through; this is not a measure of risk to residents. Roads are listed with 3 or more serious crashes.

Council Flood Studies

Shoalhaven City Council has published 31 flood studies on the NSW Flood Data Portal. The mapped flood areas are in those studies; SuburbScan does not hold them.

All 31 on the portal

Coastal Erosion

37
monitoring points
within 5 km
33
actively eroding
> 0.1 m/yr retreat
-0.32
worst rate (m/yr)
Significant
417 m
nearest coastline
monitoring point

Shoreline Change Summary

1988–2025
Stable or accreting 6 (16%)
Moderate erosion (0.1–0.3 m/yr) 30 (81%)
Significant erosion (> 0.3 m/yr) 1 (3%)

Nearest Eroding Coastline

Distance
417 m
Rate
-0.28 m/yr
Net Movement
-13.5 m
Certainty
likely rocky coastline

Data Quality

High certainty: 9 of 37 points (24%)

Schools

No schools in this locality boundary.

Walkability

Berrara is car-dependent on foot — at 32/100, most errands require a car.

32
out of 100
Car-Dependent
Top 24% in NSW
Public Transport within 1 km 66
Schools within 1.5 km 0
Parks within 800 m 100
Supermarkets within 1 km 0
GPs within 1 km 0
Pharmacies within 1 km 0
Childcare within 1 km 0
Hospitals within 5 km 0

Public transport

Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Berrara.

28
out of 100
Bus
Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
6.0 arrivals/hr
Off-peak weekday
0.9 arrivals/hr
Saturday
1.2 arrivals/hr
Median peak wait
1 min
Span of service
13.1 hours

Scheduled service only, based on the 21 October 2026 timetable. Reliability (delays, cancellations) not measured.

NBN connectivity

The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Berrara.

69
connectivity score / 100
Top 24% in NSW
Most common
Fibre to the node
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
44%
Premises covered
398
Technology mix
Fibre to the node (FTTN) 56%
Fibre to the premises (FTTP) 44%

NBN Co fixed-line and fixed-wireless premises, as at 30 December 2025. Higher-quality technologies (full fibre) score above copper, wireless, and satellite. Actual speeds depend on your plan.

Amenities

Supermarkets
None
Shopping Centres
None
Cafes & Restaurants
None
Parks & Reserves
2 in locality
Sport & Recreation
None
Beaches
1 in locality
Waterways
None
Childcare
None
GPs
None
Pharmacies
None
Hospitals
None
Police Stations
None
Banks & Bank@Post
None
Fuel Stations
None
EV Chargers
None
Pubs & Bars
None
Arts & Culture
None
Places of Worship
None

Shoalhaven: council population

The whole council area, not just Berrara · estimated residents
at 30 June 2025
Residents
111,755
+0.7% in a year
Change
+774
people since 2024
Density
24
people per km² across the council area
What drove the change
Natural increase
-248
births minus deaths
Net internal migration
+702
moves within Australia
Net overseas migration
+320
arrivals minus departures

The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this locality alone — this locality's own population is in the census section above.

Socio-economic profile

ABS SEIFA · ranked against every suburb in Australia, and within the state
2021 census
Advantage and disadvantage
7/10
7/10 within NSW
income, education, jobs and housing together
Economic resources
5/10
5/10 within NSW
income against housing cost and household size
Education and occupation
7/10
7/10 within NSW
qualifications and job type, income excluded

Berrara is home to 333 residents, with a median age of 59 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $66,000 a year, with unemployment at 4.4%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

333

12.1% since 2016

Median Age

59

9.3% since 2016

Median Household Income

$65,988/yr

42.4% since 2016

Census Median Rent

$335/wk

34.0% since 2016

Census Median Mortgage

$1,684/mo

53.1% since 2016

Avg Household Size

2.2

4.3% since 2016

Median Personal Income

$34,164/yr

38.0% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

4.4%

76.0% since 2016

Unoccupied Dwellings

171.4%

10.0% since 2016

Total Dwellings

126

9.6% since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

88.8%

0.2% since 2016

Houses

101.6%

4.3% since 2016

Rental Stress

26.4%

6.0% since 2016

Mortgage Stress

30.6%

7.4% since 2016

Work From Home

18.3%

36.6% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Houses 128 (101.6%)

Property Ownership

Owned Outright 75 (60.0%)
Mortgage 36 (28.8%)
Renting 14 (11.2%)

Demographics

Born in Australia
83.8%
English Spoken at Home
89.2%
Employment Rate
45.1%
2.3% since 2016
Completed Year 12
35.1%

Occupations

Professionals 31 (24.0%)
Technicians & Trades 31 (24.0%)
Managers 23 (17.8%)
Clerical & Administrative 13 (10.1%)
Community & Personal Service 12 (9.3%)
Labourers 11 (8.5%)
Sales 7 (5.4%)
Machinery Operators & Drivers 4 (3.1%)

Religion

Christianity 149 (44.7%)
No Religion 135 (40.5%)

Country of Birth (overseas)

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.

England 7 (2.1%)
Japan 5 (1.5%)

Age Distribution

0-4 13 (3.9%)
5-14 21 (6.3%)
15-19 16 (4.8%)
20-24 7 (2.1%)
25-34 25 (7.5%)
35-44 16 (4.8%)
45-54 43 (12.9%)
55-64 81 (24.3%)
65-74 69 (20.7%)
75-84 35 (10.5%)
85+ 9 (2.7%)

Family & Household Composition

Lone Person 33 (41.8%)
Couple Families 30 (38.0%)
One Parent Families 9 (11.4%)
Group Household 7 (8.9%)

Commute to Work

Car (driver) 89 (77.4%)
Worked from Home 21 (18.3%)
Bicycle 5 (4.3%)

3% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (4 of 129).

City centre: the ABS area around each capital's CBD, such as Sydney Inner City or Perth City (which takes in Subiaco and Leederville). 2021 Census place of work.

Education

Certificate III & IV 73 (21.9%)
Bachelor Degree 40 (12.0%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 35 (10.5%)
Postgraduate Degree 11 (3.3%)
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 10 (3.0%)

Cars per Dwelling

1 car 45 (36.0%)
2 cars 46 (36.8%)
3 cars 20 (16.0%)
4+ cars 12 (9.6%)

Council Rates

Shoalhaven
FY 2024-25

Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,501 a year through Shoalhaven based on 2024 figures.

Avg residential rate
$1,501/yr
22% above the NSW average of $1,230 · median of 128 councils
Valuation basis
Unimproved Value
land only

How this land is zoned

Share of Berrara's area by planning zone
2026-09
  • Residential 50%
  • Environmental 26%
  • Infrastructure and transport 9%
  • Parks and recreation 8%
  • Not zoned 7%

Planning zones cover 93% of the locality's area. The rest is unzoned land such as water or road reserve.

Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the locality around it — the property page shows the zone for one address.

Building Approvals: Shoalhaven

The whole council area, not just Berrara · new residential dwellings
to 2026-08

In the year to August 2026, 854 new dwellings were approved across Shoalhaven. That mix is 513 houses and 341 units. Approvals are down 9.5% on the same period a year earlier.

Trailing 12 months
854dwellings
-9.5% YoY
Houses
513
detached dwellings
Units
341
townhouses + apartments

Aboriginal Land Council

Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Jerrinja Local Aboriginal Land Council.

Local Aboriginal Land Councils are statutory bodies under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983, responsible for land claims and land management for their members. Their boundaries are administrative and are not a statement of whose Country this is. NSW does not publish a register of Aboriginal parties by area — they are registered for each project.

Climate & Setting

from Ulladulla AWS, 18.6 km

High rainfall — warm summers, mild winters.

Elevation
9 m
above sea level, at the locality centre
Distance to the ocean
395 m
649 m to a named beach
Annual rainfall
1,302 mm
100 rainy days
Summer max (Jan)
23.9°C
2 days ≥ 35°C
Winter min (Jul)
9.6°C
0 frost days ≤ 0°C

Elevation is the ground at the locality centre, from Geoscience Australia's National Digital Elevation Model. Approximate — it reads high in dense built-up areas. It is a measure of height above sea level and not an indicator of flood risk, which depends on height above nearby waterways.

Industrial Emissions Nearby

1 facility within 5 km

EV adoption

0.5%
of light vehicles are electric
Up from 0.03% in 2021
+0.2 points this year

In postcode 2540, 206 of 40,088 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 2.3% (940 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 2.9%.

Electric share, year by year
2021
0.03%
2022
0.07%
2023
0.14%
2024
0.34%
2025
0.51%

Rooftop solar

44
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 6.4 kW each

In postcode 2540, 11,477 rooftop-solar systems totalling 73.5 MW have been installed since 2001, against 26,038 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 786 went up in the last year.

Counts every system certified since 2001, so a roof re-fitted with a newer system is counted twice, and small commercial systems are included alongside houses — useful for comparing postcodes, not an estimate of how many homes have working panels today.

Systems installed, year by year
2019
977
2020
1,048
2021
1,175
2022
960
2023
910
2024
878
2025
701
2026
479

2026 covers part of the year only, to 2026-07.

First Home Owner Grant

FY2026-27

$10,000 for new homes priced up to $600,000.

Off-the-plan or contracted-build value cap is $750,000 (vs $600,000 for completed new homes). Stamp duty concessions are a separate scheme (First Home Buyers Assistance).

Verify eligibility with Revenue NSW

Mortgage repayments

I'm looking for
Deposit
$
%
Monthly repayment
$5,476
Loan amount
$840,000
Total interest over 30 years
$1,131,422

6 mortgage brokers are registered in postcode 2540.

Deposit
$210,000
Stamp duty
$41,437
Cash needed at settlement
$251,437

Transfer duty at the owner-occupier rate, and it excludes first home buyer concessions — those can cut it substantially or remove it entirely. Excludes legal, inspection and lender fees. Check with Revenue NSW

The First Home Owner Grant applies to newly built homes only, so it isn't available on an established purchase. A first home buyer building or buying new under $600,000 may qualify for $10,000 — see what qualifies with Revenue NSW.

Principal and interest over 30 years, fixed rate. Excludes fees, offset, redraw and LMI. Default rate is the median comparison rate across 1788 advertised products as at 2026-10-27 — indicative only, and not an offer. Your rate depends on the lender, your deposit and your circumstances. Not financial advice.

Federal Electorate

Division of Gilmore

Currently held by Fiona Phillips Australian Labor Party

Year Winner 2PP ALP 2PP LNP Swing
2025 Fiona Phillips 55.1% 44.9% +5.0
2022 Fiona Phillips 50.2% 49.8% +2.4
2019 Fiona Phillips 52.6% 47.4% -3.3

Results are per division — federal electoral boundaries are redrawn periodically, so the history reflects this division's past, not necessarily the exact locality's voters across time.

State Electorate

South Coast District

Currently held by Liza Butler Labor

Next state election: 13 March 2027.

Year Winner Won with
2023 Liza Butler ALP 53.8%
2019 Shelley Hancock LP 60.5%
2015 Shelley Hancock LP 59.6%

Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2021, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this locality's voters. Results: © State of New South Wales through the NSW Electoral Commission, CC BY 4.0, adapted.

Looking at a specific address in Berrara?

Every figure above is a locality average, and an average smooths over the difference between a street of family homes and a block of flats. Look up one address and you get the census for the few hundred people around it, its own nearest schools and stops, and what the state has mapped for that block.

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Nearby suburbs

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Common questions about Berrara

Is Berrara a safe place to live?

Recorded crime in Berrara is low (34/100, ranked against other NSW suburbs on offences per resident).

What natural hazards affect Berrara?

Berrara has a high recorded bushfire history (99/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). These are locality-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.

What is the population of Berrara?

Berrara, NSW had a population of 333 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Berrara, NSW?

The postcode for Berrara, NSW is 2540.

How far is Berrara from Sydney?

Berrara is 211 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 175 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Berrara?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Berrara was $65,988 a year. It is the most recent suburb-level income figure until 2026 Census results are released in 2027.

What is the median weekly rent in Berrara?

There are too few current rental listings in Berrara for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $335, across all dwelling types.

What is the median age in Berrara?

The median age of residents in Berrara was 59 at the 2021 ABS Census.

Is Berrara at risk of bushfire?

Berrara has a high recorded bushfire history (99/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the locality relative to its size, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history. It records where fire has burned, not a bushfire-prone land designation, which your council's planning scheme sets.

Is Berrara walkable?

Berrara scores 32/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it car-dependent. The score is a weighted average of public transport, schools, parks, supermarkets, GPs, pharmacies, childcare, and hospitals within walking distance.

What is the weather like in Berrara?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Berrara, Ulladulla AWS (18.6 km away), summer days average 23.9°C, winter nights 9.6°C, 1,302 mm of rain a year over 100 rainy days, and 2 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.

Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Berrara?

First-home buyers in NSW may be eligible for $10,000 towards new homes with a purchase price up to $600,000. The grant is administered by Revenue NSW; confirm current eligibility before signing a contract — state rules and amounts can change.

What council does Berrara belong to?

Berrara sits within the Shoalhaven local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.

How much are council rates in Berrara?

The average residential rates bill through Shoalhaven is $1,501 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.

How much is being built near Berrara?

Across Shoalhaven, 854 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 9.5% on the same period a year earlier. These are LGA-level totals — every suburb in the council shares the same figure.

Which federal electorate is Berrara in?

Berrara sits within the federal Division of Gilmore, currently held by Fiona Phillips (Australian Labor Party).

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