Cabarita Beach NSW 2488

Located in New South Wales, Cabarita Beach sits 796 km from Sydney CBD, around 8 hours 30 minutes by car. The suburb has 101 residents, a median age of 52, and a median household income of $97,500 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the middle range nationally. Population fell 1.9% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $400 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $2,265. The area shows high crime risk. Walkability is high.

This suburb is too small to rate.

The Liveability Rating is calculated for suburbs of 500 residents or more, and this one has 101. 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 Unit Price

Public listings data

Cabarita Beach's unit market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $963,000, roughly 15% above where it sat a year earlier. That said, only seven sales settled in the quarter, so the median is a noisy signal — treat it as a direction rather than a level.

$963,000

↑ +15.4% year-on-year

Based on only 7 sales — small sample, take as indicative.

By bedrooms

  • 2 bed 5 sales $1.01M

Rental Market

Rent agreed on new leases

Jul–Sep 2026
All rentals
$955/wk
25 bonds
+38% since 2021

Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2488 (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

61 Severely unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 49% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2488.

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.

Short-Stay Rentals

23 active Airbnb listings: 22 whole homes and 1 room.

Airbnb only, as at Jun 2026; other platforms are not included. Active means reviewed in the past 12 months.

Is Cabarita Beach safe? Crime statistics

2025

Crime in Cabarita Beach sits in the high band, with 19 incidents recorded in 2025.

19 offences

no change since 2024
Theft 6 (31.6%)
Property Damage 4 (21.1%)
Harassment & Stalking 3 (15.8%)
Assault 2 (10.5%)
Weapons Offences 2 (10.5%)
Disorderly Conduct 1 (5.3%)
Drug Offences 1 (5.3%)

Crime Trend

Serious Road Crashes

2021–2025

1 crash

where someone was killed or admitted to hospital

Crashes are counted where they happened, so a main road through the suburb 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

Tweed Shire Council has published 8 flood studies on the NSW Flood Data Portal. The mapped flood areas are in those studies; SuburbScan does not hold them.

All 8 on the portal

Coastal Erosion

100
monitoring points
within 5 km
67
actively eroding
> 0.1 m/yr retreat
-0.67
worst rate (m/yr)
Significant
172 m
nearest coastline
monitoring point

Shoreline Change Summary

1988–2025
Stable or accreting 37 (37%)
Moderate erosion (0.1–0.3 m/yr) 23 (23%)
Significant erosion (> 0.3 m/yr) 40 (40%)

Nearest Eroding Coastline

Distance
172 m
Rate
-0.14 m/yr
Net Movement
-17.9 m
Certainty
good

Data Quality

High certainty: 82 of 100 points (82%)

Schools

No schools in this suburb boundary.

Walkability

Cabarita Beach is very walkable on foot — at 73/100, most daily errands can be done on foot.

73
out of 100
Very Walkable
Top 11% in NSW
Public Transport within 1 km 72
Schools within 1.5 km 60
Parks within 800 m 100
Supermarkets within 1 km 60
GPs within 1 km 100
Pharmacies within 1 km 60
Childcare within 1 km 100
Hospitals within 5 km 0

Public transport

Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Cabarita Beach.

30
out of 100
Bus
Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
2.5 arrivals/hr
Off-peak weekday
3.6 arrivals/hr
Saturday
1.9 arrivals/hr
Median peak wait
1 min
Span of service
16.0 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 Cabarita Beach.

65
connectivity score / 100
Most common
Fibre to the node
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
29%
Premises covered
150
Technology mix
Fibre to the node (FTTN) 51%
Fibre to the premises (FTTP) 29%
Fibre to the building (FTTB) 19%

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
3 in suburb
Parks & Reserves
4 in suburb
Sport & Recreation
None
Beaches
2 in suburb
Waterways
None
Childcare
None
GPs
2 in suburb
Pharmacies
None
Hospitals
None
Police Stations
None
Banks & Bank@Post
1 in suburb
Fuel Stations
None
EV Chargers
None
Pubs & Bars
1 in suburb
Arts & Culture
None
Places of Worship
None

Tweed: council population

The whole council area, not just Cabarita Beach · estimated residents
at 30 June 2025
Residents
101,044
+0.7% in a year
Change
+716
people since 2024
Density
77
people per km² across the council area
What drove the change
Natural increase
-131
births minus deaths
Net internal migration
+427
moves within Australia
Net overseas migration
+420
arrivals minus departures

The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this suburb alone — this suburb'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
6/10
5/10 within NSW
income, education, jobs and housing together
Economic resources
3/10
2/10 within NSW
income against housing cost and household size
Education and occupation
7/10
6/10 within NSW
qualifications and job type, income excluded

Cabarita Beach is home to 101 residents, with a median age of 52 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $98,000 a year, with unemployment at 9.1%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

101

1.9% since 2016

Median Age

52

30.0% since 2016

Median Household Income

$97,500/yr

73.1% since 2016

Census Median Rent

$400/wk

10.2% since 2016

Census Median Mortgage

$2,265/mo

30.7% since 2016

Avg Household Size

2.2

no change since 2016

Median Personal Income

$40,092/yr

12.2% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

9.1%

41.3% since 2016

Unoccupied Dwellings

122.2%

62.9% since 2016

Total Dwellings

27

32.5% since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

56.0%

68.2% since 2016

Houses

55.6%

48.3% since 2016

Rental Stress

21.3%

36.4% since 2016

Mortgage Stress

27.9%

24.4% since 2016

Work From Home

51.4%

90.4% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Houses 15 (55.6%)
Flats / Apartments 12 (44.4%)

Property Ownership

Renting 11 (44.0%)
Owned Outright 10 (40.0%)
Mortgage 4 (16.0%)

Demographics

Born in Australia
70.3%
English Spoken at Home
76.2%
Employment Rate
45.6%
1.9% since 2016
Completed Year 12
36.6%

Occupations

Professionals 14 (34.1%)
Sales 7 (17.1%)
Managers 5 (12.2%)
Labourers 5 (12.2%)
Clerical & Administrative 4 (9.8%)
Technicians & Trades 3 (7.3%)

Religion

Christianity 48 (47.5%)
No Religion 33 (32.7%)

Country of Birth (overseas)

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.

England 8 (7.9%)
France 4 (4.0%)

Age Distribution

0-4 6 (5.9%)
5-14 8 (7.9%)
15-19 12 (11.9%)
25-34 7 (6.9%)
35-44 5 (5.0%)
45-54 15 (14.9%)
55-64 12 (11.9%)
65-74 26 (25.7%)
75-84 10 (9.9%)
85+ 4 (4.0%)

Family & Household Composition

Lone Person 9 (40.9%)
Couple Families 5 (22.7%)
Group Household 5 (22.7%)
One Parent Families 3 (13.6%)

Commute to Work

Worked from Home 19 (51.4%)
Car (driver) 9 (24.3%)
Walked Only 9 (24.3%)

Education

Bachelor Degree 15 (14.9%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 11 (10.9%)
Certificate III & IV 10 (9.9%)
Postgraduate Degree 4 (4.0%)

Cars per Dwelling

1 car 16 (55.2%)
2 cars 12 (41.4%)
3 cars 3 (10.3%)

Council Rates

Tweed
FY 2024-25

Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,745 a year through Tweed based on 2024 figures.

Avg residential rate
$1,745/yr
42% above the NSW average of $1,230 · median of 128 councils
Valuation basis
Unimproved Value
land only

How this land is zoned

Share of Cabarita Beach's area by planning zone
2026-09
  • Other and special use 52%
  • Environmental 23%
  • Parks and recreation 15%
  • Residential 5%
  • Infrastructure and transport 2%
  • Commercial 1%
  • Not zoned 1%

Planning zones cover 99% of the suburb'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 suburb around it — the property page shows the zone for one address.

Building Approvals: Tweed

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

In the year to August 2026, 331 new dwellings were approved across Tweed. That mix is 187 houses and 144 units. Approvals are down 49.7% on the same period a year earlier.

Trailing 12 months
331dwellings
-49.7% YoY
Houses
187
detached dwellings
Units
144
townhouses + apartments

Aboriginal Land Council

Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Tweed Byron 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 Murwillumbah (Bray Park), 18.9 km

High rainfall — warm summers, mild winters.

Elevation
8 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean
208 m
332 m to a named beach
Annual rainfall
1,569 mm
108 rainy days
Summer max (Jan)
29.1°C
4 days ≥ 35°C
Winter min (Jul)
9.1°C
0 frost days ≤ 0°C

Elevation is the ground at the suburb 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.

EV adoption

0.9%
of light vehicles are electric
Up from 0.00% in 2021
+0.4 points this year
Top 22% in NSW

In postcode 2488, 20 of 2,218 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 3.5% (78 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 4.4%.

Electric share, year by year
2021
0.00%
2022
0.14%
2023
0.23%
2024
0.55%
2025
0.90%

Rooftop solar

66
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 6.2 kW each

In postcode 2488, 956 rooftop-solar systems totalling 5.9 MW have been installed since 2001, against 1,460 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 40 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
82
2020
77
2021
106
2022
71
2023
64
2024
53
2025
35
2026
26

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
$5,022
Loan amount
$770,400
Total interest over 30 years
$1,037,675

5 mortgage brokers are registered in this suburb, 6 across postcode 2488.

Deposit
$192,600
Stamp duty
$37,522
Cash needed at settlement
$230,122

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 Richmond

Currently held by Justine Elliot Australian Labor Party

Year Winner 2PP ALP 2PP LNP Swing
2025 Justine Elliot 60.0% 40.0% +1.8
2022 Justine Elliot 58.2% 41.8% -4.2
2019 Justine Elliot 54.1% 45.9% -0.1

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

State Electorate

Tweed District

Currently held by Geoff Provest The Nationals

Next state election: 13 March 2027.

Year Winner Won with
2023 Geoff Provest NP 53.6%
2019 Geoff Provest NP 55.0%
2015 Geoff Provest NP 53.2%

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

Looking at a specific address in Cabarita Beach?

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Nearby suburbs

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Common questions about Cabarita Beach

Is Cabarita Beach a safe place to live?

Recorded crime in Cabarita Beach is high (94/100, ranked against other NSW suburbs on offences per resident). Offences against shops, venues and visitors are divided by the people who live here, so suburbs with large daytime or visitor populations rank higher than living there may feel.

What natural hazards affect Cabarita Beach?

Cabarita Beach has a moderate recorded bushfire history (54/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.

What is the population of Cabarita Beach?

Cabarita Beach, NSW had a population of 101 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Cabarita Beach, NSW?

The postcode for Cabarita Beach, NSW is 2488.

How far is Cabarita Beach from Sydney?

Cabarita Beach is 796 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 509 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Cabarita Beach?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Cabarita Beach was $97,500 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 Cabarita Beach?

There are too few current rental listings in Cabarita Beach for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $400, across all dwelling types.

What is the median age in Cabarita Beach?

The median age of residents in Cabarita Beach was 52 at the 2021 ABS Census.

Is Cabarita Beach at risk of bushfire?

Cabarita Beach has a moderate recorded bushfire history (54/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the suburb 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 Cabarita Beach walkable?

Cabarita Beach scores 73/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it very walkable. 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 Cabarita Beach?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Cabarita Beach, Murwillumbah (Bray Park) (18.9 km away), summer days average 29.1°C, winter nights 9.1°C, 1,569 mm of rain a year over 108 rainy days, and 4 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.

Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Cabarita Beach?

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 Cabarita Beach belong to?

Cabarita Beach sits within the Tweed local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.

How much are council rates in Cabarita Beach?

The average residential rates bill through Tweed is $1,745 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.

How much is being built near Cabarita Beach?

Across Tweed, 331 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 49.7% 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 Cabarita Beach in?

Cabarita Beach sits within the federal Division of Richmond, currently held by Justine Elliot (Australian Labor Party).

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