Catalina NSW 2536
Catalina sits 282 km from Sydney CBD in New South Wales, around 3 hours 55 minutes by car. Census data records 2,522 residents with a median age of 53 and a median household income of $58,760 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the bottom 20% nationally. The suburb grew 8.1% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $355 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,560. Catalina is characterised by high bushfire risk and high crime risk. Walkability is low.
Is Catalina a good suburb?
Catalina scores a D (16/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — weaker on safety and community.
Some car dependence
Walkability 37/100 · 282 km · 234 min drive to Sydney
Around the state median
Median $718K
High bushfire risk
Fire 90/100 · Crime 69/100
Highly disadvantaged
SEIFA decile 2/10 · median age 53 · 2,522 residents
Liveability Rating
16 / 100 · Ranked #1515 in NSWEach bar is Catalina's rank among NSW suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better). Scored on 4 of 5 factors: no school data, so the other factors carry its weight.
No flood data is published for New South Wales — a blank here means we hold no data, not that there is no risk.
How do you rate the liveability in Catalina?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
16 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataCatalina's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $718,000, about 4% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$717,500
Based on 102 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 56 days — median across 42 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 7 sales $580K
- 3 bed 48 sales $690K
- 4 bed 38 sales $751K
- 5 bed 7 sales $860K
Land
$265,000
Based on 12 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 39 days — median across 3 sales that recorded a listing period
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Catalina are currently listed at around $855,000 on average. Based on 39 houses listed in the past six months.
$855K
39 houses listed in the last 6 months.
39 of the suburb's 957 dwellings (4.1%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Catalina rent for around $550 a week on average, based on 4 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
$550/wk
4 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
5 rentals advertised against an estimated 240 rented homes (2.1%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- 3-bed houses
- $600/wk
- 50 bonds
- +33% since 2021
- 2-bed units
- $450/wk
- 25 bonds
- +29% since 2021
Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2536 (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 2025104 Moderately unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 29% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2536.
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.
Gross rental yield
Indicative$550/week ($29,000 a year) on a $855,000 median
Based on a small sample (4 listings) — indicative only.
Gross yield — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. Calculated from median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.
Is Catalina safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Catalina sits in the moderate band, with 143 incidents recorded in 2025 — down roughly 11% on the prior year.
143 offences
10.6% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20253 crashes
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
Eurobodalla Shire Council has published 10 flood studies on the NSW Flood Data Portal. The mapped flood areas are in those studies; SuburbScan does not hold them.
- Batemans Bay Urban Creeks Flood Study 2021
- Flood Prone Access to Moruya Hospital - Flood Assessment and Murray Street Crossing Upgrade Concept Design 2014
- Moruya Flooding - Climate Change Assessment 2011
- Reedy Creek, Malua Bay Floodplain Risk Management Study & Plan 2005
- Lot 100 DP Flora Crescent, Batemans Bay - Flood Study 2004
Schools
Walkability
Catalina is car-dependent on foot — at 37/100, most errands require a car.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Catalina.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 19.0 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 20.3 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 4.4 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 9.8 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 Catalina.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 42%
- Premises covered
- 1,300
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
Eurobodalla: council population
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
The ABS scores 6 small areas inside this suburb and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 3 different deciles — a narrow range, so the average describes the suburb closely.
Catalina is home to about 2,500 residents, with a median age of 53 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $59,000 a year, with unemployment at 5.5%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
2,522
Median Age
53
Median Household Income
$58,760/yr
Census Median Rent
$355/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,560/mo
Avg Household Size
2.3
Median Personal Income
$29,328/yr
Unemployment Rate
5.5%
Unoccupied Dwellings
16.5%
Total Dwellings
957
Owner-Occupier Rate
74.9%
Houses
86.9%
Rental Stress
31.4%
Mortgage Stress
31.9%
Work From Home
8.8%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
56 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 16 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 225 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 78.4%
- English Spoken at Home
- 88.7%
- Employment Rate
- 38.6%
- Completed Year 12
- 28.7%
Occupations
Religion
Country of Birth (overseas)
Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.
When They Arrived
Share of all residents by the year they arrived in Australia. Periods cover different numbers of years, so compare the shape rather than the bar widths.
17 residents (0.7%) arrived since 2016. Australia’s borders were closed to most arrivals from March 2020, so the last two years of that period are much smaller than the ones before them — nationally 260,799 people arrived in 2019 against 28,521 in 2021.
Where New Residents Came From
Where residents aged five and over lived five years before the 2021 Census, for those who lived somewhere else.
8.1% of residents (196) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Canberra (82).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 2,411 residents aged five and over. Areas are ABS statistical regions. Small counts are approximate: the ABS adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
Languages Spoken at Home
Top languages other than English, as a share of all residents.
Age Distribution
Family & Household Composition
Commute to Work
1% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (9 of 815).
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
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,246 a year through Eurobodalla based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Residential 57%
- Environmental 22%
- Parks and recreation 20%
- Zones under 1% 1%
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: Eurobodalla
In the year to August 2026, 211 new dwellings were approved across Eurobodalla. That mix is 153 houses and 58 units. Approvals are down 9.4% on the same period a year earlier.
Aboriginal Land Council
Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Batemans Bay 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 Moruya Heads Pilot Station, 20.1 kmHigh rainfall — warm summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 54 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 1.3 km
- 1.4 km to a named beach
- Annual rainfall
- 914 mm
- 83 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 23.7°C
- 2 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 7.5°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.
Industrial Emissions Nearby
2 facilities within 5 km- 1.8 kmPetroleum Product WholesalingTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds
- 2.0 km
EV adoption
In postcode 2536, 99 of 16,251 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 2.4% (387 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 3.0%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 2536, 4,592 rooftop-solar systems totalling 30.2 MW have been installed since 2001, against 11,110 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 320 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.
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).
Mortgage repayments
5 mortgage brokers are registered in postcode 2536.
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.
At $717,500 this is $117,500 above the $600,000 First Home Owner Grant cap. A first home buyer may qualify for $10,000 on a newly built home — check eligibility with Revenue NSW.
A deposit under 20% usually attracts Lenders Mortgage Insurance, which this doesn't include.
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
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 suburb's voters across time.
State Electorate
Currently held by Michael Holland Labor
Next state election: 13 March 2027.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Michael Holland ALP | 60.4% |
| 2019 | Andrew Constance LP | 56.9% |
| 2015 | Andrew Constance LP | 58.2% |
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 Catalina?
Every figure above is a suburb 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.
- The census for a few hundred neighbours, not all 2,522 residents
- Nearest and zoned schools, with the walk from that door
- Flood, bushfire and noise mapping, where the state publishes it
Free to look up. Subscribers see every section in full — $29/month.
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Common questions about Catalina
Is Catalina a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Catalina is moderate (69/100, ranked against other NSW suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Catalina?
Catalina has a high recorded bushfire history (90/100, 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.
Is Catalina a good place to live?
Catalina has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (16/100), ranked against other NSW suburbs on school quality (25%), safety (25%), SEIFA socio-economic advantage (25%), walkability (15%) and CBD access (10%). Whether it suits you depends on what you weigh — each of those is on this page.
What is the population of Catalina?
Catalina, NSW had a population of 2,522 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Catalina, NSW?
The postcode for Catalina, NSW is 2536.
How far is Catalina from Sydney?
Catalina is 282 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 234 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Catalina?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Catalina was $58,760 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 Catalina?
The median advertised rent in Catalina is $550 a week for houses (4 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Catalina?
The median age of residents in Catalina was 53 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Catalina at risk of bushfire?
Catalina has a high recorded bushfire history (90/100). 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 Catalina walkable?
Catalina scores 37/100 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 Catalina?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Catalina, Moruya Heads Pilot Station (20.1 km away), summer days average 23.7°C, winter nights 7.5°C, 914 mm of rain a year over 83 rainy days, and 2 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Catalina?
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 Catalina belong to?
Catalina sits within the Eurobodalla local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Catalina?
The average residential rates bill through Eurobodalla is $1,246 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Catalina?
Across Eurobodalla, 211 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 9.4% 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 Catalina in?
Catalina sits within the federal Division of Gilmore, currently held by Fiona Phillips (Australian Labor Party).
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Data freshness
- Census · 2021
- Median sale prices · Oct 2026
- For-sale & rental market · Oct 2026
- Council rates · FY 2024–25
- Building approvals · Aug 2026
- Schools · 2025
- Public transport · Oct 2026
- NBN connectivity · Dec 2025
- Crime · 2025
- Road crashes · 2021–2025
- Climate · 2006–2026
- Socio-economic (SEIFA) · 2021
- EV adoption · Jan 2025
- First Home Owner Grant · Sep 2026
- Federal electorate · 2025
- State electorate · 2023
- Amenities · Sep 2026
- Health & emergency facilities · Sep 2026
- Industrial emissions (NPI) · 2024/2025
- Coastal erosion · 1988–2025
- Aircraft noise · 2024
Vintages show when each source's data is from. See all data sources.
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Information shown is provided as-is from Australian government and commercial data sources.
Always verify with the relevant authority before making property decisions.
See Data Sources and How We Calculate for details.