Empire Bay NSW 2257
Empire Bay is a suburb in New South Wales, 91 km from Sydney CBD, around 1 hour 25 minutes by car. Population is 2,522; the median age is 42 and the median household income is $97,968 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the top 40% nationally. Population grew 5.1% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $410 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $2,165. The area shows high bushfire risk. 1 school sits within the suburb boundary, and walkability is moderate.
Is Empire Bay a good suburb?
Empire Bay scores a B (53/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on community.
Mixed results
1 school
Some car dependence
Walkability 51/100 · 91 km · 87 min drive to Sydney
Around the state median
Median $1.17M
Moderate bushfire risk
Fire 64/100 · Crime 18/100
Advantaged
SEIFA decile 7/10 · median age 42 · 2,522 residents
Liveability Rating
53 / 100 · Ranked #671 in NSWEach bar is Empire Bay'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 Empire Bay?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
53 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataEmpire Bay's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $1.17 million, roughly 11% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$1,167,500
18% below its 6 neighbours (median $1,420,000)
Based on 46 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 43 days — median across 19 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 3 bed 19 sales $1.1M
- 4 bed 15 sales $1.27M
- 5 bed 6 sales $1.94M
Units
$817,500
Based on only 4 sales — small sample, take as indicative.
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Empire Bay are currently listed at around $872,000 on average. Based on 5 houses listed in the past six months.
$872K
5 houses listed in the last 6 months.
5 of the suburb's 880 dwellings (0.6%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Empire Bay rent for around $1,000 a week on average, based on 9 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
$1,000/wk
9 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
9 rentals advertised against an estimated 157 rented homes (5.7%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- 3-bed houses
- $700/wk
- 94 bonds
- +35% since 2021
- 2-bed units
- $550/wk
- 22 bonds
- +38% since 2021
Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2257 (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 2025119 Moderately unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 25% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2257.
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$1,000/week ($52,000 a year) on a $872,000 median
Based on a small sample (5 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 Empire Bay safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Empire Bay sits in the low band, with 29 incidents recorded in 2025 — down roughly 47% on the prior year.
29 offences
47.3% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20259 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital, 1 of them fatal
Where they happened
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
Central Coast 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.
Schools
One school serve Empire Bay, and performance is broadly on par with peer-suburb schools.
- • 426 students in one school (avg 426)
Primary
Walkability
Empire Bay is somewhat walkable on foot — at 51/100, a short cluster of errands work on foot but most trips still benefit from a car. Within the suburb there are 1 supermarket, 2 parks and 4 cafes to anchor that walking radius.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Empire Bay.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 94.5 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 48.1 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 40.4 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 0 min
- Span of service
- 18.6 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 Empire Bay.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 32%
- Premises covered
- 978
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
Central Coast (NSW): 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 5 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.
Empire Bay is home to about 2,500 residents, with a median age of 42, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $98,000 a year, with unemployment at 3.5%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
2,522
Median Age
42
Median Household Income
$97,968/yr
Census Median Rent
$410/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$2,165/mo
Avg Household Size
2.7
Median Personal Income
$39,260/yr
Unemployment Rate
3.5%
Unoccupied Dwellings
9.4%
Total Dwellings
880
Owner-Occupier Rate
82.2%
Houses
93.3%
Rental Stress
21.8%
Mortgage Stress
26.5%
Work From Home
34.3%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 83.0%
- English Spoken at Home
- 91.2%
- Employment Rate
- 57.5%
- Completed Year 12
- 37.4%
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.
18 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.
8.7% of residents (207) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney (199).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 2,372 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
6% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (71 of 1,159).
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 $1,409 a year through Central Coast (NSW) based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Environmental 77%
- Residential 16%
- Parks and recreation 4%
- Infrastructure and transport 3%
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: Central Coast (NSW)
In the year to August 2026, 1,441 new dwellings were approved across Central Coast (NSW). That mix is 924 houses and 517 units. Approvals are up 66.7% on the same period a year earlier.
Aboriginal Land Council
Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Darkinjung 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.
Air Quality
MODERATEPM2.5 averaged 5.1 µg/m³ in 2025 — below Australia's NEPM annual standard (8 µg/m³), slightly above the stricter WHO guideline (5 µg/m³). 1 day exceeded the daily threshold of 25 µg/m³.
PM10 averaged 14.8 µg/m³ · NO₂ averaged 0.36 pphm. Days over the limit in 2025: PM10 1 · NO₂ 0 · ozone 0.
From the Wyong monitoring station, 25.4 km away.
Climate & Setting
from Norah Head AWS, 31.1 kmHigh rainfall — warm summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- -2 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 1.5 km
- 3.3 km to a named beach
- Annual rainfall
- 1,272 mm
- 104 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 26.4°C
- 3 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 10.6°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- 3.1 kmSewerage and Drainage ServicesTop reported: Total Nitrogen · Ammonia (total) · Total Phosphorus
- 4.1 kmOther Electricity GenerationTop reported: Carbon monoxide · Oxides of Nitrogen · Sulfur dioxide
EV adoption
In postcode 2257, 185 of 21,178 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 2.8% (597 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 3.7%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 2257, 4,445 rooftop-solar systems totalling 29.4 MW have been installed since 2001, against 14,312 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 364 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
3 mortgage brokers are registered in this suburb, 13 across postcode 2257.
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 $1,167,500 this is $567,500 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 Gordon Reid Australian Labor Party
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Gordon Reid | 59.4% | 40.6% | +7.1 |
| 2022 | Gordon Reid | 52.3% | 47.7% | -6.5 |
| 2019 | Lucy Wicks | 45.8% | 54.2% | +3.1 |
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
Currently held by Adam Crouch Liberal
Next state election: 13 March 2027.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Adam Crouch LP | 51.2% |
| 2019 | Adam Crouch LP | 62.3% |
| 2015 | Adam Crouch LP | 59.0% |
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 Empire Bay?
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.
Featured in
- #1 in Highest-yielding Central Coast suburbs (houses)
- #2 in Central Coast suburbs with the most parkland nearby
- #4 in Central Coast suburbs with the biggest house blocks
- #5 in The safest suburbs in Central Coast
- #13 in Central Coast suburbs where the most homes are owned outright
- #14 in Best Central Coast suburbs for first-home buyers (houses)
- #14 in Central Coast's most owner-occupied suburbs
Nearby suburbs
Davistown NSW 2251
Bensville NSW 2251
St Huberts Island NSW 2257
Killcare Heights NSW 2257
Kincumber South NSW 2251
Daleys Point NSW 2257
Compare Empire Bay to another suburb
Side-by-side stats for any other NSW suburb — type a name and pick one.
Or jump straight to a nearby comparison:
Common questions about Empire Bay
Is Empire Bay a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Empire Bay is low (18/100, ranked against other NSW suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Empire Bay?
Empire Bay has a moderate recorded bushfire history (64/100, 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 Empire Bay a good place to live?
Empire Bay has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of B (53/100), 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 Empire Bay?
Empire Bay, NSW had a population of 2,522 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Empire Bay, NSW?
The postcode for Empire Bay, NSW is 2257.
How far is Empire Bay from Sydney?
Empire Bay is 91 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 87 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Empire Bay?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Empire Bay was $97,968 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 Empire Bay?
The median advertised rent in Empire Bay is $1,000 a week for houses (9 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Empire Bay?
The median age of residents in Empire Bay was 42 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Empire Bay at risk of bushfire?
Empire Bay has a moderate recorded bushfire history (64/100). 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.
How are the schools in Empire Bay?
There is 1 school inside the Empire Bay boundary: 1 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Empire Bay walkable?
Empire Bay scores 51/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it somewhat walkable. The score is a weighted average of public transport, schools, parks, supermarkets, GPs, pharmacies, childcare, and hospitals within walking distance.
What is the air quality in Empire Bay?
The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Empire Bay (Wyong) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 5.1 µg/m³ and PM10 of 14.8 µg/m³. That puts Empire Bay below the Australian NEPM annual standard of 8 µg/m³ but above the stricter WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.
What is the weather like in Empire Bay?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Empire Bay, Norah Head AWS (31.1 km away), summer days average 26.4°C, winter nights 10.6°C, 1,272 mm of rain a year over 104 rainy days, and 3 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Empire Bay?
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 Empire Bay belong to?
Empire Bay sits within the Central Coast (NSW) local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Empire Bay?
The average residential rates bill through Central Coast (NSW) is $1,409 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Empire Bay?
Across Central Coast (NSW), 1,441 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 66.7% 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 Empire Bay in?
Empire Bay sits within the federal Division of Robertson, currently held by Gordon Reid (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
- Air quality · 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.