Located in New South Wales, Little Forest sits 222 km from Sydney CBD, around 3 hours by car. The locality has 185 residents, a median age of 59, and a median household income of $63,336 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the top 40% nationally. The locality grew 14.9% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $350 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,434. Little Forest is characterised by 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 185. 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.
How do you rate the liveability in Little Forest?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
Not enough data to score this locality.
Residents say
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Median House Price
Q4 2025Little Forest's house market is moving lower: the median sale price reached $1.59 million in the December 2025 quarter, roughly 40% below where it sat a year earlier. That said, only five sales settled in the quarter, so the median is a noisy signal — treat it as a direction rather than a level. Zoom out: prices have climbed roughly 122% over the past decade — 8.3% per year on average.
$1,590,000
Based on 5 recorded sales in the quarter.
Is Little Forest safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Little Forest sits in the moderate band, with 8 incidents recorded in 2025 — up roughly 700% on the prior year.
8 offences
700.0% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20251 crash
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital
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.
Schools
Walkability
Little Forest is very car-dependent on foot — at 16/100, nearly all errands require a car.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Little Forest.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 3.2 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 1.0 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 0.0 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 8.6 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 Little Forest.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 0%
- Premises covered
- 86
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
Shoalhaven: council population
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
Little Forest is home to 185 residents, with a median age of 59 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $63,000 a year, with unemployment at 0.0%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
185
Median Age
59
Median Household Income
$63,336/yr
Census Median Rent
$350/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,434/mo
Avg Household Size
2.6
Median Personal Income
$32,188/yr
Unemployment Rate
0.0%
Unoccupied Dwellings
23.4%
Total Dwellings
64
Owner-Occupier Rate
89.2%
Houses
100.0%
Rental Stress
28.7%
Mortgage Stress
27.2%
Work From Home
40.0%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 76.8%
- English Spoken at Home
- 93.5%
- Employment Rate
- 42.7%
- Completed Year 12
- 42.2%
Occupations
Religion
Country of Birth (overseas)
Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.
Age Distribution
Family & Household Composition
Commute to Work
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,501 a year through Shoalhaven based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Rural and farming 55%
- Environmental 45%
- 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 locality around it — the property page shows the zone for one address.
Building Approvals: Shoalhaven
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.
Aboriginal Land Council
Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Ulladulla 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, 12.6 kmHigh rainfall — warm summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 139 m
- above sea level, at the locality centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 9.0 km
- 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.
EV adoption
In postcode 2538, 21 of 2,407 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 3.4% (81 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 4.2%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 2538, 718 rooftop-solar systems totalling 4.9 MW have been installed since 2001, against 1,052 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 62 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
Q4-2025 median3 mortgage brokers are registered in postcode 2538.
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 $1,590,000 this is $990,000 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 locality's voters across time.
State Electorate
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 Little Forest?
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.
- The census for a few hundred neighbours, not all 185 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.
Nearby suburbs
Compare Little Forest to another suburb
Side-by-side stats for any other NSW suburb — type a name and pick one.
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Common questions about Little Forest
Is Little Forest a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Little Forest is moderate (58/100, ranked against other NSW suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Little Forest?
Little Forest has a high recorded bushfire history (86/100, 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 Little Forest?
Little Forest, NSW had a population of 185 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Little Forest, NSW?
The postcode for Little Forest, NSW is 2538.
How far is Little Forest from Sydney?
Little Forest is 222 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 182 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Little Forest?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Little Forest was $63,336 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 Little Forest?
There are too few current rental listings in Little Forest for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $350, across all dwelling types.
What is the median age in Little Forest?
The median age of residents in Little Forest was 59 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Little Forest at risk of bushfire?
Little Forest has a high recorded bushfire history (86/100). 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 Little Forest walkable?
Little Forest scores 16/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it very 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 Little Forest?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Little Forest, Ulladulla AWS (12.6 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.
What is the median house price in Little Forest?
The median sale price for houses in Little Forest was $1,590,000 in the Q4 2025 quarter, based on 5 recorded sales.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Little Forest?
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 Little Forest belong to?
Little Forest sits within the Shoalhaven local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Little Forest?
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 Little Forest?
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 Little Forest in?
Little Forest 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 · Q4 2025
- 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.