Merimbula NSW 2548
Merimbula is a town in New South Wales, 525 km from Sydney CBD, around 6 hours 5 minutes by car. Population is 3,821; the median age is 54 and the median household income is $59,592 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the lower-middle tier nationally. The town grew 7.8% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $310 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,517. Merimbula is characterised by high coastal erosion risk and high crime risk. 1 school sits within the town boundary, and walkability is low.
Is Merimbula a good town?
Merimbula scores a D (30/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade.
Mixed results
1 school
Some car dependence
Walkability 39/100 · 524.9 km · 363 min drive to Sydney
Around the state median
Median $940K
Moderate bushfire risk
Fire 47/100 · Crime 70/100
Below-average income
SEIFA decile 4/10 · median age 54 · 3,821 residents
Liveability Rating
30 / 100 · Ranked #1271 in NSWEach bar is Merimbula'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 Merimbula?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
30 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median Unit Price
Public listings dataMerimbula's unit market is moving lower: the median sale price reached $478,000, about 10% below where it sat a year earlier.
Units
$477,500
Based on 106 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 65 days — median across 37 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 1 bed 9 sales $349K
- 2 bed 72 sales $460K
- 3 bed 19 sales $699K
Houses
$940,000
4% above its 5 neighbours (median $907,500)
Based on 71 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 80 days — median across 27 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 3 bed 33 sales $895K
- 4 bed 23 sales $985K
- 5 bed 5 sales $908K
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Merimbula are currently listed at around $1.12 million on average. Based on 57 houses listed in the past six months.
Houses
$1.12M
57 houses listed in the last 6 months.
Units
$499K
53 units listed in the last 6 months.
110 of the suburb's 1,717 dwellings (6.4%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Merimbula rent for around $600 a week on average, based on 17 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
Houses
$600/wk
17 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Units
$478/wk
20 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
37 rentals advertised against an estimated 573 rented homes (6.5%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- 3-bed houses
- $700/wk
- 21 bonds
- +34% since 2021
- 2-bed units
- $485/wk
- 26 bonds
- +38% since 2021
Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2548 (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 202594 Unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 32% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2548.
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$600/week ($31,000 a year) on a $1.12 million median
$478/week ($25,000 a year) on a $499,000 median
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 Merimbula safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Merimbula sits in the high band, with 201 incidents recorded in 2025 — up about 4% on the prior year.
201 offences
3.6% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20254 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital
Crashes are counted where they happened, so a main road through the town 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
Bega Valley 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.
Coastal Erosion
Shoreline Change Summary
1988–2025Nearest Eroding Coastline
- Distance
- 1.2 km
- Rate
- -0.11 m/yr
- Net Movement
- -6.9 m
- Certainty
- good
Data Quality
Schools
One school serve Merimbula, and performance is broadly on par with peer-suburb schools.
- • 428 students in one school (avg 428)
Primary
Walkability
Merimbula is car-dependent on foot — at 39/100, most errands require a car. Within the town there are 2 supermarkets, 5 parks and 23 cafes to anchor that walking radius.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Merimbula.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 25.5 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 9.8 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 1.2 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 14.7 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 Merimbula.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 14%
- Premises covered
- 3,308
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
Bega Valley: council population
The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this town alone — this town's own population is in the census section above.
Socio-economic profile
The ABS scores 12 small areas inside this town and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 4 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this town rank well above the average and parts well below it.
Merimbula is home to about 3,800 residents, with a median age of 54 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $60,000 a year, with unemployment at 3.8%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
3,821
Median Age
54
Median Household Income
$59,592/yr
Census Median Rent
$310/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,517/mo
Avg Household Size
2.0
Median Personal Income
$36,816/yr
Unemployment Rate
3.8%
Unoccupied Dwellings
35.7%
Total Dwellings
1,717
Owner-Occupier Rate
66.6%
Houses
58.5%
Rental Stress
27.1%
Mortgage Stress
30.5%
Work From Home
15.5%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
25 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 22 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 542 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 76.8%
- English Spoken at Home
- 88.8%
- Employment Rate
- 49.5%
- Completed Year 12
- 41.6%
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.
54 residents (1.4%) 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.
9.8% of residents (361) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney (146).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 3,692 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 (16 of 1,668).
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 $1,767 a year through Bega Valley based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Environmental 66%
- Residential 16%
- Infrastructure and transport 11%
- Parks and recreation 4%
- Zones under 1% 2%
Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the town around it — the property page shows the zone for one address.
Building Approvals: Bega Valley
In the year to August 2026, 109 new dwellings were approved across Bega Valley. That mix is 99 houses and 10 units. Approvals are down 32.1% on the same period a year earlier.
Aboriginal Land Council
Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Bega 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 Bega (Newtown Road), 23.3 kmModerate rainfall.
- Elevation
- 65 m
- above sea level, at the town centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 999 m
- 2.0 km to a named beach
- Annual rainfall
- 768 mm
- 69 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- —
- Winter min (Jul)
- —
Elevation is the ground at the town 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- 2.0 kmPetroleum Product WholesalingTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds · Toluene (methylbenzene) · Xylenes (individual or mixed isomers)
- 3.0 kmSewerage and Drainage ServicesTop reported: Total Phosphorus · Total Nitrogen · Ammonia (total)
EV adoption
In postcode 2548, 35 of 6,721 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 2.8% (190 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 3.3%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 2548, 1,846 rooftop-solar systems totalling 10.6 MW have been installed since 2001, against 4,574 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 111 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
4 mortgage brokers are registered in this town.
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 $477,500 this is under 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 Kristy Mcbain Australian Labor Party
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Kristy Mcbain | 57.2% | 42.8% | +1.1 |
| 2022 | Kristy Mcbain | 58.2% | 41.8% | -7.3 |
| 2019 | Mike Kelly | 50.9% | 49.1% | +2.1 |
Results are per division — federal electoral boundaries are redrawn periodically, so the history reflects this division's past, not necessarily the exact town'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 town's voters. Results: © State of New South Wales through the NSW Electoral Commission, CC BY 4.0, adapted.
Looking at a specific address in Merimbula?
Every figure above is a town 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 3,821 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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Compare Merimbula 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 Merimbula
Is Merimbula a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Merimbula is high (70/100, 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 Merimbula?
Merimbula has a moderate recorded bushfire history (47/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). These are town-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Merimbula a good place to live?
Merimbula has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (30/100), 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 Merimbula?
Merimbula, NSW had a population of 3,821 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Merimbula, NSW?
The postcode for Merimbula, NSW is 2548.
How far is Merimbula from Sydney?
Merimbula is 525 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 363 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Merimbula?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Merimbula was $59,592 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 Merimbula?
The median advertised rent in Merimbula is $600 a week for houses (17 listings) and $478 a week for units (20 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Merimbula?
The median age of residents in Merimbula was 54 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Merimbula at risk of bushfire?
Merimbula has a moderate recorded bushfire history (47/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the town 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 Merimbula?
There is 1 school inside the Merimbula boundary: 1 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Merimbula walkable?
Merimbula scores 39/100 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 Merimbula?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Merimbula, Bega (Newtown Road) (23.3 km away), 768 mm of rain a year over 69 rainy days over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Merimbula?
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 Merimbula belong to?
Merimbula sits within the Bega Valley local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Merimbula?
The average residential rates bill through Bega Valley is $1,767 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Merimbula?
Across Bega Valley, 109 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 32.1% 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 Merimbula in?
Merimbula sits within the federal Division of Eden-monaro, currently held by Kristy Mcbain (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.