Nowra NSW 2541
Nowra sits 162 km from Sydney CBD in New South Wales, around 2 hours 15 minutes by car. Census data records 9,956 residents with a median age of 40 and a median household income of $53,924 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the bottom 20% nationally. The suburb grew 8.3% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $300 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,500. Nowra is characterised by high crime risk. 7 schools sit within the suburb boundary, and walkability is high.
Is Nowra a good suburb?
Nowra scores a D (27/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on transit, weaker on schools, safety, and community.
Below the state average
7 schools · Bottom 3% in NSW
Very walkable
Walkability 90/100 · 162.2 km · 133 min drive to Sydney
Around the state median
Median $680K · Cheaper than 75% of NSW
High crime risk
Fire 28/100 · Crime 97/100
Highly disadvantaged
SEIFA decile 1/10 · median age 40 · 9,956 residents
Liveability Rating
27 / 100 · Ranked #1321 in NSWEach bar is Nowra's rank among NSW suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better).
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 Nowra?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
27 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataNowra's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $680,000, about 7% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$680,000
13% below its 5 neighbours (median $780,000)
Based on 261 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 30 days — median across 164 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 24 sales $522K
- 3 bed 140 sales $660K
- 4 bed 75 sales $760K
- 5 bed 9 sales $900K
- 6 bed 7 sales $970K
Units
$393,000
20% below its 3 neighbours (median $490,000)
Based on 30 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 29 days — median across 11 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 1 bed 5 sales $305K
- 2 bed 23 sales $420K
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Nowra are currently listed at around $732,000 on average. Based on 58 houses listed in the past six months.
Houses
$732K
58 houses listed in the last 6 months.
Units
$472K
6 units listed in the last 6 months.
64 of the suburb's 3,843 dwellings (1.7%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Nowra rent for around $565 a week on average, based on 74 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
Houses
$565/wk
6% below its 4 neighbours (median $600/wk)
74 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Units
$385/wk
7 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
81 rentals advertised against an estimated 1,837 rented homes (4.4%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- 3-bed houses
- $562/wk
- 106 bonds
- +26% since 2021
- 2-bed units
- $450/wk
- 20 bonds
- +26% since 2021
Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2541 (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 2025107 Moderately unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 28% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2541.
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$565/week ($29,000 a year) on a $732,000 median
$385/week ($20,000 a year) on a $472,000 median
Based on a small sample (6 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 Nowra safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Nowra sits in the high band, with 2,258 incidents recorded in 2025 — up about 4% on the prior year.
2,258 offences
4.3% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–202548 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital, 6 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
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
Seven schools serve Nowra, and the cohort is trailing peer-suburb performance.
- • 3,796 students across 6 schools (avg 633)
- • Sectors: 4 Government, 2 Catholic, 1 Independent
- • ICSEA 784-1028, median 924 (below the national baseline of 1000)
- • Largest: St John the Evangelist Catholic High School (935 students)
Primary
Secondary
Walkability
Nowra is exceptionally walkable on foot — at 90/100, daily errands don't require a car at all. Within the suburb there are 5 supermarkets, 16 parks and 4 cafes to anchor that walking radius.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Nowra.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 83.5 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 52.9 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 32.9 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 0 min
- Span of service
- 13.9 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 Nowra.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 90%
- Premises covered
- 6,369
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 suburb alone — this suburb's own population is in the census section above.
Socio-economic profile
The ABS scores 25 small areas inside this suburb and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 5 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this suburb rank well above the average and parts well below it.
Nowra is home to about 10,000 residents, with a median age of 40, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $54,000 a year, with unemployment at 9.3%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
9,956
Median Age
40
Median Household Income
$53,924/yr
Census Median Rent
$300/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,500/mo
Avg Household Size
2.2
Median Personal Income
$28,808/yr
Unemployment Rate
9.3%
Unoccupied Dwellings
9.1%
Total Dwellings
3,843
Owner-Occupier Rate
52.2%
Houses
81.2%
Rental Stress
28.9%
Mortgage Stress
33.4%
Work From Home
8.9%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
385 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 281 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 1,761 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 75.3%
- English Spoken at Home
- 81.8%
- Employment Rate
- 39.5%
- Completed Year 12
- 27.5%
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.
276 residents (2.8%) 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.
5.7% of residents (531) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney (405).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 9,324 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
Local Jobs
People who work in this suburb against employed people who live here, 2021 Census.
About 9,527 people work here; 3,208 employed residents live here.
A jobs hub: 3.0 jobs for every working resident. At least 66% of the people who work here must live elsewhere.
Counts are by place of work and place of usual residence. The ABS counts jobs in zones; where a zone spans several places, its jobs are shared out by land use. The ABS also adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.
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
- Residential 52%
- Parks and recreation 22%
- Infrastructure and transport 12%
- Rural and farming 6%
- Environmental 4%
- Commercial 4%
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: 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 Nowra 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.
Setting
- Elevation
- 16 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 11.7 km
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
10 facilities within 5 km- 1.5 kmSewerage and Drainage ServicesTop reported: Total Nitrogen · Ammonia (total) · Total Phosphorus
- 3.0 kmRailway Rolling Stock Manufacturing and Repair ServicesTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds
- 3.3 kmOther Basic Chemical Product Manufacturing n.e.c.Top reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds · Styrene (ethenylbenzene)
- 3.3 kmSewerage and Drainage ServicesTop reported: Total Nitrogen · Ammonia (total) · Total Phosphorus
- 3.4 kmBasic Organic Chemical ManufacturingTop reported: Ammonia (total)
EV adoption
In postcode 2541, 103 of 23,921 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 3.2% (764 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 3.6%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 2541, 5,105 rooftop-solar systems totalling 36.0 MW have been installed since 2001, against 11,565 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 263 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
10 mortgage brokers are registered in this suburb, 14 across postcode 2541.
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 $680,000 this is $80,000 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 suburb'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 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 Nowra?
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 9,956 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
Bomaderry NSW 2541
North Nowra NSW 2541
Worrigee NSW 2540
South Nowra NSW 2541
West Nowra NSW 2541
Terara NSW 2540
Compare Nowra 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 Nowra
Is Nowra a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Nowra is high (97/100, 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 Nowra?
Nowra has a low recorded bushfire history (28/100, 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 Nowra a good place to live?
Nowra has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (27/100), 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 Nowra?
Nowra, NSW had a population of 9,956 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Nowra, NSW?
The postcode for Nowra, NSW is 2541.
How far is Nowra from Sydney?
Nowra is 162 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 133 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Nowra?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Nowra was $53,924 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 Nowra?
The median advertised rent in Nowra is $565 a week for houses (74 listings) and $385 a week for units (7 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Nowra?
The median age of residents in Nowra was 40 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Nowra at risk of bushfire?
Nowra has a low recorded bushfire history (28/100). 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 Nowra?
There are 7 schools inside the Nowra boundary: 2 at and 4 below similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Nowra walkable?
Nowra scores 90/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it exceptionally walkable. The score is a weighted average of public transport, schools, parks, supermarkets, GPs, pharmacies, childcare, and hospitals within walking distance.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Nowra?
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 Nowra belong to?
Nowra sits within the Shoalhaven local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Nowra?
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 Nowra?
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 Nowra in?
Nowra 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
- 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.