Rainbow Flat NSW 2430

Rainbow Flat is a rural locality in New South Wales, 302 km from Sydney CBD, around 3 hours 30 minutes by car. Population is 693; the median age is 51 and the median household income is $67,548 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the middle range nationally. Population grew 3.3% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $400 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,690. The area shows high bushfire risk. Walkability is low.

Is Rainbow Flat a good place to live?

Rainbow Flat scores a D (25/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — weaker on transit, prices, and safety.

Transit

Car-dependent

Walkability 10/100 · 302.2 km · 211 min drive to Sydney

Prices

Above the state median

Median $1.14M

Safety

High bushfire risk

Fire 82/100 · Crime 47/100

Community

Mid-range socio-economic

SEIFA decile 5/10 · median age 51 · 693 residents

D

Liveability Rating

25 / 100 · Ranked #1370 in NSW

Each bar is Rainbow Flat'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.

Schools quality no data
no schools mapped
Safety
16
Bushfire High · Crime Moderate

No flood data is published for New South Wales — a blank here means we hold no data, not that there is no risk.

Socio-economic
39
Mid-range
Walkability
16
Very car-dependent
CBD access
24
302.2 km · 211 min drive to Sydney
How it's calculated: Safety rank 16 × 25% + Socio-economic rank 39 × 25% + Walkability rank 16 × 15% + CBD access rank 24 × 10% = 25 / 100. Missing components rebalance the remaining weights.

How do you rate the liveability in Rainbow Flat?

Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.

Our score

25 / 100

From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.

Residents say

…

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Median House Price

Public listings data

Rainbow Flat's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $1.14 million, roughly 14% above where it sat a year earlier.

$1,138,000

14% above its 4 neighbours (median $999,000)

↑ +14.3% year-on-year

Based on 11 recorded sales in the last 24 months.

Typically sold in 44 days — median across 5 sales that recorded a listing period

By bedrooms

  • 4 bed 9 sales $1.14M

Currently for Sale

Last 6 months

Houses in Rainbow Flat are currently listed at around $1.5 million on average. Based on 3 houses listed in the past six months.

$1.5M

3 houses listed in the last 6 months.

3 of the suburb's 259 dwellings (1.2%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.

Rental Market

Rent agreed on new leases

Jul–Sep 2026
3-bed houses
$550/wk
92 bonds
+37% since 2021
2-bed units
$420/wk
43 bonds
+37% since 2021

Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2430 (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 2025

112 Moderately unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 27% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2430.

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.

Short-Stay Rentals

5 active Airbnb listings: 5 whole homes and 0 rooms. Whole homes are about 1.8% of the locality's homes.

Airbnb only, as at Jun 2026; other platforms are not included. Active means reviewed in the past 12 months. The share is against private dwellings at the 2021 Census.

Is Rainbow Flat safe? Crime statistics

2025

Crime in Rainbow Flat sits in the moderate band, with 25 incidents recorded in 2025 — up roughly 19% on the prior year.

25 offences

19.0% since 2024
Theft 6 (24.0%)
Assault 5 (20.0%)
Drug Offences 5 (20.0%)
Property Damage 4 (16.0%)
Harassment & Stalking 3 (12.0%)
Disorderly Conduct 2 (8.0%)

Crime Trend

Serious Road Crashes

2021–2025

18 crashes

where someone was killed or admitted to hospital, 1 of them fatal

Where they happened

The Lakes Way 10 (55.6%)
Pacific Highway 7 (38.9%)

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

Mid-Coast Council has published 38 flood studies on the NSW Flood Data Portal. The mapped flood areas are in those studies; SuburbScan does not hold them.

All 38 on the portal

Schools

No schools in this locality boundary.

Walkability

Rainbow Flat is very car-dependent on foot — at 10/100, nearly all errands require a car.

10
out of 100
Very Car-Dependent
Public Transport within 1 km 34
Schools within 1.5 km 0
Parks within 800 m 0
Supermarkets within 1 km 0
GPs within 1 km 0
Pharmacies within 1 km 0
Childcare within 1 km 0
Hospitals within 5 km 0

Public transport

Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Rainbow Flat.

28
out of 100
Bus
Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
5.8 arrivals/hr
Off-peak weekday
3.3 arrivals/hr
Saturday
0.4 arrivals/hr
Median peak wait
1 min
Span of service
12.2 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 Rainbow Flat.

37
connectivity score / 100
Most common
Fixed wireless
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
10%
Premises covered
330
Technology mix
Fixed wireless (WIRELESS) 89%
Fibre to the premises (FTTP) 10%
Satellite (Sky Muster) (SATELLITE) 1%

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

Supermarkets
None
Shopping Centres
None
Cafes & Restaurants
None
Parks & Reserves
None
Sport & Recreation
None
Beaches
None
Waterways
17 in locality
Childcare
None
GPs
None
Pharmacies
None
Hospitals
None
Police Stations
None
Banks & Bank@Post
None
Fuel Stations
None
EV Chargers
None
Pubs & Bars
None
Arts & Culture
None
Places of Worship
None

Mid-Coast: council population

The whole council area, not just Rainbow Flat · estimated residents
at 30 June 2025
Residents
99,448
+0.7% in a year
Change
+698
people since 2024
Density
9.9
people per km² across the council area
What drove the change
Natural increase
-558
births minus deaths
Net internal migration
+1,068
moves within Australia
Net overseas migration
+188
arrivals minus departures

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

ABS SEIFA · ranked against every suburb in Australia, and within the state
2021 census
Advantage and disadvantage
5/10
4/10 within NSW
income, education, jobs and housing together
Economic resources
8/10
7/10 within NSW
income against housing cost and household size
Education and occupation
4/10
3/10 within NSW
qualifications and job type, income excluded

Rainbow Flat is home to 693 residents, with a median age of 51 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $68,000 a year, with unemployment at 4.7%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

693

3.3% since 2016

Median Age

51

1.9% since 2016

Median Household Income

$67,548/yr

2.5% since 2016

Census Median Rent

$400/wk

no change since 2016

Census Median Mortgage

$1,690/mo

2.5% since 2016

Avg Household Size

2.6

no change since 2016

Median Personal Income

$31,616/yr

24.1% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

4.7%

46.6% since 2016

Unoccupied Dwellings

6.2%

53.0% since 2016

Total Dwellings

259

10.7% since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

92.5%

3.2% since 2016

Houses

97.3%

2.7% since 2016

Rental Stress

30.8%

2.5% since 2016

Mortgage Stress

30.0%

5.1% since 2016

Work From Home

18.0%

185.7% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Houses 252 (97.3%)
Flats / Apartments 7 (2.7%)

Property Ownership

Owned Outright 137 (54.4%)
Mortgage 96 (38.1%)
Renting 19 (7.5%)

Demographics

Born in Australia
84.4%
English Spoken at Home
93.9%
Employment Rate
52.2%
8.1% since 2016
Completed Year 12
30.7%

Occupations

Technicians & Trades 63 (20.9%)
Professionals 48 (15.9%)
Community & Personal Service 37 (12.3%)
Managers 35 (11.6%)
Clerical & Administrative 35 (11.6%)
Sales 32 (10.6%)
Labourers 27 (9.0%)
Machinery Operators & Drivers 20 (6.6%)

Religion

Christianity 358 (51.7%)
No Religion 271 (39.1%)
Buddhism 5 (0.7%)
Other Religions 5 (0.7%)

Country of Birth (overseas)

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.

England 32 (4.6%)
New Zealand 6 (0.9%)
Ireland 5 (0.7%)
Philippines 4 (0.6%)
Scotland 4 (0.6%)
Canada 4 (0.6%)
South Africa 3 (0.4%)

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.

2016-2021 0 (0.0%)
2011-2015 0 (0.0%)
2001-2010 9 (1.3%)
1991-2000 8 (1.2%)
1981-1990 9 (1.3%)
Before 1981 54 (7.8%)

0 residents (0.0%) 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.

6.6% of residents (44) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney (36).

Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 671 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.

Greek 6 (0.9%)
Spanish 4 (0.6%)

Age Distribution

0-4 22 (3.2%)
5-14 87 (12.6%)
15-19 49 (7.1%)
20-24 22 (3.2%)
25-34 36 (5.2%)
35-44 64 (9.2%)
45-54 98 (14.1%)
55-64 128 (18.5%)
65-74 131 (18.9%)
75-84 45 (6.5%)
85+ 12 (1.7%)

Family & Household Composition

Couple Families 75 (48.7%)
Lone Person 45 (29.2%)
One Parent Families 26 (16.9%)
Group Household 8 (5.2%)

Commute to Work

Car (driver) 197 (75.5%)
Worked from Home 47 (18.0%)
Car (passenger) 13 (5.0%)
Walked Only 4 (1.5%)

2% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (6 of 301).

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

Certificate III & IV 162 (23.4%)
Bachelor Degree 63 (9.1%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 62 (8.9%)
Postgraduate Degree 15 (2.2%)
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 9 (1.3%)

Cars per Dwelling

1 car 41 (16.3%)
2 cars 121 (48.2%)
3 cars 47 (18.7%)
4+ cars 40 (15.9%)

Council Rates

Mid-Coast
FY 2024-25

Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,560 a year through Mid-Coast based on 2024 figures.

Avg residential rate
$1,560/yr
27% above the NSW average of $1,230 · median of 128 councils
Valuation basis
Unimproved Value
land only

How this land is zoned

Share of Rainbow Flat's area by planning zone
2026-09
  • Rural and farming 81%
  • Residential 11%
  • Environmental 7%
  • Infrastructure and transport 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: Mid-Coast

The whole council area, not just Rainbow Flat · new residential dwellings
to 2026-08

In the year to August 2026, 743 new dwellings were approved across Mid-Coast. That mix is 672 houses and 71 units. Approvals are up 327.0% on the same period a year earlier.

Trailing 12 months
743dwellings
+327.0% YoY
Houses
672
detached dwellings
Units
71
townhouses + apartments

Aboriginal Land Council

Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Forster 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 Taree (Patanga Cl), 15.8 km

High rainfall.

Elevation
23 m
above sea level, at the locality centre
Distance to the ocean
5.1 km
Annual rainfall
1,331 mm
106 rainy days
Summer max (Jan)
—
Winter min (Jul)
—

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.

Industrial Emissions Nearby

1 facility within 5 km

EV adoption

0.4%
of light vehicles are electric
Up from 0.03% in 2021
+0.1 points this year

In postcode 2430, 112 of 30,621 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.8% (566 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 2.2%.

Electric share, year by year
2021
0.03%
2022
0.06%
2023
0.12%
2024
0.26%
2025
0.37%

Rooftop solar

54
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 6.3 kW each

In postcode 2430, 8,684 rooftop-solar systems totalling 54.8 MW have been installed since 2001, against 15,935 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 432 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.

Systems installed, year by year
2019
641
2020
785
2021
738
2022
633
2023
685
2024
624
2025
384
2026
270

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).

Verify eligibility with Revenue NSW

Mortgage repayments

I'm looking for
Deposit
$
%
Monthly repayment
$5,935
Loan amount
$910,400
Total interest over 30 years
$1,226,246

7 mortgage brokers are registered in postcode 2430.

Deposit
$227,600
Stamp duty
$45,397
Cash needed at settlement
$272,997

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.

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

Division of Lyne

Currently held by Alison Penfold The Nationals

Year Winner 2PP ALP 2PP LNP Swing
2025 Alison Penfold 40.2% 59.8% +4.0
2022 David Gillespie 36.2% 63.8% -1.4
2019 David Gillespie 34.8% 65.2% +3.5

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

Myall Lakes District

Currently held by Tanya Thompson The Nationals

Next state election: 13 March 2027.

Year Winner Won with
2023 Tanya Thompson NP 65.8%
2019 Stephen Bromhead NP 59.2%
2015 Stephen Bromhead NP 58.7%

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 Rainbow Flat?

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.

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Nearby suburbs

Compare Rainbow Flat 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 Rainbow Flat

Is Rainbow Flat a safe place to live?

Recorded crime in Rainbow Flat is moderate (47/100, ranked against other NSW suburbs on offences per resident).

What natural hazards affect Rainbow Flat?

Rainbow Flat has a high recorded bushfire history (82/100, 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.

Is Rainbow Flat a good place to live?

Rainbow Flat has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (25/100), 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 Rainbow Flat?

Rainbow Flat, NSW had a population of 693 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Rainbow Flat, NSW?

The postcode for Rainbow Flat, NSW is 2430.

How far is Rainbow Flat from Sydney?

Rainbow Flat is 302 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 211 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Rainbow Flat?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Rainbow Flat was $67,548 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 Rainbow Flat?

There are too few current rental listings in Rainbow Flat for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $400, across all dwelling types.

What is the median age in Rainbow Flat?

The median age of residents in Rainbow Flat was 51 at the 2021 ABS Census.

Is Rainbow Flat at risk of bushfire?

Rainbow Flat has a high recorded bushfire history (82/100). 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 Rainbow Flat walkable?

Rainbow Flat scores 10/100 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 Rainbow Flat?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Rainbow Flat, Taree (Patanga Cl) (15.8 km away), 1,331 mm of rain a year over 106 rainy days over 2006-2026.

Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Rainbow Flat?

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 Rainbow Flat belong to?

Rainbow Flat sits within the Mid-Coast local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.

How much are council rates in Rainbow Flat?

The average residential rates bill through Mid-Coast is $1,560 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.

How much is being built near Rainbow Flat?

Across Mid-Coast, 743 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 327.0% 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 Rainbow Flat in?

Rainbow Flat sits within the federal Division of Lyne, currently held by Alison Penfold (The Nationals).

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Data freshness

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.

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