Salamander Bay NSW 2317
Located in New South Wales, Salamander Bay sits 204 km from Sydney CBD, around 2 hours 35 minutes by car. The suburb has 4,991 residents, a median age of 57, and a median household income of $57,564 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the lower-middle tier nationally. The suburb grew 3.7% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $380 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,733. Salamander Bay is characterised by high crime risk. Of 6 schools within the suburb boundary, 1 ranks above the state average, and walkability is low.
Is Salamander Bay a good suburb?
Salamander Bay scores a C (31/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — weaker on prices.
Mixed results
6 schools · 1 above peer schools
Some car dependence
Walkability 34/100 · 203.6 km · 157 min drive to Sydney
Above the state median
Median $1.05M · Less affordable than 83% of NSW
Moderate bushfire risk
Fire 55/100 · Crime 68/100
Below-average income
SEIFA decile 4/10 · median age 57 · 4,991 residents
Liveability Rating
31 / 100 · Ranked #1240 in NSWEach bar is Salamander Bay'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 Salamander Bay?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
31 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataSalamander Bay's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $1.05 million, roughly 11% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$1,050,000
In line with its 4 neighbours (median $1,042,500)
Based on 163 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 30 days — median across 80 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 14 sales $740K
- 3 bed 61 sales $860K
- 4 bed 74 sales $1.31M
- 5 bed 8 sales $1.56M
Units
$650,000
3% below its 3 neighbours (median $672,500)
Based on 25 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 22 days — median across 6 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 13 sales $600K
- 3 bed 8 sales $1.05M
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Salamander Bay are currently listed at around $922,000 on average. Based on 26 houses listed in the past six months.
Houses
$922K
26 houses listed in the last 6 months.
Units
$679K
9 units listed in the last 6 months.
35 of the suburb's 2,159 dwellings (1.6%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Salamander Bay rent for around $780 a week on average, based on 30 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
$780/wk
4% above its 3 neighbours (median $750/wk)
30 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
31 rentals advertised against an estimated 503 rented homes (6.2%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- All rentals
- $670/wk
- 52 bonds
- +43% since 2021
Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2317 (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 202584 Unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 36% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2317.
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$780/week ($41,000 a year) on a $922,000 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 Salamander Bay safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Salamander Bay sits in the moderate band, with 255 incidents recorded in 2025 — down roughly 14% on the prior year.
255 offences
13.6% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–202511 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital
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
Port Stephens Council has published 7 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
- 537 m
- Rate
- -0.24 m/yr
- Net Movement
- -4.5 m
- Certainty
- good
Data Quality
Schools
Six schools serve Salamander Bay, and results are mixed — some outperforming peer-suburb schools, some below. St Philip's Christian College - Port Stephens leads the pack.
- • 2,147 students across 4 schools (avg 537)
- • Sectors: 4 Independent, 2 Government
- • ICSEA 763-1072, median 976 (below the national baseline of 1000)
- • Largest: Tomaree High School (986 students)
Primary
Secondary
Combined
Walkability
Salamander Bay is car-dependent on foot — at 34/100, most errands require a car.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Salamander Bay.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 116.2 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 68.6 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 37.8 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 0 min
- Span of service
- 17.9 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 Salamander Bay.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 31%
- Premises covered
- 3,282
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
Port Stephens: 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 14 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.
Salamander Bay is home to about 5,000 residents, with a median age of 57 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $58,000 a year, with unemployment at 4.7%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
4,991
Median Age
57
Median Household Income
$57,564/yr
Census Median Rent
$380/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,733/mo
Avg Household Size
2.1
Median Personal Income
$31,200/yr
Unemployment Rate
4.7%
Unoccupied Dwellings
16.7%
Total Dwellings
2,159
Owner-Occupier Rate
76.7%
Houses
59.3%
Rental Stress
34.3%
Mortgage Stress
36.1%
Work From Home
24.1%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
29 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 40 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 467 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 79.2%
- English Spoken at Home
- 90.5%
- Employment Rate
- 40.7%
- Completed Year 12
- 33.2%
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 (1.1%) 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.
8.3% of residents (403) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney (329).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 4,837 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 (18 of 1,773).
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 $1,359 a year through Port Stephens based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Environmental 49%
- Residential 25%
- Parks and recreation 20%
- Commercial 3%
- Infrastructure and transport 2%
- Industrial 2%
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: Port Stephens
In the year to August 2026, 495 new dwellings were approved across Port Stephens. That mix is 294 houses and 201 units. Approvals are down 72.1% on the same period a year earlier.
Aboriginal Land Council
Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Worimi 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 Williamtown RAAF, 24.7 kmHigh rainfall — hot summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 7 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 538 m
- 3.4 km to a named beach
- Annual rainfall
- 1,181 mm
- 95 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 28.7°C
- 13 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 7.5°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.
EV adoption
In postcode 2317, 37 of 5,439 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 3.5% (190 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 4.2%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 2317, 1,368 rooftop-solar systems totalling 9.3 MW have been installed since 2001, against 3,500 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 88 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
2 mortgage brokers are registered in this suburb, 3 across postcode 2317.
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 $1,050,000 this is $450,000 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 Meryl Swanson Australian Labor Party
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Meryl Swanson | 56.9% | 43.1% | +4.3 |
| 2022 | Meryl Swanson | 53.3% | 46.7% | +1.7 |
| 2019 | Meryl Swanson | 55.0% | 45.0% | +5.7 |
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 Kate Washington Labor
Next state election: 13 March 2027.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Kate Washington ALP | 69.0% |
| 2019 | Kate Washington ALP | 55.8% |
| 2015 | Kate Washington ALP | 54.7% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2021, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this 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 Salamander 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 4,991 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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Common questions about Salamander Bay
Is Salamander Bay a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Salamander Bay is moderate (68/100, ranked against other NSW suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Salamander Bay?
Salamander Bay has a moderate recorded bushfire history (55/100, 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 Salamander Bay a good place to live?
Salamander Bay has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of C (31/100), 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 Salamander Bay?
Salamander Bay, NSW had a population of 4,991 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Salamander Bay, NSW?
The postcode for Salamander Bay, NSW is 2317.
How far is Salamander Bay from Sydney?
Salamander Bay is 204 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 157 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Salamander Bay?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Salamander Bay was $57,564 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 Salamander Bay?
The median advertised rent in Salamander Bay is $780 a week for houses (30 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Salamander Bay?
The median age of residents in Salamander Bay was 57 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Salamander Bay at risk of bushfire?
Salamander Bay has a moderate recorded bushfire history (55/100). 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 Salamander Bay?
There are 6 schools inside the Salamander Bay boundary: 1 above, 1 at, and 2 below similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Salamander Bay walkable?
Salamander Bay scores 34/100 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 Salamander Bay?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Salamander Bay, Williamtown RAAF (24.7 km away), summer days average 28.7°C, winter nights 7.5°C, 1,181 mm of rain a year over 95 rainy days, and 13 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Salamander 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 Salamander Bay belong to?
Salamander Bay sits within the Port Stephens local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Salamander Bay?
The average residential rates bill through Port Stephens is $1,359 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Salamander Bay?
Across Port Stephens, 495 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 72.1% 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 Salamander Bay in?
Salamander Bay sits within the federal Division of Paterson, currently held by Meryl Swanson (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.