South Nowra is a suburb in New South Wales, 166 km from Sydney CBD, around 2 hours 15 minutes by car. Population is 3,165; the median age is 33 and the median household income is $93,028 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the middle range nationally. Population grew 64.2% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $398 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $2,000. The area shows high crime risk and high bushfire risk. 1 school sits within the suburb boundary, and walkability is moderate.
Is South Nowra a good suburb?
South Nowra scores a D (30/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on prices, weaker on safety.
Mixed results
1 school
Some car dependence
Walkability 52/100 · 165.5 km · 136 min drive to Sydney
More affordable than most
Median $850K
High crime risk
Fire 69/100 · Crime 88/100
Mid-range socio-economic
SEIFA decile 5/10 · median age 33 · 3,165 residents
Liveability Rating
30 / 100 · Ranked #1263 in NSWEach bar is South Nowra'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 South Nowra?
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 House Price
Public listings dataSouth Nowra's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $850,000, roughly 12% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$850,000
25% above its 4 neighbours (median $680,000)
Based on 118 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 38 days — median across 46 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 10 sales $480K
- 3 bed 29 sales $630K
- 4 bed 61 sales $915K
- 5 bed 9 sales $928K
Land
$470,000
Based on 33 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 34 days — median across 3 sales that recorded a listing period
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in South Nowra are currently listed at around $880,000 on average. Based on 27 houses listed in the past six months.
$880K
27 houses listed in the last 6 months.
27 of the suburb's 1,066 dwellings (2.5%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in South Nowra rent for around $605 a week on average, based on 26 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
$605/wk
26 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
27 rentals advertised against an estimated 381 rented homes (7.1%) 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$605/week ($31,000 a year) on a $880,000 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 South Nowra safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in South Nowra sits in the high band, with 329 incidents recorded in 2025 — up about 3% on the prior year.
329 offences
2.8% 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
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
One school serve South Nowra, and performance is broadly on par with peer-suburb schools.
- • 572 students in one school (avg 572)
Combined
Walkability
South Nowra is somewhat walkable on foot — at 52/100, a short cluster of errands work on foot but most trips still benefit from a car.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside South Nowra.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 21.8 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 11.9 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 7.3 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 12.8 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 South Nowra.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 89%
- Premises covered
- 2,255
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 5 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.
South Nowra is home to about 3,200 residents, with a median age of 33, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $93,000 a year, with unemployment at 4.0%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
3,165
Median Age
33
Median Household Income
$93,028/yr
Census Median Rent
$398/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$2,000/mo
Avg Household Size
2.8
Median Personal Income
$43,160/yr
Unemployment Rate
4.0%
Unoccupied Dwellings
4.4%
Total Dwellings
1,066
Owner-Occupier Rate
64.3%
Houses
88.6%
Rental Stress
22.2%
Mortgage Stress
25.8%
Work From Home
8.9%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
28 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 17 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 371 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 78.8%
- English Spoken at Home
- 82.9%
- Employment Rate
- 62.2%
- Completed Year 12
- 34.2%
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.
109 residents (3.4%) 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.
7.5% of residents (217) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney (145).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 2,900 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 (22 of 1,489).
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.
Local Jobs
People who work in this suburb against employed people who live here, 2021 Census.
About 4,126 people work here; 1,489 employed residents live here.
A jobs hub: 2.8 jobs for every working resident. At least 63% 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
- Industrial 42%
- Residential 20%
- Environmental 19%
- Parks and recreation 15%
- Infrastructure and transport 4%
- 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 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
- 37 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 12.0 km
- Near high-voltage lines
- 3.5% of addresses
- 98 within 100 m of an overhead line of 110 kV or more
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
5 facilities within 5 km- 1.2 km
- 1.6 kmPetroleum Product WholesalingTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds
- 1.7 kmOther Basic Chemical Product Manufacturing n.e.c.Top reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds · Styrene (ethenylbenzene)
- 1.7 kmBasic Organic Chemical ManufacturingTop reported: Ammonia (total)
- 4.4 kmSewerage and Drainage ServicesTop reported: Total Nitrogen · Ammonia (total) · Total Phosphorus
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
14 mortgage brokers are registered in 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 $850,000 this is $250,000 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 Katelin McInerney Labor — elected at the Sep 2025 by-election, after the results below
Next state election: 13 March 2027.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Gareth Ward IND | 50.8% |
| 2019 | Gareth Ward LP | 62.0% |
| 2015 | Gareth Ward LP | 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 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 South 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 3,165 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 South 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 South Nowra
Is South Nowra a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in South Nowra is high (88/100, 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 South Nowra?
South Nowra has a moderate recorded bushfire history (69/100, 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 South Nowra a good place to live?
South Nowra 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 South Nowra?
South Nowra, NSW had a population of 3,165 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for South Nowra, NSW?
The postcode for South Nowra, NSW is 2541.
How far is South Nowra from Sydney?
South Nowra is 166 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 136 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in South Nowra?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in South Nowra was $93,028 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 South Nowra?
The median advertised rent in South Nowra is $605 a week for houses (26 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in South Nowra?
The median age of residents in South Nowra was 33 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is South Nowra at risk of bushfire?
South Nowra has a moderate recorded bushfire history (69/100). 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 South Nowra?
There is 1 school inside the South Nowra boundary: 1 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is South Nowra walkable?
South Nowra scores 52/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it somewhat 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 South 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 South Nowra belong to?
South 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 South 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 South 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 South Nowra in?
South 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.