Tongarra NSW 2527

Located in New South Wales, Tongarra sits 113 km from Sydney CBD, around 1 hour 45 minutes by car. The suburb has 141 residents, a median age of 46, and a median household income of $158,132 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the top 20% nationally. Population grew 31.8% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $350 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $3,100. Walkability is low.

This suburb is too small to rate.

The Liveability Rating is calculated for suburbs of 500 residents or more, and this one has 141. Below that the school, census and safety figures behind the score cover too few people to rank fairly against the rest of the state. The individual measures further down this page are still shown.

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Median House Price

Q4 2025

Tongarra's house market is moving lower: the median sale price reached $950,000 in the December 2025 quarter, roughly 43% below where it sat a year earlier. That said, only two sales settled in the quarter, so the median is a noisy signal — treat it as a direction rather than a level. Zoom out: prices have fallen roughly 42% over the past decade — 5.4% per year on average.

$950,000

last 4 quarters
↓ −43.1% year-on-year
↓ −42.4% over 2015–2025 (−5.4%/yr compound)

Based on only 2 sales — small sample, take as indicative.

Rental Market

Rent agreed on new leases

Jul–Sep 2026
3-bed houses
$750/wk
51 bonds
+38% since 2021

Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2527 (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

81 Unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 37% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2527.

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.

Is Tongarra safe? Crime statistics

2025

Crime in Tongarra sits in the moderate band, with 4 incidents recorded in 2025 — down roughly 43% on the prior year.

4 offences

42.9% since 2024
Arson 3 (75.0%)
Theft 1 (25.0%)

Crime Trend

Serious Road Crashes

2021–2025

3 crashes

where someone was killed or admitted to hospital

Where they happened

Illawarra Highway 3 (100.0%)

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

Shellharbour City Council has published 9 flood studies on the NSW Flood Data Portal. The mapped flood areas are in those studies; SuburbScan does not hold them.

All 9 on the portal

Schools

No schools in this suburb boundary.

Walkability

Tongarra 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 35
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

NBN connectivity

The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Tongarra.

21
connectivity score / 100
Most common
Satellite (Sky Muster)
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
0%
Premises covered
45
Technology mix
Satellite (Sky Muster) (SATELLITE) 58%
Fixed wireless (WIRELESS) 42%

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
3 in suburb
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

Shellharbour: council population

The whole council area, not just Tongarra · estimated residents
at 30 June 2025
Residents
83,228
+1.9% in a year
Change
+1,559
people since 2024
Density
565
people per km² across the council area
What drove the change
Natural increase
+403
births minus deaths
Net internal migration
+938
moves within Australia
Net overseas migration
+218
arrivals minus departures

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

ABS SEIFA · ranked against every suburb in Australia, and within the state
2021 census
Advantage and disadvantage
9/10
8/10 within NSW
income, education, jobs and housing together
Economic resources
10/10
10/10 within NSW
income against housing cost and household size
Education and occupation
5/10
4/10 within NSW
qualifications and job type, income excluded

Tongarra is home to 141 residents, with a median age of 46, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $158,000 a year, with unemployment at 3.1%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

141

31.8% since 2016

Median Age

46

15.0% since 2016

Median Household Income

$158,132/yr

18.7% since 2016
Top 4% in NSW

Census Median Rent

$350/wk

25.0% since 2016

Census Median Mortgage

$3,100/mo

93.8% since 2016

Avg Household Size

3.1

3.3% since 2016

Median Personal Income

$42,588/yr

23.3% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

3.1%

24.4% since 2016

Unoccupied Dwellings

23.3%

38.5% since 2016

Total Dwellings

43

48.3% since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

73.3%

10.7% since 2016

Houses

100.0%

no change since 2016

Rental Stress

11.5%

5.5% since 2016

Mortgage Stress

23.5%

63.2% since 2016

Work From Home

21.5%

72.0% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Houses 43 (100.0%)

Property Ownership

Mortgage 20 (44.4%)
Owned Outright 13 (28.9%)
Renting 12 (26.7%)

Demographics

Born in Australia
84.4%
English Spoken at Home
88.7%
Employment Rate
72.1%
6.6% since 2016
Completed Year 12
39.7%

Occupations

Technicians & Trades 22 (22.7%)
Professionals 17 (17.5%)
Clerical & Administrative 14 (14.4%)
Managers 13 (13.4%)
Community & Personal Service 8 (8.2%)
Labourers 6 (6.2%)
Sales 4 (4.1%)
Machinery Operators & Drivers 4 (4.1%)

Religion

Christianity 86 (61.0%)
No Religion 43 (30.5%)
Buddhism 5 (3.5%)

Country of Birth (overseas)

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.

South Africa 6 (4.3%)
Scotland 6 (4.3%)
England 3 (2.1%)

Languages Spoken at Home

Top languages other than English, as a share of all residents.

German 3 (2.1%)

Age Distribution

0-4 3 (2.1%)
5-14 9 (6.4%)
15-19 13 (9.2%)
20-24 16 (11.3%)
25-34 13 (9.2%)
35-44 15 (10.6%)
45-54 28 (19.9%)
55-64 26 (18.4%)
65-74 12 (8.5%)
75-84 8 (5.7%)

Family & Household Composition

Couple Families 21 (72.4%)
One Parent Families 5 (17.2%)
Lone Person 3 (10.3%)

Commute to Work

Car (driver) 51 (64.6%)
Worked from Home 17 (21.5%)
Car (passenger) 8 (10.1%)
Walked Only 3 (3.8%)

Education

Certificate III & IV 36 (25.5%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 25 (17.7%)
Bachelor Degree 14 (9.9%)
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 6 (4.3%)
Postgraduate Degree 3 (2.1%)

Cars per Dwelling

1 car 3 (7.0%)
2 cars 12 (27.9%)
3 cars 10 (23.3%)
4+ cars 9 (20.9%)

Council Rates

Shellharbour
FY 2024-25

Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,788 a year through Shellharbour based on 2024 figures.

Avg residential rate
$1,788/yr
45% above the NSW average of $1,230 · median of 128 councils
Valuation basis
Unimproved Value
land only

How this land is zoned

Share of Tongarra's area by planning zone
2026-09
  • Environmental 72%
  • Rural and farming 27%
  • 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: Shellharbour

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

In the year to August 2026, 883 new dwellings were approved across Shellharbour. That mix is 479 houses and 404 units. Approvals are up 25.2% on the same period a year earlier.

Trailing 12 months
883dwellings
+25.2% YoY
Houses
479
detached dwellings
Units
404
townhouses + apartments

Aboriginal Land Council

Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Illawarra 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.

Air Quality

MODERATE

PM2.5 averaged 5.1 µg/m³ in 2025 — below Australia's NEPM annual standard (8 µg/m³), slightly above the stricter WHO guideline (5 µg/m³).

PM10 averaged 14.3 µg/m³ · NO₂ averaged 0.37 pphm. Days over the limit in 2025: PM10 1 · NO₂ 0 · ozone 0.

From the Albion Park South monitoring station, 8.1 km away.

Climate & Setting

from Mittagong (Alfred Street), 26.5 km

High rainfall.

Elevation
138 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean
15.1 km
Annual rainfall
974 mm
97 rainy days
Summer max (Jan)
—
Winter min (Jul)
—

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

0.7%
of light vehicles are electric
Up from 0.02% in 2021
+0.2 points this year

In postcode 2527, 162 of 22,269 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 2.7% (595 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 3.4%.

Electric share, year by year
2021
0.02%
2022
0.07%
2023
0.19%
2024
0.49%
2025
0.73%

Rooftop solar

60
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 6.9 kW each

In postcode 2527, 5,633 rooftop-solar systems totalling 39.0 MW have been installed since 2001, against 9,370 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 488 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
468
2020
627
2021
643
2022
563
2023
515
2024
485
2025
399
2026
305

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

Q4-2025 median
I'm looking for
Deposit
$
%
Monthly repayment
$4,955
Loan amount
$760,000
Total interest over 30 years
$1,023,667

5 mortgage brokers are registered in postcode 2527.

Deposit
$190,000
Stamp duty
$36,937
Cash needed at settlement
$226,937

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 Whitlam

Currently held by Carol Berry Australian Labor Party

Year Winner 2PP ALP 2PP LNP Swing
2025 Carol Berry 56.2% 43.8% -2.1
2022 Stephen Jones 60.1% 39.9% +0.8
2019 Stephen Jones 60.9% 39.1% +39.1

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

Kiama District

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 Tongarra?

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Nearby suburbs

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Side-by-side stats for any other NSW suburb — type a name and pick one.

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Common questions about Tongarra

Is Tongarra a safe place to live?

Recorded crime in Tongarra is moderate (45/100, ranked against other NSW suburbs on offences per resident).

What natural hazards affect Tongarra?

Tongarra has a low recorded bushfire history (13/100, 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.

What is the population of Tongarra?

Tongarra, NSW had a population of 141 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Tongarra, NSW?

The postcode for Tongarra, NSW is 2527.

How far is Tongarra from Sydney?

Tongarra is 113 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 103 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Tongarra?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Tongarra was $158,132 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 Tongarra?

There are too few current rental listings in Tongarra for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $350, across all dwelling types.

What is the median age in Tongarra?

The median age of residents in Tongarra was 46 at the 2021 ABS Census.

Is Tongarra at risk of bushfire?

Tongarra has a low recorded bushfire history (13/100). 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.

Is Tongarra walkable?

Tongarra 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 air quality in Tongarra?

The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Tongarra (Albion Park South) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 5.1 µg/m³ and PM10 of 14.3 µg/m³. That puts Tongarra below the Australian NEPM annual standard of 8 µg/m³ but above the stricter WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.

What is the weather like in Tongarra?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Tongarra, Mittagong (Alfred Street) (26.5 km away), 974 mm of rain a year over 97 rainy days over 2006-2026.

What is the median house price in Tongarra?

The median sale price for houses in Tongarra was $950,000 in the Q4 2025 quarter, based on a small sample of 2 sales — take as indicative.

Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Tongarra?

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 Tongarra belong to?

Tongarra sits within the Shellharbour local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.

How much are council rates in Tongarra?

The average residential rates bill through Shellharbour is $1,788 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.

How much is being built near Tongarra?

Across Shellharbour, 883 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 25.2% 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 Tongarra in?

Tongarra sits within the federal Division of Whitlam, currently held by Carol Berry (Australian Labor Party).

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