West Ballina is a suburb in New South Wales, 726 km from Sydney CBD, around 7 hours 45 minutes by car. Population is 3,230; the median age is 54 and the median household income is $52,780 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the bottom 20% nationally. The suburb grew 6.8% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $370 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,863. West Ballina is characterised by high crime risk and no recorded bushfire exposure. 1 school sits within the suburb boundary, and walkability is moderate.
Is West Ballina a good suburb?
West Ballina scores a D (30/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — weaker on prices, safety, and community.
Mixed results
1 school
Some car dependence
Walkability 42/100 · 726.2 km · 463 min drive to Sydney
Above the state median
Median $900K
High crime risk
Fire 0/100 · Crime 92/100
Highly disadvantaged
SEIFA decile 2/10 · median age 54 · 3,230 residents
Liveability Rating
30 / 100 · Ranked #1272 in NSWEach bar is West Ballina'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 West Ballina?
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 dataWest Ballina's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $900,000, about 9% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$900,000
5% below its 3 neighbours (median $950,000)
Based on 89 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 43 days — median across 43 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 3 bed 44 sales $835K
- 4 bed 36 sales $1.15M
Units
$707,500
Based on 12 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 101 days — median across 3 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 3 bed 8 sales $750K
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in West Ballina are currently listed at around $825,000 on average. Based on 7 houses listed in the past six months.
$825K
7 houses listed in the last 6 months.
7 of the suburb's 1,391 dwellings (0.5%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in West Ballina rent for around $850 a week on average, based on 3 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
$850/wk
3 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
4 rentals advertised against an estimated 401 rented homes (1.0%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- 3-bed houses
- $830/wk
- 48 bonds
- +22% since 2021
- 2-bed units
- $620/wk
- 22 bonds
- +38% since 2021
Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2478 (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 202573 Severely unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 41% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2478.
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$850/week ($44,000 a year) on a $825,000 median
Based on a small sample (3 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.
Short-Stay Rentals
5 active Airbnb listings: 5 whole homes and 0 rooms. Whole homes are about 0.3% of the suburb'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 West Ballina safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in West Ballina sits in the high band, with 429 incidents recorded in 2025 — up roughly 42% on the prior year.
429 offences
42.5% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20257 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
Ballina Shire Council has published 6 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
- 1.8 km
- Rate
- -0.18 m/yr
- Net Movement
- -14.2 m
- Certainty
- good
Data Quality
Schools
One school serve West Ballina, and performance is broadly on par with peer-suburb schools.
- • 878 students in one school (avg 878)
Combined
Walkability
West Ballina is car-dependent on foot — at 42/100, most errands require a car.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside West Ballina.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 40.2 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 15.4 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 4.1 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 0 min
- Span of service
- 21.3 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 West Ballina.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 46%
- Premises covered
- 1,476
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
Ballina: 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 8 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.
West Ballina is home to about 3,200 residents, with a median age of 54 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $53,000 a year, with unemployment at 5.0%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
3,230
Median Age
54
Median Household Income
$52,780/yr
Census Median Rent
$370/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,863/mo
Avg Household Size
2.1
Median Personal Income
$31,252/yr
Unemployment Rate
5.0%
Unoccupied Dwellings
5.2%
Total Dwellings
1,391
Owner-Occupier Rate
71.2%
Houses
67.9%
Rental Stress
36.5%
Mortgage Stress
42.4%
Work From Home
12.5%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
87 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 19 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 384 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 82.3%
- English Spoken at Home
- 89.0%
- Employment Rate
- 41.1%
- Completed Year 12
- 29.7%
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.
33 residents (1.0%) 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.
4.9% of residents (153) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney (85).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 3,093 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 1,026 people work here; 1,145 employed residents live here.
Roughly as many jobs as working residents (0.9 per resident). At least 10% of employed residents must work outside the suburb.
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 $1,264 a year through Ballina based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Rural and farming 53%
- Other and special use 17%
- Residential 13%
- Environmental 10%
- Industrial 5%
- 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: Ballina
In the year to August 2026, 238 new dwellings were approved across Ballina. That mix is 154 houses and 84 units. Approvals are up 210.0% on the same period a year earlier.
Aboriginal Land Council
Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Jali 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
- 3 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 1.6 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
3 facilities within 5 km- 3.9 kmPetroleum Product WholesalingTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds · Xylenes (individual or mixed isomers)
- 4.0 kmOther Construction Material MiningTop reported: Particulate Matter ≤10.0 µm (PM10) · Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide
- 4.9 kmOther Construction Material MiningTop reported: Particulate Matter ≤10.0 µm (PM10) · Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide
EV adoption
In postcode 2478, 266 of 25,197 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 3.8% (965 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 4.9%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 2478, 9,182 rooftop-solar systems totalling 55.6 MW have been installed since 2001, against 13,886 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 503 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
9 mortgage brokers are registered in postcode 2478.
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 $900,000 this is $300,000 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 Justine Elliot Australian Labor Party
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Justine Elliot | 60.0% | 40.0% | +1.8 |
| 2022 | Justine Elliot | 58.2% | 41.8% | -4.2 |
| 2019 | Justine Elliot | 54.1% | 45.9% | -0.1 |
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
Currently held by Tamara Smith The Greens
Next state election: 13 March 2027.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Tamara Smith GRN | 57.7% |
| 2019 | Tamara Smith GRN | 55.4% |
| 2015 | Tamara Smith GRN | 53.1% |
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 West Ballina?
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 3,230 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.
Featured in
- #1 in Best Ballina suburbs for first-home buyers (houses)
- #1 in Ballina suburbs where the most homes are owned outright
- #2 in Ballina suburbs with the deepest rental markets
- #2 in Ballina suburbs with the best NBN connectivity
- #2 in Ballina suburbs where seniors live
- #3 in The best beachside suburbs in Ballina
- #3 in Most walkable suburbs in Ballina
- #4 in Ballina suburbs with the most parkland nearby
- #4 in Ballina suburbs with the best public transport
- #5 in Ballina suburbs with the most apartments
- #6 in Ballina suburbs with the biggest house blocks
- #6 in Ballina suburbs that grew fastest, 2016-2021
- #6 in Ballina suburbs that added the most residents, 2016-2021
- #6 in Ballina's highest-income suburbs
- #6 in Ballina suburbs where young families live
- #7 in Ballina's most educated suburbs
- #7 in The most liveable suburbs in Ballina
- #7 in Ballina suburbs with the largest non-religious population
- #7 in Ballina's most owner-occupied suburbs
- #7 in The safest suburbs in Ballina
- #8 in Ballina suburbs where the most residents moved from a capital city
- #8 in Ballina suburbs that suit young professionals
Nearby suburbs
Ballina NSW 2478
Cumbalum NSW 2478
Pimlico NSW 2478
Teven NSW 2478
Uralba NSW 2477
Keith Hall NSW 2478
Compare West Ballina 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 West Ballina
Is West Ballina a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in West Ballina is high (92/100, 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 West Ballina?
West Ballina has no recorded bushfire history. These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is West Ballina a good place to live?
West Ballina 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 West Ballina?
West Ballina, NSW had a population of 3,230 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for West Ballina, NSW?
The postcode for West Ballina, NSW is 2478.
How far is West Ballina from Sydney?
West Ballina is 726 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 463 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in West Ballina?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in West Ballina was $52,780 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 West Ballina?
The median advertised rent in West Ballina is $850 a week for houses (3 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in West Ballina?
The median age of residents in West Ballina was 54 at the 2021 ABS Census.
How are the schools in West Ballina?
There is 1 school inside the West Ballina boundary: 1 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is West Ballina walkable?
West Ballina scores 42/100 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.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in West Ballina?
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 West Ballina belong to?
West Ballina sits within the Ballina local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in West Ballina?
The average residential rates bill through Ballina is $1,264 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near West Ballina?
Across Ballina, 238 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 210.0% 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 West Ballina in?
West Ballina sits within the federal Division of Richmond, currently held by Justine Elliot (Australian Labor Party).
Search another suburb or address
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
- Short-stay rentals · Jun 2026
- 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.