Shellharbour
83,228 residents (ABS estimated resident population, 30 June 2025) across 147 km², 20 suburbs. Council website: shellharbour.nsw.gov.au.
Council series run to July 2026.
Population
83,228
ABS estimated resident population, 30 June 2025 · +1.9% in a year
Density
565/km²
147 km² · ERP 2025 over the ABS 2024 boundary
Council-wide house median
$920k
Established-house transfers across the whole council, FY 2023-24 (ABS)
Federal grants per resident
$84
Financial Assistance Grant 2025-26 over ERP 2025
Dwelling approvals
10.4 per 1,000
Residents, 12 months to July 2026 (ABS Building Approvals)
Advantage decile
6 of 10
SEIFA 2021 IRSAD, national (10 = most advantaged)
Suburbs
20
Where it holds most residents (ABS mesh-block allocation)
Trends
Council-level series. Each chart names its source and period.
People and housing
Council-wide figures from the ABS Census of 2021 and SEIFA 2021 (national deciles, 10 = most advantaged).
- Median age
- 39
- Median household income
- $1,647/week
- Median rent
- $420/week
- Median mortgage repayment
- $2,114/month
- Households renting
- 26.7%
- Average household
- 2.6 people
- Advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD)
- decile 6 of 10
- Disadvantage (IRSD)
- decile 6 of 10
Suburbs
20 suburbs where Shellharbour holds most residents. Population is Census 2021 for the whole suburb. A median here is the suburb’s own Valuer-General median — suburbs without one are blank, never filled with the council figure.
| Suburb | Population | In this council | Median house (VG) | Flood / bushfire | IRSAD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albion Park | 13,826 | All | $890kDec 2025 | – / 46% | 5 |
| Shell Cove | 7,591 | All | $1.5MDec 2025 | – / 52% | 10 |
| Flinders (NSW) | 7,118 | All | $1.1MDec 2025 | – / 23% | 7 |
| Albion Park Rail | 6,920 | All | $832kDec 2025 | – / 32% | 2 |
| Oak Flats | 6,840 | All | $914kDec 2025 | – / 14% | 3 |
| Warilla | 6,226 | All | $845kDec 2025 | – / 1% | 1 |
| Barrack Heights | 6,003 | All | $865kDec 2025 | – / 14% | 2 |
| Mount Warrigal | 4,880 | All | $930kDec 2025 | – / 6% | 2 |
| Shellharbour | 3,520 | All | $1.3MDec 2025 | – / 18% | 6 |
| Blackbutt (NSW) | 3,291 | All | $1.0MDec 2025 | – / 51% | 5 |
| Lake Illawarra | 3,288 | All | $893kDec 2025 | – / 7% | 1 |
| Calderwood | 3,013 | All | $910kDec 2025 | – / 86% | 9 |
| Tullimbar | 1,840 | All | $890kDec 2025 | – / 80% | 8 |
| Barrack Point | 725 | All | $2.0MDec 2025 | – / 23% | 7 |
| Shellharbour City Centre | 457 | All | – / 4% | 3 | |
| Dunmore (NSW) | 318 | All | $1.1MDec 2025 | – / 87% | 9 |
| Yellow Rock (Shellharbour - NSW) | 226 | 90% | – / 99% | 9 | |
| Tongarra | 141 | All | – / 100% | 9 | |
| Croom | 112 | 66% | – / 91% | 9 | |
| Macquarie Pass | All | – / 100% |
Hazards
Share of each member suburb's land inside the mapped layer, averaged across the council weighted by the residents each suburb contributes. Only suburbs a source covers count; the rest are left out, not counted as zero.
Suburb prices
Across the 15 member suburbs with their own Valuer-General median (unweighted; each suburb's latest figure, periods ending Dec 2025).
- Lowest suburb median
- $832k
- Median of suburb medians
- $914k
- Highest suburb median
- $2.0M
Recorded crime
Offences per 100,000 residents over the 12 member suburbs the source covers, financial year ending 2025. Small suburbs and unreliable rates are excluded.
- Break and enter
- 520
- per 100k · NSW 2025
- Motor vehicle theft
- 190
- per 100k · NSW 2025
- property_damage
- 973
- per 100k · NSW 2025
- Violent crime
- 1,692
- per 100k · NSW 2025
Representation
Federal electorates and state districts covering the council, by share of the residents its suburbs contribute (each suburb counts once, for the seat containing a representative interior point).
Federal electorates
- Whitlam · Carol BERRY (ALP)100%
State districts
- Shellharbour · Anna Watson (ALP)66%
- Kiama · Gareth Ward (IND)35%
Neighbouring councils
Councils in the same state whose suburbs share a boundary with this one's, and councils it splits a suburb with.
Compare it with every New South Wales council on the council map or the New South Wales council list.
Boundaries: ABS ASGS Edition 3, LGA 2024 boundaries; suburbs allocated by 2021 mesh block, weighted by Census 2021 residents. Population: ABS estimated resident population 2025. Census 2021 and SEIFA 2021: ABS. Council-wide medians: ABS Data by Region. Approvals: ABS Building Approvals. Grants: Financial Assistance Grants, Dept of Infrastructure. Suburb prices: state Valuer-General. Flood and bushfire: state planning layers. Observed water: Geoscience Australia DEA Water Observations. Crime: state police statistics. Website and identity: Wikidata (CC0). ABS, Dept of Infrastructure and state government data CC BY 4.0. Council facts loaded 2026-09-24.