Jindabyne, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Jindabyne stands on the shore of its namesake lake in the Snowy Mountains of southern New South Wales, about 180 kilometres south of Canberra and, at roughly 915 metres, one of the highest towns of its size in Australia. Its name is said to come from an Aboriginal word meaning valley. The original township stood lower down the Snowy River until the 1960s, when it was moved to higher ground and the old town drowned beneath Lake Jindabyne, the reservoir formed by the Jindabyne Dam for the Snowy Mountains hydro-electric scheme; at low water the foundations of old buildings still surface. Today the town is the main base for the ski resorts of Kosciuszko National Park — Thredbo, Perisher and Charlotte Pass.
More advantaged than the national average
Jindabyne is more socio-economically advantaged than about 73% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1028, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Jindabyne at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,986
- Median age
- 32
- Median weekly household income
- $2,058
- SEIFA score
- 1028
- Coordinates
- -36.4113, 148.6195
Jindabyne demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Jindabyne using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is young adults (25–44) at 34%, 42% of homes are rented, and 16% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 434 | 15% |
| Youth (15–24) | 506 | 17% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,010 | 34% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 716 | 24% |
| Seniors (65+) | 327 | 11% |
Share of the 2,993 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 265 | 25% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 300 | 29% |
| Rented | 441 | 42% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 576 | 55% |
| Townhouses & semis | 132 | 13% |
| Flats & apartments | 318 | 30% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,050 occupied private dwellings in Jindabyne.
- Median weekly rent
- $400
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,636
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,325
- Median weekly personal income
- $933
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 458 (16%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 202 (7%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 38 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,674 (69%)
- Labour-force participation
- 77.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 1.9%
- Employed full-time
- 1,019
- Employed part-time
- 803
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Common questions about Jindabyne
Where is Jindabyne?
Jindabyne is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
What is the population of Jindabyne?
At the 2021 Census, Jindabyne had a population of about 2,986.
Is Jindabyne an advantaged area?
Jindabyne has an ABS SEIFA score of 1028, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 73 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 73% of Australian suburbs.
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