Shellharbour, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Around the national middle
Shellharbour is more socio-economically advantaged than about 54% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 994, 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.
Shellharbour at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 3,520
- Median age
- 46
- Median weekly household income
- $1,596
- SEIFA score
- 994
- Coordinates
- -34.5760, 150.8618
Shellharbour demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Shellharbour 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 mid-life (45–64) at 30%, 33% of homes are rented, and 16% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 531 | 15% |
| Youth (15–24) | 421 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 734 | 21% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,069 | 30% |
| Seniors (65+) | 767 | 22% |
Share of the 3,522 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 515 | 37% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 375 | 27% |
| Rented | 451 | 33% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 943 | 68% |
| Townhouses & semis | 204 | 15% |
| Flats & apartments | 218 | 16% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,379 occupied private dwellings in Shellharbour.
- Median weekly rent
- $420
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,167
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,066
- Median weekly personal income
- $741
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 529 (16%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 263 (8%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 132 (4%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,244 (44%)
- Labour-force participation
- 57.5%
- Unemployment rate
- 4%
- Employed full-time
- 851
- Employed part-time
- 611
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.
Weather and climate in Shellharbour
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Shellharbour is January (average daytime high around 27.3°C) and the coolest is July (around 16.5°C). The area receives roughly 1157 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27.3°C | 18.3°C | 114 mm |
| Feb | 26°C | 17.8°C | 144 mm |
| Mar | 24.5°C | 16.8°C | 177 mm |
| Apr | 22.2°C | 14°C | 87 mm |
| May | 19.2°C | 11°C | 54 mm |
| Jun | 16.5°C | 9.1°C | 69 mm |
| Jul | 16.5°C | 8°C | 84 mm |
| Aug | 17.4°C | 8.4°C | 73 mm |
| Sep | 20.2°C | 10.2°C | 53 mm |
| Oct | 22.6°C | 12.6°C | 100 mm |
| Nov | 23.9°C | 14.3°C | 99 mm |
| Dec | 26.1°C | 16.5°C | 103 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Shellharbour
Where is Shellharbour?
Shellharbour is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
What is the population of Shellharbour?
At the 2021 Census, Shellharbour had a population of about 3,520.
Is Shellharbour an advantaged area?
Shellharbour has an ABS SEIFA score of 994, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 54 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 54% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Shellharbour?
Shellharbour has average daytime highs of about 21.9°C and overnight lows of about 13.1°C, with roughly 1,157 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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