Byron

New South Wales · Richmond - Tweed · 36,337 people · 42 suburbs · 5 postcodes

Byron at a glance

36,337
Population
#57 of 130 in NSW
636
km² area
57/km² density
42.8
Median age
+3.1 vs NSW
$1,655
Median HH income/wk
#48 of 130 in NSW
1027
SEIFA IRSAD
#29 of 130 in NSW
21
Schools
15 gov, 2 Cath, 4 indep
21.8%
Born overseas
31.4%
Renting

Map shows the Byron LGA boundary in blue with a marker per suburb. Hover for suburb name, click for details.

Marker colour reflects SEIFA IRSAD decile: ● 1-2 (most disadvantaged), ● 3-4, ● 5-6, ● 7-8, ● 9-10 (most advantaged).

Boundary source: ABS ASGS 2021. Map tiles: OpenStreetMap contributors.

Byron is a Local Government Area in New South Wales, in the Sydney region. It covers 42 suburbs across 5 postcodes and an area of 636 km². Byron has a population of 36,337 , ranking #57 most populous in NSW. The most populous suburb is Byron Bay (6,330 residents), and the highest median household income is in Koonyum Range at $4,499/week. The LGA-wide median household income is $1,655/week and median age is 42.8. About 21.8% of residents were born overseas and 9.5% speak a language other than English at home.

Who lives here

Age structure

0–14 (16.1%) 15–24 (8.8%) 25–44 (27.7%) 45–64 (28.8%) 65+ (18.6%)
Show counts
0–14 years5,858 (16.1%)
15–24 years3,201 (8.8%)
25–44 years10,064 (27.7%)
45–64 years10,468 (28.8%)
65+ years6,773 (18.6%)
21.8%
Born overseas
9.5%
Speak a language other than English at home
1.9%
First Nations
2.5
Avg household size

How they live

Housing tenure

Owned outright (39.2%) Mortgaged (29.4%) Renting (31.4%)

Dwelling type mix

Separate house (86.3%) Semi/townhouse (9.4%) Flat/apartment (4.3%)
$533
Median weekly rent
$2,136
Median monthly mortgage
38.2%
Households with 0-1 cars
61.8%
Households with 2+ cars

Work and learning

5.1%
Unemployment rate
6,962
In full-time work
8,488
In part-time work

Schools in Byron

21 schools across Byron: 71.4% Government, 9.5% Catholic, 19.0% Independent. The NSW average is 69.6% / 16.9% / 13.5%. Schools here have a median ICSEA of 1051 (range 1003 to 1097). NSW median is 1005; national mean is 1000.

Sector mix

NSW average for comparison
Government Catholic Independent

Type breakdown

Primary (76.2%) Secondary (9.5%) Combined (14.3%) Special (0%)

ICSEA range

700 National mean 1000 1300
LGA median 1051 NSW median 1005LGA range 1003 to 1097

ICSEA (Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage) summarises the socio-economic background of each school's families. Higher values indicate more advantage. Source: ACARA 2025.

All 21 schools in Byron, sorted by enrolment:

School Sector Type Suburb Students ICSEA
Byron Bay High School Government Secondary Byron Bay 820 1050
Mullumbimby High School Government Secondary Mullumbimby 623 1019
Shearwater, the Mullumbimby Steiner School Independent Combined Mullumbimby 587 1070
Byron Bay Public School Government Primary Byron Bay 461 1067
Cape Byron Rudolf Steiner School Independent Combined Byron Bay 382 1097
St Finbarr's Primary School Catholic Primary Byron Bay 325 1096
Bangalow Public School Government Primary Bangalow 295 1088
Ocean Shores Public School Government Primary Ocean Shores 294 1051
Brunswick Heads Public School Government Primary Brunswick Heads 222 1025
Mullumbimby Public School Government Primary Mullumbimby 217 1026
The Pocket Public School Government Primary The Pocket 111 1068
Byron Community Primary School Independent Primary Byron Bay 95 1094
Coorabell Public School Government Primary Coorabell 92 1066
Main Arm Upper Public School Government Primary Upper Main Arm 88 1016
Hinterland Christian College Independent Combined Mullumbimby 71 1048
St John's Primary School Catholic Primary Mullumbimby 63 1038
Goonengerry Public School Government Primary Goonengerry 57 1048
Eureka Public School Government Primary Eureka 32 1084
Wilsons Creek Public School Government Primary Mullumbimby 23 1041
Upper Coopers Creek Public School Government Primary Upper Coopers Creek 10 1003
Whian Whian Public School Government Primary Whian Whian 8 1052

Source: ACARA School Profiles 2025. ICSEA shown where reported; some schools (notably small primaries) do not publish ICSEA.

SEIFA socio-economic indexes

SEIFA 2021 ranks Australian areas across four dimensions. Scores are population-weighted averages of suburb-level SEIFA scores within Byron. Higher scores indicate more advantage; the national mean is 1000.

IRSAD

Relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage

1027
Ranked #29 of 130 NSW LGAs

IRSD

Relative disadvantage only (lower = more disadvantaged)

1020

IER

Economic resources: income, wealth, housing

1009

IEO

Education and occupation: qualifications, skill levels

1051

Suburbs in Byron

Byron contains 42 suburbs and 5 postcodes. Sorted by population.

SuburbPostcodePopulationMedian incomeMedian age
Byron Bay 2481 6,330 $1,561/wk 39
Ocean Shores 2483 5,777 $1,471/wk 43
Suffolk Park 2481 4,222 $2,020/wk 39
Mullumbimby 2482 4,180 $1,355/wk 45
Bangalow 2479 2,752 $2,097/wk 40
Brunswick Heads 2483 1,905 $1,280/wk 47
Myocum 2481 1,217 $1,505/wk 47
Ewingsdale 2481 1,025 $2,553/wk 42
South Golden Beach 2483 887 $1,620/wk 40
Federal 2480 784 $1,910/wk 47
Main Arm 2482 640 $1,403/wk 45
Mullumbimby Creek 2482 512 $1,488/wk 48
Coorabell 2479 481 $2,107/wk 48
Wilsons Creek 2482 466 $1,347/wk 47
Goonengerry 2482 422 $1,300/wk 51
Coopers Shoot 2479 409 $1,954/wk 46
Broken Head 2481 385 $1,687/wk 43
New Brighton 2483 368 $1,634/wk 45
Eureka 2480 353 $1,944/wk 47
Upper Main Arm 2482 283 $850/wk 44
Possum Creek 2479 277 $1,649/wk 45
Nashua 2479 267 $2,025/wk 48
Billinudgel 2483 261 $1,474/wk 43
The Pocket 2483 231 $1,812/wk 44
Binna Burra 2479 223 $2,113/wk 39
Tyagarah 2481 194 $2,374/wk 47
Whian Whian 2480 179 $1,437/wk 47
Middle Pocket 2483 141 $1,718/wk 44
Wooyung 2483 139 $1,093/wk 49
Skinners Shoot 2481 130 $1,874/wk 40
Mcleods Shoot 2479 113 $2,200/wk 39
Talofa 2481 103 $3,062/wk 47
Huonbrook 2482 99 $725/wk 52
Yelgun 2483 88 $1,343/wk 52
Booyong 2480 84 $1,792/wk 43
Upper Wilsons Creek 2482 79 $1,562/wk 48
Palmwoods 2482 78 $966/wk 40
Upper Coopers Creek 2480 78 $1,125/wk 50
Montecollum 2482 67 $1,281/wk 52
Wanganui 2482 51 $1,125/wk 50
Hayters Hill 2481 40 $2,749/wk 48
Koonyum Range 2482 17 $4,499/wk 36

Postcodes covered

2479, 2480, 2481, 2482, 2483

Compare Byron with neighbouring LGAs

Side-by-side demographic and socio-economic snapshot of Byron and its closest neighbouring LGAs.

LGA Population Median age Median HH income SEIFA IRSAD % renting % overseas-born
Byron (NSW) 36,337 42.8 $1,655/wk 1027 31.4% 21.8%
Tweed 97,261 47.7 $1,369/wk 967 25.2% 15.4%
Lismore 44,369 43.3 $1,369/wk 945 28.1% 10.4%
Ballina 46,147 48.3 $1,535/wk 997 28.0% 12.7%
Coffs Harbour 78,743 43.9 $1,417/wk 954 30.5% 15.6%

Services and amenities

NDIS Providers NDIS provider directory for Byron Climate & weather Climate data for Byron Bay

Frequently asked questions about Byron

What is the population of Byron?

The 2021 Census recorded 36,337 people living in Byron, across 42 suburbs.

What suburbs are in Byron?

Byron contains 42 suburbs. The most populous are Byron Bay, Ocean Shores, Suffolk Park, Mullumbimby, Bangalow.See the full list in the Suburbs section above.

What postcodes are in Byron?

Byron covers 5 postcodes: 2479, 2480, 2481, 2482, 2483.

What is the median household income in Byron?

The population-weighted median household income across Byron is $1,655 per week (2021 Census), ranking #48 of 130 NSW LGAs.

How many schools are in Byron?

Byron has 21 schools, including 15 government, 2 Catholic, and 4 independent schools (ACARA 2025).

What is the SEIFA score for Byron?

Byron has a population-weighted SEIFA IRSAD score of 1027, where the national average is 1000. Higher scores indicate more relative advantage.

Page last reviewed . Data sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census (CC BY 4.0), SEIFA 2021 (IRSD, IRSAD, IER, IEO), ACARA School Profiles 2025, ABS ASGS 2021 LGA boundaries. How this data is sourced.