Kempsey

New South Wales · New England and North West · 30,707 people · 55 suburbs · 7 postcodes

Kempsey at a glance

30,707

Population

#60 of 130 in NSW

3,384

km² area

9/km² density

47.5

Median age

+7.8 vs NSW

882

SEIFA IRSAD

#128 of 130 in NSW

Schools

16 gov, 2 Cath, 2 indep

7.8%

Born overseas

25.2%

Renting

Map shows the Kempsey 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.

Federal electorate boundaries can be toggled on the map. Boundary source: ABS ASGS 2021 CED boundaries.

Kempsey is a Local Government Area in New South Wales, in the Sydney region. It covers 55 suburbs across 7 postcodes and an area of 3,384 km². Kempsey has a population of 30,707 , ranking #60 most populous in NSW. The most populous suburb is West Kempsey (5,073 residents).About 7.8% of residents were born overseas and 2.9% speak a language other than English at home.

Who lives here

Age structure

16.6%

10.1%

19.8%

27.3%

26.2%

0–14 (16.6%) 15–24 (10.1%) 25–44 (19.8%) 45–64 (27.3%) 65+ (26.2%)

Show counts

0–14 years	5,092 (16.6%)
15–24 years	3,095 (10.1%)
25–44 years	6,082 (19.8%)
45–64 years	8,364 (27.3%)
65+ years	8,026 (26.2%)

7.8%

Born overseas

2.9%

Speak a language other than English at home

12.8%

First Nations

2.4

Avg household size

How they live

Housing tenure

47.1%

27.7%

25.2%

Owned outright (47.1%) Mortgaged (27.7%) Renting (25.2%)

Dwelling type mix

94.3%

Separate house (94.3%) Semi/townhouse (2.0%) Flat/apartment (3.8%)

$302

Median weekly rent

$1,380

Median monthly mortgage

42.0%

Households with 0-1 cars

58.0%

Households with 2+ cars

Work and learning

7.6%

Unemployment rate

5,478

In full-time work

4,321

In part-time work

Schools in Kempsey

20 schools across Kempsey: 80.0% Government, 10.0% Catholic, 10.0% Independent. The NSW average is 69.6% / 16.9% / 13.5%. Schools here have a median ICSEA of 880 (range 712 to 1004). NSW median is 1005; national mean is 1000.

Sector mix

80.0%

10.0%

NSW average for comparison

69.6%

16.9%

13.5%

Government Catholic Independent

Type breakdown

75.0%

15.0%

Primary (75.0%) Secondary (15.0%) Combined (5.0%) Special (5.0%)

ICSEA range

700 National mean 1000 1300

LGA median 880 NSW median 1005LGA range 712 to 1004

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 20 schools in Kempsey, sorted by enrolment:

School	Sector	Type	Suburb	Students	ICSEA
St Paul's College	Catholic	Secondary	West Kempsey	641	999
Kempsey High School	Government	Secondary	Kempsey	584	848
Kempsey Adventist School	Independent	Combined	Kempsey	458	953
Kempsey West Public School	Government	Primary	West Kempsey	422	794
Melville High School	Government	Secondary	Kempsey	355	849
South West Rocks Public School	Government	Primary	South West Rocks	348	952
St Joseph's Primary School	Catholic	Primary	West Kempsey	332	991
Aldavilla Public School	Government	Primary	Yarravel	263	896
Kempsey East Public School	Government	Primary	Kempsey	180	875
Crescent Head Public School	Government	Primary	Crescent Head	167	987
Frederickton Public School	Government	Primary	Frederickton	130	890
Kempsey South Public School	Government	Primary	Kempsey	129	767
Macleay Vocational College	Independent	Special	South Kempsey	88	787
Smithtown Public School	Government	Primary	Smithtown	54	885
Stuarts Point Public School	Government	Primary	Stuarts Point	53	848
Willawarrin Public School	Government	Primary	Willawarrin	34	838
Kinchela Public School	Government	Primary	Kinchela	27	951
Bellbrook Public School	Government	Primary	Bellbrook	24	732
Gladstone Public School	Government	Primary	Gladstone	19	1004
Green Hill Public School	Government	Primary	West Kempsey	19	712

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 Kempsey. Higher scores indicate more advantage; the national mean is 1000.

IRSAD

Relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage

882

Ranked #128 of 130 NSW LGAs

IRSD

Relative disadvantage only (lower = more disadvantaged)

905

IER

Economic resources: income, wealth, housing

945

IEO

Education and occupation: qualifications, skill levels

883

Suburbs in Kempsey

Kempsey contains 55 suburbs and 7 postcodes. Sorted by population.

Suburb	Postcode	Population	Median income	Median age
West Kempsey	2440	5,073	$925/wk	40
South West Rocks	2431	5,058	$980/wk	58
South Kempsey	2440	2,604	$1,074/wk	42
Crescent Head	2440	1,633	$1,317/wk	50
Frederickton	2440	1,452	$1,114/wk	49
Aldavilla	2440	1,443	$1,222/wk	36
East Kempsey	2440	1,336	$1,116/wk	41
Yarravel	2440	1,182	$1,326/wk	47
Stuarts Point	2441	766	$777/wk	55
Greenhill	2440	757	$1,284/wk	42
Dondingalong	2440	712	$1,164/wk	51
Collombatti	2440	681	$1,294/wk	49
Smithtown	2440	625	$1,178/wk	43
Kundabung	2441	616	$1,448/wk	45
Kempsey	2440	483	$881/wk	43
Arakoon	2431	445	$1,321/wk	59
Gladstone	2440	437	$1,281/wk	47
Hat Head	2440	365	$990/wk	60
Euroka	2440	348	$1,875/wk	48
Bellbrook	2440	339	$858/wk	49
Verges Creek	2440	298	$1,525/wk	46
Kinchela	2440	286	$1,437/wk	49
Belmore River	2440	268	$1,292/wk	51
Temagog	2440	268	$1,087/wk	53
Clybucca	2440	214	$1,687/wk	50
Yarrahapinni	2441	196	$1,078/wk	59
Willawarrin	2440	183	$845/wk	50
Turners Flat	2440	169	$1,781/wk	43
Barraganyatti	2441	150	$1,149/wk	45
Austral Eden	2440	145	$1,375/wk	52
Sherwood	2440	145	$1,303/wk	55
Fishermans Reach	2441	144	$739/wk	59
Mungay Creek	2440	133	$1,266/wk	43
Jerseyville	2431	132	$1,015/wk	50
Hickeys Creek	2440	128	$1,125/wk	58
Moparrabah	2440	123	$725/wk	54
Millbank	2440	113	$774/wk	59
Yessabah	2440	111	$1,281/wk	44
Burnt Bridge	2440	110	$1,218/wk	30
Deep Creek	2440	100	$1,071/wk	54
Skillion Flat	2440	93	$1,562/wk	49
Summer Island	2440	93	$2,100/wk	41
Pola Creek	2440	86	$2,333/wk	40
Grassy Head	2441	85	$1,124/wk	59
Rainbow Reach	2440	84	$1,025/wk	56
Bellimbopinni	2440	82	$1,187/wk	41
Hampden Hall	2440	74	$1,199/wk	51
Mooneba	2440	71	$1,291/wk	50
Seven Oaks	2440	56	$1,874/wk	46
Wittitrin	2440	56	$1,437/wk	44
Toorooka	2440	47	$762/wk	58
Old Station	2440	32	$1,166/wk	43
Willi Willi	2440	28	$1,833/wk	62
Comara	2440	27	$1,312/wk	64
Corangula	2440	22	$1,124/wk	62

Postcodes covered

2431, 2440, 2441, 2450, 2460, 2469, 2474

Compare Kempsey with neighbouring LGAs

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

LGA	Population	Median age	SEIFA IRSAD	% renting	% overseas-born
Kempsey (NSW)	30,707	47.5	882	25.2%	7.8%
Nambucca Valley	20,408	52.2	898	23.8%	9.9%
Port Macquarie-Hastings	86,741	48.8	958	27.4%	12.3%
Armidale Regional	29,194	37.6	975	36.1%	14.8%

Services and amenities

NDIS Providers NDIS provider directory for Kempsey Climate & weather Climate data for West Kempsey

Frequently asked questions about Kempsey

What is the population of Kempsey?

The 2021 Census recorded 30,707 people living in Kempsey, across 55 suburbs.

What suburbs are in Kempsey?

Kempsey contains 55 suburbs. The most populous are West Kempsey, South West Rocks, South Kempsey, Crescent Head, Frederickton.See the full list in the Suburbs section above.

What postcodes are in Kempsey?

Kempsey covers 7 postcodes: 2431, 2440, 2441, 2450, 2460, 2469, 2474.

How many schools are in Kempsey?

Kempsey has 20 schools, including 16 government, 2 Catholic, and 2 independent schools (ACARA 2025).

What is the SEIFA score for Kempsey?

Kempsey has a population-weighted SEIFA IRSAD score of 882, where the national average is 1000. Higher scores indicate more relative advantage.

Page last reviewed June 2026. 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.