Nambucca Valley

New South Wales · Mid North Coast · 20,408 people · 42 suburbs · 6 postcodes

Nambucca Valley at a glance

20,408

Population

#70 of 130 in NSW

1,407

km² area

14/km² density

52.2

Median age

+12.5 vs NSW

898

SEIFA IRSAD

#122 of 130 in NSW

Schools

9 gov, 2 Cath, 2 indep

9.9%

Born overseas

23.8%

Renting

Map shows the Nambucca Valley 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.

Nambucca Valley is a Local Government Area in New South Wales, in the Sydney region. It covers 42 suburbs across 6 postcodes and an area of 1,407 km². Nambucca Valley has a population of 20,408 , ranking #70 most populous in NSW. The most populous suburb is Nambucca Heads (6,675 residents).About 9.9% of residents were born overseas and 3.2% speak a language other than English at home.

Who lives here

Age structure

15.8%

8.5%

17.2%

28.3%

30.2%

0–14 (15.8%) 15–24 (8.5%) 25–44 (17.2%) 45–64 (28.3%) 65+ (30.2%)

Show counts

0–14 years	3,216 (15.8%)
15–24 years	1,739 (8.5%)
25–44 years	3,507 (17.2%)
45–64 years	5,758 (28.3%)
65+ years	6,142 (30.2%)

9.9%

Born overseas

3.2%

Speak a language other than English at home

8.0%

First Nations

2.3

Avg household size

How they live

Housing tenure

50.5%

25.7%

23.8%

Owned outright (50.5%) Mortgaged (25.7%) Renting (23.8%)

Dwelling type mix

91.7%

Separate house (91.7%) Semi/townhouse (4.8%) Flat/apartment (3.5%)

$298

Median weekly rent

$1,368

Median monthly mortgage

48.0%

Households with 0-1 cars

52.0%

Households with 2+ cars

Work and learning

6.9%

Unemployment rate

3,429

In full-time work

3,112

In part-time work

Schools in Nambucca Valley

13 schools across Nambucca Valley: 69.2% Government, 15.4% Catholic, 15.4% Independent. The NSW average is 69.6% / 16.9% / 13.5%. Schools here have a median ICSEA of 925 (range 827 to 1042). NSW median is 1005; national mean is 1000.

Sector mix

69.2%

15.4%

NSW average for comparison

69.6%

16.9%

13.5%

Government Catholic Independent

Type breakdown

69.2%

15.4%

Primary (69.2%) Secondary (15.4%) Combined (15.4%) Special (0%)

ICSEA range

700 National mean 1000 1300

LGA median 925 NSW median 1005LGA range 827 to 1042

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 13 schools in Nambucca Valley, sorted by enrolment:

School	Sector	Type	Suburb	Students	ICSEA
Nambucca Valley Christian Community School	Independent	Combined	Nambucca Heads	555	1042
Macksville High School	Government	Secondary	Macksville	365	916
Nambucca Heads High School	Government	Secondary	Nambucca Heads	314	890
Macksville Public School	Government	Primary	Macksville	284	925
St Patrick's Primary School	Catholic	Primary	Macksville	244	1002
Frank Partridge VC Public School	Government	Primary	Nambucca Heads	217	886
Bowraville Central School	Government	Combined	Bowraville	207	861
Nambucca Heads Public School	Government	Primary	Nambucca Heads	156	904
Tallowood Steiner School	Independent	Primary	Bowraville	94	989
Scotts Head Public School	Government	Primary	Scotts Head	73	1014
Eungai Public School	Government	Primary	Eungai Creek	57	926
St Mary's Primary School	Catholic	Primary	Bowraville	48	827
Crossmaglen Public School	Government	Primary	Crossmaglen	45	988

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

IRSAD

Relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage

898

Ranked #122 of 130 NSW LGAs

IRSD

Relative disadvantage only (lower = more disadvantaged)

920

IER

Economic resources: income, wealth, housing

946

IEO

Education and occupation: qualifications, skill levels

906

Suburbs in Nambucca Valley

Nambucca Valley contains 42 suburbs and 6 postcodes. Sorted by population.

Suburb	Postcode	Population	Median income	Median age
Nambucca Heads	2448	6,675	$839/wk	57
Macksville	2447	2,782	$944/wk	47
Valla Beach	2448	1,455	$1,084/wk	55
Bowraville	2449	1,157	$947/wk	46
Valla	2448	1,052	$1,617/wk	48
Scotts Head	2447	986	$1,212/wk	54
North Macksville	2447	669	$916/wk	53
Gumma	2447	486	$1,204/wk	52
Hyland Park	2448	440	$989/wk	49
Newee Creek	2447	418	$1,347/wk	48
Eungai Creek	2441	397	$1,075/wk	47
Congarinni North	2447	394	$1,239/wk	49
Congarinni	2447	365	$1,125/wk	53
South Arm	2449	311	$900/wk	49
Warrell Creek	2447	265	$1,258/wk	52
Way Way	2447	265	$1,375/wk	55
Missabotti	2449	246	$1,152/wk	50
Talarm	2447	242	$1,292/wk	50
Eungai Rail	2441	208	$979/wk	45
Argents Hill	2449	207	$1,042/wk	52
Yarranbella	2447	207	$914/wk	46
Utungun	2447	194	$1,174/wk	49
Wirrimbi	2447	160	$2,150/wk	39
Allgomera	2441	139	$949/wk	53
Taylors Arm	2447	133	$885/wk	54
Upper Taylors Arm	2447	126	$974/wk	48
Buckra Bendinni	2449	123	$1,031/wk	48
Tamban	2441	94	$949/wk	55
Tewinga	2449	74	$933/wk	56
Burrapine	2447	58	$575/wk	52
Girralong	2449	44	$849/wk	56
Thumb Creek	2447	36	$725/wk	53
Allgomera Creek	2441
Browns Crossing	2441
Crossmaglen	2441
Donnellyville	2447
Gordonville	2454
Killiekrankie	2449
Kooroowi	2454
Orama	2454
Scotchman	2454
Upper Thora	2454

Postcodes covered

2441, 2447, 2448, 2449, 2454, 2460

Compare Nambucca Valley with neighbouring LGAs

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

LGA	Population	Median age	SEIFA IRSAD	% renting	% overseas-born
Nambucca Valley (NSW)	20,408	52.2	898	23.8%	9.9%
Bellingen	13,227	50.0	960	22.5%	12.6%
Kempsey	30,707	47.5	882	25.2%	7.8%
Coffs Harbour	78,743	43.9	954	30.5%	15.6%
Bathurst Regional	43,580	39.1	965	31.3%	9.9%

Services and amenities

NDIS Providers NDIS provider directory for Nambucca Valley Climate & weather Climate data for Nambucca Heads

Frequently asked questions about Nambucca Valley

What is the population of Nambucca Valley?

The 2021 Census recorded 20,408 people living in Nambucca Valley, across 42 suburbs.

What suburbs are in Nambucca Valley?

Nambucca Valley contains 42 suburbs. The most populous are Nambucca Heads, Macksville, Valla Beach, Bowraville, Valla.See the full list in the Suburbs section above.

What postcodes are in Nambucca Valley?

Nambucca Valley covers 6 postcodes: 2441, 2447, 2448, 2449, 2454, 2460.

How many schools are in Nambucca Valley?

Nambucca Valley has 13 schools, including 9 government, 2 Catholic, and 2 independent schools (ACARA 2025).

What is the SEIFA score for Nambucca Valley?

Nambucca Valley has a population-weighted SEIFA IRSAD score of 898, 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.