Shellharbour

New South Wales · Illawarra · 76,109 people · 26 suburbs · 4 postcodes

Shellharbour at a glance

76,109

Population

#33 of 130 in NSW

138

km² area

553/km² density

40.0

Median age

+0.3 vs NSW

$1,709

Median HH income/wk

#41 of 130 in NSW

962

SEIFA IRSAD

#57 of 130 in NSW

Schools

20 gov, 4 Cath, 2 indep

16.1%

Born overseas

27.5%

Renting

Map shows the Shellharbour 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.

Shellharbour is a metropolitan Local Government Area in New South Wales, in the Sydney region. It covers 26 suburbs across 4 postcodes and an area of 138 km². Shellharbour has a population of 76,109 , ranking #33 most populous in NSW. The most populous suburb is Albion Park (13,826 residents), and the highest median household income is in Tongarra at $3,041/week. The LGA-wide median household income is $1,709/week and median age is 40.0. About 16.1% of residents were born overseas and 9.8% speak a language other than English at home.

Who lives here

Age structure

19.2%

12.3%

24.8%

25.3%

18.3%

0–14 (19.2%) 15–24 (12.3%) 25–44 (24.8%) 45–64 (25.3%) 65+ (18.3%)

Show counts

0–14 years	14,601 (19.2%)
15–24 years	9,391 (12.3%)
25–44 years	18,893 (24.8%)
45–64 years	19,271 (25.3%)
65+ years	13,953 (18.3%)

16.1%

Born overseas

9.8%

Speak a language other than English at home

5.0%

First Nations

2.7

Avg household size

How they live

Housing tenure

34.8%

37.7%

27.5%

Owned outright (34.8%) Mortgaged (37.7%) Renting (27.5%)

Dwelling type mix

86.0%

10.9%

Separate house (86.0%) Semi/townhouse (10.9%) Flat/apartment (3.1%)

$442

Median weekly rent

$2,041

Median monthly mortgage

37.5%

Households with 0-1 cars

62.5%

Households with 2+ cars

Work and learning

4.5%

Unemployment rate

18,736

In full-time work

11,438

In part-time work

Schools in Shellharbour

26 schools across Shellharbour: 76.9% Government, 15.4% Catholic, 7.7% Independent. The NSW average is 69.6% / 16.9% / 13.5%. Schools here have a median ICSEA of 972 (range 872 to 1099). NSW median is 1005; national mean is 1000.

Sector mix

76.9%

15.4%

NSW average for comparison

69.6%

16.9%

13.5%

Government Catholic Independent

Type breakdown

61.5%

23.1%

11.5%

Primary (61.5%) Secondary (23.1%) Combined (11.5%) Special (3.8%)

ICSEA range

700 National mean 1000 1300

LGA median 972 NSW median 1005LGA range 872 to 1099

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 26 schools in Shellharbour, sorted by enrolment:

School	Sector	Type	Suburb	Students	ICSEA
Corpus Christi Catholic High School	Catholic	Secondary	Oak Flats	1,126	1045
Warilla High School	Government	Secondary	Barrack Heights	1,020	968
Shellharbour Anglican College	Independent	Combined	Dunmore	981	1099
Albion Park High School	Government	Secondary	Albion Park	900	964
St Joseph's Catholic High School	Catholic	Secondary	Albion Park	736	1029
Oak Flats High School	Government	Secondary	Oak Flats	648	932
Mount Terry Public School	Government	Primary	Albion Park	635	982
Lake Illawarra High School	Government	Secondary	Lake Illawarra	542	894
Flinders Public School	Government	Primary	Flinders	518	1004
Albion Park Public School	Government	Primary	Albion Park	516	972
Calderwood Christian School	Independent	Combined	Albion Park	504	1056
Tullimbar Public School	Government	Primary	Tullimbar	483	1005
Shell Cove Public School	Government	Primary	Shell Cove	463	1049
Oak Flats Public School	Government	Primary	Oak Flats	416	959
Stella Maris Catholic Primary School	Catholic	Primary	Shellharbour	405	1050
St Paul's Catholic Primary School	Catholic	Primary	Albion Park	399	1037
Shellharbour Public School	Government	Primary	Shellharbour	368	999
Albion Park Rail Public School	Government	Primary	Albion Park	346	894
Warilla Public School	Government	Primary	Warilla	279	937
Balarang Public School	Government	Primary	Oak Flats	268	974
Barrack Heights Public School	Government	Primary	Barrack Heights	192	873
Mount Warrigal Public School	Government	Primary	Warilla	185	885
Lake Illawarra South Public School	Government	Primary	Lake Illawarra	177	954
Warilla North Public School	Government	Primary	Warilla	167	872
Peterborough School	Government	Special	Warilla	115	938
Illawarra Environmental Education Centre	Government	Combined	Dunmore

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

IRSAD

Relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage

962

Ranked #57 of 130 NSW LGAs

IRSD

Relative disadvantage only (lower = more disadvantaged)

983

IER

Economic resources: income, wealth, housing

1014

IEO

Education and occupation: qualifications, skill levels

928

Suburbs in Shellharbour

Shellharbour contains 26 suburbs and 4 postcodes. Sorted by population.

Suburb	Postcode	Population	Median income	Median age
Albion Park	2527	13,826	$1,938/wk	36
Shell Cove	2529	7,591	$2,452/wk	40
Flinders	2529	7,118	$2,103/wk	36
Albion Park Rail	2527	6,920	$1,411/wk	41
Oak Flats	2529	6,840	$1,488/wk	42
Warilla	2528	6,226	$987/wk	45
Barrack Heights	2528	6,003	$1,340/wk	41
Mount Warrigal	2528	4,880	$1,365/wk	42
Shellharbour	2529	3,520	$1,596/wk	46
Blackbutt	2529	3,291	$1,604/wk	43
Lake Illawarra	2528	3,288	$1,069/wk	43
Calderwood	2527	3,013	$2,431/wk	30
Tullimbar	2527	1,840	$2,217/wk	32
Barrack Point	2528	725	$1,836/wk	48
Shellharbour City Centre	2529	457	$949/wk	71
Dunmore	2529	318	$2,214/wk	41
Tongarra	2527	141	$3,041/wk	46
Croom	2527	112	$1,718/wk	38
Balarang	2529
Bendeela	2577
Calwalla	2577
Macquarie Pass	2577
Myra Vale	2577
Pheasant Ground	2577
Shellharbour Square	2529
Yarrunga	2577

Postcodes covered

2527, 2528, 2529, 2577

Compare Shellharbour with neighbouring LGAs

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

LGA	Population	Median age	Median HH income	SEIFA IRSAD	% renting	% overseas-born
Shellharbour (NSW)	76,109	40.0	$1,709/wk	962	27.5%	16.1%
Kiama	23,019	48.4	$1,853/wk	1061	18.5%	14.6%
Wingecarribee	51,296	48.4	$1,695/wk	1032	20.3%	18.1%
Wollongong	214,498	39.3	$1,759/wk	1000	31.9%	21.0%
Shoalhaven	108,180	48.1	$1,304/wk	949	25.3%	13.5%
Blue Mountains	78,162	45.3	$1,832/wk	1042	18.2%	17.4%

Services and amenities

NDIS Providers NDIS provider directory for Shellharbour Climate & weather Climate data for Albion Park

Frequently asked questions about Shellharbour

What is the population of Shellharbour?

The 2021 Census recorded 76,109 people living in Shellharbour, across 26 suburbs.

What suburbs are in Shellharbour?

Shellharbour contains 26 suburbs. The most populous are Albion Park, Shell Cove, Flinders, Albion Park Rail, Oak Flats.See the full list in the Suburbs section above.

What postcodes are in Shellharbour?

Shellharbour covers 4 postcodes: 2527, 2528, 2529, 2577.

What is the median household income in Shellharbour?

The population-weighted median household income across Shellharbour is $1,709 per week (2021 Census), ranking #41 of 130 NSW LGAs.

How many schools are in Shellharbour?

Shellharbour has 26 schools, including 20 government, 4 Catholic, and 2 independent schools (ACARA 2025).

What is the SEIFA score for Shellharbour?

Shellharbour has a population-weighted SEIFA IRSAD score of 962, 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.