Mount Kembla
Household income at the 96.2nd percentile nationally tells the first half of the Mount Kembla story; the second half is that 53% of households own their home outright, well above the national average, signalling entrenched, debt-free wealth in a 1,083-person village. The median house price reached $1,250,000 in 2025, and 98.5% of dwellings are separate houses on a 6.11 km2 footprint at just 177 residents per km2. University qualifications stand at 45.3%, which is 15.2 points above the national figure. The demographic profile is aging, with a median age of 42 compared to the national median of 40, and over half of residents have lived here for more than five years.
Population
1,083
Median Age
42.0
Household IncomeiMedian weekly household income (ABS Census)
$2,824/wk
DAs (12 months)iDevelopment Applications lodged in the past year
11
Median House
$1.2M
2024-2025 (PSI derived)
The median house price of $1,250,000 in 2025 rose 18.2% from $1,057,500 in 2024, one of the steeper single-year movements in the Illawarra region. The housing stock is 98.5% separate houses, with only 1.5% semi-detached, meaning buyers face a highly uniform, low-turnover market. Four-plus bedroom homes account for 55.7% of dwellings and three-bedroom homes 37.4%, so the typical purchase is a large family property. Monthly mortgage repayments average $2,600, producing a mortgage-to-income ratio of 21.3%, below the 30% stress threshold. Outright owners make up 53% of households compared to 39.8% carrying a mortgage, which depresses sales frequency and can create a thin listing environment. With only 7.2% of households renting, supply competition among buyers is the dominant dynamic.
For Buyers
The median house price of $1,250,000 in 2025 rose 18.2% from $1,057,500 in 2024, one of the steeper single-year movements in the Illawarra region. The housing stock is 98.5% separate houses, with only 1.5% semi-detached, meaning buyers face a highly uniform, low-turnover market. Four-plus bedroom homes account for 55.7% of dwellings and three-bedroom homes 37.4%, so the typical purchase is a large family property. Monthly mortgage repayments average $2,600, producing a mortgage-to-income ratio of 21.3%, below the 30% stress threshold. Outright owners make up 53% of households compared to 39.8% carrying a mortgage, which depresses sales frequency and can create a thin listing environment. With only 7.2% of households renting, supply competition among buyers is the dominant dynamic.
For Investors
A rental vacancy rate of 3.9% and weekly rent of $440 reflect a very small rental market, with only 7.2% of households renting. Against the $1,250,000 median house price, the gross yield is roughly 1.8%, low even by regional NSW standards. The investment case rests almost entirely on capital appreciation: the median price rose 18.2% in one year from 2024 to 2025, well above typical state benchmarks. Net overseas migration averages 63 persons per year into the broader SA2, partially offset by internal outflow of 14. Development activity is low at 10 applications in the past 12 months, limiting new supply. With 89.5% of residents staying put across the five-year period and population shrinking at 0.3% per year, the rental pool is structurally thin, making this suburb better suited to long-term capital growth strategies than cash-flow investing.
Development Activity
Total DAs
52
Last 12 Months
11
YoY ChangeiYear-over-year change in DA lodgements
+57.1%
Avg DA CostiAverage estimated cost per DA in the past year
N/A
Monthly DA Lodgements
DA Categories
Schools in Mount Kembla iICSEA: school advantage index. 1000 = national avg, higher = more advantaged
Mount Kembla Public School
K-6 · 159 students
Demographics
The median age of 42 is 2 years above the national figure, and the aging trajectory is reinforcing, with the senior share rising 5.1 points while the working-age share fell 1.1 points over the decade. Overseas-born residents are 15%, which is 6.6 points below national, reflecting the suburb's Anglo-Celtic heritage: English (473), Irish (126) and Scottish (126) are the three largest ancestries. University qualifications reach 45.3%, which is 15.2 points above the national average, placing the resident base firmly in the professional class. The average household size of 3.0 is 0.5 above the national figure, consistent with the high share of couples with children (438 families). Volunteering participation runs at 21.6%, a marker of civic engagement above what most comparable suburbs record.
Age Distribution
Bedrooms
Dwelling Structure
98.5%
Houses
1.5%
Townhouse
N/A
Apartment
Tenure
The tenure structure is unusual even by leafy-village standards: 53% own outright, 39.8% carry a mortgage and just 7.2% rent, with outright owners outnumbering renters by more than 7 to 1. This debt-free ownership profile reflects long-term residents rather than recent entrants, and it keeps listing volumes low. Four-plus bedroom homes dominate at 55.7%, three-bedroom at 37.4% and two-bedroom at 6.9%, so the typical dwelling is a substantial family home rather than a downsizer unit. The median house price moved from $1,057,500 in 2024 to $1,250,000 in 2025, an 18.2% one-year gain. Mortgage-to-income at 21.3% and rent-to-income at 15.6% are both comfortably below stress thresholds, showing that current occupants are not financially stretched relative to incomes at the 96.2nd percentile nationally.
Median House Price Trend
Source: State Valuer-General
Mortgage / mo
$2,600
Rent / wk
$440
HH Size
3.0
Personal Income / wk
$1,002
Vacancy Ratei% of dwellings unoccupied on Census night (ABS 2021)
3.9%
Unoccupied
14
Rent / IncomeiMedian rent as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
15.6%
Mortgage / IncomeiMedian mortgage as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
21.3%
Community Profile
Ancestry
Household Composition
23.9%
Couples, no children
975
Total families
Economy & Employment
Healthcare leads employment at 19.3% (78 workers), followed by Education at 17.3% (70 workers), Construction at 10.4% (42 workers) and Public Administration at 9.4% (38 workers). By occupation, Professionals (163) and Managers (99) account for the two largest groups, consistent with the IEO decile 6 score for education and occupation. The full-time employment rate is 64.4% and unemployment sits at 3.3%, below state averages. Household income at the 96.2nd percentile nationally and personal weekly income of $1,002 reflect a high-earning resident base despite the suburb's village scale of 1,083 people. The IRSD score of 1,011 places the suburb at decile 5 nationally for relative disadvantage, meaning median deprivation, partly because income concentration measures are sensitive to small sample sizes in a population this size.
Unemployment
6.1%
Labour Force
8,086
Unemployed
491
Quarterly Trend
Source: SALM Dec-25
Socio-Economic Indexes (SEIFA)iABS index ranking suburbs from 1 (most disadvantaged) to 10 (most advantaged)
Full-time
64.4%
Part-time
32.3%
Participation
57.2%
Employed
475
Occupations
Top Industries
University
45.3%
Postgraduate
12.1%
Born Overseas
15.0%
Dwellings
344
Transport to Work
Car dependency is extreme at 95.4% of residents driving to work, well above the national average, and public transport data is not recorded, confirming this is a rural-fringe address requiring personal vehicles. Foot and cycle commuting reaches just 1.1%. Schools are not recorded within the suburb boundary, so families rely on nearby Wollongong institutions. Crime statistics are unavailable for this suburb. The IRSAD decile of 6 places Mount Kembla in the upper-middle tier nationally for advantage, and the mortgage-to-income ratio of 21.3% indicates residents are not under financial stress. Only 2.8% of residents, around 30 people, need daily assistance despite the older median age of 42. The 6.11 km2 footprint at 177 residents per km2 gives the suburb its semi-rural character, with density well below the state average.
Drive
95.4%
Public Transport
N/A
Walk / Cycle
1.1%
Work from Home
N/A
Population Forecast
-0.32%/yr
(-50 people/yr)
EstablishedThe suburb is in slow population contraction, losing an estimated 50 persons per year at a rate of 0.3% annually, and medium forecasts project the broader SA2 to decline from 15,414 in 2025 to around 14,998 by 2031. The 10-year population change is negative at 0.3%, placing Mount Kembla in the rare category of established suburbs that peaked in the 1990s and have not recovered. Net overseas migration of 63 per year partially offsets internal outflow of 14, but the aging profile means natural increase is negligible. The gentrification score of 47 with an active stage in the shift data sits alongside a separate gentrification assessment of not gentrifying at score 10, reflecting the suburb's already-high SEIFA position rather than momentum from below. Rent growth of 61.4% over the decade outpaced income growth of 19.1%, meaning the small renter cohort has absorbed significant cost pressure.
Historical + Forecast
Hamilton-Perry + Holt smoothing on ERP 2001-2025
Age Cohort Forecast
Primary Driver
Overseas Migration
Net Overseas / yr
+63
Net Internal / yr
-14
Gentrification Signal
Not gentrifying
COVID recovered (-3% dip → full recovery)
National Ranking iPercentile rank among ~15,000 AU suburbs. 90% = higher than 90% of suburbs
How Mount Kembla compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mount Kembla a good suburb to live in?
Mount Kembla suits buyers who want a semi-rural lifestyle near Wollongong with strong household incomes, sitting at the 96.2nd percentile nationally. The population is 1,083, density is 177 per km2, and 53% of households own outright. The main trade-offs are extreme car dependency at 95.4% and no recorded public schools inside the boundary.
What is the median house price in Mount Kembla?
The median house price reached $1,250,000 in 2025, up 18.2% from $1,057,500 in 2024. Monthly mortgage repayments average $2,600, with a mortgage-to-income ratio of 21.3%, below the stress threshold. Weekly rent averages $440 for the small 7.2% rental cohort.
What schools are in Mount Kembla?
No schools are recorded inside the Mount Kembla boundary in this dataset. Families rely on schools in neighbouring Wollongong suburbs. The resident population is highly educated, with 45.3% holding university qualifications, which is 15.2 points above the national figure.
Is Mount Kembla safe?
Detailed crime statistics are not available for Mount Kembla. As an indirect indicator, the suburb scores decile 5 on the IRSD index and decile 6 on IRSAD nationally, and only 2.8% of the 1,083 residents, about 30 people, need daily assistance, consistent with a settled, low-stress community.
Is Mount Kembla good for property investment?
The median rose 18.2% in one year to $1,250,000 in 2025, but the gross yield from $440 weekly rent is roughly 1.8%, low by regional NSW standards. Vacancy is 3.9% and only 7.2% of households rent, so the rental pool is thin. The investment case is capital growth rather than income, supported by 10 DA applications in 12 months, indicating low new supply.
How is Mount Kembla's population changing?
The population is declining at 0.3% per year, losing about 50 persons annually. Medium forecasts project the broader area to fall from 15,414 in 2025 to near 14,998 by 2031. The profile is aging, with the senior share up 5.1 points over the decade, and 89.5% of residents stayed in place across the five-year Census interval.
How to read these comparisons
Phrases like "above the national average" reference the unweighted median across Australian suburbs with more than 1,000 residents, not population-weighted national figures. Suburb-level medians are more useful for ranking suburbs against each other; ABS census headlines are population-weighted (so dominated by Sydney and Melbourne) and can read very differently.
Current baseline (refreshed 2026-05-10): median age 40, university-educated 30.1%, born overseas 21.6%, average household size 2.5 people.
Data sources: ABS 2021 Census (demographics, income, tenure), state Valuer-General (house prices), Department of Jobs SALM (unemployment), ACARA (school ICSEA), state Crime Statistics agencies (offences), council DA portals (development applications). Population forecasts use a Hamilton-Perry cohort model calibrated to ABS ERP.
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