Port Kembla

Development Activity

Schools in Port Kembla iICSEA: school advantage index. 1000 = national avg, higher = more advantaged

Demographics

The median age of 42 is 2.0 years above national, and overseas-born residents reach 25.0%, which is 3.4 points above the national figure. University qualifications sit at 25.8%, 4.3 points below national, consistent with a working background tied to the steel and port economy. Ancestry is led by English (1,487) but Macedonian (793) is a standout second, ahead of Italian (435) and Irish (396), and the top non-English language is Macedonian with 323 speakers, followed by Italian (60) and Greek (42). Average household size is 2.4, just 0.1 below national. Couples with children (1,337 families) outnumber couples without children (966), and Christianity (2,921 residents) is by far the dominant religion.

Tenure splits across thirds: 38.8% own outright, 26.6% carry a mortgage and 34.6% rent. Outright owners outnumbering mortgage holders signals long-held, debt-free housing rather than a market of recent purchasers. The stock is 77.0% separate houses, 15.8% apartments and 6.7% semi-detached, a detached-dominant profile that supports family demand. Three-bedroom dwellings account for 44.0% and 4-plus bedroom homes 25.0%, leaving smaller two-bedroom stock at 24.3%. The median house price rose from $900,000 to $960,000 across 2024-2025, a 6.7% move. Mortgage-to-income at 34.4% exceeds the stress threshold while rent-to-income at 26.0% stays below it, a gap that shows buying is harder than renting relative to incomes in the 31.2nd percentile.

Community Profile

Economy & Employment

The workforce leans on essential services rather than the steel base of the past: Healthcare leads at 23.4% (322 workers), Education follows at 12.0% (165) and Public Admin at 9.4% (130), with Construction at 8.6% and Manufacturing at 7.2%. By occupation, Professionals (407) lead but Labourers (290) and Community/Personal workers (253) form a large share, reflecting the blue-collar history. Unemployment is elevated at 6.6%, above typical metro rates, and participation sits at 45.1%, held down by 1,822 residents not in the labour force in an older population. All four SEIFA indexes read decile 1, the bottom advantage tier nationally, yet real incomes still grew 23.7% over the decade.

Transport to Work

Car dependence is high: 90.4% drive to work while only 2.0% use public transport and 2.5% walk or cycle, well above the national reliance on cars and a reflection of the industrial layout. The suburb scores decile 1 on IRSAD and decile 1 on IRSD, the most disadvantaged tier nationally, and 10.6% of residents (513 people) need daily assistance, above what you would expect, consistent with the older median age of 42. Volunteering runs at 11.5%. No schools are recorded inside the 13.83 km2 boundary in this dataset, so families rely on institutions in neighbouring Warrawong and Wollongong suburbs, a practical trade-off given the low residential density of 368 people per km2.

Population Forecast

Port Kembla is contracting slowly: the annual population trend is -0.23%, about 22 fewer residents a year, and the 10-year change is just 1.0%, classifying it as an established, slow-growth suburb. The current population of 9,765 has not recovered to the pre-COVID 10,023 after a 2.8% dip, sitting only 0.3% above the COVID low. Medium forecasts ease the population from 9,715 in 2026 to 9,605 by 2031, so no expansion is expected. Overseas migration of about 50 a year is the only positive driver, offset by net internal outflow of 76. Affordability worsened from 48.3% in 2011 to 54.4% in 2021, a sign that prices have outpaced local income growth despite the bottom-decile SEIFA position.

National Ranking iPercentile rank among ~15,000 AU suburbs. 90% = higher than 90% of suburbs

How Port Kembla compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs

Frequently Asked Questions