Wollongong - East
Statistical Area - sa2

Wollongong - East lies within the top 10% of areas nationally in terms of population growth performance according to AreaSearch analysis of short and medium-term trends

Wollongong - East's population was approximately 18,201 as of November 2025. From the 2021 Census, which reported a population of 16,020 people, there has been an increase of 2,181 people (13.6%). This growth is inferred from the estimated resident population of 17,789 in June 2024 and an additional 749 validated new addresses since the Census date. The population density ratio was 3,309 persons per square kilometer, placing Wollongong - East in the upper quartile relative to national locations assessed by AreaSearch. Its growth of 13.6% since the 2021 census exceeded that of the SA3 area (4.0%) and the non-metro area, making it a growth leader in the region. Overseas migration contributed approximately 82.3% of overall population gains during recent periods, with all drivers including interstate migration and natural growth being positive factors.

AreaSearch is adopting ABS/Geoscience Australia projections for each SA2 area, released in 2024 with a base year of 2022. For areas not covered by this data, AreaSearch uses the NSW State Government's SA2 level projections released in 2022 with a base year of 2021. Growth rates by age group from these aggregations are applied to all areas for years 2032 to 2041. Based on projected demographic shifts, Wollongong - East is predicted to grow exceptionally over the period, placing it in the top 10 percent of Australian non-metropolitan areas. By 2041, the area is expected to grow by 14,482 persons, an increase of 77.3% in total over the 17 years.

The level of residential development activity in Wollongong - East was found to be higher than 90% of real estate markets across the country

Wollongong - East has averaged approximately 320 new dwelling approvals per year over the past five financial years, totalling 1603 homes. As of FY-26125 approvals have been recorded. On average, 1.3 new residents per year per dwelling constructed were noted between FY-21 and FY-25, suggesting balanced supply and demand conditions. The average construction value of new homes is $353000.

In this financial year, $1265 million in commercial approvals have been registered, indicating high local commercial activity. Compared to the Rest of NSW, Wollongong - East records 235% more construction activity per person. Recent construction comprises 1% detached dwellings and 99% townhouses or apartments. Wollongong - East has around 78 people per approval, reflecting a developing area. Population forecasts indicate an increase of 14070 residents by 2041. If current development rates continue, housing supply may not keep pace with population growth, potentially impacting buyer competition and price growth.

Population forecasts indicate Wollongong - East will gain 14,070 residents through to 2041. If current development rates continue, housing supply may not keep pace with population growth, potentially increasing competition among buyers and supporting stronger price growth.

Wollongong - East has strong levels of nearby infrastructure activity, ranking in the top 30% nationally

AreaSearch has identified 38 projects that could impact the area, with key ones including WIN Grand, Illawarra Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), 21 Auburn Street, Wollongong, and Wollongong to Coniston Rail Infrastructure Upgrade. The following list details those likely to be most relevant.

Professional plan users can use the search below to filter and access additional projects.

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The labour market performance in Wollongong - East lags significantly behind most other regions nationally

Wollongong - East has a highly educated workforce with strong representation in professional services. The unemployment rate was 6.0% as of June 2025, with an estimated employment growth of 1.2% over the past year.

In this period, 9,949 residents were employed while the unemployment rate was 2.3% higher than Rest of NSW's rate of 3.7%. Workforce participation stood at 60.1%, slightly above Rest of NSW's 56.4%. Employment is concentrated in health care & social assistance, education & training, and accommodation & food services. The area shows a strong specialization in professional & technical services with an employment share of 1.8 times the regional level.

Conversely, agriculture, forestry & fishing employs only 0.1% of local workers, significantly below Rest of NSW's 5.3%. As per Census data, there are 1.4 workers for every resident, indicating that Wollongong - East functions as an employment hub attracting workers from surrounding areas. Over the 12-month period ending June 2025, employment increased by 1.2% while the labour force grew by 0.7%, leading to a decrease in unemployment rate of 0.5 percentage points. This contrasts with Rest of NSW where employment contracted by 0.1%, the labour force grew by 0.3%, and unemployment rose by 0.4 percentage points. Jobs and Skills Australia's national employment forecasts from May 2025 project a growth of 6.6% over five years and 13.7% over ten years nationally. Applying these projections to Wollongong - East's employment mix suggests local growth of approximately 7.0%% over five years and 14.3% over ten years, though these are simple extrapolations for illustrative purposes only.

Income levels align closely with national averages, indicating typical economic conditions for Australian communities according to AreaSearch analysis

Wollongong - East's median income among taxpayers was $53,439 and average income stood at $73,030 in financial year 2022. This compares to Rest of NSW's figures of $49,459 and $62,998 respectively. Based on Wage Price Index growth of 12.61% since financial year 2022, estimated median income is approximately $60,178 and average income is around $82,239 as of September 2025. According to the 2021 Census, personal income ranks at the 66th percentile ($892 weekly) and household income sits at the 40th percentile. Income analysis shows that 33.2% of residents earn $1,500 - $2,999 weekly (6,042 residents), consistent with metropolitan trends showing 29.9% in the same category. Housing affordability pressures are severe, with only 80.2% of income remaining, ranking at the 37th percentile. Wollongong - East's SEIFA income ranking places it in the 7th decile.

Wollongong - East features a more urban dwelling mix with significant apartment living, with a higher proportion of rental properties than the broader region

The dwelling structure in Wollongong - East, as per the latest Census, consisted of 8.5% houses and 91.5% other dwellings such as semi-detached homes, apartments, and 'other' dwellings. In contrast, Non-Metro NSW had 58.9% houses and 41.1% other dwellings. Home ownership in Wollongong - East stood at 25.8%, with mortgaged properties at 18.0% and rented dwellings at 56.2%. The median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,987, lower than Non-Metro NSW's average of $2,189. The median weekly rent in Wollongong - East was $410, slightly higher than the Non-Metro NSW figure of $400. Nationally, Wollongong - East's mortgage repayments were higher at $1,987 compared to the Australian average of $1,863, while rents were also higher at $410 compared to the national figure of $375.

Wollongong - East features high concentrations of group households and lone person households, with a lower-than-average median household size

Family households account for 49.7% of all households, including 11.0% couples with children, 31.0% couples without children, and 6.6% single parent families. Non-family households constitute the remaining 50.3%, with lone person households making up 39.4% and group households comprising 10.9%. The median household size is 1.9 people, which is smaller than the Rest of NSW average of 2.5.

The educational profile of Wollongong - East exceeds national averages, with above-average qualification levels and academic performance metrics

Wollongong - East has a higher educational attainment than broader benchmarks. As of [2016](https://www.abs.gov.au/), 41.3% of its residents aged 15 and above hold university qualifications, compared to 21.3% in the rest of NSW and 25.2% in the SA4 region. Bachelor degrees are the most common at 26.1%, followed by postgraduate qualifications (12.2%) and graduate diplomas (3.0%). Vocational credentials are also prevalent, with 30.0% of residents holding such qualifications - advanced diplomas being 10.4% and certificates 19.6%.

Educational participation is high, with 27.5% of residents currently enrolled in formal education. This includes 14.4% in tertiary education, 3.6% in primary education, and 3.1% pursuing secondary education. Wollongong - East's five schools have a combined enrollment reaching 2,693 students as of [2020](https://www.greaterwollongong.nsw.gov.au/). The area demonstrates above-average socio-educational conditions, with an ICSEA score of 1059. Educational provision is conventional and split between two primary and three secondary institutions.

Transport servicing is high compared to other areas nationally based on assessment of service frequency, route connectivity and accessibility

Wollongong - East has 92 active public transport stops. These are served by a mix of trains and buses, with 77 individual routes operating in total. The combined weekly passenger trips across these routes amount to 5,951.

Residents' accessibility to transport is rated excellent, with an average distance of 114 meters to the nearest stop. On average, there are 850 trips per day across all routes, which equates to approximately 64 weekly trips per individual stop.

Health performance in Wollongong - East is lower than average with common health conditions somewhat prevalent across both younger and older age cohorts

Wollongong - East faces significant health challenges with common health conditions prevalent across both younger and older age cohorts.

The rate of private health cover is very high at approximately 56% of the total population (~10,192 people). The most common medical conditions are mental health issues affecting 10.0% of residents and arthritis impacting 8.5%. Only 67.6% of residents declare themselves completely clear of medical ailments compared to 68.6% across Rest of NSW. As of 2020, 18.5% of residents are aged 65 and over (3,374 people). Health outcomes among seniors in Wollongong - East are above average, performing better than the general population in health metrics.

Wollongong - East was found to be more culturally diverse than the vast majority of local markets in Australia, upon assessment of a range of language and cultural background related metrics

Wollongong-East has a higher cultural diversity than most local markets, with 30.8% of its population born overseas and 24.4% speaking a language other than English at home. Christianity is the dominant religion in Wollongong-East, accounting for 45.8% of people. Islam is notably overrepresented, comprising 4.1% compared to 2.5% across Rest of NSW.

The top three ancestry groups are English (24.5%), Australian (19.9%), and Other (11.7%). Certain ethnic groups have notable differences: Macedonian at 1.8% in Wollongong-East versus 1.5% regionally, Serbian at 0.8% each, and Spanish at 0.8% compared to 0.5%.

Wollongong - East's population is slightly younger than the national pattern

Wollongong-East has a median age of 35 years, which is significantly lower than the Rest of NSW average of 43 and somewhat younger than the Australian median of 38. The 25-34 cohort is notably over-represented in Wollongong-East at 27.9%, compared to the Rest of NSW average, while those aged 5-14 are under-represented at 3.8%. This concentration of residents aged 25-34 is well above the national average of 14.5%. Following the Census conducted in 2021, the median age decreased by 1.4 years to 35 due to an increase in younger residents. Specifically, the population of those aged 25 to 34 grew from 24.1% to 27.9%, while the 55-64 cohort declined from 12.0% to 10.6% and the 45-54 group decreased from 9.7% to 8.7%. Demographic modeling indicates that Wollongong-East's age profile will change significantly by 2041, with the strongest projected growth in the 25-34 cohort, which is expected to increase by 92%, adding 4,681 residents and reaching a total of 9,754.