Ballina (postcode 2478) is a medium-sized suburb in New South Wales within the Ballina local government area. With a population of 9,735, the suburb has an older demographic with a median age of 56. Households earn a median income of $53K per year, with an average household size of 2 people. Recent annual estimates show population movement staying broadly stable across the broader catchment, with population growth running at +1.0% year-on-year at the LGA level. NSW employment has moved +1.2% year-on-year in the official ABS Labour Force trend series, which provides the broader jobs backdrop for this suburb. NSW also had 35 Commonwealth-backed major projects under construction, 17 underway, and 67 in planning as at 2025-09-01, which is useful as a broader delivery backdrop rather than a suburb-specific project count. The most common occupations are professionals, community & personal service, technicians & trades. Employment in the area leans toward healthcare and retail trade. The top ancestries reported are English, Australian, Irish.
Ballina has a median house price of $980,000, which has posted strong gains by 9.2% year-on-year. Units have a median price of $785,000 (+5.4% YoY). The current median weekly rent is $800. This gives a gross rental yield of approximately 4.2%. The median monthly mortgage repayment is $1,733.
Ballina is served by 6 schools, including 2 primary, 1 secondary, 2 combined, 1 special. The average ICSEA score is 991, which is around the national average of 1,000. Public transport access includes 154 bus stops. Healthcare facilities include 1 public and 1 private hospitals. The crime rate in the Ballina LGA is moderate at 4,049 incidents per 100,000 population.
On the investment side, Ballina shows a gross rental yield of approximately 4.2%, rated as moderate yield. Property prices sit below the state median ($980K/$1.5M), which can point to relative value. The price-to-income ratio of 18.6x is considered stretched. House prices have moved +9.2% year-on-year. Population growth of +1.0% year-on-year points to stable demand fundamentals. Building approvals have changed +0% year-on-year, indicating steady development activity.