Living in Bairnsdale

In Bairnsdale, the median rent tenants pay is €770 a month (2021) and unemployment is 4.4% (2021).

Foreign-born residents accounted for 11.3% of the population in August 2021. The city covered 155 km² in 2021. Population density was 103 people per km² in 2025. Median rent was A$280 per week, and median monthly mortgage repayment was A$1,300 in August 2021. Bairnsdale had a population of 15,684 in August 2021.

Last checked 2026-10-078 sources

Population15,684people10 Aug 2021Official source · 2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia

Median gross salary (region)1,742EUR/month31 Dec 2021Official source · www.abs.gov.au

Median rent770.4EUR/month31 Dec 2021Official source · 2021 Census General Community Profile, SUA, G02

Unemployment rate4.4%country median 4.5% — 2% belowOfficial source · Australian Bureau of Statistics

Recorded crime13,647incidents per 100,00030 Jun 2026Official source · Data Tables: Recorded Offences by LGA - Year Ending June 2026

Which Australia-wide rules apply when you move to Bairnsdale?

National rules stay on the country page instead of being relabelled as city data.

Visa and entry rulesPassport-specific entry and national residence context.BenefitsCountry-wide eligibility and official application routes.Taxes in AustraliaNational rates and thresholds that apply in Bairnsdale.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

What recurs every month2 published recurring costs, € per month

€ / month

Internet, 60 Mbps€70

Mobile plan, 10 GB€46

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited	69.92 EUR/month	31 Jul 2026	Telstra nbn100⁶Official · national market
Mobile plan, 10 GB	45.79 EUR/month	31 Jul 2026	Telstra Upfront Basic⁷Official · national market
Dwellings	6,900 dwellings	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics³Official
Main residence dwellings	6,280 dwellings	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics³Official
Median weekly rent (AUD)	280 AUD/week	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia³Official
Median monthly rent	770.4 EUR/month	31 Dec 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile, SUA, G02³Official
Median monthly rent (whole dwelling)	770.4 EUR/month	31 Dec 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile, SUA, G02³Official

Is Bairnsdale a good place to live?

There is no universal answer. The profile scores below show who the available published evidence may suit; they are a decision aid, not a personal recommendation.

Try your profile

Remote worker45%strong on work, weak on air quality · range 36–54%

Skilled employee53%strong on work, weak on safety · range 45–61%

Student24%strong on education, weak on safety · range 17–31%

Family42%strong on family, weak on cost · range 34–50%

Retirement48%strong on legal route, weak on admin · range 37–59%

Work and income

Median personal income was A$648 per week in August 2021. Median household income was A$1,194 per week in August 2021.

What is the unemployment rate in Bairnsdale?

The unemployment rate is 4.4 % (August 2021). Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics¹

Unemployment across cities in AustraliaUnemployment in Bairnsdale is 4.4%. Of 100 cities with data, 32 have unemployment of 4 to under 5%.

1–22–33–44–55–66–77–88–99–1013–14

Bairnsdale 4.4%

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
People in full-time employment	3,443 people	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics³Official
Employment rate	49.9 %	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics³Official
Median household income (AUD/week)	1,194 AUD/week	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia³Official
Median personal income (AUD/week)	648 AUD/week	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia³Official
Median gross salary (regional)	1,742 EUR/month	31 Dec 2021	www.abs.gov.au⁸Official
Unemployment rate	4.4 %country median 4.5%	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics¹Official

What does a salary buy in Bairnsdale?

Take-home pay after tax, minus rent and the everyday bills this city publishes. Each line names its source.

Left over each month€0of €0 take-home

Rent
Internet
Mobile

Line-by-line breakdown and sources

Each month	€
Take-home payOECD Taxing Wages 2025, single, no children. Includes central and local income tax and employee social contributions; euro amounts at the ECB average for 2026-08.	outside the model's range
Rentmedian rent of a whole dwelling · official · 2021 Census General Community Profile, SUA, G02 · 2021-12-31	− €770
Internet€70 · official · Telstra nbn100 · 2026-07-31	− €70
Mobile plan€46 · official · Telstra Upfront Basic · 2026-07-31	− €46
Other everyday billsnot published for this city: public transport pass, utilities	—
Left overbefore the bills this city does not publish	—

Take-home pay for other salaries and households Compare with another city Check a job offer in Bairnsdale Salary needed to live in Bairnsdale

Public employment service

No exact public employment office is currently linked to Bairnsdale. The verified national service may still offer online registration, job search or an official office finder.

Country-level information

Workforce Australia — Public employment service

Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

Job Search

Open official service

Open the Australia service overview

Country-level service information is not treated as proof of a physical office in Bairnsdale. Sources checked through 11 Aug 2026.

Family and education

Metric	Value	Period	Source
People who speak a language other than English at home	5.3 %	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia³Official

Safety

How safe is Bairnsdale?

Police recorded about 13,647 incidents per 100,000 (2025-07/2026-06). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: Data Tables: Recorded Offences by LGA - Year Ending June 2026²

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents	13,647 incidents per 100,000	30 Jun 2026	Data Tables: Recorded Offences by LGA - Year Ending June 2026²Official

Language courses and integration

No exact city-level course record is currently published for Bairnsdale. These verified national programmes may still apply; use the official programme page to check local availability.

Country-level information

Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) — State Language Course

Australian Government Department of Home Affairs

For eligible migrants, humanitarian entrants.

EnglishIn Person, Online, HybridFree

Open official information

Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP) — Newcomer Adaptation

Australian Government Department of Home Affairs

For humanitarian entrants.

In Person, HybridFree

Open official information

Open the full Australia section

National programme information is not treated as proof of a course location in Bairnsdale.

Find courses near Bairnsdale

Population and city profile

How many people live in Bairnsdale?

The published population was 15,684 people in August 2021. Source: 2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia³

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

By nationality

National passport88.7%
Foreign residents11.3%

Calculated from the population and foreign-resident facts on this page.

Metric	Value	Period	Source
City area	155 km²	31 Dec 2021	Official ASGS2016 SUA area from ABS ArcGIS attributes, area albers sqkm. Exact queue geography; not GCCSA or LGA.⁴Official
Foreign-resident share	11.3 %	31 Dec 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile DataPacks — Significant Urban Areas, Australia³Official
Foreign residents	1,772 people	10 Aug 2021	Official 2021 Census GCP G01 Birthplace_Elsewhere_P: persons born outside Australia, at exact associated 2021 SUA grain. This is foreign-born, not foreign nationality.³Official
Population density	102.7 people/km²	31 Dec 2025	Reproducible exact-ASGS2016-SUA density: ABS ERP at 30 June 2021 divided by ABS ASGS2016 SUA area. Existing local population baseline is only a recovered cross-check; no GCCSA/LGA observation.⁵Official
Female residents	8,232 people	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics³Official
Male residents	7,449 people	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics³Official
Population	15,684 people	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia³Official

Population over time25 published observations, 2001–2025

11,773

13,257

14,740

16,224

15,917200120052011201520212025

Population rose 31.8% between 2001 and 2025, from 12,080 to 15,917.

International community in Bairnsdale

Named groups from exact city-grain official distributions. Citizenship, birthplace, language and ancestry answer different questions and stay separate.

Country of birth

Persons usually resident in the ABS Significant Urban Area; 2021 Census G01 total persons denominator · 2021 Census

Published group	People	Share
Total persons	15,684	100.0%
Australia	12,735	81.2%
Elsewhere (excludes country of birth not stated)	1,772	11.3%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source³

Country of birth

Persons usually resident in the ABS Significant Urban Area; 2021 Census G09 PERSONS total across age groups and sex · 2021 Census

Published group	People	Share
Total	15,684	100.0%
Australia	12,735	81.2%
Country of birth not stated	1,177	7.5%
England	436	2.8%
Philippines	150	1.0%
New Zealand	143	0.9%
Born elsewhere(d)	138	0.9%
India	94	0.6%
Germany	74	0.5%
Netherlands	72	0.5%
Italy	55	0.4%

Show 33 more groups

Published group	People	Share
Scotland	55	0.4%
Vietnam	53	0.3%
South Africa	50	0.3%
Malaysia	47	0.3%
Thailand	45	0.3%
United States of America	31	0.2%
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)(c)	29	0.2%
Canada	22	0.1%
Pakistan	18	0.1%
Sri Lanka	18	0.1%
Ireland	17	0.1%
Poland	16	0.1%
Fiji	15	0.1%
France	15	0.1%
Nepal	15	0.1%
Singapore	14	0.1%
Hong Kong (SAR of China)(c)	13	0.1%
Korea, Republic of (South)	13	0.1%
Malta	13	0.1%
Egypt	12	0.1%
Taiwan	12	0.1%
Wales	12	0.1%
Indonesia	10	0.1%
Brazil	8	0.1%
Japan	6	0.0%
Mauritius	6	0.0%
Myanmar	6	0.0%
Zimbabwe	6	0.0%
Greece	5	0.0%
Iran	5	0.0%
Papua New Guinea	4	0.0%
Chile	3	0.0%
Croatia	3	0.0%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source³

Citizenship

Persons usually resident in the ABS Significant Urban Area; 2021 Census G01 total persons denominator · 2021 Census

Published group	People	Share
Total persons	15,684	100.0%
Australian citizen	13,966	89.0%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source³

Additional context

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Residents born abroad	11.3 %	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia³Official
Households	6,280 households	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics³Official
Labour force participation rate	52.2 %	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics³Official
Median age	45 years	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia³Official
Median monthly mortgage repayment (AUD)	1,300 AUD/month	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia³Official

Alternatives for people set on Bairnsdale

Three places for the three reasons people leave a city on the shortlist: stay in the region, stay in the country, or keep the budget and change the country. A percentage appears only where both cities publish that metric from the same source, period and grain. Distances are straight lines — travel times are not collected yet.

Darwin as a Bairnsdale alternative in the same country

Better on 2 of 3 metrics measured the same way, worse on 0.

Residents: 127,215 Darwin vs 15,684 Bairnsdale+711%
Foreign residents: 37.4% Darwin vs 11.3% Bairnsdale+231%
Median gross pay, region: €3,017 Darwin vs €1,742 Bairnsdale+73%

Full comparison More about Darwin

Alternative cities in Australia

Other cities in Australia to compare with Bairnsdale, nearest in population first.

All Australia cities

Kempsey15,654 residents Warwick15,525 residents Sale15,301 residents Port Hedland15,298 residents Ulverstone15,086 residents Port Lincoln16,307 residents

How does Bairnsdale compare?

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Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Bairnsdale when the national insurance or residence conditions are met.

Healthcare access follows the country-wide insurance rules; local capacity facts remain city data and are not used as proof of eligibility.

Open the official coverage guide

Country rule verified 2026-08-03.

Put Bairnsdale's key facts on your site — a card with this page's figures and a link back, free under CC BY 4.0.

Common questions

Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.

How many people live in Bairnsdale?

The published population was 15,684 people in August 2021. Source: 2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia.

How safe is Bairnsdale?

What is the unemployment rate in Bairnsdale?

The unemployment rate is 4.4 % (August 2021). Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics.

What is the typical salary around Bairnsdale?

The median gross salary is 1,742 EUR/month. Source: www.abs.gov.au.

How many foreign residents live in Bairnsdale?

1,772 residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: Official 2021 Census GCP G01 Birthplace_Elsewhere_P: persons born outside Australia, at exact associated 2021 SUA grain. This is foreign-born, not foreign nationality..

Is Bairnsdale a good place to live?

Bairnsdale may suit different people for different reasons. The page's profile scores compare published cost, work, housing, safety, healthcare and other available factors; they are a decision aid, not a universal recommendation.

How many people born in Australia live in Bairnsdale?

The official country of birth distribution records 12,735 people (81.2%) in the source-defined population for 2021 Census. This is a country of birth measure, not a general estimate of ethnicity or migration status.

Cite this page

Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.

APA citation

ImmigrationDB. (2026, October 16). Bairnsdale, Australia: population, rent, salary, jobs [ImmigrationDB compilation; version 5af82c18288141c6b93e6f1791ed5a82]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/au/bairnsdale/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_bairnsdale-australia-population-rent-salary-jobs_44374d2478ea,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Bairnsdale, Australia: population, rent, salary, jobs},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {5af82c18288141c6b93e6f1791ed5a82},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/au/bairnsdale/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Bairnsdale, Australia: population, rent, salary, jobs](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/au/bairnsdale/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version 5af82c18288141c6b93e6f1791ed5a82; retrieved 2026-10-16; built 2026-10-16.

This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.

Sources

JSON Markdown

Australian Bureau of Statistics abs.gov.au · checked 2026-08-03
Data Tables: Recorded Offences by LGA - Year Ending June 2026 files.crimestatistics.vic.gov.au · checked 2026-10-07
Official 2021 Census GCP G01 Birthplace_Elsewhere_P: persons born outside Australia, at exact associated 2021 SUA grain. This is foreign-born, not foreign nationality. abs.gov.au · checked 2021-08-10
Official ASGS2016 SUA area from ABS ArcGIS attributes, area albers sqkm. Exact queue geography; not GCCSA or LGA. geo.abs.gov.au · checked 2016-07-01
Reproducible exact-ASGS2016-SUA density: ABS ERP at 30 June 2021 divided by ABS ASGS2016 SUA area. Existing local population baseline is only a recovered cross-check; no GCCSA/LGA observation. abs.gov.au · checked 2021-06-30
Telstra nbn100 telstra.com.au · checked 2026-09-15
Telstra Upfront Basic telstra.com.au · checked 2026-09-15
www.abs.gov.au abs.gov.au · checked 2026-08-27

Spotted a number that looks wrong? Every value here carries its source and date — tell us what you found and we will re-check it against the source.