Living in Ballina

In Ballina, the median rent tenants pay is €1,156 a month (2021) and unemployment is 3% (2026).

Median personal income was A$737 per week in August 2021. The city covered 481 km² in 2021. Ballina, a city in Australia, had a population of 46,190 in August 2021.

Last checked 2026-10-076 sources

Population46,190people10 Aug 2021Official source · 2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia

Median gross salary (region)1,981EUR/month31 Dec 2021Official source · www.abs.gov.au

Median rent1,156EUR/month31 Dec 2021Official source · 2021 Census General Community Profile, SUA, G02

Unemployment rate3%country median 4.5% — 33% belowIndependent source · DEWR — Small Area Labour Markets, smoothed unemployment rate by LGA, March quarter 2026

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

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 Ballina.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

Median rent was A$420 per week, and median monthly mortgage repayment was A$1,950 in August 2021.

What recurs every month5 published recurring costs, € per month

€ / month

Utilities, 85 m² flat€915

Internet, 60 Mbps€60

Mobile plan, 10 GB€10

Fitness club€1

Transport pass€0

Supplemental estimate lane; these items are not official statistics.

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Fitness club membership, monthly	1 EUR/month	4 Aug 2026	Numbeo⁶Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited	60 EUR/month	4 Aug 2026	Numbeo⁶Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Meal at an inexpensive restaurant	16 EUR	4 Aug 2026	Numbeo⁶Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Mobile plan, 10 GB	10 EUR/month	4 Aug 2026	Numbeo⁶Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Monthly transport pass	0 EUR/month	4 Aug 2026	Numbeo⁶Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Basic utilities, 85 m² home	915 EUR/month	4 Aug 2026	Numbeo⁶Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Dwellings	19,664 dwellings	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics¹Official
Main residence dwellings	18,244 dwellings	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics¹Official
Median weekly rent (AUD)	420 AUD/week	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia¹Official
Median monthly rent	1,156 EUR/month	31 Dec 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile, SUA, G02¹Official
Median monthly rent (whole dwelling)	1,156 EUR/month	31 Dec 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile, SUA, G02¹Official

Is Ballina 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 worker46%strong on work, weak on air quality · range 36–56%

Skilled employee54%strong on work, weak on safety · range 46–62%

Student22%strong on education, weak on safety · range 14–30%

Family48%strong on family, weak on safety · range 39–57%

Retirement32%strong on legal route, weak on admin · range 19–45%

Worked out from these numbers

How international is the population?

12.7% of residents hold a foreign nationality — 5,877 of 46,190 people. This counts nationality, not place of birth, so long-settled residents who naturalised are not in it.

Work and income

The unemployment rate was 3% in March 2026. Median household income was A$1,429 per week in August 2021.

Unemployment across cities in AustraliaUnemployment in Ballina is 3.0%. Of 100 cities with data, 32 have unemployment of 4 to under 5%.

1–22–33–44–55–66–77–88–99–1013–14

Ballina 3.0%

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
People in full-time employment	10,575 people	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics¹Official
Employment rate	53.6 %	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics¹Official
Median household income (AUD/week)	1,429 AUD/week	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia¹Official
Median personal income (AUD/week)	737 AUD/week	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia¹Official
Median gross salary (regional)	1,981 EUR/month	31 Dec 2021	www.abs.gov.au⁴Official
Unemployment rate	3 %country median 4.5%	31 Mar 2026	DEWR — Small Area Labour Markets, smoothed unemployment rate by LGA, March quarter 2026⁵Independent

What does a salary buy in Ballina?

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
Utilities
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	− €1,156
Public transport passnot published for this city	—
Utilities, 85 m²€915 · market price · Numbeo · 2026-08-04	− €915
Internet€60 · market price · Numbeo · 2026-08-04	− €60
Mobile plan€10 · market price · Numbeo · 2026-08-04	− €10
Left overbefore the bill this city does not publish	—

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

Public employment service

No exact public employment office is currently linked to Ballina. 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 Ballina. Sources checked through 11 Aug 2026.

Family and education

Metric	Value	Period	Source
People who speak a language other than English at home	4.74 %	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia¹Official

Language courses and integration

No exact city-level course record is currently published for Ballina. 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 Ballina.

Find courses near Ballina

Population and city profile

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

By nationality

National passport87.3%
Foreign residents12.7%

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

Metric	Value	Period	Source
City area	480.6 km²	31 Dec 2021	Official ASGS2016 SUA area from ABS ArcGIS attributes, area albers sqkm. Exact queue geography; not GCCSA or LGA.²Official
Foreign-resident share	12.72 %	31 Dec 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile DataPacks — Significant Urban Areas, Australia¹Official
Foreign residents	5,877 people	31 Dec 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile DataPacks — Significant Urban Areas, Australia¹Official
Population density	100.9 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.³Official
Female residents	23,969 people	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics¹Official
Male residents	22,225 people	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics¹Official
Population	46,190 people	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia¹Official

Population over time25 published observations, 2001–2025

36,955

41,076

45,197

49,318

48,465200120052011201520212025

Population rose 28.2% between 2001 and 2025, from 37,808 to 48,465.

International community in Ballina

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	46,190	100.0%
Australia	37,622	81.5%
Elsewhere (excludes country of birth not stated)	5,875	12.7%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source¹

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	46,190	100.0%
Australia	37,622	81.5%
Country of birth not stated	2,691	5.8%
England	1,699	3.7%
New Zealand	770	1.7%
Born elsewhere(d)	578	1.3%
South Africa	254	0.5%
United States of America	236	0.5%
Germany	184	0.4%
India	182	0.4%
Scotland	172	0.4%

Show 40 more groups

Published group	People	Share
Philippines	164	0.4%
Canada	148	0.3%
Netherlands	147	0.3%
Thailand	128	0.3%
Italy	104	0.2%
Brazil	94	0.2%
Japan	85	0.2%
Ireland	77	0.2%
France	76	0.2%
Papua New Guinea	70	0.2%
Wales	66	0.1%
Malaysia	64	0.1%
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)(c)	52	0.1%
Vietnam	46	0.1%
Indonesia	45	0.1%
Zimbabwe	43	0.1%
Chile	40	0.1%
Fiji	35	0.1%
Nepal	35	0.1%
Hong Kong (SAR of China)(c)	30	0.1%
Singapore	26	0.1%
Sri Lanka	25	0.1%
Iran	24	0.1%
Korea, Republic of (South)	23	0.0%
Malta	23	0.0%
Poland	20	0.0%
Egypt	12	0.0%
Croatia	11	0.0%
Bangladesh	10	0.0%
Taiwan	9	0.0%
Greece	8	0.0%
Mauritius	7	0.0%
Samoa	6	0.0%
Cambodia	5	0.0%
Iraq	5	0.0%
North Macedonia	5	0.0%
Pakistan	5	0.0%
Turkey	5	0.0%
Myanmar	4	0.0%
Lebanon	3	0.0%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source¹

Citizenship

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

Published group	People	Share
Total persons	46,190	100.0%
Australian citizen	41,794	90.5%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source¹

Additional context

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Residents born abroad	12.72 %	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia¹Official
Households	18,244 households	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics¹Official
Labour force participation rate	55.5 %	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics¹Official
Median age	48 years	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia¹Official
Median monthly mortgage repayment (AUD)	1,950 AUD/month	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia¹Official

Alternatives for people set on Ballina

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 Ballina alternative in the same country

Better on 2 of 4 metrics measured the same way, worse on 1.

Foreign residents: 37.4% Darwin vs 12.7% Ballina+194%
Median gross pay, region: €3,017 Darwin vs €1,981 Ballina+52%
Residents: 127,215 Darwin vs 46,190 Ballina+175%
Unemployment: 3.3% Darwin vs 3.0% Ballina+10%

Full comparison More about Darwin

Alternative cities in Australia

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

All Australia cities

Gladstone - Tannum Sands45,185 residents Tamworth43,874 residents Traralgon - Morwell43,252 residents Warragul - Drouin42,827 residents Dubbo42,452 residents Orange41,920 residents

How does Ballina compare?

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Ballina in rankings

#10 of 30 in Cities with lowest unemployment in Australia

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Ballina 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 Ballina'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.

What is the typical salary around Ballina?

The median gross salary is 1,981 EUR/month. Source: www.abs.gov.au.

What is the unemployment rate in Ballina?

The unemployment rate is 3 %. Source: DEWR — Small Area Labour Markets, smoothed unemployment rate by LGA, March quarter 2026.

How many people live in Ballina?

The published population is 46,190 people. Source: 2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia.

How many foreign residents live in Ballina?

5,877 residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: 2021 Census General Community Profile DataPacks — Significant Urban Areas, Australia.

How much is public transport in Ballina?

A monthly transport pass is 0 EUR/month. This is a supplemental estimate, not an official municipal measurement. Source: Numbeo.

Is Ballina a good place to live?

Ballina 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 Ballina?

The official country of birth distribution records 37,622 people (81.5%) 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). Ballina, Australia: population, rent, salary, cost of living [ImmigrationDB compilation; version bfd876d06df2ceff006c42d156d49537]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/au/ballina/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_ballina-australia-population-rent-salary-cost-of-living_3cb9fafb4142,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Ballina, Australia: population, rent, salary, cost of living},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {bfd876d06df2ceff006c42d156d49537},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/au/ballina/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Ballina, Australia: population, rent, salary, cost of living](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/au/ballina/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version bfd876d06df2ceff006c42d156d49537; 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

2021 Census General Community Profile DataPacks — Significant Urban Areas, Australia 2021 Census General Community Profile DataPacks · abs.gov.au · checked 2026-09-25
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
www.abs.gov.au abs.gov.au · checked 2026-08-27
DEWR — Small Area Labour Markets, smoothed unemployment rate by LGA, March quarter 2026 DEWR · dewr.gov.au · checked 2026-07-26
Numbeo numbeo.com · checked 2026-08-04

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.