Living in Central Coast

In Central Coast, unemployment is 4.7% (2021).

In 2021, Central Coast had a population of 345,066. The city covered 1,334.2 km² in 2021. Population density was 265.5 people per km² in 2025. In August 2021, median household income was A$1,499 per week.

Last checked 2026-10-049 sources

Population345,066people30 Jun 2021Official source · ABS Regional population, 2024-25 — 32180DS0004 Table 2: Estimated resident population, Significant Urban Areas

Median gross salary (region)1,952EUR/month31 Dec 2021Official source · www.abs.gov.au

Median rent974EUR/month31 Dec 2021Official source · 2021 Camden Haven, Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics

Unemployment rate4.7%country median 4.5% — 4% aboveOfficial source · 2021 Census GCP Significant Urban Areas for Australia (DataPack)

PM2.5, annual mean4.91µg/m³31 Dec 2024Official source · data.airquality.nsw.gov.au

Which Australia-wide rules apply when you move to Central Coast?

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 Central Coast.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

Median rent was A$400 per week, and median monthly mortgage repayment was A$2,000 in August 2021.

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 nbn100⁷Official · national market
Mobile plan, 10 GB	45.79 EUR/month	31 Jul 2026	Telstra Upfront Basic⁸Official · national market
Dwellings	145,085 dwellings	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics⁴Official
Main residence dwellings	130,681 dwellings	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics⁴Official
Median weekly rent (AUD)	400 AUD/week	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia⁴Official
Median monthly rent (whole dwelling)	974 EUR/month	31 Dec 2021	2021 Camden Haven, Census All persons QuickStats \| Australian Bureau of Statistics¹Official

Is Central Coast 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 safety · range 36–56%

Skilled employee56%strong on work, weak on safety · range 48–64%

Student30%strong on education, weak on safety · range 22–38%

Family52%strong on family, weak on safety · range 43–61%

Retirement50%strong on air quality, weak on admin · range 37–63%

Work and income

Median personal income was A$726 per week in August 2021.

What is the unemployment rate in Central Coast?

The unemployment rate is 4.7 % (August 2021). Source: 2021 Census GCP Significant Urban Areas for Australia (DataPack)⁴

Unemployment across cities in AustraliaUnemployment in Central Coast is 4.7%. Of 100 cities with data, 32 have unemployment of 4 to under 5%.

1–22–33–44–55–66–77–88–99–1013–14

Central Coast 4.7%

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
People in full-time employment	78,332 people	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics⁴Official
Employment rate	53 %	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics⁴Official
Median household income (AUD/week)	1,499 AUD/week	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia⁴Official
Median personal income (AUD/week)	726 AUD/week	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia⁴Official
Median gross salary (regional)	1,952 EUR/month	31 Dec 2021	www.abs.gov.au⁹Official
Unemployment rate	4.7 %country median 4.5%	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census GCP Significant Urban Areas for Australia (DataPack)⁴Official

What does a salary buy in Central Coast?

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 Camden Haven, Census All persons QuickStats \| Australian Bureau of Statistics · 2021-12-31	− €974
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 Central Coast Salary needed to live in Central Coast

Public employment service

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

Family and education

Metric	Value	Period	Source
People who speak a language other than English at home	7.15 %	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia⁴Official

Language courses and integration

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

Find courses near Central Coast

Climate and air quality

Is the air quality good in Central Coast?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 4.9 µg/m³ (2024) — within the WHO 2021 guideline.

Annual mean at the measuring site(s) serving the city; current-day readings differ.

PM2.5 — annual mean: 4.91 µg/m³ · data.airquality.nsw.gov.au³

Air quality vs health guidelinesAnnual means against WHO 2021 guidelines and EU legal limits

Within WHO 2021 guidelineAbove WHO, within EU limitAbove EU legal limitCity annual mean · µg/m³

PM2.54.9WHO 5 · EU 25

City values from the published air-quality observations. WHO 2021 guidelines and EU limit values are published constants.

PM2.5 across cities in AustraliaAnnual PM2.5 in Central Coast is 4.9 µg/m³. Of 37 cities with data, 12 have annual PM2.5 of 5 to under 6 µg/m³.

3–44–55–66–77–88–99–10

Central Coast 4.9

Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
PM2.5 — annual mean	4.91 µg/m³	31 Dec 2024	data.airquality.nsw.gov.au³Official source, approximated value · Supplemental context

Population and city profile

How many people live in Central Coast?

The published population was 345,066 people in June 2021. Source: ABS Regional population, 2024-25 — 32180DS0004 Table 2: Estimated resident population, Significant Urban Areas²

Foreign residents and their share come from different publications that count different groups (for example citizens of another country, or people born abroad, or of foreign origin), so 55,297 is not 21.1% of the population. Each row names its source.

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

By nationality

National passport84%
Foreign residents16%

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

Metric	Value	Period	Source
City area	1,334 km²	31 Dec 2021	Official ASGS2016 SUA area from ABS ArcGIS attributes, area albers sqkm. Exact queue geography; not GCCSA or LGA.⁵Official
Foreign-resident share	21.1 %	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census GCP Significant Urban Areas for Australia (DataPack)⁴Official
Foreign residents	55,297 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.⁴Official
Population density	265.5 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.⁶Official · significant urban area
Female residents	176,934 people	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics⁴Official
Male residents	166,245 people	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics⁴Official
Population	345,066 people	30 Jun 2021	ABS Regional population, 2024-25 — 32180DS0004 Table 2: Estimated resident population, Significant Urban Areas²Official

Population over time25 published observations, 2001–2025

286,577

310,784

334,990

359,197

354,189200120052011201520212025

Population rose 21.5% between 2001 and 2025, from 291,585 to 354,189.

International community in Central Coast

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 G09 PERSONS total across age groups and sex · 2021 Census

Published group	People	Share
Total	343,180	100.0%
Australia	270,832	78.9%
Country of birth not stated	17,050	5.0%
England	15,660	4.6%
New Zealand	5,815	1.7%
Born elsewhere(d)	5,658	1.6%
Philippines	2,478	0.7%
India	2,357	0.7%
South Africa	2,081	0.6%
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)(c)	1,894	0.6%
Scotland	1,795	0.5%

Show 42 more groups

Published group	People	Share
United States of America	1,238	0.4%
Germany	1,206	0.4%
Ireland	1,154	0.3%
Netherlands	941	0.3%
Italy	937	0.3%
Thailand	848	0.2%
Korea, Republic of (South)	808	0.2%
Canada	667	0.2%
Malta	660	0.2%
Nepal	533	0.2%
Indonesia	530	0.2%
Malaysia	519	0.2%
Wales	494	0.1%
Fiji	440	0.1%
Vietnam	431	0.1%
Poland	430	0.1%
Egypt	421	0.1%
Brazil	406	0.1%
Chile	390	0.1%
Hong Kong (SAR of China)(c)	362	0.1%
Japan	351	0.1%
France	342	0.1%
Greece	342	0.1%
Zimbabwe	324	0.1%
Croatia	306	0.1%
Sri Lanka	306	0.1%
Papua New Guinea	296	0.1%
Lebanon	238	0.1%
Singapore	237	0.1%
Iran	221	0.1%
Pakistan	204	0.1%
Mauritius	180	0.1%
Turkey	139	0.0%
Bangladesh	131	0.0%
Taiwan	115	0.0%
Cambodia	93	0.0%
Bosnia and Herzegovina	73	0.0%
Myanmar	69	0.0%
Samoa	68	0.0%
Iraq	53	0.0%
North Macedonia	45	0.0%
Afghanistan	20	0.0%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source⁴

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	343,180	100.0%
Australia	270,832	78.9%
Elsewhere (excludes country of birth not stated)	55,297	16.1%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source⁴

Citizenship

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

Published group	People	Share
Total persons	343,180	100.0%
Australian citizen	308,435	89.9%

Largest published groups; zero-count groups are omitted. Dimensions are source-native and are never merged. Official source⁴

Additional context

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Residents born abroad	16.11 %	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia⁴Official
Households	130,681 households	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics⁴Official
Labour force participation rate	55.6 %	31 Dec 2021	Australian Bureau of Statistics⁴Official
Median age	43 years	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia⁴Official
Median monthly mortgage repayment (AUD)	2,000 AUD/month	10 Aug 2021	2021 Census General Community Profile — Significant Urban Areas, Australia⁴Official

Alternatives for people set on Central Coast

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.

Geelong as a Central Coast alternative in the same country

Better on 3 of 4 metrics measured the same way, worse on 0.

Median gross pay, region: €2,124 Geelong vs €1,952 Central Coast+9%
Unemployment: 4.3% Geelong vs 4.7% Central Coast−9%
Residents: 289,566 Geelong vs 345,066 Central Coast−16%
Foreign residents: 21.8% Geelong vs 21.1% Central Coast+3%

Full comparison More about Geelong

Alternative cities in Australia

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

All Australia cities

Sunshine Coast387,472 residents Wollongong305,976 residents Geelong289,566 residents Canberra490,517 residents Newcastle510,175 residents Hobart226,653 residents

How does Central Coast compare?

Pick a city. The answer appears here and the address bar keeps it, so the comparison can be shared; the page stays Central Coast's.

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Central Coast in rankings

#9 of 30 in Largest cities in Australia #26 of 30 in Most international cities in Australia

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Central Coast 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 Central Coast'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 Central Coast?

The published population was 345,066 people in June 2021. Source: ABS Regional population, 2024-25 — 32180DS0004 Table 2: Estimated resident population, Significant Urban Areas.

Is the air quality good in Central Coast?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 4.9 µg/m³ (2024) — within the WHO 2021 guideline. Source: data.airquality.nsw.gov.au.

What is the unemployment rate in Central Coast?

The unemployment rate is 4.7 % (August 2021). Source: 2021 Census GCP Significant Urban Areas for Australia (DataPack).

What is the typical salary around Central Coast?

The median gross salary is 1,952 EUR/month. Source: www.abs.gov.au.

How many foreign residents live in Central Coast?

55,297 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 Central Coast a good place to live?

Central Coast 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 Central Coast?

The official country of birth distribution records 270,832 people (78.9%) 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). Central Coast, Australia: population, rent, salary, jobs [ImmigrationDB compilation; version 94fc0eee9c9de7940948d91dc874b954]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/au/central-coast/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_central-coast-australia-population-rent-salary-jobs_c70221b1509c,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Central Coast, Australia: population, rent, salary, jobs},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {94fc0eee9c9de7940948d91dc874b954},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/au/central-coast/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Central Coast, Australia: population, rent, salary, jobs](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/au/central-coast/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version 94fc0eee9c9de7940948d91dc874b954; 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 Camden Haven, Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics abs.gov.au · checked 2026-09-12
ABS Regional population, 2024-25 — 32180DS0004 Table 2: Estimated resident population, Significant Urban Areas ABS Regional population, 2024-25 · abs.gov.au · checked 2026-09-19
data.airquality.nsw.gov.au data.airquality.nsw.gov.au · checked 2026-08-26
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.