NSW · Unincorporated NSW Council
Lord Howe Island
Current weather
19.9°COvercast
75% humidity · 40.8 km/h wind · 19.9° / 19° today · 2.1 mm rain
Updated
Desirability score
- Coastal
- Green suburb
- High desirability
Suburb profile
Lord Howe Island wears its coastal identity openly, a smaller community built around sand, sea and an easy outdoor rhythm. Far from the capital hubbub, it offers genuine distance, local character and room to live at a slower pace. Salt air and open horizons give the suburb a relaxed, outdoor feel year-round.
Established families and long-term residents give the suburb a settled feel, with a strong presence of young families throughout. Pocket parks and green corners give residents room to get outside without leaving the neighbourhood. Housing is well-priced for what you get: space, location and everyday convenience.
Tree-lined streets and established homes set the tone, with little pressure to reinvent the neighbourhood.
On the desirability index, the suburb sits below average overall, mainly because local dining and lifestyle amenities and transport and access lag similar coastal suburbs, despite relative strength in safety and community and employment. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.
Population
- Population
- 445
- Median age
- 46
- Median household income / week
- $1,699
- Dwelling vacancy
- 19%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 38 of 200
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,400
- Employment rate
- 63.3%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 8 / 28 / 11
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Employment, household income and age diversity (2021 Census)
Data sources & freshness
- 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 Census release
The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
Schools & preschools
- Schools & preschools
- 1
- Median school ICSEA
- 1,009
- Lord Howe Island Central SchoolCombined
Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)
School and preschool counts, median school ICSEA
Data sources & freshness
- ACARA school locations — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · Period: 2025 · Updated on site · Annual ACARA release
- School ICSEA scores — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · Period: 2025 · Updated on site · Annual ACARA release
Amenities
6 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
- Bench (3)
- Airport KioskCafe
- Picnic Table
- Telephone
Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe).
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Food, shopping, recreation and sport (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Parks & reserves
1 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Thompson Memorial ParkPark
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Period: current · Updated on site
Health access
- Hospitals & GP clinics
- 1
- Emergency department
- On site
- Gower Wilson Memorial Hospitalhospital
Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)
Hospitals and GP clinics
Data sources & freshness
- Hospitals & clinics — OpenStreetMap + state health datasets · Period: current · Updated on site
Socio-economic (SEIFA)
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 7/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 8/10
SEIFA indexes from ABS 2021. Decile 10 = most advantaged / least disadvantaged in Australia.
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD decile)
Data sources & freshness
- SEIFA 2021 (IRSAD / IRSD) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 SEIFA release
Heritage
1 state heritage place
- Lord Howe Island GroupSouth Pacific Ocean NE of NSW, Lord Howe IslandSHR
Data sources & freshness
- State heritage register — State heritage authority · Period: current · Updated on site
Hazards
- Bushfire planning zone
- No overlay at centroid
Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via NSW bush fire prone land mapping.
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Bushfire hazard overlays
Data sources & freshness
- Hazard planning overlays — State government hazard layers · Period: current · Updated on site
Green cover
- Parks & woodland (OSM)
- 6
- Parks (OSM)
- 3
OpenStreetMap parks and natural woodland features mapped within the suburb boundary.
Contributes to desirability score · Environment (10%)
Parks and green cover (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap green cover features — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Desirability Index
- Desirability score
- 38.6/100 — Below average
- National rank
- 3709th in Australia
- State rank
- 1159th in NSW
- Peer rank
- #54 among Coastal & beach · Mature suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #121 among Coastal & beach suburbs
- Data confidence
- 58%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived score) · Period: current · Updated on site · Derived from source metrics
Recent changes
- Airport Kioskamenitiescafe
- Benchamenitiesbench
- Benchamenitiesbench
- Benchamenitiesbench
- Picnic Tableamenitiespicnic_table
- Telephoneamenitiestelephone
- Lord Howe Island GroupheritageSouth Pacific Ocean NE of NSW, Lord Howe IslandSHR
- Gower Wilson Memorial Hospitalhealthhospital
- Thompson Memorial Parkgovernmentpark
- Lord Howe Island Central SchoolschoolsCombined
Data sources & freshness
- ACARA school locations — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · Updated on site · Annual ACARA release
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Updated on site
- Hospitals & clinics — OpenStreetMap + state health datasets · Updated on site
- State heritage register — State heritage authority · Updated on site
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
More in Unincorporated NSW Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile elsewhere in New South Wales or interstate.