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What it costs to live in Wollongong, NSW
Wollongong council area, New South Wales. About 224,327 people lived here in 2025. Here's what rent, power, fuel, the pokies and crime look like, and how each one sits against the rest of New South Wales.
Rent
$670
A week. That's the median rent on new leases in the June quarter 2026.
Pokies losses
$955
Lost for every resident in a year. That's 85% of the NSW average.
See pokies losses in WollongongElectricity
$2,328
A year on the default offer in the Endeavour Energy network area, for 4,900 kWh. That's the most a standing offer can cost. A typical plan here costs $2,095.
See electricity pricesUnleaded petrol
190c
A litre, on average, at 50 stations here over the year to September 2026. That's 2c less than the NSW average.
See when fuel is cheapestCrime police recorded
Violent crime, 2025–26
Police recorded 2,425 of these in Wollongong. That's 1,093 for every 100,000 people, or about the NSW average. Five years before, in 2020–21, it was 936, so it has gone up 17%.
See each year
| Year | Recorded | Per 100,000 | NSW per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 | 2,425 | 1,093 | 1,183 |
| 2024–25 | 2,290 | 1,032 | 1,171 |
| 2023–24 | 2,230 | 1,005 | 1,156 |
| 2022–23 | 2,062 | 941 | 1,084 |
| 2021–22 | 1,823 | 842 | 981 |
| 2020–21 | 2,010 | 936 | 1,055 |
| 2019–20 | 1,854 | 864 | 1,009 |
| 2018–19 | 1,923 | 882 | 1,008 |
| 2017–18 | 2,032 | 941 | 999 |
| 2016–17 | 1,943 | 911 | 1,000 |
Property crime, 2025–26
Police recorded 4,079 of these in Wollongong. That's 1,838 for every 100,000 people, or 1.1 times the NSW average. Five years before, in 2020–21, it was 1,892, so it's about the same.
See each year
| Year | Recorded | Per 100,000 | NSW per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 | 4,079 | 1,838 | 1,622 |
| 2024–25 | 4,232 | 1,907 | 1,589 |
| 2023–24 | 4,248 | 1,914 | 1,651 |
| 2022–23 | 4,261 | 1,945 | 1,572 |
| 2021–22 | 3,624 | 1,674 | 1,381 |
| 2020–21 | 4,062 | 1,892 | 1,544 |
| 2019–20 | 4,680 | 2,180 | 1,826 |
| 2018–19 | 4,647 | 2,131 | 2,022 |
| 2017–18 | 5,081 | 2,354 | 2,066 |
| 2016–17 | 5,168 | 2,423 | 2,184 |
This is crime that police recorded in the area over a year, July to June. Lots of crime is never reported, and a rise can mean police are looking harder, not just that more crime happened. Each state counts crime its own way, so only compare a council with its own state.
Suburbs in Wollongong
Who lives in each one, their homes and how they get around.
- Austinmer
- Avon (part)
- Avondale
- Balgownie
- Bellambi
- Berkeley
- Brownsville
- Bulli
- Cleveland
- Clifton
- Coalcliff
- Coledale
- Coniston
- Cordeaux
- Cordeaux Heights
- Corrimal
- Cringila
- Dapto
- Darkes Forest (part)
- Dombarton
- East Corrimal
- Fairy Meadow
- Farmborough Heights
- Fernhill
- Figtree
- Gwynneville
- Haywards Bay
- Helensburgh
- Horsley
- Huntley (Wollongong - NSW)
- Kanahooka
- Keiraville
- Kembla Grange
- Kembla Heights
- Koonawarra
- Lake Heights
- Lilyvale
- Maddens Plains
- Mangerton
- Marshall Mount
- Mount Keira
- Mount Kembla
- Mount Ousley
- Mount Pleasant
- Mount Saint Thomas
- North Wollongong
- Otford
- Port Kembla
- Primbee
- Russell Vale
- Scarborough
- Spring Hill (Wollongong - NSW)
- Stanwell Park
- Stanwell Tops
- Tarrawanna
- Thirroul
- Towradgi
- Unanderra
- Warrawong
- West Wollongong
- Windang
- Wollongong
- Wombarra
- Wongawilli
- Woonona
- Woronora Dam (part)
- Yallah
Look further
- Rents across Australia: what tenants really pay by suburb and postcode.
- Pokies losses by council: where the most is lost, in four states.
- Fuel prices: the price cycle and the cheapest day to fill up.
- Compare Wollongong with another area, side by side.
- Look up another area.
Sources: recorded crime, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. Population: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Regional population, CC BY 4.0. Pokies losses: the state's gambling regulator (see the pokies page for its credit). Rent: state rental bond data (see the rent pages). Electricity: Default Market Offer 2026–27: © Commonwealth of Australia (Australian Energy Regulator), CC BY 4.0; retailers' plans under the Consumer Data Right. Fuel: NSW Government FuelCheck, CC BY-SA, so the fuel figure can be reused under the same licence.