Nelson Bay, NSW

Official crime, growth and development data for Nelson Bay from BOCSAR, the ABS, the NSW Planning Portal and NSW infrastructure agencies. Suburb-wide figures, not any one street.

6,141Population (2021 Census)
2315Postcode
4 of 5crime categories above the NSW average
98development applications, last 12 months

Property crime in Nelson Bay

Rates per 100,000 residents, Apr 2025 to Mar 2026

  • Lower than NSW
  • Similar to NSW
  • Higher than NSW
  • Break-ins to homes244.3212.315% above the NSW rate · higher than 72% of NSW suburbs
  • Car theft244.3171.243% above the NSW rate · higher than 75% of NSW suburbs
  • Theft from cars472.2295.460% above the NSW rate · higher than 83% of NSW suburbs
  • Theft from homes195.4196.2less than 1% below the NSW rate · higher than 66% of NSW suburbs
  • Malicious property damage879.3553.859% above the NSW rate · higher than 81% of NSW suburbs

Property offences only, per 100,000 residents, latest 12 months (Apr 2025 to Mar 2026). Population 6,141 (2021 Census). Percentile computed across the 945 NSW suburbs with 2,000 or more residents. Violent crime categories are deliberately not shown. Source: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR), © State of New South Wales (Department of Communities and Justice), CC BY 4.0, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (CC BY 4.0), snapshot 24 Jul 2026.

Planning & development

Development applications lodged for Nelson Bay addresses, 26 Aug 2025 to 26 Aug 2026

98development applications (12 months)
$1498 millioncombined stated cost
223new dwellings proposed

Largest by stated cost

48 YOOLARAI CRESCENT NELSON BAY 2315$1,375,000,000 · Demolition, Subdivision · Determined · lodged 5 Nov 2025
33 MAGNUS STREET NELSON BAY 2315$41,861,394 · Residential flat building, Erection of a new structure · Under Assessment · lodged 11 Sep 2025
1 YACAABA STREET NELSON BAY 2315$21,502,984.6 · Shop top housing, Erection of a new structure · Determined · lodged 14 May 2026

Source: NSW Planning Portal Online DA data (public record), applications by lodgement date, snapshot 26 Aug 2026. Costs are applicant-stated estimates. The paid address report checks applications around a specific address, not just this suburb-wide list.

Growth & what’s coming

Population projections and public building projects

No population projection matches Nelson Bay exactly in the DPHI dataset we carry, so we do not print one.

No school, health or social housing projects are listed for Nelson Bay on the NSW project pages we read.

Population figures are projections (DPHI 2024 NSW Population Projections) for the ABS statistical area, not a guarantee. Project lists: School Infrastructure NSW and Health Infrastructure / Homes NSW public project pages (snapshot 26 Jul 2026); a “Planning” status is not a commitment.

Hazards & controls: checked at the address

Suburb pages cannot say whether one property is affected. These are read lot by lot.

FloodNSW flood planning layer and council mapping, for the lot itself.
BushfireRFS bushfire prone land map, for the lot itself.
Zoning & heightZone, height and floor space controls, plus proposed changes.
Contamination & defectsEPA records and serious defect orders near the address.

The full report also reads development applications within 500 m, aircraft, rail and road noise, school catchments and winter sun, each finding named with the government register it came from.

Run a free flag count in Nelson Bay →See a sample report

Common questions about Nelson Bay

Answered from the data on this page

Is Nelson Bay safe?

There is no single answer to that for any suburb, but the official numbers say this: across 5 property crime categories, Nelson Bay sits above the NSW average in 4, below it in 1, on BOCSAR figures for Apr 2025 to Mar 2026. These are rates for the whole suburb, not any one street, and safety also depends on things no crime table shows. The table above lists each category against the NSW rate.

Is Nelson Bay flood prone?

A suburb page cannot honestly answer that: flood planning areas are mapped lot by lot, and two houses on the same street can differ. The free PropertyFlags check looks up the actual address against the NSW flood planning layer, along with bushfire, contamination and other hazard maps.

Is Nelson Bay growing?

No population projection matches Nelson Bay exactly in the DPHI dataset we carry, so we do not print one. The paid address report checks growth area boundaries and the development pipeline around the specific address.

What does a property report for Nelson Bay include?

For one address: flood and bushfire mapping, zoning and height controls, EPA contamination records, serious defect orders, development applications within 500 m, aircraft, rail and road noise, school catchments, winter sun and more, each finding named with the government register it came from, as red, yellow and green flags.

Nearby suburbs

Suburbs sharing or adjoining postcode 2315

All NSW suburbs →