Wollongong 2026The independent atlas report on Wollongong, Australia.

Wollongong in 200 numbers. Read this before you read anything else.

A Humid subtropical city of 302,000, year round 8 to 26 degree range and 2,440 sunshine hours, the city profile in one stat grid.

Wollongong scored 7.6 on the everycity index, placing it in the leading band of the global cohort of 5,000 cities. A single person spends A$2,980 a month here including rent, groceries, transport and utilities. A working couple spends A$4,480. Internet runs at a median 198 Mbps on residential fiber per OOKLA Speedtest readings from April 2026. The average reported salary, blended across sectors, is A$6,240 a month. Safety reads 8.2 on a 0 to 10 scale, with the night safety subindex at 7.4, the female solo subindex at 7.8, and the family subindex at 8.6. The metro area holds 302,000 people and sits at 34.4254 degrees south, 150.893057 degrees east. The summer high lands at 26 Celsius, the winter low at 8 Celsius. The city averages 2,440 sunshine hours a year.

Compared with peer cities, Wollongong sits within the regional cohort on monthly outlay. For broader context, the Oceania continent page ranks the regional top 25 cities. For salary comparisons across jurisdictions, run the tax calculator, or read the after tax salary comparison longform. The full method behind the everycity composite is published on the methodology page.

Risk, by the subindex.

No moral panic, no rose tint. Four subindices, all referenced to the latest national crime statistics and Numbeo's crowdsourced safety panel.

Wollongong's overall safety score lands at 8.2, which places it in the workable band on the everycity index. The female solo subindex reads 7.8 and the night walk subindex reads 7.4, both of which capture the variance between daytime and after dark experience. Family safety, weighted for primary school commute risk, sits at 8.6. Health insurance for relocating expats typically runs $45 to $145 a month through SafetyWing, which the editorial team uses on assignment. For broader context the global safest cities ranking places Wollongong alongside its regional peers in the cohort table.

The neighborhoods that draw the bulk of incident reports are noted in section 6. The areas that draw the fewest are listed there as well, with rents reflecting both reputation and reality. A foreigner walking with a phone in hand on a main avenue at 1 a.m. should not assume the safest neighborhood numbers apply to that scenario; the 7.4 night subindex is the figure that matters. Solo female nomads should read the safest cities for women ranking alongside this profile, and the best cities for women to live longform. Families should review the safest cities for families ranking for the regional cohort.

Who pays, and how much.

Salaries are gross monthly figures, blended from national labour bureau data and Glassdoor postings active in March 2026.

Largest employers in metro Wollongong

1. Bluescope Steel Port Kembla Steelworks (the structural single largest industrial employer in the Illawarra with 4,200 staff at the historic 1928 founded Port Kembla integrated steelworks, the largest single integrated steel plant in Australia and the structural anchor of the post 1928 Illawarra industrial economy)
2. University of Wollongong UOW (the structural single largest civilian employer with 5,400 staff and 35,000 students on the Northfields Avenue main campus, the historic 1951 founded Wollongong University College Sydney and the post 1975 autonomous University of Wollongong)
3. Wollongong Hospital and the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District ISLHD (the structural NSW Health regional anchor with 4,800 staff across the Wollongong Hospital, the Shoalhaven District Memorial Hospital, and the broader Illawarra Shoalhaven public health network)
4. Port Kembla Coal Terminal PKCT (the structural single largest Australian east coast coal export terminal, the post 1969 founded coal handling facility with 16 million tonne per year throughput)
5. City of Wollongong and Wollongong City Council (the structural municipal employer with 1,800 staff under the Wollongong Local Government Area framework)
6. Department of Education NSW Wollongong region (the structural NSW Department of Education regional anchor with 4,200 teachers and support staff across 102 public schools)
7. Australian Tax Office ATO Wollongong office (the structural federal government employer on the Crown Street site)
8. Coordinaire Primary Health Network and the structural Wollongong medical specialty cluster (the structural healthcare anchor outside the Wollongong Hospital)

The blended average salary in Wollongong runs A$6,240 a month, gross of tax. A senior software developer earns A$9,800 on local payroll, while a senior financial analyst commands A$8,800. The largest employers are listed above; together they represent between 14 and 28 percent of formal sector employment in the metro area depending on the year measured. Expats moving regular income across borders typically use Wise at the daily mid market rate, which removes the 1.4 to 3.2 percent retail spread that local banks charge.

For an accurate after tax estimate including local social security, run the tax calculator. For a market wide salary view, the highest salary cities ranking and the highest paying cities after tax ranking place Wollongong in the relevant cohort. The lowest tax cities ranking covers the relative position on tax. For the cohort of cities offering strong tech salaries the tech jobs ranking is the right starting point.

Seven quarters, one verdict each.

A working map of where to live in Wollongong in 2026, ordered loosely from highest cost to lowest commute.

Wollongong CBD and North Wollongong is the highest priced and the most likely to deliver the lifestyle a Western expat imagines. Thirroul and Austinmer is the value pick at a different price point. Bulli and Woonona is the modern family pick for the upper middle class. Fairy Meadow and Towradgi sits in the academic or specialty cohort. The full neighborhood by neighborhood walk through, with photos, is in the Wollongong neighborhoods longform, scheduled to publish in Q3 2026.

Long term rental supply in Wollongong is concentrated in the four to seven year old apartment stock; older buildings often lack reliable elevators or, in some districts, reliable hot water during the coldest months. Furnished one bedroom listings turn over in a median 11 days at the city center price point and 16 days in the outer ring per the local portals indexed by the editorial property platform guide. The neighborhood matcher tool will rank the seven against your weighted preferences if you score them: neighborhood matcher. For relocating families with school age children, the family friendly cities ranking is the next read in the sequence.

For the kids, and the postgrads.

School and university density, plus the practical commute to each option.

International and bilingual schools

• Edmund Rice College West Wollongong (the historic 1933 founded Christian Brothers Catholic boys K through 12)
• St Marys Star of the Sea College (the historic Sisters of Mercy founded Catholic girls K through 12, the structural single most distinguished Catholic girls school in the Illawarra)
• Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts (the structural NSW Department of Education selective performing arts public secondary)
• Smiths Hill High School (the historic 1916 founded selective public secondary, the structural single most distinguished Illawarra public secondary by NSW HSC results)
• The Illawarra Grammar School TIGS (the structural Anglican independent K through 12, founded 1959 on the Western Avenue site)
• Wollongong Christian School and the structural Wollongong evangelical Christian K through 12 cluster
• Keira High School and Figtree High School (the structural Wollongong public secondaries serving the inner Wollongong catchment)

Universities

• University of Wollongong UOW (the structural flagship Illawarra university with 35,000 students, the historic 1951 founded Wollongong University College Sydney and the post 1975 autonomous University of Wollongong; ranked 167 in the QS World University Rankings 2025, structural strengths in engineering, computer science, and nursing)
• Wollongong TAFE NSW Illawarra Institute (the structural TAFE Technical and Further Education vocational anchor with the Wollongong Campus, the Shellharbour Campus, and the broader Illawarra Shoalhaven TAFE network)
• University of Wollongong College UOW College (the structural English language preparation and pathway college on the main UOW campus)
• Australian Catholic University Strathfield Campus 70 kilometers north (the structural Sydney Catholic university nearby)

Relocating families in Wollongong typically pick from the school cluster listed above. Tuition for relocating expatriate families typically runs A$2,800 a year at the lower priced bilingual options and A$7,400 a year at the international baccalaureate flagships. Waiting lists for grade entry between January and August are common; the most popular options publish their priority dates on the national education ministry portal each November. The combined family safety subindex of 8.6 on the everycity index should be read alongside the school commute when ranking neighborhoods.

For comparable family rated cities in the region, the family friendly cities ranking and the best cities for international schools ranking are the right starting points. The best cities to raise a family longform covers the parental leave, primary school commute, and weekend public space variables in detail. For local pediatric specialists, the editorial guide on international health insurance lists the in network hospitals near each Wollongong school cluster. the Australia country page covers the national education policy context.

What makes the city itself.

Food signatures, nightlife rating, and the cultural through line that separates Wollongong from its regional neighbors.

The food signatures of Wollongong include the structural NSW South Coast Italian Australian culinary tradition from the post 1945 Calabrian and Sicilian migration to the Port Kembla steelworks (the structural Wollongong Italian Australian concentration with the historic Crown Street Italian bakeries, the Fraternity Restaurant, and the broader Illawarra Italian Australian inheritance), the historic Macedonian Australian post 1960 migration concentration in the Wollongong Mount Saint Thomas and Cringila quarters, the structural NSW South Coast Pacific seafood (the Wollongong Harbour fishing fleet, the Eastern rock lobster catch, the historic Tasman Sea snapper, and the structural Lake Illawarra prawns), the post 2010 Wollongong craft brewery cluster (the historic Five Barrel Brewing, the Reub Goldberg Brewing Machine, and the Illawarra Brewing Company), and the historic Nan Tien Temple at Berkeley (the structural single largest Buddhist temple in the Southern Hemisphere, the post 1992 Fo Guang Shan Taiwanese Buddhist order anchor) which delivers the structural single Buddhist vegetarian cuisine tradition in the Illawarra. The high points of the dining year run through June through September, when restaurant temperatures sit at the comfortable end of the range and the produce calendar peaks. For longer reads on the cuisine, the best food cities ranking and the Michelin cities ranking place Wollongong in the relevant cohort regionally. Nightlife sits at a 6.4 rating on the everycity scale. For coffee culture, the editorial guide on local routines for expats is the right starting point.

The cultural calendar runs through the local national holidays plus two or three city specific festivals that bring the largest annual foot traffic. The Australia cultural and creative industries policy is reviewed in detail on the Australia country page, and the continent page covers the broader pattern across the region. For evening life specifically, the best nightlife cities ranking includes the Wollongong cohort, and the cities for music ranking covers live venue density. Visitors planning a scouting trip should also read the best cities for singles longform and the best cities for couples longform.

Keep going.