At the, there were people in the Coffs Harbour local government area, of these 48.5% were male and 51.5% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 4.1% of the population, nearly double the national average. The median age of people in the City of Coffs Harbour was 42 years; some five years higher than the national median. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 19.2% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 18.0% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 48.4% were married and 14.8% were either divorced or separated. Population growth in the City of Coffs Harbour between the 2001 Census and the was 11.94%; and in the subsequent five years was 5.40%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in the Coffs Harbour local government area was higher than the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the City of Coffs Harbour was slightly below the national average. At the, the proportion of residents in the Coffs Harbour local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Celtic exceeded 82% of all residents. In excess of 55.4% of all residents in the City of Coffs Harbour nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the, which was slightly above the national average of 50.2%. Meanwhile, as at the Census date, compared to the national average, households in the Coffs Harbour local government area had a lower than average proportion where two or more languages are spoken ; and a significantly higher proportion where English only was spoken at home. A significant exception was that households in the Coffs Harbour local government area where Punjabi was spoken was three times the national average.
Coffs Harbour City Council is composed of nine Councillors, including the Mayor, for a fixed four-year term of office. The Mayor is directly elected while the eight other Councillors are elected proportionally as one entire ward. The most recent election was held on 10 September 2016, and the makeup of the Council is as follows: The current Council, elected in 2016, in order of election, is:
