Boorowa, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Boorowa is a rural town in the South West Slopes of New South Wales, about 40 kilometres east of Young and roughly 240 kilometres west of Sydney, in the Hilltops Council area. Before European settlement the district was Wiradjuri country, shared with Gandangara people, and the name — originally spelt 'Burrowa' — is believed to come from a local Aboriginal word for the plains turkey, or Australian bustard. Squatters moved in from the early 1820s and a village was laid out by 1843, with the spelling changed to Boorowa in 1914. Long a wool and butter district, the town celebrates its strong Irish heritage each October with the Irish Woolfest and its well-known 'Running of the Sheep' down the main street.
Less advantaged than the national average
Boorowa is more socio-economically advantaged than about 31% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 953, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Boorowa at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,888
- Median age
- 50
- Median weekly household income
- $1,199
- SEIFA score
- 953
- Coordinates
- -34.3669, 148.7465
Boorowa demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Boorowa using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is mid-life (45–64) at 28%, 20% of homes are rented, and 7% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 338 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 152 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 347 | 18% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 521 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 534 | 28% |
Share of the 1,892 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 329 | 47% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 180 | 26% |
| Rented | 136 | 20% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 641 | 93% |
| Townhouses & semis | 25 | 4% |
| Flats & apartments | 5 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 690 occupied private dwellings in Boorowa.
- Median weekly rent
- $245
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,250
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,744
- Median weekly personal income
- $685
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 112 (7%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 42 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 67 (4%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 569 (37%)
- Labour-force participation
- 47.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.8%
- Employed full-time
- 421
- Employed part-time
- 244
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Common questions about Boorowa
Where is Boorowa?
Boorowa is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
What is the population of Boorowa?
At the 2021 Census, Boorowa had a population of about 1,888.
Is Boorowa an advantaged area?
Boorowa has an ABS SEIFA score of 953, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 31 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 31% of Australian suburbs.
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