Broken Hill, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Broken Hill rises out of the far-west New South Wales desert, roughly 1,150 kilometres from Sydney and closer to Adelaide than to its own state capital. Known as the Silver City, it grew around one of the world's richest silver-lead-zinc ore bodies — the Line of Lode — whose discovery in 1883 gave rise to the mining giant BHP. The town is also home to the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the School of the Air, a celebrated outback art scene, and streetscapes so distinctive that the whole place is National Heritage listed and a favourite film location. Its name comes from a broken-looking line of hills; the area is the Country of the Wilyakali people.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Broken Hill is more socio-economically advantaged than about 10% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 893, 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.
Broken Hill at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 17,706
- Median age
- 44
- Median weekly household income
- $1,176
- SEIFA score
- 893
- Coordinates
- -32.3527, 141.5606
Broken Hill demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Broken Hill 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 26%, 24% of homes are rented, and 6% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 3,014 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,874 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 4,088 | 23% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 4,616 | 26% |
| Seniors (65+) | 4,111 | 23% |
Share of the 17,703 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 3,101 | 42% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 2,202 | 30% |
| Rented | 1,739 | 24% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 6,944 | 94% |
| Townhouses & semis | 177 | 2% |
| Flats & apartments | 186 | 3% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 7,355 occupied private dwellings in Broken Hill.
- Median weekly rent
- $220
- Median monthly mortgage
- $867
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,627
- Median weekly personal income
- $650
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 909 (6%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 597 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 1,761 (10%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 4,159 (29%)
- Labour-force participation
- 52.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.5%
- Employed full-time
- 4,470
- Employed part-time
- 2,198
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.
Weather and climate in Broken Hill
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Broken Hill is January (average daytime high around 34.3°C) and the coolest is July (around 16.2°C). The area receives roughly 203 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34.3°C | 20.7°C | 22 mm |
| Feb | 33°C | 19.6°C | 4 mm |
| Mar | 29.6°C | 17°C | 12 mm |
| Apr | 24.6°C | 12.8°C | 23 mm |
| May | 19.3°C | 9.1°C | 12 mm |
| Jun | 15.9°C | 6.6°C | 13 mm |
| Jul | 16.2°C | 6.1°C | 7 mm |
| Aug | 17.8°C | 6.8°C | 21 mm |
| Sep | 22°C | 9.3°C | 21 mm |
| Oct | 26.2°C | 12.6°C | 24 mm |
| Nov | 29.1°C | 15.2°C | 30 mm |
| Dec | 32.6°C | 18.7°C | 14 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Broken Hill
Where is Broken Hill?
Broken Hill is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
What is the population of Broken Hill?
At the 2021 Census, Broken Hill had a population of about 17,706.
Is Broken Hill an advantaged area?
Broken Hill has an ABS SEIFA score of 893, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 10 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 10% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Broken Hill?
Broken Hill has average daytime highs of about 25.1°C and overnight lows of about 12.9°C, with roughly 203 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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