Coonabarabran, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Coonabarabran is a country town in north-western New South Wales, on the Castlereagh River about 450 kilometres from Sydney and 160 kilometres north-east of Dubbo. It sits beneath the Warrumbungle Range, a line of craggy volcanic peaks that John Oxley sighted in 1818, and serves as the gateway to Warrumbungle National Park. The district has been occupied by the Kamilaroi people for thousands of years, and the town's name is of Aboriginal origin, though its meaning is uncertain, with one suggestion being an inquisitive person. Surveyed in 1859 and gazetted the following year, Coonabarabran grew as a centre for wheat farming and forestry. Today it is best known for the stars: the nearby Siding Spring Observatory and exceptionally dark skies have earned it the title of astronomy capital of Australia.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Coonabarabran is more socio-economically advantaged than about 12% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 899, 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.
Coonabarabran at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 3,477
- Median age
- 50
- Median weekly household income
- $1,154
- SEIFA score
- 899
- Coordinates
- -31.2768, 149.2462
Coonabarabran demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Coonabarabran 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 seniors (65+) at 30%, 24% of homes are rented, and 8% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 578 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 328 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 625 | 18% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 914 | 26% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,048 | 30% |
Share of the 3,493 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 584 | 46% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 312 | 25% |
| Rented | 304 | 24% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,181 | 94% |
| Townhouses & semis | 6 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 58 | 5% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,257 occupied private dwellings in Coonabarabran.
- Median weekly rent
- $210
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,000
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,423
- Median weekly personal income
- $594
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 228 (8%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 106 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 438 (13%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 973 (35%)
- Labour-force participation
- 45.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.7%
- Employed full-time
- 697
- Employed part-time
- 470
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 Coonabarabran
Where is Coonabarabran?
Coonabarabran is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
What is the population of Coonabarabran?
At the 2021 Census, Coonabarabran had a population of about 3,477.
Is Coonabarabran an advantaged area?
Coonabarabran has an ABS SEIFA score of 899, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 12 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 12% of Australian suburbs.
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