Coonamble, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Coonamble is a town in the Orana region of northwestern New South Wales, about 575km from Sydney and 164km north of Dubbo. Its name comes from the Gamilaraay language of the local Aboriginal people. European pastoralists spread across the surrounding plains through the nineteenth century, and in 1883 Brigidine nuns from Ireland opened a school in the town. Coonamble grew into a service centre for a wide farming district, and wheat, sheep and wool remain central to the local economy, with cattle increasingly important. The town is well known for its annual rodeo, one of the largest in the state, which draws around a thousand competitors and several thousand spectators each year.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Coonamble is more socio-economically advantaged than about 6% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 866, 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.
Coonamble at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,666
- Median age
- 38
- Median weekly household income
- $1,206
- SEIFA score
- 866
- Coordinates
- -30.8882, 148.3058
Coonamble demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Coonamble 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 24%, 33% of homes are rented, and 4% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 582 | 22% |
| Youth (15–24) | 300 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 613 | 23% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 630 | 24% |
| Seniors (65+) | 529 | 20% |
Share of the 2,654 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 342 | 36% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 217 | 23% |
| Rented | 307 | 33% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 864 | 92% |
| Townhouses & semis | 22 | 2% |
| Flats & apartments | 44 | 5% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 935 occupied private dwellings in Coonamble.
- Median weekly rent
- $190
- Median monthly mortgage
- $883
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,460
- Median weekly personal income
- $641
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 95 (4%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 71 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 1,054 (40%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 616 (31%)
- Labour-force participation
- 47.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 7.4%
- Employed full-time
- 553
- Employed part-time
- 282
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 Coonamble
Where is Coonamble?
Coonamble is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
What is the population of Coonamble?
At the 2021 Census, Coonamble had a population of about 2,666.
Is Coonamble an advantaged area?
Coonamble has an ABS SEIFA score of 866, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 6 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 6% of Australian suburbs.
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