Culcairn, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Culcairn is a town in southern New South Wales, on the Olympic Highway between Albury and Wagga Wagga, about 53km north of Albury and 514km from Sydney, with Billabong Creek running along its southern edge. The pastoralist James Balfour laid out the township in 1880 and named it after a property in the Scottish parish of Kiltearn, his mother's birthplace. The post office opened that September, and the grand Culcairn Hotel followed in 1891 as the railway brought prosperity. Chaff milling, grain growing and quarrying shaped the local economy. The heritage-listed railway station and the landmark hotel recall the town's busy rail-era heyday.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Culcairn is more socio-economically advantaged than about 19% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 925, 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.
Culcairn at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,483
- Median age
- 44
- Median weekly household income
- $1,173
- SEIFA score
- 925
- Coordinates
- -35.6899, 147.0014
Culcairn demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Culcairn 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 26%, 18% of homes are rented, and 10% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 312 | 21% |
| Youth (15–24) | 169 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 276 | 19% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 336 | 23% |
| Seniors (65+) | 379 | 26% |
Share of the 1,472 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 233 | 42% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 188 | 34% |
| Rented | 100 | 18% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 538 | 97% |
| Townhouses & semis | 16 | 3% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 554 occupied private dwellings in Culcairn.
- Median weekly rent
- $220
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,000
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,515
- Median weekly personal income
- $623
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 135 (10%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 56 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 80 (5%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 362 (33%)
- Labour-force participation
- 52.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.9%
- Employed full-time
- 343
- Employed part-time
- 192
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 Culcairn
Where is Culcairn?
Culcairn is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
What is the population of Culcairn?
At the 2021 Census, Culcairn had a population of about 1,483.
Is Culcairn an advantaged area?
Culcairn has an ABS SEIFA score of 925, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 19 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 19% of Australian suburbs.
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