Hillston, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Hillston is a town in the western Riverina of New South Wales, on the Lachlan River about 683km west of Sydney and 110km north of Griffith. The district was originally called Redbank, said to come from the Wiradjuri word 'Melnunni' meaning 'red soil', and was renamed Hillston in 1869 after William Ward Hill, a local stockman. Explorer John Oxley passed nearby in 1817 and Hovell in 1839; an inn opened in 1863, the post office in 1869, and the municipality was proclaimed in 1888, with the railway arriving in 1923. Irrigation from the Lachlan supports livestock, grain, cotton, citrus and vegetables, and the tree-lined Lake Woorabinda sits at the town's edge.
Less advantaged than the national average
Hillston is more socio-economically advantaged than about 24% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 939, 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.
Hillston at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,547
- Median age
- 36
- Median weekly household income
- $1,486
- SEIFA score
- 939
- Coordinates
- -33.4435, 145.4775
Hillston demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Hillston 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 young adults (25–44) at 32%, 35% of homes are rented, and 21% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 285 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 146 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 494 | 32% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 381 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 243 | 16% |
Share of the 1,549 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 177 | 34% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 109 | 21% |
| Rented | 184 | 35% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 480 | 90% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 23 | 4% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 531 occupied private dwellings in Hillston.
- Median weekly rent
- $220
- Median monthly mortgage
- $901
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,765
- Median weekly personal income
- $852
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 287 (21%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 227 (17%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 155 (10%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 473 (38%)
- Labour-force participation
- 63.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.6%
- Employed full-time
- 548
- Employed part-time
- 190
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 Hillston
Where is Hillston?
Hillston is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
What is the population of Hillston?
At the 2021 Census, Hillston had a population of about 1,547.
Is Hillston an advantaged area?
Hillston has an ABS SEIFA score of 939, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 24 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 24% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in New South Wales
More suburb guides in New South Wales
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.