Narrabri, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Narrabri is a town on the North West Slopes of New South Wales, on the Namoi River about 520 kilometres north-west of Sydney and the seat of Narrabri Shire. It sits at the centre of a major cotton-growing district that also produces wheat, beef and lamb. The area is the traditional country of the Gamilaroi (Kamilaroi) people, who remain a significant part of the local community. Its name comes from an early pastoral run and is of Aboriginal origin, with suggested meanings including 'forked sticks', 'big creek' and 'snake place', though the exact sense is uncertain. Nearby attractions include the rugged Mount Kaputar National Park, the vast Pilliga forest, and the Australia Telescope Compact Array, a CSIRO radio-astronomy observatory.
Less advantaged than the national average
Narrabri is more socio-economically advantaged than about 26% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 943, 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.
Narrabri at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 7,327
- Median age
- 39
- Median weekly household income
- $1,590
- SEIFA score
- 943
- Coordinates
- -30.2265, 149.7879
Narrabri demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Narrabri 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%, 31% of homes are rented, and 5% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,482 | 20% |
| Youth (15–24) | 807 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,796 | 24% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,874 | 26% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,373 | 19% |
Share of the 7,332 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 898 | 33% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 860 | 31% |
| Rented | 863 | 31% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 2,386 | 87% |
| Townhouses & semis | 313 | 11% |
| Flats & apartments | 22 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 2,740 occupied private dwellings in Narrabri.
- Median weekly rent
- $260
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,448
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,047
- Median weekly personal income
- $826
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 357 (5%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 235 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 1,120 (15%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 2,177 (39%)
- Labour-force participation
- 61.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.7%
- Employed full-time
- 2,296
- Employed part-time
- 966
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 Narrabri
Where is Narrabri?
Narrabri is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
What is the population of Narrabri?
At the 2021 Census, Narrabri had a population of about 7,327.
Is Narrabri an advantaged area?
Narrabri has an ABS SEIFA score of 943, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 26 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 26% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in New South Wales
More suburb guides in New South Wales
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.