Tenterfield, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Tenterfield is a town on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, roughly 700 kilometres north of Sydney and 275 kilometres south-west of Brisbane, near the Queensland border. The district was first home to the Jukembal people. Stuart Donaldson took up Tenterfield Station in 1841, naming it after his family's Scottish home, and the township was gazetted in 1851, growing further after gold was found nearby late that decade. Tenterfield holds a special place in the nation's story: on 24 October 1889 Sir Henry Parkes delivered his famous Federation address, the Tenterfield Oration, in the School of Arts, helping set Australia on the path to federation. The town is also remembered through Peter Allen's song about his grandfather, the Tenterfield Saddler.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Tenterfield is more socio-economically advantaged than about 14% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 908, 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.
Tenterfield at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 4,067
- Median age
- 55
- Median weekly household income
- $933
- SEIFA score
- 908
- Coordinates
- -29.0802, 152.0346
Tenterfield demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Tenterfield 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 35%, 22% of homes are rented, and 9% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 599 | 15% |
| Youth (15–24) | 357 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 626 | 15% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,065 | 26% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,425 | 35% |
Share of the 4,072 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 911 | 52% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 367 | 21% |
| Rented | 385 | 22% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,645 | 94% |
| Townhouses & semis | 24 | 1% |
| Flats & apartments | 62 | 4% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,749 occupied private dwellings in Tenterfield.
- Median weekly rent
- $250
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,192
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,260
- Median weekly personal income
- $517
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 320 (9%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 104 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 252 (6%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,199 (36%)
- Labour-force participation
- 46.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.7%
- Employed full-time
- 802
- Employed part-time
- 578
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 Tenterfield
Where is Tenterfield?
Tenterfield is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
What is the population of Tenterfield?
At the 2021 Census, Tenterfield had a population of about 4,067.
Is Tenterfield an advantaged area?
Tenterfield has an ABS SEIFA score of 908, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 14 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 14% of Australian suburbs.
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