Auburn Vale vs Gilgai
In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Auburn Vale, most households are couple families. Houses cost more in Auburn Vale: a median of $680,000, against $360,000 in Gilgai, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Auburn Vale tends to suit families with children and couples, while Gilgai suits buyers on a tighter budget.
Which one suits you?
There is no overall winner — the suburb that suits a family with school-age kids is routinely the wrong one for someone commuting into the city. So each of these answers its own question, against a checklist you can see, using the same figures in the tables below.
Families with school-age kids
They split
one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here
- Auburn Vale carries lower crime risk (12/100 vs 67/100)
- Gilgai has more parks and reserves (3 vs 0)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Gilgai
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper houses ($360,000 vs $680,000)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
Gilgai
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($250/wk vs $335/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Gilgai
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (429 min vs 448 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (563.4 km vs 581.2 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Auburn Vale
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (12/100 vs 67/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Too close to call
Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Auburn Vale and Gilgai drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.
Bars start at zero. Scores, risks and rankings are drawn against their full 0–100 range; other rows are drawn in proportion to the larger of the two.
Side by side, out of 100
Risks are inverted — shown as safety and low exposure — so a longer bar always means better.
Demographics
Gilgai has more residents (740 vs 127); Auburn Vale has higher household incomes ($94,224 vs $59,852).
| Auburn Vale | Gilgai | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 127 | 740 +483% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +3.3% | +2.8% |
| Median age | 47 | 45 |
| Median household income | $94,224/yr +36% vs other | $59,852/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $335/wk +25% vs other | $250/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (17.3%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.0%).
Where residents were born
Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents, 2021 Census. A dash means that country is not among the suburb's own eight largest.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (3.9%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Auburn Vale | Gilgai | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $680,000 | $360,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — | $580,000 |
Zoning mix
Auburn Vale has more rural and farming land (98% vs 83%); Gilgai has more land zoned for conservation (15% vs 0%).
| Auburn Vale | Gilgai | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 98% | 83% |
| Environmental | 0% | 15% |
| Residential | 2% same for both | |
| Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the suburb around it. Zones as at 2026-09. | ||
Development activity
| Auburn Vale | Gilgai | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 31 across Inverell same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +0% same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Auburn Vale | Gilgai | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 25% of NSW | Higher than 23% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 61% of NSW | Higher than 21% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 61% of NSW | Higher than 66% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 83% of NSW | Higher than 58% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 1% of NSW same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 59% of NSW | Higher than 47% of NSW |
Liveability
| Auburn Vale | Gilgai | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — | D |
| Score | — | 11/100 |
| Socio-economic band | advantaged area decile 7/10 | high-need area decile 1/10 |
Risk profile
Gilgai carries more crime risk (67 vs 12).
| Auburn Vale | Gilgai | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | High 73/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Low 12/100 | Moderate 67/100 |
| Flood | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 0 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Auburn Vale | Gilgai | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 | 1 |
| Rated above peers | 0 | 1 |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Schools in Auburn Vale
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Schools in Gilgai
- Gilgai Public School Government · Primary above peers
Amenities in the suburb
| Auburn Vale | Gilgai | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 0 | 3 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 0 | 1 |
| Fuel stations | 0 | 1 |
| Waterways | 0 | 7 |
Mobility
Auburn Vale sits further from the CBD (581.2 km vs 563.4 km).
| Auburn Vale | Gilgai | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 12/100 | 16/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 581.2 km +3% vs other | 563.4 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 448 min | 429 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.0% postcode 2360 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 50 postcode 2360 same for both | |
How people get to work
Method of travel on census day 2021 — which fell during COVID restrictions, so working from home is inflated and every travel mode understated.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (83.7%).
Setting
| Auburn Vale | Gilgai | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 638 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 790 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Auburn Vale | Gilgai | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 30/100 | 29/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 51 premises | 0% 276 premises |
Climate
| Auburn Vale | Gilgai | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 803 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 30.0°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 4.5°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Auburn Vale | Gilgai | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,170/yr same for both | |
| Council | Inverell same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Auburn Vale | Gilgai | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | New England same for both | |
| Member | Barnaby Joyce same for both | |
| Party | The Nationals same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Auburn Vale | Gilgai | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Auburn Vale
Gilgai
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Auburn Vale
Other comparisons with Gilgai
Information shown is provided as-is from Australian government and commercial data sources.
Always verify with the relevant authority before making property decisions.
See Data Sources and How We Calculate for details.