Black Springs vs Essington
In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and about half of households are couple families. On these figures, Black Springs tends to suit older residents.
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
Essington
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- carries lower crime risk (11/100 vs 52/100)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Black Springs
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (17% vs 24%)
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
Black Springs
ahead on 2 of the 2 things we measure here
- has cheaper rent ($200/wk vs $600/wk)
- leaves renters under less rental stress (11% vs 32%)
Weighs rent and rental stress.
Commuting to the city
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Black Springs is more walkable (10/100 vs 0/100)
- Essington sits closer to the CBD (218.6 km vs 226.9 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Black Springs
ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here
- is more walkable (10/100 vs 0/100)
- has more residents already 65 and over (27% vs 12%)
- But Essington carries lower crime risk (11/100 vs 52/100)
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
Black Springs and Essington 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
Essington rents higher ($600/wk vs $200/wk); Black Springs has more residents (227 vs 99).
| Black Springs | Essington | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 227 +56% vs other | 99 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +0.9% | +4.2% |
| Median age | 46 | 47 |
| Median household income | $92,248/yr | $97,448/yr +6% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $200/wk | $600/wk +200% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (21.2%).
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 (5.1%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.2%).
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Black Springs | Essington | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | — | $715,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
Zoning mix
| Black Springs | Essington | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 99% | 100% |
| 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
| Black Springs | Essington | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 21 across Oberon same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | -33% same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Black Springs | Essington | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — | Higher than 27% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 59% of NSW | Higher than 64% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 56% of NSW | Higher than 29% of NSW |
| Affordability | — | Higher than 83% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 28% of NSW | Higher than 29% of NSW |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 27% of NSW | Higher than 29% of NSW |
Liveability
Black Springs is more walkable (10 vs 0).
| Black Springs | Essington | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | advantaged area decile 7/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
Black Springs carries more crime risk (52 vs 11).
| Black Springs | Essington | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Low 35/100 | Low 33/100 |
| Crime | Moderate 52/100 | Low 11/100 |
| 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
| Black Springs | Essington | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Schools in Black Springs
- Black Springs Public School Government · Primary
Schools in Essington
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Black Springs | Essington | |
|---|---|---|
| Parks & reserves | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 29 | 23 |
Mobility
Black Springs sits further from the CBD (226.9 km vs 218.6 km).
| Black Springs | Essington | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 10/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 226.9 km +4% vs other | 218.6 km |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 205 min | 204 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.3% postcode 2787 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 44 postcode 2787 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 (77.6%).
Setting
| Black Springs | Essington | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 1,202 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 994 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Black Springs | Essington | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 18/100 | 19/100 |
| Most common technology | Satellite (Sky Muster) same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 84 premises | 0% 38 premises |
Climate
| Black Springs | Essington | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 738 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Council rates
| Black Springs | Essington | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $975/yr same for both | |
| Council | Oberon same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Black Springs | Essington | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Calare same for both | |
| Member | Andrew Gee same for both | |
| Party | Independent same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Black Springs | Essington | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Black Springs
Other comparisons with Essington
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.