Garema vs Wirrinya
Wirrinya is the younger of the two, with a median age of 33 against 50 in Garema. In both, the large majority of households own their home, the large majority of homes are detached houses, and most households are couple families. On these figures, Garema tends to suit people living alone, while Wirrinya suits families with children and couples.
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
Wirrinya
ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here
- carries lower crime risk (43/100 vs 86/100)
- is already more of a family suburb (72% vs 60%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Too close to call
Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
Garema
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($75/wk vs $150/wk)
Weighs rent and rental stress.
Commuting to the city
Garema
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (324 min vs 341 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (479 km vs 489.3 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Wirrinya
ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here
- has more residents already 65 and over (18% vs 8%)
- carries lower crime risk (43/100 vs 86/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Wirrinya
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (3.4% vs -19.2%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Garema and Wirrinya 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
Wirrinya rents higher ($150/wk vs $75/wk); Garema skews older (50 vs 33).
| Garema | Wirrinya | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 84 | 92 +10% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | -19.2% | +3.4% |
| Median age | 50 | 33 |
| Median household income | $68,224/yr | $84,500/yr +24% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $75/wk | $150/wk +100% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (25.0%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 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 (25.0%).
Property market
| Garema | Wirrinya | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1,150,000 | — |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | — | $16,544 |
Zoning mix
| Garema | Wirrinya | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 100% 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
| Garema | Wirrinya | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 31 across Forbes same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +125% same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Garema | Wirrinya | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 60% of NSW | — |
| Income | Higher than 31% of NSW | Higher than 54% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 30% of NSW | Higher than 37% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 26% of NSW | — |
| EV adoption | Higher than 3% of NSW same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 27% of NSW | Higher than 19% of NSW |
Liveability
| Garema | Wirrinya | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | advantaged area decile 8/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
Garema carries more crime risk (86 vs 43).
| Garema | Wirrinya | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Low 30/100 | Low 35/100 |
| Crime | High 86/100 | Moderate 43/100 |
| 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
| Garema | Wirrinya | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 0 same for both | |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
Amenities in the suburb
| Garema | Wirrinya | |
|---|---|---|
| Waterways | 10 | 8 |
Mobility
Wirrinya sits further from the CBD (489.3 km vs 479 km).
| Garema | Wirrinya | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Sydney | 479 km | 489.3 km +2% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 324 min | 341 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.1% postcode 2871 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 48 postcode 2871 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 (61.2%).
Setting
| Garema | Wirrinya | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 239 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 220 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Garema | Wirrinya | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 18/100 | 15/100 |
| Most common technology | Satellite (Sky Muster) same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 22 premises | 0% 18 premises |
Climate
| Garema | Wirrinya | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 631 mm | 553 mm |
| Summer max (Jan) | 31.3°C | 32.9°C |
| Winter min (Jul) | 3.4°C | 4.0°C |
Council rates
| Garema | Wirrinya | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $957/yr same for both | |
| Council | Forbes same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Garema | Wirrinya | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Parkes same for both | |
| Member | Jamie Chaffey same for both | |
| Party | The Nationals same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Garema | Wirrinya | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Garema
Wirrinya
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Garema
Other comparisons with Wirrinya
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.