Kandos vs Mount Marsden
In both, the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Kandos, most households own their home and most households are people living alone. In Mount Marsden, about half of households rent. Houses cost more in Mount Marsden: a median of $775,000, against $405,000 in Kandos, and rent is higher there too. On these figures, Kandos tends to suit people living alone and buyers on a tighter budget, while Mount Marsden suits renters.
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
Kandos
ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more parks and reserves (9 vs 0)
- has more schools inside the suburb (2 vs 0)
- But Mount Marsden is already more of a family suburb (59% vs 33%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Kandos
ahead on 2 of the 2 things we measure here
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (30% vs 70%)
- has cheaper houses ($405,000 vs $775,000)
Weighs house prices and mortgage stress.
Renters
They split
one each way, out of the 3 things we measure here
- Kandos has cheaper rent ($220/wk vs $250/wk)
- Mount Marsden has a bigger rental market to choose from (50% vs 30%)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Kandos
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (70/100 vs 12/100)
- has a shorter drive in (202 min vs 219 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (238.3 km vs 256.1 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Kandos
ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here
- is more walkable (70/100 vs 12/100)
- has more GPs (2 vs 0)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Kandos
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (-4.0% vs -10.0%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Kandos and Mount Marsden 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
Kandos has more residents (1,263 vs 54); Mount Marsden has higher household incomes ($44,720 vs $35,204).
| Kandos | Mount Marsden | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,263 +96% vs other | 54 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | -4.0% | -10.0% |
| Median age | 54 | 52 |
| Median household income | $35,204/yr | $44,720/yr +27% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $220/wk | $250/wk +14% vs other |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (25.9%).
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 (16.7%).
Property market
| Kandos | Mount Marsden | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $405,000 | $775,000 |
| Median unit price | — same for both | |
| Median land price | $195,000 | — |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 48 days from 25 sales | — |
Zoning mix
| Kandos | Mount Marsden | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 96% | 100% |
| Industrial | 4% | 0% |
| 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
| Kandos | Mount Marsden | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 131 across Mid-Western | 55 across Lithgow |
| Approvals change year on year | -4% | +0% |
Gross rental yield
| Kandos | Mount Marsden | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 4.6% $420/wk on $475K | — |
| Units | — same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Kandos | Mount Marsden | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 10% of NSW | Higher than 31% of NSW |
| Income | Higher than 2% of NSW | Higher than 7% of NSW |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 88% of NSW | Higher than 59% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 56% of NSW | Higher than 25% of NSW |
| EV adoption | Higher than 29% of NSW | Higher than 21% of NSW |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 65% of NSW | Higher than 3% of NSW |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 92% of NSW | — |
Liveability
Kandos is more walkable (70 vs 12).
| Kandos | Mount Marsden | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | D | — |
| Score | 21/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | high-need area decile 1/10 | mid-range socio-economic decile 4/10 |
Risk profile
| Kandos | Mount Marsden | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Moderate 56/100 | Moderate 49/100 |
| Crime | High 84/100 same for both | |
| 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 | 2 within 5 km | 0 within 5 km |
Schools
| Kandos | Mount Marsden | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 2 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 1 | 0 |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 1 | 0 |
Schools in Kandos
- Kandos High School Government · Secondary above peers
- Kandos Public School Government · Primary below peers
Schools in Mount Marsden
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Kandos | Mount Marsden | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 1 | 0 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 1 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 9 | 0 |
| Childcare | 1 | 0 |
| GPs | 2 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 1 | 0 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 2 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 2 | 0 |
| Waterways | 3 | 6 |
Mobility
Mount Marsden sits further from the CBD (256.1 km vs 238.3 km).
| Kandos | Mount Marsden | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 70/100 | 12/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 238.3 km | 256.1 km +7% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 202 min | 219 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.3% postcode 2848 | 0.2% postcode 2849 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 33 postcode 2848 | 60 postcode 2849 |
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 (80.0%).
Setting
| Kandos | Mount Marsden | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 640 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 677 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Kandos | Mount Marsden | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 45/100 | 15/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the node | Satellite (Sky Muster) |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 851 premises | 0% 19 premises |
Climate
| Kandos | Mount Marsden | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 965 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 23.4°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 3.0°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Kandos | Mount Marsden | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,083/yr | $1,150/yr |
| Council | Mid-Western | Lithgow |
Federal electorate
| Kandos | Mount Marsden | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Calare same for both | |
| Member | Andrew Gee same for both | |
| Party | Independent same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Kandos | Mount Marsden | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Kandos
Other comparisons with Mount Marsden
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.