Merriwa vs Parraweena

In both, the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Merriwa, most households own their home. In Parraweena, about half of households rent and the large majority of households are couple families. On these figures, Merriwa tends to suit families with children and older residents, while Parraweena suits renters 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

They split

one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here

  • Merriwa has more parks and reserves (5 vs 0)
  • Parraweena is already more of a family suburb (100% vs 52%)

Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.

Renters

Parraweena

ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here

  • leaves renters under less rental stress (3% vs 20%)
  • has cheaper rent ($62/wk vs $245/wk)
  • has a bigger rental market to choose from (47% vs 26%)

Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.

Commuting to the city

Merriwa

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a shorter drive in (231 min vs 270 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (318.6 km vs 364.6 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

They split

one each way, out of the 4 things we measure here

  • Merriwa has more residents already 65 and over (24% vs 8%)
  • Parraweena carries lower crime risk (50/100 vs 73/100)

Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.

Investors

Parraweena

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (52.5% vs 3.6%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

Merriwa and Parraweena drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.

Merriwa Parraweena
Hides rows where both suburbs match

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.

Merriwa Parraweena
Walkability 0 / 0
Merriwa — Walkability: 0/100 Parraweena — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 27 / 50
Merriwa — Safety: 27/100 Parraweena — Safety: 50/100
Low fire risk 51 / 79
Merriwa — Low fire risk: 51/100 Parraweena — Low fire risk: 79/100

Demographics

Merriwa has more residents (1,825 vs 61); Merriwa rents higher ($245/wk vs $62/wk).

Merriwa Parraweena
Population 1,825
+97% vs other
 61
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +3.6% +52.5%
Median age 45 44
Median household income $62,816/yr $100,724/yr
+60% vs other
Median weekly rent $245/wk
+75% vs other
 $62/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Merriwa Parraweena
0-4 5.4% / 4.9%
Merriwa — 0-4: 5.4% Parraweena — 0-4: 4.9%
5-14 14.4% / 4.9%
Merriwa — 5-14: 14.4% Parraweena — 5-14: 4.9%
15-19 5.4% / 6.6%
Merriwa — 15-19: 5.4% Parraweena — 15-19: 6.6%
20-24 4.4% / 8.2%
Merriwa — 20-24: 4.4% Parraweena — 20-24: 8.2%
25-34 9.8% / 4.9%
Merriwa — 25-34: 9.8% Parraweena — 25-34: 4.9%
35-44 10.5% / 9.8%
Merriwa — 35-44: 10.5% Parraweena — 35-44: 9.8%
45-54 11.6% / 18.0%
Merriwa — 45-54: 11.6% Parraweena — 45-54: 18.0%
55-64 13.6% / 18.0%
Merriwa — 55-64: 13.6% Parraweena — 55-64: 18.0%
65-74 13.4% / 8.2%
Merriwa — 65-74: 13.4% Parraweena — 65-74: 8.2%
75-84 7.2% / —
Merriwa — 75-84: 7.2% Parraweena — 75-84: not among its largest
85+ 3.8% / —
Merriwa — 85+: 3.8% Parraweena — 85+: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (18.0%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Merriwa 37.0% couple families
Merriwa — Couple Families: 37.0% Merriwa — Lone Person: 43.9% Merriwa — One Parent Families: 15.2% Merriwa — Group Household: 3.0% Merriwa — Other Families: 0.9%
Parraweena 100.0% couple families
Parraweena — Couple Families: 100.0% Parraweena — Lone Person: 0.0% Parraweena — One Parent Families: 0.0% Parraweena — Group Household: 0.0% Parraweena — Other Families: 0.0%
Couple Families Lone Person One Parent Families Group Household Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Merriwa 25.8% renting
Merriwa — Owned Outright: 46.4% Merriwa — Mortgage: 27.8% Merriwa — Renting: 25.8%
Parraweena 47.4% renting
Parraweena — Owned Outright: 31.6% Parraweena — Mortgage: 21.1% Parraweena — Renting: 47.4%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Merriwa 95.3% houses
Merriwa — Houses: 95.3% Merriwa — Townhouses: 3.0% Merriwa — Flats / Apartments: 1.7%
Parraweena 100.0% houses
Parraweena — Houses: 100.0% Parraweena — Townhouses: 0.0% Parraweena — Flats / Apartments: 0.0%
Houses Townhouses Flats / Apartments

Qualifications

Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.

Merriwa Parraweena
Bachelor Degree 6.7% / 23.0%
Merriwa — Bachelor Degree: 6.7% Parraweena — Bachelor Degree: 23.0%
Certificate III & IV 15.9% / 13.1%
Merriwa — Certificate III & IV: 15.9% Parraweena — Certificate III & IV: 13.1%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 4.8% / 6.6%
Merriwa — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 4.8% Parraweena — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 6.6%
Postgraduate Degree 0.8% / —
Merriwa — Postgraduate Degree: 0.8% Parraweena — Postgraduate Degree: not among its largest
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 0.5% / —
Merriwa — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 0.5% Parraweena — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (23.0%).

Property market

Merriwa Parraweena
Median house price $402,500 —
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price $248,750 —
Typical days to sell (houses) 72 days
from 22 sales
 —

Zoning mix

Parraweena has more rural and farming land (100% vs 84%); Merriwa has more land zoned for conservation (16% vs 0%).

Merriwa Parraweena
Rural and farming 84% 100%
Environmental 16% 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

Merriwa Parraweena
New dwellings approved 41
across Upper Hunter
 12
across Liverpool Plains
Approvals change year on year -20% +33%

Gross rental yield

Gross — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. From median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.

Merriwa Parraweena
Houses 4.2%
$420/wk on $515K
 —
Units —
same for both

Ranking within NSW

Merriwa Parraweena
House price Higher than 11% of NSW —
Income Higher than 25% of NSW Higher than 69% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 41% of NSW Higher than 35% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 87% of NSW —
EV adoption —
same for both
NBN connectivity Higher than 40% of NSW Higher than 25% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) Higher than 83% of NSW —

Liveability

Merriwa Parraweena
Grade D —
Score 16/100 —
Socio-economic band below-average income
decile 2/10
 advantaged area
decile 7/10

Risk profile

Merriwa carries more bushfire risk (49 vs 21); Merriwa carries more crime risk (73 vs 50).

Merriwa Parraweena
Bushfire Moderate
49/100
 Low
21/100
Crime High
73/100
 Moderate
50/100
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

Merriwa Parraweena
Inside the suburb 2 0
Rated above peers 2 0
Rated at peers 0
same for both
Rated below peers 0
same for both

Schools in Merriwa

  • Merriwa Central School Government · Combined above peers
  • St Joseph's Primary School Catholic · Primary above peers

Schools in Parraweena

No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.

Amenities in the suburb

Merriwa Parraweena
Supermarkets 1 0
Cafes & restaurants 2 0
Parks & reserves 5 0
Childcare 1 0
GPs 1 0
Hospitals 1 0
Police stations 1 0
Banks & Bank@Post 2 0
Fuel stations 1 0
Waterways 275 2

Mobility

Parraweena sits further from the CBD (364.6 km vs 318.6 km).

Merriwa Parraweena
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Sydney 318.6 km 364.6 km
+14% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 231 min 270 min
Electric vehicle share 0.0%
postcode 2329
 0.0%
postcode 2339
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 46
postcode 2329
 54
postcode 2339

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.

Merriwa Parraweena
Car (driver) 67.2% / 78.6%
Merriwa — Car (driver): 67.2% Parraweena — Car (driver): 78.6%
Worked from Home 18.0% / 10.7%
Merriwa — Worked from Home: 18.0% Parraweena — Worked from Home: 10.7%
Walked Only 9.0% / 10.7%
Merriwa — Walked Only: 9.0% Parraweena — Walked Only: 10.7%
Car (passenger) 5.1% / —
Merriwa — Car (passenger): 5.1% Parraweena — Car (passenger): not among its largest
Bus 0.7% / —
Merriwa — Bus: 0.7% Parraweena — Bus: not among its largest

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (78.6%).

Setting

Merriwa Parraweena
Elevation 433 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 404 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Merriwa Parraweena
Connectivity score 27/100 16/100
Most common technology Fixed wireless Satellite (Sky Muster)
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
883 premises
 0%
10 premises

Climate

Merriwa Parraweena
Annual rainfall 659 mm 650 mm
Summer max (Jan) — 32.6°C
Winter min (Jul) — 2.6°C

Council rates

Merriwa Parraweena
Average residential rate $968/yr $934/yr
Council Upper Hunter Liverpool Plains

Federal electorate

Merriwa Parraweena
Division New England
same for both
Member Barnaby Joyce
same for both
Party The Nationals
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Merriwa Parraweena
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Merriwa

Affordable Rural

Parraweena

Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Merriwa

Merriwa vs Cassilis Merriwa vs Gungal Merriwa vs Giants Creek Merriwa vs Bunnan Merriwa vs Baerami Merriwa vs Widden

Other comparisons with Parraweena

Parraweena vs Blackville Parraweena vs Warrah Ridge Parraweena vs Big Jacks Creek
Full data on Merriwa Full data on Parraweena
Unlock full address-level data — $29/month

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.

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