Namoi River vs Watsons Creek

Namoi River is the younger of the two, with a median age of 49 against 53 in Watsons Creek. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Namoi River, the large majority of households are couple families. In Watsons Creek, most households are people living alone. On these figures, Namoi River tends to suit families with children and couples, while Watsons Creek suits people living alone and 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

They split

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

  • Namoi River is already more of a family suburb (75% vs 28%)
  • Watsons Creek has more parks and reserves (3 vs 0)

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

First-home buyers

Namoi River

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • leaves households under less mortgage stress (26% vs 36%)

Weighs mortgage stress.

Renters

Watsons Creek

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($0/wk vs $370/wk)

Weighs rent.

Commuting to the city

Watsons Creek

ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here

  • has a shorter drive in (350 min vs 395 min)
  • sits closer to the CBD (474.3 km vs 479.2 km)

Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Watsons Creek

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has more residents already 65 and over (36% vs 23%)

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

Investors

Namoi River

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (1.7% vs -18.3%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

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

Namoi River Watsons Creek
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.

Namoi River Watsons Creek
Walkability 0 / 0
Namoi River — Walkability: 0/100 Watsons Creek — Walkability: 0/100
Safety 74 / 82
Namoi River — Safety: 74/100 Watsons Creek — Safety: 82/100
Low fire risk 47 / 47
Namoi River — Low fire risk: 47/100 Watsons Creek — Low fire risk: 47/100

Demographics

Namoi River rents higher ($370/wk vs $0/wk); Watsons Creek has more residents (94 vs 61).

Namoi River Watsons Creek
Population 61 94
+54% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) +1.7% -18.3%
Median age 49 53
Median household income $55,224/yr
+30% vs other
 $38,636/yr
Median weekly rent $370/wk
(not reported on the other side)
 —

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Namoi River Watsons Creek
0-4 6.6% / 3.2%
Namoi River — 0-4: 6.6% Watsons Creek — 0-4: 3.2%
5-14 11.5% / 9.6%
Namoi River — 5-14: 11.5% Watsons Creek — 5-14: 9.6%
15-19 4.9% / —
Namoi River — 15-19: 4.9% Watsons Creek — 15-19: not among its largest
20-24 11.5% / —
Namoi River — 20-24: 11.5% Watsons Creek — 20-24: not among its largest
25-34 — / 10.6%
Namoi River — 25-34: not among its largest Watsons Creek — 25-34: 10.6%
35-44 4.9% / 13.8%
Namoi River — 35-44: 4.9% Watsons Creek — 35-44: 13.8%
45-54 19.7% / 19.1%
Namoi River — 45-54: 19.7% Watsons Creek — 45-54: 19.1%
55-64 23.0% / 14.9%
Namoi River — 55-64: 23.0% Watsons Creek — 55-64: 14.9%
65-74 16.4% / 20.2%
Namoi River — 65-74: 16.4% Watsons Creek — 65-74: 20.2%
75-84 6.6% / 10.6%
Namoi River — 75-84: 6.6% Watsons Creek — 75-84: 10.6%
85+ — / 5.3%
Namoi River — 85+: not among its largest Watsons Creek — 85+: 5.3%

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

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Namoi River 25.0% lone person
Namoi River — Lone Person: 25.0% Namoi River — Couple Families: 75.0% Namoi River — One Parent Families: 0.0%
Watsons Creek 72.2% lone person
Watsons Creek — Lone Person: 72.2% Watsons Creek — Couple Families: 13.9% Watsons Creek — One Parent Families: 13.9%
Lone Person Couple Families One Parent Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Namoi River 0.0% renting
Namoi River — Owned Outright: 66.7% Namoi River — Mortgage: 33.3% Namoi River — Renting: 0.0%
Watsons Creek 0.0% renting
Watsons Creek — Owned Outright: 80.0% Watsons Creek — Mortgage: 20.0% Watsons Creek — Renting: 0.0%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Namoi River 100.0% houses
Namoi River — Houses: 100.0%
Watsons Creek 100.0% houses
Watsons Creek — Houses: 100.0%
Houses

Qualifications

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

Namoi River Watsons Creek
Certificate III & IV 16.4% / 22.3%
Namoi River — Certificate III & IV: 16.4% Watsons Creek — Certificate III & IV: 22.3%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 9.8% / 16.0%
Namoi River — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 9.8% Watsons Creek — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 16.0%
Bachelor Degree — / 11.7%
Namoi River — Bachelor Degree: not among its largest Watsons Creek — Bachelor Degree: 11.7%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (22.3%).

Property market

Namoi River Watsons Creek
Median house price — $280,000
Median unit price —
same for both
Median land price —
same for both

Zoning mix

Namoi River Watsons Creek
Rural and farming 100% 95%
Environmental 0% 5%
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

Namoi River Watsons Creek
New dwellings approved 390
across Tamworth
same for both
Approvals change year on year -35%
same for both

Ranking within NSW

Namoi River Watsons Creek
House price — Higher than 7% of NSW
Income Higher than 15% of NSW Higher than 4% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 6% of NSW Higher than 43% of NSW
Affordability — Higher than 83% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 5% of NSW Higher than 61% of NSW
NBN connectivity Higher than 3% of NSW Higher than 22% of NSW

Liveability

Namoi River Watsons Creek
Grade —
same for both
Score —
same for both
Socio-economic band mid-range socio-economic
decile 5/10
 mid-range socio-economic
decile 4/10

Risk profile

Namoi River Watsons Creek
Bushfire Moderate
53/100
same for both
Crime Low
26/100
 Low
18/100
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

Namoi River Watsons Creek
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

Namoi River Watsons Creek
Parks & reserves 0 3
Waterways 1
same for both

Mobility

Namoi River sits further from the CBD (479.2 km vs 474.3 km).

Namoi River Watsons Creek
Walkability score 0/100
same for both
Distance to Sydney 479.2 km
+1% vs other
 474.3 km
Drive time (normal traffic) 395 min 350 min
Electric vehicle share 0.1%
postcode 2346
 0.6%
postcode 2355
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 50
postcode 2346
 40
postcode 2355

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.

Namoi River Watsons Creek
Worked from Home 52.2% / 51.6%
Namoi River — Worked from Home: 52.2% Watsons Creek — Worked from Home: 51.6%
Car (driver) 47.8% / 38.7%
Namoi River — Car (driver): 47.8% Watsons Creek — Car (driver): 38.7%
Walked Only — / 9.7%
Namoi River — Walked Only: not among its largest Watsons Creek — Walked Only: 9.7%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (52.2%).

Setting

Namoi River Watsons Creek
Elevation 578 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 805 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre

NBN connectivity

Namoi River Watsons Creek
Connectivity score 15/100
same for both
Most common technology Satellite (Sky Muster)
same for both
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 0%
22 premises
 0%
35 premises

Climate

Namoi River Watsons Creek
Annual rainfall 679 mm 784 mm
Summer max (Jan) 32.0°C 27.5°C
Winter min (Jul) 0.9°C 0.1°C

Council rates

Namoi River Watsons Creek
Average residential rate $1,397/yr
same for both
Council Tamworth
same for both

Federal electorate

Namoi River Watsons Creek
Division New England
same for both
Member Barnaby Joyce
same for both
Party The Nationals
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Namoi River Watsons Creek
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Namoi River

Rural

Watsons Creek

Affordable Retirees Rural

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Namoi River

Namoi River vs Manilla Namoi River vs Halls Creek Namoi River vs Upper Manilla Namoi River vs Woodsreef

Other comparisons with Watsons Creek

Watsons Creek vs Bendemeer Watsons Creek vs Halls Creek
Full data on Namoi River Full data on Watsons Creek
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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