Blackheath NSW 2785

Located in New South Wales, Blackheath sits 113 km from Sydney CBD, around 1 hour 40 minutes by car. The town has 4,672 residents, a median age of 53, and a median household income of $69,264 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the top 40% nationally. The town grew 6.3% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $380 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,733. Blackheath is characterised by high bushfire risk. Of 2 schools within the town boundary, 1 ranks above the state average, and walkability is high.

Is Blackheath a good town?

Blackheath scores a C (42/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on transit and community, weaker on safety.

Schools

Mixed results

2 schools · 1 above peer schools

Transit

Very walkable

Walkability 77/100 · 112.7 km · 99 min drive to Sydney

Prices

Around the state median

Median $920K

Safety

High bushfire risk

Fire 90/100 · Crime 47/100

Community

Advantaged

SEIFA decile 7/10 · median age 53 · 4,672 residents

C

Liveability Rating

42 / 100 · Ranked #979 in NSW

Each bar is Blackheath's rank among NSW suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better). Scored on 4 of 5 factors: no school data, so the other factors carry its weight.

Schools quality no data
too few schools to rate
Safety
11
Bushfire High · Crime Moderate

No flood data is published for New South Wales — a blank here means we hold no data, not that there is no risk.

Socio-economic
52
Advantaged
Walkability
75
Walkable
CBD access
48
112.7 km · 99 min drive to Sydney
How it's calculated: Safety rank 11 × 25% + Socio-economic rank 52 × 25% + Walkability rank 75 × 15% + CBD access rank 48 × 10% = 42 / 100. Missing components rebalance the remaining weights.

How do you rate the liveability in Blackheath?

Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.

Our score

42 / 100

From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.

Residents say

…

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What applies here? (optional)

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Median House Price

Public listings data

Blackheath's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $920,000, about 8% above where it sat a year earlier.

Houses

$920,000

last 7 quarters
↑ +8.0% year-on-year

Based on 164 recorded sales in the last 24 months.

Typically sold in 24 days — median across 98 sales that recorded a listing period

By bedrooms

  • 2 bed 26 sales $828K
  • 3 bed 80 sales $884K
  • 4 bed 42 sales $1.05M
  • 5 bed 6 sales $1.46M

Land

$547,500

↓ −27.4% year-on-year

Based on 12 recorded sales in the last 24 months.

Typically sold in 88 days — median across 5 sales that recorded a listing period

Currently for Sale

Last 6 months

Houses in Blackheath are currently listed at around $944,000 on average. Based on 54 houses listed in the past six months.

$944K

last 5 months
↓ −6.3% vs previous 6 months from $1.01M
Since 2022: $863K → $933K (+8%)

54 houses listed in the last 6 months.

54 of the suburb's 2,120 dwellings (2.5%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.

Rental Market

Advertised rents · last 6 months

Houses in Blackheath rent for around $625 a week on average, based on 22 houses listed for rent in the past six months.

$625/wk

last 4 months
↑ +7.8% vs previous 6 months from $580/wk
Since 2021: $457/wk → $595/wk (+30%)

22 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.

24 rentals advertised against an estimated 452 rented homes (5.3%) in the last 6 months.

Rent agreed on new leases

Jul–Sep 2026
All rentals
$550/wk
28 bonds
+31% since 2021

Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2785 (NSW publishes bonds by postcode, which can cover several suburbs). Change since 2021 compares the median of the first four quarters with the last four. Asking rents above come from advertised listings.

Rental affordability

June quarter 2025

127 Acceptable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 24% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2785.

SGS Rental Affordability Index: a score of 100 means rent takes 30% of income, the usual housing-stress line; lower scores are less affordable. "Region" is the capital city or the rest of the state.

Gross rental yield

Indicative
House
3.4% around the typical range

$625/week ($32,000 a year) on a $944,000 median

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

Is Blackheath safe? Crime statistics

2025

Crime in Blackheath sits in the moderate band, with 137 incidents recorded in 2025 — down roughly 12% on the prior year.

137 offences

11.6% since 2024
Theft 46 (33.6%)
Assault 30 (21.9%)
Property Damage 17 (12.4%)
Harassment & Stalking 16 (11.7%)
Disorderly Conduct 11 (8.0%)
Sexual Offences 8 (5.8%)
Weapons Offences 4 (2.9%)
Arson 3 (2.2%)
Drug Offences 2 (1.5%)

Crime Trend

Serious Road Crashes

2021–2025

11 crashes

where someone was killed or admitted to hospital, 1 of them fatal

Where they happened

Great Western Highway 9 (81.8%)

Crashes are counted where they happened, so a main road through the town carries people passing through; this is not a measure of risk to residents. Roads are listed with 3 or more serious crashes.

Council Flood Studies

Blue Mountains City Council has published 5 flood studies on the NSW Flood Data Portal. The mapped flood areas are in those studies; SuburbScan does not hold them.

Schools

Two schools serve Blackheath, and the cohort skews above peer-suburb performance. Mountains Christian College leads the pack.

60
out of 100
Average
2 schools in this town
1 above similar · 1 at similar
  • • 423 students across 2 schools (avg 212)
  • • Sectors: 1 Government, 1 Independent
  • • ICSEA 1040-1050, median 1045 (above the national baseline of 1000)
  • • Largest: Blackheath Public School (254 students)

Primary

Government · K-6 · 254 students
ICSEA 1050 (higher than 68% of Australian schools) · 27% top-SEA students
At similar

Combined

Independent · K-12 · 169 students
ICSEA 1040 (higher than 64% of Australian schools) · 25% top-SEA students
Above similar

Walkability

Blackheath is very walkable on foot — at 77/100, most daily errands can be done on foot. Within the town there are 2 supermarkets, 28 parks and 20 cafes to anchor that walking radius.

77
out of 100
Very Walkable
Top 9% in NSW
Public Transport within 1 km 86
Schools within 1.5 km 80
Parks within 800 m 100
Supermarkets within 1 km 80
GPs within 1 km 60
Pharmacies within 1 km 60
Childcare within 1 km 80
Hospitals within 5 km 0

Public transport

Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Blackheath.

79
out of 100
Top 13% in NSW
RailBus
Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
76.5 arrivals/hr
Off-peak weekday
47.9 arrivals/hr
Saturday
19.5 arrivals/hr
Median peak wait
0 min
Span of service
23.9 hours
Direct to CBD (peak)
330 min wait

Scheduled service only, based on the 21 October 2026 timetable. Reliability (delays, cancellations) not measured.

NBN connectivity

The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Blackheath.

66
connectivity score / 100
Most common
Fibre to the node
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
38%
Premises covered
3,149
Technology mix
Fibre to the node (FTTN) 61%
Fibre to the premises (FTTP) 38%
Satellite (Sky Muster) (SATELLITE) 1%
Fixed wireless (WIRELESS) 0%

NBN Co fixed-line and fixed-wireless premises, as at 30 December 2025. Higher-quality technologies (full fibre) score above copper, wireless, and satellite. Actual speeds depend on your plan.

Amenities

Supermarkets
2 in town
Shopping Centres
None
Cafes & Restaurants
20 in town
Parks & Reserves
28 in town
Sport & Recreation
5 in town
Beaches
None
Waterways
11 in town
Childcare
3 in town
GPs
1 in town
Pharmacies
1 in town
Hospitals
None
Police Stations
1 in town
Banks & Bank@Post
2 in town
Fuel Stations
2 in town
EV Chargers
None
Pubs & Bars
4 in town
Arts & Culture
6 in town
Places of Worship
5 in town

Blue Mountains: council population

The whole council area, not just Blackheath · estimated residents
at 30 June 2025
Residents
79,236
+0.5% in a year
Change
+389
people since 2024
Density
55
people per km² across the council area
What drove the change
Natural increase
+66
births minus deaths
Net internal migration
-136
moves within Australia
Net overseas migration
+459
arrivals minus departures

The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this town alone — this town's own population is in the census section above.

Socio-economic profile

ABS SEIFA · ranked against every suburb in Australia, and within the state
2021 census
Advantage and disadvantage
7/10
6/10 within NSW
income, education, jobs and housing together
Economic resources
3/10
3/10 within NSW
income against housing cost and household size
Education and occupation
9/10
9/10 within NSW
qualifications and job type, income excluded
How evenly that is spread

The ABS scores 12 small areas inside this town and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 6 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this town rank well above the average and parts well below it.

Blackheath is home to about 4,700 residents, with a median age of 53 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $69,000 a year, with unemployment at 4.2%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

4,672

6.3% since 2016

Median Age

53

3.9% since 2016

Median Household Income

$69,264/yr

23.7% since 2016

Census Median Rent

$380/wk

18.8% since 2016

Census Median Mortgage

$1,733/mo

7.2% since 2016

Avg Household Size

2.0

4.8% since 2016

Median Personal Income

$38,480/yr

22.1% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

4.2%

16.0% since 2016

Unoccupied Dwellings

30.4%

20.2% since 2016

Total Dwellings

2,120

10.9% since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

78.7%

3.8% since 2016

Houses

95.8%

0.3% since 2016

Rental Stress

28.5%

4.0% since 2016

Mortgage Stress

30.0%

13.3% since 2016

Work From Home

45.0%

202.0% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Houses 2,031 (95.8%)
Flats / Apartments 46 (2.2%)
Townhouses 43 (2.0%)

Property Ownership

Owned Outright 998 (48.5%)
Mortgage 623 (30.3%)
Renting 438 (21.3%)
Of those rentals, social housing 34 (7.8%)

19 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 15 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 438 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.

Demographics

Born in Australia
72.3%
English Spoken at Home
87.0%
Employment Rate
48.2%
2.8% since 2016
Completed Year 12
52.9%

Occupations

Professionals 633 (32.6%)
Technicians & Trades 260 (13.4%)
Managers 257 (13.2%)
Community & Personal Service 238 (12.2%)
Clerical & Administrative 205 (10.6%)
Labourers 132 (6.8%)
Sales 112 (5.8%)
Machinery Operators & Drivers 72 (3.7%)

Religion

No Religion 2,411 (51.6%)
Christianity 1,579 (33.8%)
Buddhism 110 (2.4%)
Other Religions 47 (1.0%)
Judaism 27 (0.6%)
Hinduism 18 (0.4%)
Islam 5 (0.1%)

Country of Birth (overseas)

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.

England 316 (6.8%)
New Zealand 101 (2.2%)
Germany 54 (1.2%)
South Africa 30 (0.6%)
Scotland 30 (0.6%)
Ireland 28 (0.6%)
Philippines 25 (0.5%)
China 21 (0.4%)

When They Arrived

Share of all residents by the year they arrived in Australia. Periods cover different numbers of years, so compare the shape rather than the bar widths.

2016-2021 47 (1.0%)
2011-2015 73 (1.6%)
2001-2010 125 (2.7%)
1991-2000 106 (2.3%)
1981-1990 126 (2.7%)
Before 1981 477 (10.2%)

47 residents (1.0%) arrived since 2016. Australia’s borders were closed to most arrivals from March 2020, so the last two years of that period are much smaller than the ones before them — nationally 260,799 people arrived in 2019 against 28,521 in 2021.

Where New Residents Came From

Where residents aged five and over lived five years before the 2021 Census, for those who lived somewhere else.

Sydney - City and Inner South 110 (2.4%)
Sydney - Inner West 106 (2.3%)
Overseas 99 (2.2%)

Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 4,526 residents aged five and over. Areas are ABS statistical regions. Small counts are approximate: the ABS adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.

Languages Spoken at Home

Top languages other than English, as a share of all residents.

French 13 (0.3%)
Thai 12 (0.3%)
Spanish 11 (0.2%)
German 11 (0.2%)
Russian 11 (0.2%)
Greek 9 (0.2%)
Italian 8 (0.2%)
Arabic 6 (0.1%)

Age Distribution

0-4 146 (3.1%)
5-14 492 (10.5%)
15-19 194 (4.2%)
20-24 98 (2.1%)
25-34 369 (7.9%)
35-44 505 (10.8%)
45-54 639 (13.7%)
55-64 849 (18.2%)
65-74 814 (17.4%)
75-84 453 (9.7%)
85+ 108 (2.3%)

Family & Household Composition

Lone Person 758 (51.8%)
Couple Families 381 (26.1%)
One Parent Families 248 (17.0%)
Group Household 60 (4.1%)
Other Families 15 (1.0%)

Commute to Work

Car (driver) 748 (47.4%)
Worked from Home 710 (45.0%)
Walked Only 47 (3.0%)
Car (passenger) 32 (2.0%)
Train 29 (1.8%)
Bicycle 8 (0.5%)
Bus 4 (0.3%)

7% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (134 of 1,943).

City centre: the ABS area around each capital's CBD, such as Sydney Inner City or Perth City (which takes in Subiaco and Leederville). 2021 Census place of work.

Local Jobs

People who work in this town against employed people who live here, 2021 Census.

About 1,135 people work here; 1,943 employed residents live here.

Mostly a place people commute from: 0.6 jobs per working resident. At least 41% of employed residents must work outside the town.

Counts are by place of work and place of usual residence. The ABS counts jobs in zones; where a zone spans several places, its jobs are shared out by land use. The ABS also adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.

Education

Bachelor Degree 883 (18.9%)
Certificate III & IV 559 (12.0%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 469 (10.0%)
Postgraduate Degree 449 (9.6%)
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 147 (3.1%)

Cars per Dwelling

0 cars 167 (8.0%)
1 car 1,015 (48.5%)
2 cars 680 (32.5%)
3 cars 170 (8.1%)
4+ cars 62 (3.0%)

Council Rates

Blue Mountains
FY 2024-25

Households face an average residential rates bill of $2,080 a year through Blue Mountains based on 2024 figures.

Avg residential rate
$2,080/yr
69% above the NSW average of $1,230 · median of 128 councils
Valuation basis
Unimproved Value
land only

How this land is zoned

Share of Blackheath's area by planning zone
2026-09
  • Environmental 84%
  • Rural and farming 5%
  • Infrastructure and transport 3%
  • Other and special use 3%
  • Residential 3%
  • Parks and recreation 3%

Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the town around it — the property page shows the zone for one address.

Building Approvals: Blue Mountains

The whole council area, not just Blackheath · new residential dwellings
to 2026-08

In the year to August 2026, 123 new dwellings were approved across Blue Mountains. That mix is 109 houses and 14 units. Approvals are up 13.6% on the same period a year earlier.

Trailing 12 months
123dwellings
+13.6% YoY
Houses
109
detached dwellings
Units
14
townhouses + apartments

Aboriginal Land Council

Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Deerubbin Local Aboriginal Land Council.

Local Aboriginal Land Councils are statutory bodies under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983, responsible for land claims and land management for their members. Their boundaries are administrative and are not a statement of whose Country this is. NSW does not publish a register of Aboriginal parties by area — they are registered for each project.

Climate & Setting

from Mount Boyce AWS, 2.4 km

High rainfall — warm summers, cold winters with occasional frost.

Elevation
1,045 m
above sea level, at the town centre
Near high-voltage lines
2.5% of addresses
93 within 100 m of an overhead line of 110 kV or more
Annual rainfall
1,147 mm
112 rainy days
Summer max (Jan)
23.8°C
1 days ≥ 35°C
Winter min (Jul)
3.2°C
12 frost days ≤ 0°C

Elevation is the ground at the town centre, from Geoscience Australia's National Digital Elevation Model. Approximate — it reads high in dense built-up areas. It is a measure of height above sea level and not an indicator of flood risk, which depends on height above nearby waterways.

EV adoption

1.5%
of light vehicles are electric
Up from 0.17% in 2021
+0.5 points this year
Top 10% in NSW

In postcode 2785, 55 of 3,593 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 3.2% (114 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 4.7%.

Electric share, year by year
2021
0.17%
2022
0.40%
2023
0.57%
2024
1.00%
2025
1.53%

Rooftop solar

39
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 6.3 kW each

In postcode 2785, 1,099 rooftop-solar systems totalling 6.9 MW have been installed since 2001, against 2,831 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 106 went up in the last year.

Counts every system certified since 2001, so a roof re-fitted with a newer system is counted twice, and small commercial systems are included alongside houses — useful for comparing postcodes, not an estimate of how many homes have working panels today.

Systems installed, year by year
2019
56
2020
73
2021
93
2022
86
2023
93
2024
89
2025
77
2026
64

2026 covers part of the year only, to 2026-07.

First Home Owner Grant

FY2026-27

$10,000 for new homes priced up to $600,000.

Off-the-plan or contracted-build value cap is $750,000 (vs $600,000 for completed new homes). Stamp duty concessions are a separate scheme (First Home Buyers Assistance).

Verify eligibility with Revenue NSW

Mortgage repayments

I'm looking for
Deposit
$
%
Monthly repayment
$4,798
Loan amount
$736,000
Total interest over 30 years
$991,341
Deposit
$184,000
Stamp duty
$35,587
Cash needed at settlement
$219,587

Transfer duty at the owner-occupier rate, and it excludes first home buyer concessions — those can cut it substantially or remove it entirely. Excludes legal, inspection and lender fees. Check with Revenue NSW

The First Home Owner Grant applies to newly built homes only, so it isn't available on an established purchase. A first home buyer building or buying new under $600,000 may qualify for $10,000 — see what qualifies with Revenue NSW.

Principal and interest over 30 years, fixed rate. Excludes fees, offset, redraw and LMI. Default rate is the median comparison rate across 1788 advertised products as at 2026-10-27 — indicative only, and not an offer. Your rate depends on the lender, your deposit and your circumstances. Not financial advice.

Federal Electorate

Division of Macquarie

Currently held by Susan Templeman Australian Labor Party

Year Winner 2PP ALP 2PP LNP Swing
2025 Susan Templeman 57.7% 42.3% +1.4
2022 Susan Templeman 57.8% 42.2% -7.6
2019 Susan Templeman 50.2% 49.8% +2.0

Results are per division — federal electoral boundaries are redrawn periodically, so the history reflects this division's past, not necessarily the exact town's voters across time.

State Electorate

Blue Mountains District

Currently held by Trish Doyle Labor

Next state election: 13 March 2027.

Year Winner Won with
2023 Trish Doyle ALP 71.9%
2019 Trish Doyle ALP 64.9%
2015 Trish Doyle ALP 58.1%

Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2021, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this town's voters. Results: © State of New South Wales through the NSW Electoral Commission, CC BY 4.0, adapted.

Looking at a specific address in Blackheath?

Every figure above is a town average, and an average smooths over the difference between a street of family homes and a block of flats. Look up one address and you get the census for the few hundred people around it, its own nearest schools and stops, and what the state has mapped for that block.

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Nearby suburbs

Compare Blackheath to another suburb

Side-by-side stats for any other NSW suburb — type a name and pick one.

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Common questions about Blackheath

Is Blackheath a safe place to live?

Recorded crime in Blackheath is moderate (47/100, ranked against other NSW suburbs on offences per resident).

What natural hazards affect Blackheath?

Blackheath has a high recorded bushfire history (90/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). These are town-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.

Is Blackheath a good place to live?

Blackheath has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of C (42/100), ranked against other NSW suburbs on school quality (25%), safety (25%), SEIFA socio-economic advantage (25%), walkability (15%) and CBD access (10%). Whether it suits you depends on what you weigh — each of those is on this page.

What is the population of Blackheath?

Blackheath, NSW had a population of 4,672 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Blackheath, NSW?

The postcode for Blackheath, NSW is 2785.

How far is Blackheath from Sydney?

Blackheath is 113 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 99 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Blackheath?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Blackheath was $69,264 a year. It is the most recent suburb-level income figure until 2026 Census results are released in 2027.

What is the median weekly rent in Blackheath?

The median advertised rent in Blackheath is $625 a week for houses (22 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.

What is the median age in Blackheath?

The median age of residents in Blackheath was 53 at the 2021 ABS Census.

Is Blackheath at risk of bushfire?

Blackheath has a high recorded bushfire history (90/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the town relative to its size, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history. It records where fire has burned, not a bushfire-prone land designation, which your council's planning scheme sets.

How are the schools in Blackheath?

There are 2 schools inside the Blackheath boundary: 1 above and 1 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).

Is Blackheath walkable?

Blackheath scores 77/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it very walkable. The score is a weighted average of public transport, schools, parks, supermarkets, GPs, pharmacies, childcare, and hospitals within walking distance.

What is the weather like in Blackheath?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Blackheath, Mount Boyce AWS (2.4 km away), summer days average 23.8°C, winter nights 3.2°C, 1,147 mm of rain a year over 112 rainy days, and 1 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.

Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Blackheath?

First-home buyers in NSW may be eligible for $10,000 towards new homes with a purchase price up to $600,000. The grant is administered by Revenue NSW; confirm current eligibility before signing a contract — state rules and amounts can change.

What council does Blackheath belong to?

Blackheath sits within the Blue Mountains local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.

How much are council rates in Blackheath?

The average residential rates bill through Blue Mountains is $2,080 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.

How much is being built near Blackheath?

Across Blue Mountains, 123 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 13.6% on the same period a year earlier. These are LGA-level totals — every suburb in the council shares the same figure.

Which federal electorate is Blackheath in?

Blackheath sits within the federal Division of Macquarie, currently held by Susan Templeman (Australian Labor Party).

Search another suburb or address

Data freshness

Vintages show when each source's data is from. See all data sources.

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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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