Cowra NSW 2794
Cowra sits 319 km from Sydney CBD in New South Wales, around 4 hours 20 minutes by car. Census data records 10,145 residents with a median age of 46 and a median household income of $57,564 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the bottom 20% nationally. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $230 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,235. The area shows high crime risk. Of 7 schools within the town boundary, 2 rank above the state average, and walkability is low.
Is Cowra a good town?
Cowra scores a C (31/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on prices, weaker on transit, safety, and community.
Mixed results
7 schools · 2 above peer schools
Car-dependent
Walkability 14/100 · 318.6 km · 262 min drive to Sydney
More affordable than most
Median $449K · More affordable than 79% of NSW
High crime risk
Fire 30/100 · Crime 84/100
Highly disadvantaged
SEIFA decile 2/10 · median age 46 · 10,145 residents
Liveability Rating
31 / 100 · Ranked #1252 in NSWEach bar is Cowra's rank among NSW suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better).
No flood data is published for New South Wales — a blank here means we hold no data, not that there is no risk.
How do you rate the liveability in Cowra?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
31 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataCowra's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $449,000, about 1% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$448,550
7% above its 3 neighbours (median $420,000)
Based on 78 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 30 days — median across 39 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 9 sales $445K
- 3 bed 42 sales $434K
- 4 bed 19 sales $550K
- 5 bed 5 sales $650K
Land
$272,500
Based on only 4 sales — small sample, take as indicative.
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Cowra are currently listed at around $503,000 on average. Based on 70 houses listed in the past six months.
$503K
70 houses listed in the last 6 months.
71 of the suburb's 4,087 dwellings (1.7%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Cowra rent for around $395 a week on average, based on 41 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
Houses
$395/wk
41 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Units
$335/wk
10 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
51 rentals advertised against an estimated 1,197 rented homes (4.3%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- 3-bed houses
- $420/wk
- 38 bonds
- +37% since 2021
- 2-bed units
- $345/wk
- 10 bonds
- +57% since 2021
Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2794 (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 2025142 Acceptable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 21% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2794.
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$395/week ($21,000 a year) on a $503,000 median
Not enough unit sales and rentals in the window to calculate a yield.
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 Cowra safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Cowra sits in the high band, with 906 incidents recorded in 2025 — up about 1% on the prior year.
906 offences
1.2% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–202527 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital, 7 of them fatal
Where they happened
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
Cowra Shire Council has published 4 flood studies on the NSW Flood Data Portal. The mapped flood areas are in those studies; SuburbScan does not hold them.
Schools
Seven schools serve Cowra, and performance is broadly at peer-suburb levels with one standout. Cowra High School and Holmwood Public School lead the pack.
- • 1,629 students across 7 schools (avg 233)
- • Sectors: 5 Government, 1 Independent, 1 Catholic
- • ICSEA 822-985, median 896 (below the national baseline of 1000)
- • Largest: St Raphael's Catholic School Cowra (442 students)
Primary
Secondary
Combined
Walkability
Cowra is very car-dependent on foot — at 14/100, nearly all errands require a car. Within the town there are 3 supermarkets, 23 parks and 3 cafes to anchor that walking radius.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Cowra.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 80.2 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 41.7 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 0.1 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 0 min
- Span of service
- 15.4 hours
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 Cowra.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 23%
- Premises covered
- 5,530
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
Cowra: council population
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
The ABS scores 31 small areas inside this town and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 7 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this town rank well above the average and parts well below it.
Cowra is home to about 10,100 residents, with a median age of 46, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $58,000 a year, with unemployment at 5.6%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
10,145
Median Age
46
Median Household Income
$57,564/yr
Census Median Rent
$230/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,235/mo
Avg Household Size
2.3
Median Personal Income
$32,084/yr
Unemployment Rate
5.6%
Unoccupied Dwellings
10.9%
Total Dwellings
4,087
Owner-Occupier Rate
70.7%
Houses
90.4%
Rental Stress
20.8%
Mortgage Stress
25.7%
Work From Home
9.2%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
169 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 41 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 1,149 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 85.7%
- English Spoken at Home
- 88.8%
- Employment Rate
- 49.2%
- Completed Year 12
- 27.0%
Occupations
Religion
Country of Birth (overseas)
Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.
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.
130 residents (1.3%) 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.
5.1% of residents (488) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney (335).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 9,584 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.
Age Distribution
Family & Household Composition
Commute to Work
Local Jobs
People who work in this town against employed people who live here, 2021 Census.
About 4,165 people work here; 4,109 employed residents live here.
Roughly as many jobs as working residents (1.0 per resident).
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
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $583 a year through Cowra based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Rural and farming 93%
- Residential 3%
- Environmental 2%
- Zones under 1% 2%
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: Cowra
In the year to August 2026, 33 new dwellings were approved across Cowra. That mix is 31 houses and 2 units.
Aboriginal Land Council
Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Cowra 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 Grenfell (Manganese Rd), 46.2 kmModerate rainfall — hot summers, cold winters with occasional frost.
- Elevation
- 296 m
- above sea level, at the town centre
- Near high-voltage lines
- 1.1% of addresses
- 71 within 100 m of an overhead line of 110 kV or more
- Annual rainfall
- 631 mm
- 69 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 31.3°C
- 23 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 3.4°C
- 23 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.
Industrial Emissions Nearby
1 facility within 5 km- 4.8 kmPetroleum Product WholesalingTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds · n-Hexane · Toluene (methylbenzene)
EV adoption
In postcode 2794, 13 of 8,809 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 2.9% (252 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 3.0%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 2794, 2,383 rooftop-solar systems totalling 17.8 MW have been installed since 2001, against 4,706 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 118 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.
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).
Mortgage repayments
3 mortgage brokers are registered in this town.
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.
At $448,550 this is under the $600,000 First Home Owner Grant cap. A first home buyer may qualify for $10,000 on a newly built home — check eligibility with Revenue NSW.
A deposit under 20% usually attracts Lenders Mortgage Insurance, which this doesn't include.
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 2026-10-26 — indicative only, and not an offer. Your rate depends on the lender, your deposit and your circumstances. Not financial advice.
Federal Electorate
Currently held by Michael Mccormack The Nationals
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Michael Mccormack | 37.4% | 62.6% | -2.9 |
| 2022 | Michael Mccormack | 35.1% | 64.8% | -4.6 |
| 2019 | Michael Mccormack | 30.5% | 69.5% | +3.0 |
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
Currently held by Steph Cooke The Nationals
Next state election: 13 March 2027.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Steph Cooke NP | 82.1% |
| 2019 | Steph Cooke NP | 77.1% |
| 2015 | Katrina Hodgkinson NP | 70.4% |
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 Cowra?
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.
- The census for a few hundred neighbours, not all 10,145 residents
- Nearest and zoned schools, with the walk from that door
- Flood, bushfire and noise mapping, where the state publishes it
Free to look up. Subscribers see every section in full — $29/month.
Nearby suburbs
Canowindra NSW 2804
Woodstock NSW 2793
Koorawatha NSW 2807
Gooloogong NSW 2805
Darbys Falls NSW 2793
Wattamondara NSW 2794
Compare Cowra to another suburb
Side-by-side stats for any other NSW suburb — type a name and pick one.
Or jump straight to a nearby comparison:
Common questions about Cowra
Is Cowra a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Cowra is high (84/100, ranked against other NSW suburbs on offences per resident). Offences against shops, venues and visitors are divided by the people who live here, so suburbs with large daytime or visitor populations rank higher than living there may feel.
What natural hazards affect Cowra?
Cowra has a low recorded bushfire history (30/100, 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 Cowra a good place to live?
Cowra has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of C (31/100), 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 Cowra?
Cowra, NSW had a population of 10,145 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Cowra, NSW?
The postcode for Cowra, NSW is 2794.
How far is Cowra from Sydney?
Cowra is 319 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 262 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Cowra?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Cowra was $57,564 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 Cowra?
The median advertised rent in Cowra is $395 a week for houses (41 listings) and $335 a week for units (10 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Cowra?
The median age of residents in Cowra was 46 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Cowra at risk of bushfire?
Cowra has a low recorded bushfire history (30/100). 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 Cowra?
There are 7 schools inside the Cowra boundary: 2 above and 4 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Cowra walkable?
Cowra scores 14/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it very car-dependent. 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 Cowra?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Cowra, Grenfell (Manganese Rd) (46.2 km away), summer days average 31.3°C, winter nights 3.4°C, 631 mm of rain a year over 69 rainy days, and 23 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Cowra?
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 Cowra belong to?
Cowra sits within the Cowra local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Cowra?
The average residential rates bill through Cowra is $583 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Cowra?
Across Cowra, 33 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). These are LGA-level totals — every suburb in the council shares the same figure.
Which federal electorate is Cowra in?
Cowra sits within the federal Division of Riverina, currently held by Michael Mccormack (The Nationals).
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Data freshness
- Census · 2021
- Median sale prices · Oct 2026
- For-sale & rental market · Oct 2026
- Council rates · FY 2024–25
- Building approvals · Aug 2026
- Schools · 2025
- Public transport · Oct 2026
- NBN connectivity · Dec 2025
- Crime · 2025
- Road crashes · 2021–2025
- Climate · 2006–2026
- Socio-economic (SEIFA) · 2021
- EV adoption · Jan 2025
- First Home Owner Grant · Sep 2026
- Federal electorate · 2025
- State electorate · 2023
- Amenities · Sep 2026
- Health & emergency facilities · Sep 2026
- Industrial emissions (NPI) · 2024/2025
- Coastal erosion · 1988–2025
- Aircraft noise · 2024
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.