Dalton NSW 2581

Located in New South Wales, Dalton sits 253 km from Sydney CBD, around 2 hours 45 minutes by car. The locality has 230 residents, a median age of 48, and a median household income of $79,612 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the middle range nationally. Population grew 17.9% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $300 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,300. The area shows no recorded bushfire exposure. 1 school sits within the locality boundary, and walkability is low.

This locality is too small to rate.

The Liveability Rating is calculated for suburbs of 500 residents or more, and this one has 230. Below that the school, census and safety figures behind the score cover too few people to rank fairly against the rest of the state. The individual measures further down this page are still shown.

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Median Land Price

Q4 2025

Dalton's land market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $420,000 in the December 2025 quarter, about 5% above where it sat a year earlier. That said, only four sales settled in the quarter, so the median is a noisy signal — treat it as a direction rather than a level. Zoom out: prices have climbed roughly 250% over the past decade — 13.3% per year on average.

Land

$420,000

last 5 quarters
↑ +5.0% year-on-year
↑ +250.0% over 2015–2025 (+13.3%/yr compound)

Based on only 4 sales — small sample, take as indicative.

Houses

$410,000

last 5 quarters
↓ −28.6% year-on-year
↑ +104.5% over 2015–2025 (+7.4%/yr compound)

Based on only 2 sales — small sample, take as indicative.

Is Dalton safe? Crime statistics

2025

Crime in Dalton sits in the low band, with 3 incidents recorded in 2025 — down roughly 75% on the prior year.

3 offences

75.0% since 2024
Assault 1 (33.3%)
Weapons Offences 1 (33.3%)
Sexual Offences 1 (33.3%)

Crime Trend

Serious Road Crashes

2021–2025

No crash in Dalton killed anyone or put anyone in hospital in 2021–2025.

Crashes are counted where they happened, so a main road through the locality 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

Upper Lachlan 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

One school serves Dalton, but none have published comparable ratings yet.

—
No rated schools
1 school in this locality
1 unrated
  • • 6 students in one school (avg 6)

Primary

Government · K-6 · 6 students
ICSEA 936 (higher than 20% of Australian schools) · 0% top-SEA students

Walkability

Dalton is very car-dependent on foot — at 12/100, nearly all errands require a car.

12
out of 100
Very Car-Dependent
Public Transport within 1 km 41
Schools within 1.5 km 0
Parks within 800 m 0
Supermarkets within 1 km 0
GPs within 1 km 0
Pharmacies within 1 km 0
Childcare within 1 km 0
Hospitals within 5 km 0

NBN connectivity

The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Dalton.

15
connectivity score / 100
Bottom 14% in NSW
Most common
Satellite (Sky Muster)
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
0%
Premises covered
45
Technology mix
Satellite (Sky Muster) (SATELLITE) 100%

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
None
Shopping Centres
None
Cafes & Restaurants
None
Parks & Reserves
1 in locality
Sport & Recreation
None
Beaches
None
Waterways
13 in locality
Childcare
1 in locality
GPs
None
Pharmacies
None
Hospitals
None
Police Stations
None
Banks & Bank@Post
1 in locality
Fuel Stations
None
EV Chargers
None
Pubs & Bars
1 in locality
Arts & Culture
None
Places of Worship
2 in locality

Upper Lachlan: council population

The whole council area, not just Dalton · estimated residents
at 30 June 2025
Residents
9,005
+1.0% in a year
Change
+90
people since 2024
Density
1.3
people per km² across the council area
What drove the change
Natural increase
-2
births minus deaths
Net internal migration
+74
moves within Australia
Net overseas migration
+18
arrivals minus departures

The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this locality alone — this locality'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
6/10
5/10 within NSW
income, education, jobs and housing together
Economic resources
8/10
8/10 within NSW
income against housing cost and household size
Education and occupation
7/10
7/10 within NSW
qualifications and job type, income excluded

Dalton is home to 230 residents, with a median age of 48, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $80,000 a year, with unemployment at 0.0%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

230

17.9% since 2016

Median Age

48

2.0% since 2016

Median Household Income

$79,612/yr

30.7% since 2016

Census Median Rent

$300/wk

Census Median Mortgage

$1,300/mo

15.4% since 2016

Avg Household Size

2.6

13.0% since 2016

Median Personal Income

$42,484/yr

49.6% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

0.0%

Unoccupied Dwellings

17.7%

26.2% since 2016

Total Dwellings

79

5.3% since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

100.0%

7.3% since 2016

Houses

96.2%

6.3% since 2016

Rental Stress

19.6%

Mortgage Stress

19.6%

11.7% since 2016

Work From Home

21.4%

19.9% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Houses 76 (96.2%)
Flats / Apartments 3 (3.8%)

Property Ownership

Owned Outright 42 (56.8%)
Mortgage 32 (43.2%)

Demographics

Born in Australia
83.0%
English Spoken at Home
88.3%
Employment Rate
51.6%
15.1% since 2016
Completed Year 12
36.5%

Occupations

Managers 24 (25.0%)
Technicians & Trades 17 (17.7%)
Clerical & Administrative 15 (15.6%)
Community & Personal Service 12 (12.5%)
Professionals 9 (9.4%)
Machinery Operators & Drivers 8 (8.3%)
Sales 3 (3.1%)
Labourers 3 (3.1%)

Religion

Christianity 110 (47.8%)
No Religion 88 (38.3%)

Country of Birth (overseas)

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.

England 5 (2.2%)
Ireland 5 (2.2%)

Age Distribution

0-4 8 (3.5%)
5-14 31 (13.5%)
15-19 9 (3.9%)
20-24 15 (6.5%)
25-34 12 (5.2%)
35-44 24 (10.4%)
45-54 35 (15.2%)
55-64 34 (14.8%)
65-74 31 (13.5%)
75-84 19 (8.3%)
85+ 5 (2.2%)

Family & Household Composition

Couple Families 24 (48.0%)
Lone Person 18 (36.0%)
One Parent Families 8 (16.0%)

Commute to Work

Car (driver) 57 (67.9%)
Worked from Home 18 (21.4%)
Car (passenger) 6 (7.1%)
Walked Only 3 (3.6%)

Education

Certificate III & IV 42 (18.3%)
Bachelor Degree 22 (9.6%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 15 (6.5%)
Postgraduate Degree 6 (2.6%)
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 3 (1.3%)

Cars per Dwelling

1 car 15 (19.7%)
2 cars 30 (39.5%)
3 cars 22 (28.9%)
4+ cars 14 (18.4%)

Council Rates

Upper Lachlan
FY 2024-25

Households face an average residential rates bill of $636 a year through Upper Lachlan based on 2024 figures.

Avg residential rate
$636/yr
48% below the NSW average of $1,230 · median of 128 councils
Valuation basis
Unimproved Value
land only

How this land is zoned

Share of Dalton's area by planning zone
2026-09
  • Rural and farming 100%

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

Building Approvals: Upper Lachlan

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

In the year to August 2026, 44 new dwellings were approved across Upper Lachlan. That mix is 42 houses and 2 units. Approvals are up 175.0% on the same period a year earlier.

Trailing 12 months
44dwellings
+175.0% YoY
Houses
42
detached dwellings
Units
2
townhouses + apartments

Aboriginal Land Council

Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Onerwal 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 Crookwell Post Office, 38.8 km

Moderate rainfall.

Elevation
567 m
above sea level, at the locality centre
Annual rainfall
840 mm
72 rainy days
Summer max (Jan)
—
Winter min (Jul)
—

Elevation is the ground at the locality 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

1.0%
of light vehicles are electric
Up from 0.00% in 2021
+0.6 points this year
Top 19% in NSW

In postcode 2581, 25 of 2,480 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 2.1% (53 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 3.1%.

Electric share, year by year
2021
0.00%
2022
0.13%
2023
0.33%
2024
0.45%
2025
1.01%

Rooftop solar

67
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 7.2 kW each

In postcode 2581, 654 rooftop-solar systems totalling 4.7 MW have been installed since 2001, against 980 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 51 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
41
2020
51
2021
63
2022
43
2023
43
2024
54
2025
34
2026
34

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

Q4-2025 median
I'm looking for
Deposit
$
%
Monthly repayment
$2,190
Loan amount
$336,000
Total interest over 30 years
$452,569
Deposit
$84,000
Stamp duty
$13,087
Cash needed at settlement
$97,087

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 Riverina

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 locality's voters across time.

State Electorate

Goulburn District

Currently held by Wendy Tuckerman Liberal

Next state election: 13 March 2027.

Year Winner Won with
2023 Wendy Tuckerman LP 51.3%
2019 Wendy Tuckerman LP 53.5%
2015 Pru Goward LP 56.6%

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

Looking at a specific address in Dalton?

Every figure above is a locality 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

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Common questions about Dalton

Is Dalton a safe place to live?

Recorded crime in Dalton is low (24/100, ranked against other NSW suburbs on offences per resident).

What natural hazards affect Dalton?

Dalton has no recorded bushfire history. These are locality-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.

What is the population of Dalton?

Dalton, NSW had a population of 230 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Dalton, NSW?

The postcode for Dalton, NSW is 2581.

How far is Dalton from Sydney?

Dalton is 253 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 166 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Dalton?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Dalton was $79,612 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 Dalton?

There are too few current rental listings in Dalton for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $300, across all dwelling types.

What is the median age in Dalton?

The median age of residents in Dalton was 48 at the 2021 ABS Census.

How are the schools in Dalton?

There is 1 school inside the Dalton boundary, none of which has enough NAPLAN and ICSEA data for a quality band.

Is Dalton walkable?

Dalton scores 12/100 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 Dalton?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Dalton, Crookwell Post Office (38.8 km away), 840 mm of rain a year over 72 rainy days over 2006-2026.

What is the median land price in Dalton?

The median sale price for land lots in Dalton was $420,000 in the Q4 2025 quarter, based on a small sample of 4 sales — take as indicative.

Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Dalton?

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 Dalton belong to?

Dalton sits within the Upper Lachlan local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.

How much are council rates in Dalton?

The average residential rates bill through Upper Lachlan is $636 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.

How much is being built near Dalton?

Across Upper Lachlan, 44 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 175.0% 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 Dalton in?

Dalton sits within the federal Division of Riverina, currently held by Michael Mccormack (The Nationals).

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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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