Dorrigo NSW 2453
Located in New South Wales, Dorrigo sits 547 km from Sydney CBD, around 6 hours 15 minutes by car. The town has 1,214 residents, a median age of 56, and a median household income of $48,100 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the lower-middle tier nationally. Population grew 1.9% 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 high crime risk and no recorded bushfire exposure. Of 3 schools within the town boundary, 1 ranks above the state average, and walkability is low.
Is Dorrigo a good town?
Dorrigo scores a C (44/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on schools, weaker on transit.
Above the state average
3 schools · 1 above peer schools
Car-dependent
Walkability 21/100 · 547.4 km · 374 min drive to Sydney
Around the state median
Median $630K · Cheaper than 79% of NSW
Moderate crime risk
Fire 0/100 · Crime 70/100
Below-average income
SEIFA decile 3/10 · median age 56 · 1,214 residents
Liveability Rating
44 / 100 · Ranked #917 in NSWEach bar is Dorrigo'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 Dorrigo?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
44 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataDorrigo's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $630,000, about 8% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$630,000
Based on 37 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 36 days — median across 17 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 5 sales $660K
- 3 bed 18 sales $600K
- 4 bed 11 sales $765K
Land
$262,500
Based on 14 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 47 days — median across 4 sales that recorded a listing period
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Dorrigo are currently listed at around $795,000 on average. Based on 13 houses listed in the past six months.
$795K
13 houses listed in the last 6 months.
13 of the suburb's 545 dwellings (2.4%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Short-Stay Rentals
16 active Airbnb listings: 16 whole homes and 0 rooms. Whole homes are about 2.6% of the town's homes.
Airbnb only, as at Jun 2026; other platforms are not included. Active means reviewed in the past 12 months. The share is against private dwellings at the 2021 Census.
Is Dorrigo safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Dorrigo sits in the high band, with 66 incidents recorded in 2025 — up roughly 10% on the prior year.
66 offences
10.0% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20258 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital
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
Bellingen Shire Council has published 9 flood studies on the NSW Flood Data Portal. The mapped flood areas are in those studies; SuburbScan does not hold them.
Schools
Three schools serve Dorrigo, and results are mixed — some outperforming peer-suburb schools, some below. Dorrigo Public School leads the pack.
- • 251 students across 3 schools (avg 84)
- • Sectors: 2 Government, 1 Catholic
- • ICSEA 948-961, median 951 (below the national baseline of 1000)
- • Largest: Dorrigo High School (118 students)
Primary
Secondary
Walkability
Dorrigo is very car-dependent on foot — at 21/100, nearly all errands require a car. Within the town there are 2 supermarkets, 8 parks and 5 cafes to anchor that walking radius.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Dorrigo.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 10.0 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 4.3 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 0.0 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 9.9 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 Dorrigo.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 38%
- Premises covered
- 813
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
Bellingen: 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 6 small areas inside this town and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 3 different deciles — a narrow range, so the average describes the town closely.
Dorrigo is home to about 1,200 residents, with a median age of 56 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $48,000 a year, with unemployment at 3.9%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
1,214
Median Age
56
Median Household Income
$48,100/yr
Census Median Rent
$300/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,300/mo
Avg Household Size
2.0
Median Personal Income
$29,120/yr
Unemployment Rate
3.9%
Unoccupied Dwellings
14.1%
Total Dwellings
545
Owner-Occupier Rate
78.2%
Houses
93.4%
Rental Stress
32.4%
Mortgage Stress
32.4%
Work From Home
16.9%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 80.4%
- English Spoken at Home
- 89.9%
- Employment Rate
- 42.5%
- Completed Year 12
- 33.2%
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.
4 residents (0.3%) 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.
4.1% of residents (48) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Brisbane (16).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 1,159 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
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,592 a year through Bellingen based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Rural and farming 89%
- Residential 7%
- Environmental 1%
- Parks and recreation 1%
- Zones under 1% 1%
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: Bellingen
In the year to August 2026, 40 new dwellings were approved across Bellingen. That mix is 36 houses and 4 units. Approvals are up 12.5% on the same period a year earlier.
Aboriginal Land Council
Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Dorrigo Plateau 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 Lower Bucca, 42.9 kmHigh rainfall.
- Elevation
- 744 m
- above sea level, at the town centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 37.2 km
- Near high-voltage lines
- 0.8% of addresses
- 8 within 100 m of an overhead line of 110 kV or more
- Annual rainfall
- 1,827 mm
- 115 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- —
- Winter min (Jul)
- —
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
In postcode 2453, 10 of 2,555 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.5% (38 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 1.9%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 2453, 795 rooftop-solar systems totalling 4.9 MW have been installed since 2001, against 1,438 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 41 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
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 $630,000 this is $30,000 above 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 2026-10-27 — 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 Pat Conaghan The Nationals
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Pat Conaghan | 40.9% | 59.1% | +0.5 |
| 2022 | Pat Conaghan | 40.5% | 59.5% | -2.4 |
| 2019 | Pat Conaghan | 38.1% | 61.9% | -0.7 |
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 Michael Kemp The Nationals
Next state election: 13 March 2027.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Michael Kemp NP | 62.8% |
| 2019 | Melinda Pavey NP | 64.9% |
| 2015 | Melinda Pavey NP | 60.9% |
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 Dorrigo?
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 1,214 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
North Dorrigo NSW 2453
Megan NSW 2453
Bostobrick NSW 2453
Fernbrook NSW 2453
Bielsdown Hills NSW 2453
Dorrigo Mountain NSW 2453
Compare Dorrigo 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 Dorrigo
Is Dorrigo a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Dorrigo is high (70/100, 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 Dorrigo?
Dorrigo has no recorded bushfire history. These are town-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Dorrigo a good place to live?
Dorrigo has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of C (44/100), 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 Dorrigo?
Dorrigo, NSW had a population of 1,214 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Dorrigo, NSW?
The postcode for Dorrigo, NSW is 2453.
How far is Dorrigo from Sydney?
Dorrigo is 547 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 374 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Dorrigo?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Dorrigo was $48,100 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 Dorrigo?
There are too few current rental listings in Dorrigo 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 Dorrigo?
The median age of residents in Dorrigo was 56 at the 2021 ABS Census.
How are the schools in Dorrigo?
There are 3 schools inside the Dorrigo boundary: 1 above, 1 at, and 1 below similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Dorrigo walkable?
Dorrigo scores 21/100 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 Dorrigo?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Dorrigo, Lower Bucca (42.9 km away), 1,827 mm of rain a year over 115 rainy days over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Dorrigo?
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 Dorrigo belong to?
Dorrigo sits within the Bellingen local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Dorrigo?
The average residential rates bill through Bellingen is $1,592 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Dorrigo?
Across Bellingen, 40 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 12.5% 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 Dorrigo in?
Dorrigo sits within the federal Division of Cowper, currently held by Pat Conaghan (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
- Short-stay rentals · Jun 2026
- 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.