Located in New South Wales, Hillsborough sits 183 km from Sydney CBD, around 2 hours 20 minutes by car. The suburb has 50 residents, a median age of 46, and a median household income of $121,316 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the top 20% nationally. The suburb grew 22.0% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $550 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $2,492. Walkability is low.
This suburb is too small to rate.
The Liveability Rating is calculated for suburbs of 500 residents or more, and this one has 50. 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.
How do you rate the liveability in Hillsborough?
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Our score
Not enough data to score this suburb.
Residents say
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Median House Price
Q4 2025Hillsborough's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $844,000 in the December 2025 quarter, about 6% above where it sat a year earlier. Zoom out: prices have climbed roughly 83% over the past decade — 6.3% per year on average.
$843,750
Based on 10 recorded sales in the quarter.
Rental Market
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- 3-bed houses
- $610/wk
- 143 bonds
- +38% since 2021
- 2-bed units
- $500/wk
- 14 bonds
- +37% since 2021
Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2320 (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 202590 Unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 33% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2320.
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.
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20252 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital
Crashes are counted where they happened, so a main road through the suburb 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
Maitland City Council has published 6 flood studies on the NSW Flood Data Portal. The mapped flood areas are in those studies; SuburbScan does not hold them.
Schools
Walkability
Hillsborough is very car-dependent on foot — at 0/100, nearly all errands require a car.
We hold no public transport timetable data for this area, so public transport is not rated here and the score is spread across the remaining components. It is not counted as zero.
NBN connectivity
The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Hillsborough.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 0%
- Premises covered
- 19
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
Maitland: council population
The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this suburb alone — this suburb's own population is in the census section above.
Socio-economic profile
Hillsborough is home to 50 residents, with a median age of 46, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $121,000 a year, with unemployment at 0.0%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
50
Median Age
46
Median Household Income
$121,316/yr
Census Median Rent
$550/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$2,492/mo
Avg Household Size
3.1
Median Personal Income
$34,788/yr
Unemployment Rate
0.0%
Unoccupied Dwellings
0.0%
Total Dwellings
12
Owner-Occupier Rate
100.0%
Houses
100.0%
Rental Stress
23.6%
Mortgage Stress
24.6%
Work From Home
33.3%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 86.0%
- English Spoken at Home
- 86.0%
- Employment Rate
- 50%
- Completed Year 12
- 36.0%
Occupations
Religion
Age Distribution
Family & Household Composition
Commute to Work
Education
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,908 a year through Maitland based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Rural and farming 98%
- Environmental 2%
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 — the property page shows the zone for one address.
Building Approvals: Maitland
In the year to August 2026, 1,413 new dwellings were approved across Maitland. That mix is 773 houses and 640 units. Approvals are up 19.7% on the same period a year earlier.
Aboriginal Land Council
Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Mindaribba 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.
Air Quality
MODERATEPM2.5 averaged 6.3 µg/m³ in 2025 — below Australia's NEPM annual standard (8 µg/m³), slightly above the stricter WHO guideline (5 µg/m³). 1 day exceeded the daily threshold of 25 µg/m³.
PM10 averaged 17.5 µg/m³ · NO₂ averaged 0.72 pphm. Days over the limit in 2025: PM10 1 · NO₂ 0 · ozone 0.
From the Beresfield monitoring station, 25.1 km away.
Climate & Setting
from Paterson (Tocal AWS), 10.8 kmHigh rainfall — hot summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 61 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 35.8 km
- Annual rainfall
- 996 mm
- 89 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 30.0°C
- 20 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 7.1°C
- 0 frost days ≤ 0°C
Elevation is the ground at the suburb 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 2320, 187 of 34,368 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 3.4% (1,176 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 4.0%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 2320, 8,346 rooftop-solar systems totalling 69.7 MW have been installed since 2001, against 14,845 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 625 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
Q4-2025 median16 mortgage brokers are registered in postcode 2320.
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 $843,750 this is $243,750 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 Alison Penfold The Nationals
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Alison Penfold | 40.2% | 59.8% | +4.0 |
| 2022 | David Gillespie | 36.2% | 63.8% | -1.4 |
| 2019 | David Gillespie | 34.8% | 65.2% | +3.5 |
Results are per division — federal electoral boundaries are redrawn periodically, so the history reflects this division's past, not necessarily the exact suburb's voters across time.
State Electorate
Currently held by Dave Layzell The Nationals
Next state election: 13 March 2027.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Dave Layzell NP | 53.8% |
| 2019 | Michael Johnsen NP | 52.6% |
| 2015 | Michael Johnsen NP | 52.2% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2021, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this suburb's voters. Results: © State of New South Wales through the NSW Electoral Commission, CC BY 4.0, adapted.
Looking at a specific address in Hillsborough?
Every figure above is a suburb 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 50 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
Compare Hillsborough 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 Hillsborough
What natural hazards affect Hillsborough?
Hillsborough has a low recorded bushfire history (16/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
What is the population of Hillsborough?
Hillsborough, NSW had a population of 50 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Hillsborough, NSW?
The postcode for Hillsborough, NSW is 2320.
How far is Hillsborough from Sydney?
Hillsborough is 183 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 139 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Hillsborough?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Hillsborough was $121,316 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 Hillsborough?
There are too few current rental listings in Hillsborough for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $550, across all dwelling types.
What is the median age in Hillsborough?
The median age of residents in Hillsborough was 46 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Hillsborough at risk of bushfire?
Hillsborough has a low recorded bushfire history (16/100). The score comes from Geoscience Australia's historical bushfire boundaries, with planned burns excluded: the area of recorded fires touching the suburb 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.
What is the air quality in Hillsborough?
The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Hillsborough (Beresfield) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 6.3 µg/m³ and PM10 of 17.5 µg/m³. That puts Hillsborough below the Australian NEPM annual standard of 8 µg/m³ but above the stricter WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.
What is the weather like in Hillsborough?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Hillsborough, Paterson (Tocal AWS) (10.8 km away), summer days average 30°C, winter nights 7.1°C, 996 mm of rain a year over 89 rainy days, and 20 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
What is the median house price in Hillsborough?
The median sale price for houses in Hillsborough was $843,750 in the Q4 2025 quarter, based on 10 recorded sales.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Hillsborough?
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 Hillsborough belong to?
Hillsborough sits within the Maitland local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Hillsborough?
The average residential rates bill through Maitland is $1,908 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Hillsborough?
Across Maitland, 1,413 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 19.7% 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 Hillsborough in?
Hillsborough sits within the federal Division of Lyne, currently held by Alison Penfold (The Nationals).
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Data freshness
- Census · 2021
- Median sale prices · Q4 2025
- Council rates · FY 2024–25
- Building approvals · Aug 2026
- Schools · 2025
- NBN connectivity · Dec 2025
- Road crashes · 2021–2025
- Air quality · 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.