Lightning Ridge NSW 2834
Located in New South Wales, Lightning Ridge sits 767 km from Sydney CBD, around 9 hours 15 minutes by car. The town has 1,946 residents, a median age of 53, and a median household income of $41,184 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the bottom 20% nationally. Population fell 14.8% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $200 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $867. The area shows high crime risk. 1 school sits within the town boundary, and walkability is low.
Is Lightning Ridge a good town?
Lightning Ridge scores a D (8/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on prices, weaker on transit, safety, and community.
Mixed results
1 school
Car-dependent
Walkability 0/100 · 767.1 km · 554 min drive to Sydney
More affordable than most
Median $250K · More affordable than 97% of NSW
High crime risk
Fire 29/100 · Crime 97/100
Highly disadvantaged
SEIFA decile 1/10 · median age 53 · 1,946 residents
Liveability Rating
8 / 100 · Ranked #1562 in NSWEach bar is Lightning Ridge'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.
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 Lightning Ridge?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
8 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataLightning Ridge's house market is moving lower: the median sale price reached $250,000, roughly 20% below where it sat a year earlier.
$250,000
Based on 23 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 168 days — median across 3 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 7 sales $200K
- 3 bed 7 sales $200K
- 4 bed 5 sales $325K
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Lightning Ridge are currently listed at around $418,000 on average. Based on 14 houses listed in the past six months.
$418K
14 houses listed in the last 6 months.
14 of the suburb's 725 dwellings (1.9%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- All rentals
- $295/wk
- 10 bonds
- +34% since 2021
Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2834 (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.
Is Lightning Ridge safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Lightning Ridge sits in the high band, with 537 incidents recorded in 2025 — up roughly 20% on the prior year.
537 offences
19.9% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–20254 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital
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
Walgett Shire Council has published 2 flood studies on the NSW Flood Data Portal. The mapped flood areas are in those studies; SuburbScan does not hold them.
Schools
One school serve Lightning Ridge, and performance is broadly on par with peer-suburb schools.
- • 311 students in one school (avg 311)
Combined
Walkability
Lightning Ridge 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.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Lightning Ridge.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 12.8 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 5.2 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 0.1 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 13.0 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 Lightning Ridge.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 0%
- Premises covered
- 1,347
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
Walgett: 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 7 small areas inside this town and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 2 different deciles — a narrow range, so the average describes the town closely.
Lightning Ridge is home to about 1,900 residents, with a median age of 53 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $41,000 a year, with unemployment at 11.0%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
1,946
Median Age
53
Median Household Income
$41,184/yr
Census Median Rent
$200/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$867/mo
Avg Household Size
2.0
Median Personal Income
$24,752/yr
Unemployment Rate
11.0%
Unoccupied Dwellings
20.6%
Total Dwellings
725
Owner-Occupier Rate
68.0%
Houses
61.9%
Rental Stress
25.3%
Mortgage Stress
25.3%
Work From Home
10.8%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
31 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 46 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 212 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 64.2%
- English Spoken at Home
- 69.9%
- Employment Rate
- 33.3%
- Completed Year 12
- 23.7%
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.
26 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.
2.0% of residents (38) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney (27).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 1,857 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 $445 a year through Walgett based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Rural and farming 98%
- Infrastructure and transport 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: Walgett
In the year to August 2026, 13 new dwellings were approved across Walgett. That mix is 5 houses and 8 units. Approvals are down 100.0% on the same period a year earlier.
Aboriginal Land Council
Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Lightning Ridge 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.
Setting
- Elevation
- 146 m
- above sea level, at the town centre
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 2834, 0 of 1,864 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.1% (20 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 1.1%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 2834, 780 rooftop-solar systems totalling 4.0 MW have been installed since 2001, against 886 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 17 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 $250,000 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 2026-10-27 — 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 Jamie Chaffey The Nationals
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Jamie Chaffey | 37.0% | 63.0% | +5.2 |
| 2022 | Mark Coulton | 32.2% | 67.8% | +0.9 |
| 2019 | Mark Coulton | 33.1% | 66.9% | +1.8 |
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 Roy Butler Independent
Next state election: 13 March 2027.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Roy Butler IND | 66.0% |
| 2019 | Roy Butler | 56.6% |
| 2015 | Kevin Humphries NP | 62.9% |
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 Lightning Ridge?
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 1,946 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 Lightning Ridge 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 Lightning Ridge
Is Lightning Ridge a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Lightning Ridge is high (97/100, 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 Lightning Ridge?
Lightning Ridge has a low recorded bushfire history (29/100, 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 Lightning Ridge a good place to live?
Lightning Ridge has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (8/100), 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 Lightning Ridge?
Lightning Ridge, NSW had a population of 1,946 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Lightning Ridge, NSW?
The postcode for Lightning Ridge, NSW is 2834.
How far is Lightning Ridge from Sydney?
Lightning Ridge is 767 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 554 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Lightning Ridge?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Lightning Ridge was $41,184 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 Lightning Ridge?
There are too few current rental listings in Lightning Ridge for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $200, across all dwelling types.
What is the median age in Lightning Ridge?
The median age of residents in Lightning Ridge was 53 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Lightning Ridge at risk of bushfire?
Lightning Ridge has a low recorded bushfire history (29/100). 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 Lightning Ridge?
There is 1 school inside the Lightning Ridge boundary: 1 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Lightning Ridge?
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 Lightning Ridge belong to?
Lightning Ridge sits within the Walgett local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Lightning Ridge?
The average residential rates bill through Walgett is $445 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Lightning Ridge?
Across Walgett, 13 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 100.0% 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 Lightning Ridge in?
Lightning Ridge sits within the federal Division of Parkes, currently held by Jamie Chaffey (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
- 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.