Morpeth NSW 2321

Morpeth is a suburb in New South Wales, 166 km from Sydney CBD, around 2 hours 5 minutes by car. Population is 1,686; the median age is 55 and the median household income is $58,344 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the middle range nationally. The suburb grew 20.2% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $370 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,788. Morpeth is characterised by no recorded bushfire exposure. 1 school sits within the suburb boundary, and walkability is moderate.

Is Morpeth a good suburb?

Morpeth scores a B (54/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade.

Schools

Mixed results

1 school

Transit

Some car dependence

Walkability 54/100 · 165.5 km · 125 min drive to Sydney

Prices

Around the state median

Median $828K

Safety

Moderate crime risk

Fire 0/100 · Crime 58/100

Community

Mid-range socio-economic

SEIFA decile 5/10 · median age 55 · 1,686 residents

B

Liveability Rating

54 / 100 · Ranked #644 in NSW

Each bar is Morpeth'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.

Schools quality no data
too few schools to rate
Safety
74
Bushfire None · Crime Moderate

No flood data is published for New South Wales — a blank here means we hold no data, not that there is no risk.

Socio-economic
42
Mid-range
Walkability
51
Somewhat walkable
CBD access
35
165.5 km · 125 min drive to Sydney
How it's calculated: Safety rank 74 × 25% + Socio-economic rank 42 × 25% + Walkability rank 51 × 15% + CBD access rank 35 × 10% = 54 / 100. Missing components rebalance the remaining weights.

How do you rate the liveability in Morpeth?

Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.

Our score

54 / 100

From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.

Residents say

…

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What applies here? (optional)

One rating per person. You can change yours at any time.

Median House Price

Public listings data

Morpeth's house market is moving lower: the median sale price reached $828,000, about 1% below where it sat a year earlier.

Houses

$827,500

last 6 quarters

21% below its 4 neighbours (median $1,050,500)

↓ −1.2% year-on-year

Based on 52 recorded sales in the last 24 months.

Typically sold in 35 days — median across 17 sales that recorded a listing period

By bedrooms

  • 2 bed 8 sales $740K
  • 3 bed 32 sales $828K
  • 4 bed 8 sales $780K

Units

$750,000

last 2 quarters
↓ −35.4% year-on-year

Based on 13 recorded sales in the last 24 months.

Currently for Sale

Last 6 months

Houses in Morpeth are currently listed at around $958,000 on average. Based on 4 houses listed in the past six months.

$958K

4 houses listed in the last 6 months.

4 of the suburb's 749 dwellings (0.5%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.

Rental Market

Advertised rents · last 6 months

Houses in Morpeth rent for around $900 a week on average, based on 3 houses listed for rent in the past six months.

$900/wk

3 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.

3 rentals advertised against an estimated 147 rented homes (2.0%) in the last 6 months.

Rent agreed on new leases

Jul–Sep 2026
3-bed houses
$625/wk
84 bonds
+40% since 2021
2-bed units
$540/wk
23 bonds
+30% since 2021

Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2321 (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 2025

88 Unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 34% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2321.

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
House
4.9% above the typical range
Top 4% in NSW

$900/week ($47,000 a year) on a $958,000 median

Based on a small sample (3 listings) — indicative only.

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 Morpeth safe? Crime statistics

2025

Crime in Morpeth sits in the moderate band, with 68 incidents recorded in 2025 — up about 6% on the prior year.

68 offences

6.2% since 2024
Theft 33 (48.5%)
Assault 9 (13.2%)
Harassment & Stalking 7 (10.3%)
Disorderly Conduct 7 (10.3%)
Property Damage 5 (7.4%)
Sexual Offences 5 (7.4%)
Robbery 1 (1.5%)
Drug Offences 1 (1.5%)

Crime Trend

Serious Road Crashes

2021–2025

2 crashes

where someone was killed or admitted to hospital, 1 of them fatal

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.

All 6 on the portal

Schools

One school serve Morpeth, and performance is broadly on par with peer-suburb schools.

50
out of 100
Average
1 school in this suburb
1 at similar
  • • 262 students in one school (avg 262)

Primary

Government · K-6 · 262 students
ICSEA 1023 (higher than 57% of Australian schools) · 22% top-SEA students
At similar

Walkability

Morpeth is somewhat walkable on foot — at 54/100, a short cluster of errands work on foot but most trips still benefit from a car.

54
out of 100
Somewhat Walkable
Top 18% in NSW
Public Transport within 1 km 67
Schools within 1.5 km 60
Parks within 800 m 100
Supermarkets within 1 km 0
GPs within 1 km 0
Pharmacies within 1 km 60
Childcare within 1 km 60
Hospitals within 5 km 60

Public transport

Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Morpeth.

57
out of 100
Bus
Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
23.8 arrivals/hr
Off-peak weekday
11.6 arrivals/hr
Saturday
4.5 arrivals/hr
Median peak wait
0 min
Span of service
10.6 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 Morpeth.

100
connectivity score / 100
Top 1% in NSW
Most common
Fibre to the premises
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
100%
Premises covered
745
Technology mix
Fibre to the premises (FTTP) 100%
Fixed wireless (WIRELESS) 0%

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
3 in suburb
Sport & Recreation
None
Beaches
None
Waterways
None
Childcare
2 in suburb
GPs
None
Pharmacies
1 in suburb
Hospitals
None
Police Stations
1 in suburb
Banks & Bank@Post
1 in suburb
Fuel Stations
None
EV Chargers
None
Pubs & Bars
2 in suburb
Arts & Culture
None
Places of Worship
2 in suburb

Maitland: council population

The whole council area, not just Morpeth · estimated residents
at 30 June 2025
Residents
100,439
+2.2% in a year
Change
+2,207
people since 2024
Density
256
people per km² across the council area
What drove the change
Natural increase
+625
births minus deaths
Net internal migration
+1,342
moves within Australia
Net overseas migration
+240
arrivals minus departures

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

ABS SEIFA · ranked against every suburb in Australia, and within the state
2021 census
Advantage and disadvantage
5/10
5/10 within NSW
income, education, jobs and housing together
Economic resources
4/10
3/10 within NSW
income against housing cost and household size
Education and occupation
7/10
6/10 within NSW
qualifications and job type, income excluded
How evenly that is spread

The ABS scores 4 small areas inside this suburb and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 3 different deciles — a narrow range, so the average describes the suburb closely.

Morpeth is home to about 1,700 residents, with a median age of 55 — noticeably older than the national figure of 38. Median household income runs at $58,000 a year, with unemployment at 4.3%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

1,686

20.2% since 2016

Median Age

55

17.0% since 2016

Median Household Income

$58,344/yr

1.0% since 2016
Bottom 18% in NSW

Census Median Rent

$370/wk

19.4% since 2016

Census Median Mortgage

$1,788/mo

3.2% since 2016

Avg Household Size

2.1

8.7% since 2016

Median Personal Income

$32,968/yr

3.8% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

4.3%

10.4% since 2016

Unoccupied Dwellings

8.0%

23.8% since 2016

Total Dwellings

749

26.9% since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

80.4%

6.6% since 2016

Houses

64.8%

11.4% since 2016

Rental Stress

33.0%

18.3% since 2016

Mortgage Stress

36.8%

2.2% since 2016

Work From Home

28.0%

305.8% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Houses 485 (64.8%)
Townhouses 246 (32.8%)
Flats / Apartments 18 (2.4%)

Property Ownership

Owned Outright 303 (51.3%)
Mortgage 172 (29.1%)
Renting 116 (19.6%)

Demographics

Born in Australia
87.6%
English Spoken at Home
94.2%
Employment Rate
43.2%
17.4% since 2016
Completed Year 12
37.5%

Occupations

Professionals 160 (25.7%)
Technicians & Trades 90 (14.5%)
Community & Personal Service 79 (12.7%)
Managers 74 (11.9%)
Clerical & Administrative 66 (10.6%)
Labourers 57 (9.2%)
Machinery Operators & Drivers 47 (7.6%)
Sales 40 (6.4%)

Religion

Christianity 1,059 (62.8%)
No Religion 520 (30.8%)
Other Religions 14 (0.8%)
Islam 6 (0.4%)
Judaism 3 (0.2%)

Country of Birth (overseas)

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.

England 63 (3.7%)
New Zealand 17 (1.0%)
Scotland 16 (0.9%)
Germany 7 (0.4%)
Netherlands 5 (0.3%)
Malaysia 4 (0.2%)
Greece 4 (0.2%)
China 3 (0.2%)

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.

2016-2021 6 (0.4%)
2011-2015 8 (0.5%)
2001-2010 17 (1.0%)
1991-2000 12 (0.7%)
1981-1990 24 (1.4%)
Before 1981 60 (3.6%)

6 residents (0.4%) 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 (67) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney (55).

Newcastle and Lake Macquarie 105 (6.5%)

Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 1,615 residents aged five and over. Areas are ABS statistical regions. Small counts are approximate: the ABS adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.

Age Distribution

0-4 71 (4.2%)
5-14 182 (10.8%)
15-19 64 (3.8%)
20-24 56 (3.3%)
25-34 135 (8.0%)
35-44 153 (9.1%)
45-54 174 (10.3%)
55-64 202 (12.0%)
65-74 304 (18.0%)
75-84 258 (15.3%)
85+ 75 (4.4%)

Family & Household Composition

Lone Person 253 (52.2%)
Couple Families 146 (30.1%)
One Parent Families 70 (14.4%)
Group Household 13 (2.7%)
Other Families 3 (0.6%)

Commute to Work

Car (driver) 323 (64.6%)
Worked from Home 140 (28.0%)
Car (passenger) 20 (4.0%)
Walked Only 17 (3.4%)

1% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (7 of 622).

City centre: the ABS area around each capital's CBD, such as Sydney Inner City or Perth City (which takes in Subiaco and Leederville). 2021 Census place of work.

Local Jobs

People who work in this suburb against employed people who live here, 2021 Census.

About 499 people work here; 622 employed residents live here.

Roughly as many jobs as working residents (0.8 per resident). At least 16% of employed residents must work outside the suburb.

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

Certificate III & IV 262 (15.5%)
Bachelor Degree 212 (12.6%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 176 (10.4%)
Postgraduate Degree 62 (3.7%)
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 39 (2.3%)

Cars per Dwelling

0 cars 29 (3.9%)
1 car 350 (47.2%)
2 cars 251 (33.9%)
3 cars 74 (10.0%)
4+ cars 44 (5.9%)

Council Rates

Maitland
FY 2024-25

Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,908 a year through Maitland based on 2024 figures.

Avg residential rate
$1,908/yr
55% above the NSW average of $1,230 · median of 128 councils
Valuation basis
Unimproved Value
land only

How this land is zoned

Share of Morpeth's area by planning zone
2026-09
  • Rural and farming 60%
  • Residential 18%
  • Environmental 15%
  • Parks and recreation 4%
  • 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 suburb around it — the property page shows the zone for one address.

Building Approvals: Maitland

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

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.

Trailing 12 months
1,413dwellings
+19.7% YoY
Houses
773
detached dwellings
Units
640
townhouses + apartments

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

MODERATE

PM2.5 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, 8.0 km away.

Climate & Setting

from Paterson (Tocal AWS), 11.7 km

High rainfall — hot summers, mild winters.

Elevation
9 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean
17.7 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.

Industrial Emissions Nearby

1 facility within 5 km

EV adoption

0.6%
of light vehicles are electric
Up from 0.02% in 2021
+0.2 points this year

In postcode 2321, 98 of 17,669 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 3.1% (542 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 3.6%.

Electric share, year by year
2021
0.02%
2022
0.09%
2023
0.16%
2024
0.36%
2025
0.56%

Rooftop solar

69
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 7.6 kW each

In postcode 2321, 5,061 rooftop-solar systems totalling 38.3 MW have been installed since 2001, against 7,365 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 460 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
328
2020
497
2021
521
2022
499
2023
561
2024
536
2025
436
2026
285

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

I'm looking for
Deposit
$
%
Monthly repayment
$4,316
Loan amount
$662,000
Total interest over 30 years
$891,668

6 mortgage brokers are registered in postcode 2321.

Deposit
$165,500
Stamp duty
$31,424
Cash needed at settlement
$196,924

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 Paterson

Currently held by Meryl Swanson Australian Labor Party

Year Winner 2PP ALP 2PP LNP Swing
2025 Meryl Swanson 56.9% 43.1% +4.3
2022 Meryl Swanson 53.3% 46.7% +1.7
2019 Meryl Swanson 55.0% 45.0% +5.7

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

Maitland District

Currently held by Jenny Aitchison Labor

Next state election: 13 March 2027.

Year Winner Won with
2023 Jenny Aitchison ALP 68.6%
2019 Jenny Aitchison ALP 63.2%
2015 Jenny Aitchison ALP 63.8%

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 Morpeth?

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.

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Common questions about Morpeth

Is Morpeth a safe place to live?

Recorded crime in Morpeth is moderate (58/100, ranked against other NSW suburbs on offences per resident).

What natural hazards affect Morpeth?

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

Is Morpeth a good place to live?

Morpeth has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of B (54/100), 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 Morpeth?

Morpeth, NSW had a population of 1,686 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Morpeth, NSW?

The postcode for Morpeth, NSW is 2321.

How far is Morpeth from Sydney?

Morpeth is 166 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 125 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Morpeth?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Morpeth was $58,344 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 Morpeth?

The median advertised rent in Morpeth is $900 a week for houses (3 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.

What is the median age in Morpeth?

The median age of residents in Morpeth was 55 at the 2021 ABS Census.

How are the schools in Morpeth?

There is 1 school inside the Morpeth boundary: 1 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).

Is Morpeth walkable?

Morpeth scores 54/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it somewhat walkable. The score is a weighted average of public transport, schools, parks, supermarkets, GPs, pharmacies, childcare, and hospitals within walking distance.

What is the air quality in Morpeth?

The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Morpeth (Beresfield) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 6.3 µg/m³ and PM10 of 17.5 µg/m³. That puts Morpeth 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 Morpeth?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Morpeth, Paterson (Tocal AWS) (11.7 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.

Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Morpeth?

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 Morpeth belong to?

Morpeth sits within the Maitland local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.

How much are council rates in Morpeth?

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 Morpeth?

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 Morpeth in?

Morpeth sits within the federal Division of Paterson, currently held by Meryl Swanson (Australian Labor Party).

Search another suburb or address

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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