Peak Hill NSW 2869

Located in New South Wales, Peak Hill sits 432 km from Sydney CBD, around 5 hours 45 minutes by car. The town has 1,162 residents, a median age of 48, and a median household income of $51,792 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the bottom 20% nationally. The town grew 5.1% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $185 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $814. Peak Hill is characterised by high crime risk. Of 2 schools within the town boundary, 1 ranks above the state average, and walkability is low.

Is Peak Hill a good town?

Peak Hill scores a D (10/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on prices, weaker on transit, safety, and community.

Schools

Mixed results

2 schools · 1 above peer schools

Transit

Car-dependent

Walkability 0/100 · 431.9 km · 344 min drive to Sydney

Prices

More affordable than most

Median $250K · More affordable than 93% of NSW

Safety

High crime risk

Fire 53/100 · Crime 81/100

Community

Highly disadvantaged

SEIFA decile 1/10 · median age 48 · 1,162 residents

D

Liveability Rating

10 / 100 · Ranked #1557 in NSW

Each bar is Peak Hill'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
13
Bushfire Moderate · Crime High

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
8
Very disadvantaged
Walkability
5
Very car-dependent
CBD access
17
431.9 km · 344 min drive to Sydney
How it's calculated: Safety rank 13 × 25% + Socio-economic rank 8 × 25% + Walkability rank 5 × 15% + CBD access rank 17 × 10% = 10 / 100. Missing components rebalance the remaining weights.

How do you rate the liveability in Peak Hill?

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

Our score

10 / 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

Peak Hill's house market is moving lower: the median sale price reached $250,000, roughly 14% below where it sat a year earlier.

$250,000

last 5 quarters
Cheaper than 95% of NSW
↓ −14.3% year-on-year

Based on 29 recorded sales in the last 24 months.

Typically sold in 44 days — median across 6 sales that recorded a listing period

By bedrooms

  • 2 bed 7 sales $247K
  • 3 bed 14 sales $290K

Is Peak Hill safe? Crime statistics

2025

Crime in Peak Hill sits in the high band, with 94 incidents recorded in 2025 — up about 9% on the prior year.

94 offences

9.3% since 2024
Theft 31 (33.0%)
Assault 19 (20.2%)
Harassment & Stalking 10 (10.6%)
Disorderly Conduct 9 (9.6%)
Drug Offences 9 (9.6%)
Property Damage 6 (6.4%)
Weapons Offences 4 (4.3%)
Arson 3 (3.2%)
Sexual Offences 3 (3.2%)

Crime Trend

Serious Road Crashes

2021–2025

2 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

Parkes Shire Council has published 7 flood studies on the NSW Flood Data Portal. The mapped flood areas are in those studies; SuburbScan does not hold them.

All 7 on the portal

Schools

Two schools serve Peak Hill, and the cohort skews above peer-suburb performance. St Joseph's Parish School leads the pack.

60
out of 100
Average
2 schools in this town
1 above similar · 1 at similar
  • • 160 students across 2 schools (avg 80)
  • • Sectors: 1 Government, 1 Catholic
  • • ICSEA 815-850, median 832 (below the national baseline of 1000)
  • • Largest: Peak Hill Central School (126 students)

Primary

Catholic · K-6 · 34 students
ICSEA 850 (higher than 5% of Australian schools) · 10% top-SEA students
Above similar

Combined

Government · K-12 · 126 students
ICSEA 815 (higher than 3% of Australian schools) · 1% top-SEA students
At similar

Walkability

Peak Hill is very car-dependent on foot — at 0/100, nearly all errands require a car.

0
out of 100
Very Car-Dependent
Public Transport within 1 km not measured
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

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 Peak Hill.

36
out of 100
Bus
Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
13.2 arrivals/hr
Off-peak weekday
4.7 arrivals/hr
Saturday
0.1 arrivals/hr
Median peak wait
1 min
Span of service
10.9 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 Peak Hill.

54
connectivity score / 100
Most common
Fibre to the node
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
23%
Premises covered
582
Technology mix
Fibre to the node (FTTN) 65%
Fibre to the premises (FTTP) 23%
Satellite (Sky Muster) (SATELLITE) 12%

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

Parkes: council population

The whole council area, not just Peak Hill · estimated residents
at 30 June 2025
Residents
14,175
-0.4% in a year
Change
-59
people since 2024
Density
2.4
people per km² across the council area
What drove the change
Natural increase
+26
births minus deaths
Net internal migration
-118
moves within Australia
Net overseas migration
+33
arrivals minus departures

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

ABS SEIFA · ranked against every suburb in Australia, and within the state
2021 census
Advantage and disadvantage
1/10
1/10 within NSW
income, education, jobs and housing together
Economic resources
1/10
1/10 within NSW
income against housing cost and household size
Education and occupation
2/10
2/10 within NSW
qualifications and job type, income excluded
How evenly that is spread

The ABS scores 4 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.

Peak Hill is home to about 1,200 residents, with a median age of 48, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $52,000 a year, with unemployment at 9.8%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

1,162

5.1% since 2016

Median Age

48

4.0% since 2016

Median Household Income

$51,792/yr

32.3% since 2016
Bottom 12% in NSW

Census Median Rent

$185/wk

44.5% since 2016

Census Median Mortgage

$814/mo

5.9% since 2016

Avg Household Size

2.2

4.8% since 2016

Median Personal Income

$26,156/yr

11.8% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

9.8%

23.4% since 2016

Unoccupied Dwellings

16.2%

28.0% since 2016

Total Dwellings

450

0.4% since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

70.2%

0.6% since 2016

Houses

91.3%

2.7% since 2016

Rental Stress

18.6%

9.4% since 2016

Mortgage Stress

18.9%

19.9% since 2016

Work From Home

23.0%

41.1% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Houses 411 (91.3%)
Flats / Apartments 23 (5.1%)
Townhouses 16 (3.6%)

Property Ownership

Owned Outright 212 (50.1%)
Renting 126 (29.8%)
Mortgage 85 (20.1%)
Of those rentals, social housing 32 (25.4%)

14 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 18 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 126 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.

Demographics

Born in Australia
80.9%
English Spoken at Home
83.7%
Employment Rate
41.1%
5.4% since 2016
Completed Year 12
23.1%

Occupations

Managers 116 (30.1%)
Community & Personal Service 59 (15.3%)
Professionals 51 (13.2%)
Machinery Operators & Drivers 37 (9.6%)
Technicians & Trades 36 (9.4%)
Labourers 35 (9.1%)
Clerical & Administrative 30 (7.8%)
Sales 15 (3.9%)

Religion

Christianity 705 (60.7%)
No Religion 270 (23.2%)
Other Religions 6 (0.5%)

Country of Birth (overseas)

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.

England 19 (1.6%)
New Zealand 11 (0.9%)
South Africa 8 (0.7%)
Malaysia 5 (0.4%)
Netherlands 4 (0.3%)
Philippines 3 (0.3%)

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 9 (0.8%)
2011-2015 3 (0.3%)
2001-2010 6 (0.5%)
1991-2000 0 (0.0%)
1981-1990 10 (0.9%)
Before 1981 37 (3.2%)

9 residents (0.8%) 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.

3.1% of residents (34) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney (24).

Far West and Orana 53 (4.8%)

Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 1,093 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 69 (5.9%)
5-14 149 (12.8%)
15-19 62 (5.3%)
20-24 43 (3.7%)
25-34 94 (8.1%)
35-44 112 (9.6%)
45-54 135 (11.6%)
55-64 194 (16.7%)
65-74 167 (14.4%)
75-84 85 (7.3%)
85+ 45 (3.9%)

Family & Household Composition

Lone Person 168 (49.7%)
Couple Families 79 (23.4%)
One Parent Families 75 (22.2%)
Group Household 12 (3.6%)
Other Families 4 (1.2%)

Commute to Work

Car (driver) 215 (65.2%)
Worked from Home 76 (23.0%)
Walked Only 27 (8.2%)
Car (passenger) 12 (3.6%)

Local Jobs

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

About 778 people work here; 385 employed residents live here.

A jobs hub: 2.0 jobs for every working resident. At least 41% of the people who work here must live elsewhere.

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 153 (13.2%)
Bachelor Degree 80 (6.9%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 36 (3.1%)
Postgraduate Degree 9 (0.8%)
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 5 (0.4%)

Cars per Dwelling

0 cars 43 (9.9%)
1 car 153 (35.1%)
2 cars 142 (32.6%)
3 cars 64 (14.7%)
4+ cars 38 (8.7%)

Council Rates

Parkes
FY 2024-25

Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,146 a year through Parkes based on 2024 figures.

Avg residential rate
$1,146/yr
7% below the NSW average of $1,230 · median of 128 councils
Valuation basis
Unimproved Value
land only

How this land is zoned

Share of Peak Hill's area by planning zone
2026-09
  • Rural and farming 97%
  • Environmental 3%

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: Parkes

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

In the year to August 2026, 15 new dwellings were approved across Parkes. Almost all of the pipeline is detached houses. Approvals are down 100.0% on the same period a year earlier.

Trailing 12 months
15dwellings
-100.0% YoY
Houses
15
detached dwellings
Units
0
townhouses + apartments

Aboriginal Land Council

Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Peak Hill 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 Peak Hill Post Office, 13.2 km

Moderate rainfall — very hot summers, cold winters with occasional frost.

Elevation
271 m
above sea level, at the town centre
Annual rainfall
587 mm
61 rainy days
Summer max (Jan)
33.4°C
41 days ≥ 35°C
Winter min (Jul)
5.5°C
5 frost days ≤ 0°C

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

0.2%
of light vehicles are electric
Up from 0.00% in 2021
+0.2 points this year
Bottom 22% in NSW

In postcode 2869, 3 of 1,314 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.4% (18 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 1.6%.

Electric share, year by year
2021
0.00%
2022
0.00%
2023
0.00%
2024
0.00%
2025
0.23%

Rooftop solar

63
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 6.3 kW each

In postcode 2869, 423 rooftop-solar systems totalling 2.7 MW have been installed since 2001, against 672 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 23 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
25
2020
28
2021
23
2022
37
2023
15
2024
55
2025
18
2026
11

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
$1,304
Loan amount
$200,000
Total interest over 30 years
$269,386
Deposit
$50,000
Stamp duty
$6,807
Cash needed at settlement
$56,807

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 Parkes

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

Orange District

Currently held by Philip Donato Independent

Next state election: 13 March 2027.

Year Winner Won with
2023 Philip Donato IND 71.9%
2019 Philip Donato 65.2%
2015 Andrew Gee NP 71.7%

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 Peak Hill?

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.

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Nearby suburbs

Compare Peak Hill to another suburb

Side-by-side stats for any other NSW suburb — type a name and pick one.

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Common questions about Peak Hill

Is Peak Hill a safe place to live?

Recorded crime in Peak Hill is high (81/100, 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 Peak Hill?

Peak Hill has a moderate recorded bushfire history (53/100, 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 Peak Hill a good place to live?

Peak Hill has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (10/100), 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 Peak Hill?

Peak Hill, NSW had a population of 1,162 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Peak Hill, NSW?

The postcode for Peak Hill, NSW is 2869.

How far is Peak Hill from Sydney?

Peak Hill is 432 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 344 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Peak Hill?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Peak Hill was $51,792 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 Peak Hill?

There are too few current rental listings in Peak Hill for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $185, across all dwelling types.

What is the median age in Peak Hill?

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

Is Peak Hill at risk of bushfire?

Peak Hill has a moderate recorded bushfire history (53/100). 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 Peak Hill?

There are 2 schools inside the Peak Hill boundary: 1 above and 1 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).

What is the weather like in Peak Hill?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Peak Hill, Peak Hill Post Office (13.2 km away), summer days average 33.4°C, winter nights 5.5°C, 587 mm of rain a year over 61 rainy days, and 41 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.

Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Peak Hill?

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 Peak Hill belong to?

Peak Hill sits within the Parkes local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.

How much are council rates in Peak Hill?

The average residential rates bill through Parkes is $1,146 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.

How much is being built near Peak Hill?

Across Parkes, 15 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 Peak Hill in?

Peak Hill sits within the federal Division of Parkes, currently held by Jamie Chaffey (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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