Portland NSW 2847

Portland sits 172 km from Sydney CBD in New South Wales, around 2 hours 35 minutes by car. Census data records 2,447 residents with a median age of 46 and a median household income of $59,800 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the bottom 20% nationally. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $250 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,272. Portland is characterised by high crime risk. All 2 schools within the town boundary rank above the state average, and walkability is moderate.

Is Portland a good town?

Portland scores a D (27/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on transit and prices, weaker on safety and community.

Schools

Mixed results

2 schools · 2 above peer schools

Transit

Very walkable

Walkability 64/100 · 171.7 km · 154 min drive to Sydney

Prices

More affordable than most

Median $518K · Cheaper than 84% of NSW

Safety

High crime risk

Fire 43/100 · Crime 77/100

Community

Highly disadvantaged

SEIFA decile 1/10 · median age 46 · 2,447 residents

D

Liveability Rating

27 / 100 · Ranked #1329 in NSW

Each bar is Portland'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
23
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
9
Very disadvantaged
Walkability
61
Walkable
CBD access
34
171.7 km · 154 min drive to Sydney
How it's calculated: Safety rank 23 × 25% + Socio-economic rank 9 × 25% + Walkability rank 61 × 15% + CBD access rank 34 × 10% = 27 / 100. Missing components rebalance the remaining weights.

How do you rate the liveability in Portland?

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

Our score

27 / 100

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

Residents say

…

AwfulPoorAverageGoodGreat
What applies here? (optional)

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

Median House Price

Public listings data

Portland's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $518,000, roughly 11% above where it sat a year earlier.

Houses

$518,000

last 7 quarters
Cheaper than 84% of NSW
↑ +11.0% year-on-year

Based on 95 recorded sales in the last 24 months.

Typically sold in 60 days — median across 40 sales that recorded a listing period

By bedrooms

  • 2 bed 24 sales $416K
  • 3 bed 38 sales $497K
  • 4 bed 22 sales $595K
  • 5 bed 5 sales $650K

Land

$462,500

↓ −47.6% year-on-year

Based on 14 recorded sales in the last 24 months.

Typically sold in 71 days — median across 7 sales that recorded a listing period

Currently for Sale

Last 6 months

Houses in Portland are currently listed at around $565,000 on average. Based on 21 houses listed in the past six months.

$565K

↓ −2.2% vs previous 6 months from $578K
Since 2022: $507K → $568K (+12%)

21 houses listed in the last 6 months.

21 of the suburb's 949 dwellings (2.2%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.

Rental Market

Advertised rents · last 6 months

Houses in Portland rent for around $500 a week on average, based on 7 houses listed for rent in the past six months.

$500/wk

↑ +33.3% vs previous 6 months from $375/wk

7 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.

7 rentals advertised against an estimated 147 rented homes (4.8%) in the last 6 months.

Rent agreed on new leases

Jul–Sep 2026
All rentals
$360/wk
12 bonds
+4% since 2021

Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2847 (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.

Gross rental yield

Indicative
House
4.6% above the typical range
Top 7% in NSW

$500/week ($26,000 a year) on a $565,000 median

Based on a small sample (7 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 Portland safe? Crime statistics

2025

Crime in Portland sits in the high band, with 162 incidents recorded in 2025 — up roughly 13% on the prior year.

162 offences

13.3% since 2024
Theft 45 (27.8%)
Assault 34 (21.0%)
Harassment & Stalking 21 (13.0%)
Property Damage 19 (11.7%)
Drug Offences 12 (7.4%)
Sexual Offences 11 (6.8%)
Weapons Offences 9 (5.6%)
Disorderly Conduct 7 (4.3%)
Arson 2 (1.2%)
Robbery 1 (0.6%)
Other Offences Against Person 1 (0.6%)

Crime Trend

Serious Road Crashes

2021–2025

8 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 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

Lithgow City Council has published 1 flood study on the NSW Flood Data Portal. The mapped flood areas are in those studies; SuburbScan does not hold them.

Schools

Two schools serve Portland, and the cohort skews above peer-suburb performance. Portland Central School and St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Portland lead the pack.

70
out of 100
Good
2 schools in this town
2 above similar
  • • 254 students across 2 schools (avg 127)
  • • Sectors: 1 Government, 1 Catholic
  • • ICSEA 845-924, median 884 (below the national baseline of 1000)
  • • Largest: Portland Central School (204 students)

Primary

Catholic · K-6 · 50 students
ICSEA 924 (higher than 16% of Australian schools) · 1% top-SEA students
Above similar

Combined

Government · K-12 · 204 students
ICSEA 845 (higher than 5% of Australian schools) · 1% top-SEA students
Above similar

Walkability

Portland is somewhat walkable on foot — at 64/100, a short cluster of errands work on foot but most trips still benefit from a car. Within the town there are 1 supermarket, 9 parks and 6 cafes to anchor that walking radius.

64
out of 100
Somewhat Walkable
Top 14% in NSW
Public Transport within 1 km 72
Schools within 1.5 km 80
Parks within 800 m 60
Supermarkets within 1 km 60
GPs within 1 km 60
Pharmacies within 1 km 60
Childcare within 1 km 60
Hospitals within 5 km 0

Public transport

Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Portland.

46
out of 100
Bus
Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
19.8 arrivals/hr
Off-peak weekday
6.1 arrivals/hr
Saturday
1.1 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 Portland.

47
connectivity score / 100
Most common
Fibre to the node
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
7%
Premises covered
1,218
Technology mix
Fibre to the node (FTTN) 72%
Fixed wireless (WIRELESS) 16%
Fibre to the premises (FTTP) 7%
Fibre to the curb (FTTC) 3%
Satellite (Sky Muster) (SATELLITE) 2%

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

Lithgow: council population

The whole council area, not just Portland · estimated residents
at 30 June 2025
Residents
20,693
-0.5% in a year
Change
-94
people since 2024
Density
4.6
people per km² across the council area
What drove the change
Natural increase
-81
births minus deaths
Net internal migration
-58
moves within Australia
Net overseas migration
+45
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
2/10
2/10 within NSW
income against housing cost and household size
Education and occupation
1/10
1/10 within NSW
qualifications and job type, income excluded
How evenly that is spread

The ABS scores 8 small areas inside this town and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 4 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this town rank well above the average and parts well below it.

Portland is home to about 2,400 residents, with a median age of 46, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $60,000 a year, with unemployment at 7.3%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

2,447

0.9% since 2016

Median Age

46

2.1% since 2016

Median Household Income

$59,800/yr

12.4% since 2016
Bottom 21% in NSW

Census Median Rent

$250/wk

14.7% since 2016

Census Median Mortgage

$1,272/mo

6.0% since 2016

Avg Household Size

2.3

4.2% since 2016

Median Personal Income

$29,952/yr

18.8% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

7.3%

26.3% since 2016

Unoccupied Dwellings

12.9%

27.7% since 2016

Total Dwellings

949

9.1% since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

84.5%

1.3% since 2016

Houses

97.6%

16.1% since 2016

Rental Stress

21.7%

1.9% since 2016

Mortgage Stress

25.5%

5.9% since 2016

Work From Home

10.2%

200.0% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Houses 926 (97.6%)
Flats / Apartments 17 (1.8%)
Townhouses 6 (0.6%)

Property Ownership

Owned Outright 457 (49.7%)
Mortgage 320 (34.8%)
Renting 143 (15.5%)
Of those rentals, social housing 14 (9.8%)

14 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 0 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 143 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.

Demographics

Born in Australia
83.5%
English Spoken at Home
88.1%
Employment Rate
45.3%
9.2% since 2016
Completed Year 12
23.5%

Occupations

Technicians & Trades 174 (19.0%)
Community & Personal Service 140 (15.3%)
Labourers 130 (14.2%)
Machinery Operators & Drivers 123 (13.4%)
Clerical & Administrative 109 (11.9%)
Professionals 93 (10.2%)
Sales 68 (7.4%)
Managers 63 (6.9%)

Religion

Christianity 1,373 (56.1%)
No Religion 771 (31.5%)
Buddhism 22 (0.9%)
Other Religions 13 (0.5%)
Islam 5 (0.2%)
Hinduism 3 (0.1%)

Country of Birth (overseas)

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.

England 43 (1.8%)
New Zealand 25 (1.0%)
Philippines 11 (0.4%)
Scotland 11 (0.4%)
Germany 7 (0.3%)
Netherlands 7 (0.3%)
Italy 5 (0.2%)
South Africa 4 (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 5 (0.2%)
2011-2015 3 (0.1%)
2001-2010 13 (0.5%)
1991-2000 19 (0.8%)
1981-1990 33 (1.3%)
Before 1981 100 (4.1%)

5 residents (0.2%) 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.

8.0% of residents (185) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney (178).

Sydney - Outer West and Blue Mountains 86 (3.7%)

Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 2,326 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.

Hindi 7 (0.3%)
Mandarin 4 (0.2%)
Thai 4 (0.2%)

Age Distribution

0-4 121 (4.9%)
5-14 294 (12.0%)
15-19 119 (4.9%)
20-24 118 (4.8%)
25-34 247 (10.1%)
35-44 278 (11.4%)
45-54 285 (11.6%)
55-64 372 (15.2%)
65-74 373 (15.2%)
75-84 191 (7.8%)
85+ 49 (2.0%)

Family & Household Composition

Lone Person 296 (44.2%)
Couple Families 226 (33.7%)
One Parent Families 129 (19.3%)
Group Household 13 (1.9%)
Other Families 6 (0.9%)

Commute to Work

Car (driver) 642 (82.7%)
Worked from Home 79 (10.2%)
Car (passenger) 30 (3.9%)
Walked Only 21 (2.7%)
Bus 4 (0.5%)

Local Jobs

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

About 502 people work here; 916 employed residents live here.

Mostly a place people commute from: 0.5 jobs per working resident. At least 45% of employed residents must work outside the town.

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 508 (20.8%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 128 (5.2%)
Bachelor Degree 123 (5.0%)
Postgraduate Degree 30 (1.2%)
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 21 (0.9%)

Cars per Dwelling

0 cars 54 (5.8%)
1 car 299 (32.0%)
2 cars 327 (35.0%)
3 cars 169 (18.1%)
4+ cars 97 (10.4%)

Council Rates

Lithgow
FY 2024-25

Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,150 a year through Lithgow based on 2024 figures.

Avg residential rate
$1,150/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 Portland's area by planning zone
2026-09
  • Rural and farming 83%
  • Residential 14%
  • Infrastructure and transport 3%
  • 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: Lithgow

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

In the year to August 2026, 55 new dwellings were approved across Lithgow. That mix is 47 houses and 8 units.

Trailing 12 months
55dwellings
Houses
47
detached dwellings
Units
8
townhouses + apartments

Aboriginal Land Council

Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Bathurst 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 Bathurst Airport AWS, 30.3 km

Moderate rainfall — warm summers, frosty winters.

Elevation
973 m
above sea level, at the town centre
Near high-voltage lines
0.8% of addresses
12 within 100 m of an overhead line of 110 kV or more
Annual rainfall
644 mm
72 rainy days
Summer max (Jan)
28.4°C
7 days ≥ 35°C
Winter min (Jul)
1.2°C
50 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

0.0%
of light vehicles are electric
Up from 0.00% in 2021

In postcode 2847, 0 of 2,230 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.2% (26 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 1.2%.

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

Rooftop solar

51
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 6.5 kW each

In postcode 2847, 544 rooftop-solar systems totalling 3.5 MW have been installed since 2001, against 1,071 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.

Systems installed, year by year
2019
38
2020
30
2021
32
2022
54
2023
34
2024
41
2025
39
2026
18

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
$2,702
Loan amount
$414,400
Total interest over 30 years
$558,168
Deposit
$103,600
Stamp duty
$17,497
Cash needed at settlement
$121,097

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 Calare

Currently held by Andrew Gee Independent

Year Winner 2PP ALP 2PP LNP Swing
2025 Andrew Gee 37.7% 62.3% +3.2
2022 Andrew Gee 34.5% 65.5% +2.2
2019 Andrew Gee 36.7% 63.3% +1.5

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

Bathurst District

Currently held by Paul Toole The Nationals

Next state election: 13 March 2027.

Year Winner Won with
2023 Paul Toole NP 73.6%
2019 Paul Toole NP 67.9%
2015 Paul Toole NP 65.8%

Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2021, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this 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 Portland?

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 Portland 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 Portland

Is Portland a safe place to live?

Recorded crime in Portland is high (77/100, 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 Portland?

Portland has a moderate recorded bushfire history (43/100, 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 Portland a good place to live?

Portland has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (27/100), 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 Portland?

Portland, NSW had a population of 2,447 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Portland, NSW?

The postcode for Portland, NSW is 2847.

How far is Portland from Sydney?

Portland is 172 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 154 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Portland?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Portland was $59,800 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 Portland?

The median advertised rent in Portland is $500 a week for houses (7 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.

What is the median age in Portland?

The median age of residents in Portland was 46 at the 2021 ABS Census.

Is Portland at risk of bushfire?

Portland has a moderate recorded bushfire history (43/100). 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 Portland?

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

Is Portland walkable?

Portland scores 64/100 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 weather like in Portland?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Portland, Bathurst Airport AWS (30.3 km away), summer days average 28.4°C, winter nights 1.2°C, 644 mm of rain a year over 72 rainy days, and 7 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.

Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Portland?

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 Portland belong to?

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

How much are council rates in Portland?

The average residential rates bill through Lithgow is $1,150 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.

How much is being built near Portland?

Across Lithgow, 55 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). These are LGA-level totals — every suburb in the council shares the same figure.

Which federal electorate is Portland in?

Portland sits within the federal Division of Calare, currently held by Andrew Gee (Independent).

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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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