Thornton NSW 2322
Thornton is a suburb in New South Wales, 156 km from Sydney CBD, around 1 hour 55 minutes by car. Population is 10,690; the median age is 32 and the median household income is $106,652 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the middle range nationally. The suburb grew 32.6% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $400 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,800. Thornton is characterised by high crime risk. 2 schools sit within the suburb boundary, and walkability is moderate.
Is Thornton a good suburb?
Thornton scores a C (47/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on transit and prices, weaker on safety.
Mixed results
2 schools
Very walkable
Walkability 68/100 · 155.7 km · 115 min drive to Sydney
More affordable than most
Median $860K · More affordable than 81% of NSW
High crime risk
Fire 20/100 · Crime 72/100
Mid-range socio-economic
SEIFA decile 5/10 · median age 32 · 10,690 residents
Liveability Rating
47 / 100 · Ranked #830 in NSWEach bar is Thornton'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 Thornton?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
47 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataThornton's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $860,000, about 7% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$860,000
4% above its 6 neighbours (median $825,000)
Based on 265 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 22 days — median across 146 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 6 sales $660K
- 3 bed 85 sales $758K
- 4 bed 143 sales $900K
- 5 bed 20 sales $1.09M
Units
$637,500
14% above its 3 neighbours (median $557,500)
Based on 12 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 22 days — median across 4 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 6 sales $550K
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Thornton are currently listed at around $822,000 on average. Based on 22 houses listed in the past six months.
$822K
22 houses listed in the last 6 months.
22 of the suburb's 3,699 dwellings (0.6%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Thornton rent for around $660 a week on average, based on 49 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
Houses
$660/wk
In line with its 5 neighbours (median $660/wk)
49 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Units
$520/wk
6 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
55 rentals advertised against an estimated 1,284 rented homes (4.3%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- 3-bed houses
- $650/wk
- 75 bonds
- +54% since 2021
Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2322 (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 202586 Unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 35% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2322.
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$660/week ($34,000 a year) on a $822,000 median
Not enough unit sales and rentals in the window to calculate a yield.
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 Thornton safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Thornton sits in the high band, with 588 incidents recorded in 2025 — up roughly 13% on the prior year.
588 offences
13.1% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–202523 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital, 3 of them fatal
Where they happened
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
Two schools serve Thornton, and the cohort is trailing peer-suburb performance.
- • 1,116 students across 2 schools (avg 558)
- • Sectors: 1 Independent, 1 Government
- • ICSEA 974-1008, median 991 (around the national baseline of 1000)
- • Largest: Thornton Public School (826 students)
Primary
Combined
Walkability
Thornton is somewhat walkable on foot — at 68/100, a short cluster of errands work on foot but most trips still benefit from a car. Within the suburb there are 1 supermarket, 3 parks and 3 cafes to anchor that walking radius.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Thornton.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 121.2 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 72.3 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 41.9 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 0 min
- Span of service
- 23.4 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 Thornton.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 70%
- Premises covered
- 4,838
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
The ABS scores 26 small areas inside this suburb and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 8 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this suburb rank well above the average and parts well below it.
Thornton is home to about 10,700 residents, and skews young, with a median age of 32 against the national 38. Median household income runs at $107,000 a year, with unemployment at 4.0%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
10,690
Median Age
32
Median Household Income
$106,652/yr
Census Median Rent
$400/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,800/mo
Avg Household Size
2.8
Median Personal Income
$46,124/yr
Unemployment Rate
4.0%
Unoccupied Dwellings
5.3%
Total Dwellings
3,699
Owner-Occupier Rate
65.3%
Houses
92.8%
Rental Stress
19.5%
Mortgage Stress
20.3%
Work From Home
20.6%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
73 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 43 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 1,264 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 88.1%
- English Spoken at Home
- 91.0%
- Employment Rate
- 68.2%
- Completed Year 12
- 35.5%
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.
187 residents (1.7%) 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.
5.8% of residents (572) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney (288).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 9,862 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
1% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (41 of 5,720).
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 5,067 people work here; 5,720 employed residents live here.
Roughly as many jobs as working residents (0.9 per resident). At least 11% 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
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
- Environmental 37%
- Residential 25%
- Rural and farming 24%
- Industrial 9%
- Parks and recreation 2%
- 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 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, 2.8 km away.
Climate & Setting
from Paterson (Tocal AWS), 17.5 kmHigh rainfall — hot summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 11 m
- above sea level, at the suburb centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 14.4 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
5 facilities within 5 km- 0.3 kmPetroleum Product WholesalingTop reported: Total Volatile Organic Compounds
- 1.7 kmPrepared Animal and Bird Feed ManufacturingTop reported: Phosphoric acid
- 1.7 kmPoultry ProcessingTop reported: Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide · Total Volatile Organic Compounds
- 1.7 kmPoultry ProcessingTop reported: Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide · Total Volatile Organic Compounds
- 2.2 kmPrepared Animal and Bird Feed ManufacturingTop reported: Oxides of Nitrogen · Carbon monoxide · Particulate Matter ≤10.0 µm (PM10)
EV adoption
In postcode 2322, 163 of 23,852 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 2.8% (661 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 3.5%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 2322, 5,801 rooftop-solar systems totalling 46.4 MW have been installed since 2001, against 9,082 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 486 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
2 mortgage brokers are registered in this suburb, 4 across postcode 2322.
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 $860,000 this is $260,000 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 2026-10-26 — 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 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
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 Thornton?
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 10,690 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.
Featured in
- #1 in Newcastle suburbs where 3-bedroom house rents rose most
- #2 in Best Newcastle suburbs for first-home buyers (houses)
- #2 in Newcastle suburbs with the most rooftop solar
- #3 in Newcastle suburbs that added the most residents, 2016-2021
- #3 in Newcastle suburbs where the most Punjabi is spoken at home
- #7 in Newcastle suburbs with the fastest EV adoption growth
- #9 in Newcastle suburbs with the largest Sikh community
- #9 in Newcastle suburbs with the best public transport
- #14 in Where the Indian community lives in Newcastle
- #14 in Newcastle suburbs where the most Mandarin is spoken at home
Nearby suburbs
East Maitland NSW 2323
Metford NSW 2323
Ashtonfield NSW 2323
Chisholm NSW 2322
Beresfield NSW 2322
Woodberry NSW 2322
Compare Thornton 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 Thornton
Is Thornton a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Thornton is high (72/100, 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 Thornton?
Thornton has a low recorded bushfire history (20/100, 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.
Is Thornton a good place to live?
Thornton has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of C (47/100), 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 Thornton?
Thornton, NSW had a population of 10,690 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Thornton, NSW?
The postcode for Thornton, NSW is 2322.
How far is Thornton from Sydney?
Thornton is 156 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 115 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Thornton?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Thornton was $106,652 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 Thornton?
The median advertised rent in Thornton is $660 a week for houses (49 listings) and $520 a week for units (6 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Thornton?
The median age of residents in Thornton was 32 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Thornton at risk of bushfire?
Thornton has a low recorded bushfire history (20/100). 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.
How are the schools in Thornton?
There are 2 schools inside the Thornton boundary: 1 at and 1 below similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Thornton walkable?
Thornton scores 68/100 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 Thornton?
The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Thornton (Beresfield) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 6.3 µg/m³ and PM10 of 17.5 µg/m³. That puts Thornton 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 Thornton?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Thornton, Paterson (Tocal AWS) (17.5 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 Thornton?
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 Thornton belong to?
Thornton sits within the Maitland local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Thornton?
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 Thornton?
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 Thornton in?
Thornton sits within the federal Division of Paterson, currently held by Meryl Swanson (Australian Labor Party).
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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
- 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.