Walcha NSW 2354
Walcha sits 427 km from Sydney CBD in New South Wales, around 5 hours 30 minutes by car. Census data records 2,475 residents with a median age of 49 and a median household income of $63,440 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the lower-middle tier nationally. Population fell 3.1% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $203 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,083. The area shows high bushfire risk. 2 schools sit within the town boundary, and walkability is low.
Is Walcha a good town?
Walcha scores a D (21/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on prices, weaker on transit.
Mixed results
2 schools
Car-dependent
Walkability 0/100 · 427.3 km · 329 min drive to Sydney
More affordable than most
Median $435K · More affordable than 89% of NSW
Moderate bushfire risk
Fire 70/100 · Crime 57/100
Below-average income
SEIFA decile 4/10 · median age 49 · 2,475 residents
Liveability Rating
21 / 100 · Ranked #1437 in NSWEach bar is Walcha'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 Walcha?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
21 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataWalcha's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $435,000, roughly 21% above where it sat a year earlier.
Houses
$435,000
Based on 71 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 103 days — median across 21 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 13 sales $375K
- 3 bed 31 sales $440K
- 4 bed 13 sales $450K
Land
$175,000
Based on 15 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 96 days — median across 6 sales that recorded a listing period
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Walcha are currently listed at around $538,000 on average. Based on 8 houses listed in the past six months.
$538K
8 houses listed in the last 6 months.
8 of the suburb's 980 dwellings (0.8%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Is Walcha safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Walcha sits in the moderate band, with 95 incidents recorded in 2025 — down roughly 38% on the prior year.
95 offences
37.9% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–202514 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital, 1 of them fatal
Where they happened
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
Walcha 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 Walcha, and performance is broadly on par with peer-suburb schools.
- • 324 students across 2 schools (avg 162)
- • Sectors: 1 Catholic, 1 Government
- • ICSEA 906-1027, median 966 (below the national baseline of 1000)
- • Largest: Walcha Central School (230 students)
Primary
Combined
Walkability
Walcha is very car-dependent on foot — at 0/100, nearly all errands require a car. Within the town there are 2 supermarkets, 5 parks and 5 cafes to anchor that walking radius.
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 Walcha.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 35.2 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 13.3 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 0.1 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 10.2 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 Walcha.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 12%
- Premises covered
- 1,174
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
Walcha: 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 9 small areas inside this town and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 7 different deciles — a wide range, so parts of this town rank well above the average and parts well below it.
Walcha is home to about 2,500 residents, with a median age of 49, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $63,000 a year, with unemployment at 3.0%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
2,475
Median Age
49
Median Household Income
$63,440/yr
Census Median Rent
$203/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,083/mo
Avg Household Size
2.2
Median Personal Income
$36,452/yr
Unemployment Rate
3.0%
Unoccupied Dwellings
22.9%
Total Dwellings
980
Owner-Occupier Rate
76.6%
Houses
94.5%
Rental Stress
16.6%
Mortgage Stress
20.5%
Work From Home
28.4%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
16 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 12 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 210 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 84.8%
- English Spoken at Home
- 89.0%
- Employment Rate
- 54.2%
- Completed Year 12
- 32.2%
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.
7 residents (0.3%) 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.
2.5% of residents (58) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney (50).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 2,335 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 $772 a year through Walcha based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Rural and farming 83%
- Environmental 17%
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: Walcha
In the year to August 2026, 4 new dwellings were approved across Walcha. Almost all of the pipeline is detached houses.
Aboriginal Land Council
Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Amaroo 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 Woolbrook (Woolbrook Road), 37.7 kmModerate rainfall — warm summers, frosty winters.
- Elevation
- 1,094 m
- above sea level, at the town centre
- Annual rainfall
- 784 mm
- 84 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 27.5°C
- 3 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 0.1°C
- 75 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
In postcode 2354, 4 of 3,291 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.6% (53 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 1.7%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 2354, 671 rooftop-solar systems totalling 4.6 MW have been installed since 2001, against 1,715 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 70 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 $435,000 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 Barnaby Joyce The Nationals
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Barnaby Joyce | 32.9% | 67.1% | -1.9 |
| 2022 | Barnaby Joyce | 33.6% | 66.4% | -1.2 |
| 2019 | Barnaby Joyce | 32.4% | 67.6% | +1.2 |
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 Brendan Moylan The Nationals — elected at the Jun 2024 by-election, after the results below
Next state election: 13 March 2027.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Adam Marshall NP | 83.8% |
| 2019 | Adam Marshall NP | 82.8% |
| 2015 | Adam Marshall NP | 77.1% |
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 Walcha?
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 2,475 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
Woolbrook NSW 2354
Hillgrove NSW 2350
Yarrowitch NSW 2354
Niangala NSW 2354
Nowendoc NSW 2354
Walcha Road NSW 2354
Compare Walcha 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 Walcha
Is Walcha a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Walcha is moderate (57/100, ranked against other NSW suburbs on offences per resident).
What natural hazards affect Walcha?
Walcha has a high recorded bushfire history (70/100, 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 Walcha a good place to live?
Walcha has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (21/100), 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 Walcha?
Walcha, NSW had a population of 2,475 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Walcha, NSW?
The postcode for Walcha, NSW is 2354.
How far is Walcha from Sydney?
Walcha is 427 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 329 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Walcha?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Walcha was $63,440 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 Walcha?
There are too few current rental listings in Walcha for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $203, across all dwelling types.
What is the median age in Walcha?
The median age of residents in Walcha was 49 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Walcha at risk of bushfire?
Walcha has a high recorded bushfire history (70/100). 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 Walcha?
There are 2 schools inside the Walcha boundary: 2 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
What is the weather like in Walcha?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Walcha, Woolbrook (Woolbrook Road) (37.7 km away), summer days average 27.5°C, winter nights 0.1°C, 784 mm of rain a year over 84 rainy days, and 3 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Walcha?
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 Walcha belong to?
Walcha sits within the Walcha local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Walcha?
The average residential rates bill through Walcha is $772 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Walcha?
Across Walcha, 4 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 Walcha in?
Walcha sits within the federal Division of New England, currently held by Barnaby Joyce (The Nationals).
Search another suburb or address
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
- 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.
Was the information on this page useful to you?
Thanks! Anything we could improve?
We hate spam as much as you do — we'll never use your email for marketing, and we might not be able to reply to everyone.
Thanks for your feedback! 🙏
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.