Wauchope NSW 2446
Wauchope is a town in New South Wales, 373 km from Sydney CBD, around 4 hours 15 minutes by car. Population is 6,589; the median age is 43 and the median household income is $57,928 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the bottom 20% nationally. Population grew 4.4% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $350 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,517. The area shows high crime risk. 3 schools sit within the town boundary, and walkability is moderate.
Is Wauchope a good town?
Wauchope scores a D (18/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — weaker on schools, safety, and community.
Below the state average
3 schools · Bottom 5% in NSW
Some car dependence
Walkability 47/100 · 373.1 km · 254 min drive to Sydney
Around the state median
Median $688K · Cheaper than 75% of NSW
High crime risk
Fire 51/100 · Crime 82/100
Highly disadvantaged
SEIFA decile 1/10 · median age 43 · 6,589 residents
Liveability Rating
18 / 100 · Ranked #1491 in NSWEach bar is Wauchope's rank among NSW suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better).
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 Wauchope?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
18 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataWauchope's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $688,000, about 5% above where it sat a year earlier.
$688,000
45% below its 4 neighbours (median $1,250,000)
Based on 159 recorded sales in the last 24 months.
Typically sold in 26 days — median across 81 sales that recorded a listing period
By bedrooms
- 2 bed 8 sales $573K
- 3 bed 101 sales $680K
- 4 bed 38 sales $803K
- 5 bed 5 sales $745K
Currently for Sale
Last 6 monthsHouses in Wauchope are currently listed at around $740,000 on average. Based on 71 houses listed in the past six months.
$740K
71 houses listed in the last 6 months.
72 of the suburb's 2,545 dwellings (2.8%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.
Rental Market
Advertised rents · last 6 monthsHouses in Wauchope rent for around $595 a week on average, based on 43 houses listed for rent in the past six months.
Houses
$595/wk
43 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
Units
$402/wk
6 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.
49 rentals advertised against an estimated 850 rented homes (5.8%) in the last 6 months.
Rent agreed on new leases
Jul–Sep 2026- 3-bed houses
- $595/wk
- 40 bonds
- +31% since 2021
Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2446 (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 202599 Unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 30% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2446.
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$595/week ($31,000 a year) on a $740,000 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.
Short-Stay Rentals
No active Airbnb listings (8 listed without a review in the past year).
Airbnb only, as at Jun 2026; other platforms are not included. Active means reviewed in the past 12 months. The share is against private dwellings at the 2021 Census.
Is Wauchope safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Wauchope sits in the high band, with 501 incidents recorded in 2025 — down roughly 13% on the prior year.
501 offences
12.7% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–202519 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital
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
Port Macquarie-Hastings Council has published 10 flood studies on the NSW Flood Data Portal. The mapped flood areas are in those studies; SuburbScan does not hold them.
- Camden Haven River and Lakes System Flood Study Update (2025) 2026
- North Brother Local Catchments Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan 2021
- North Brother Local Catchments Flood Study 2020
- Hastings River Floodplain Risk Management Plan 2014
- Dunbogan - Report for Flood Access Investigation & Design Route Options Feasibility 2008
Schools
Three schools serve Wauchope, and the cohort is trailing peer-suburb performance.
- • 1,359 students across 3 schools (avg 453)
- • Sectors: 2 Government, 1 Catholic
- • ICSEA 894-1011, median 900 (below the national baseline of 1000)
- • Largest: Wauchope Public School (624 students)
Primary
Secondary
Walkability
Wauchope is car-dependent on foot — at 47/100, most errands require a car. Within the town there are 2 supermarkets, 15 parks and 6 cafes to anchor that walking radius.
Public transport
Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Wauchope.
- Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
- 30.0 arrivals/hr
- Off-peak weekday
- 12.6 arrivals/hr
- Saturday
- 3.0 arrivals/hr
- Median peak wait
- 1 min
- Span of service
- 17.8 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 Wauchope.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 43%
- Premises covered
- 3,497
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
Port Macquarie-Hastings: 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 18 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.
Wauchope is home to about 6,600 residents, with a median age of 43, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $58,000 a year, with unemployment at 6.3%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
6,589
Median Age
43
Median Household Income
$57,928/yr
Census Median Rent
$350/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,517/mo
Avg Household Size
2.4
Median Personal Income
$30,420/yr
Unemployment Rate
6.3%
Unoccupied Dwellings
6.6%
Total Dwellings
2,545
Owner-Occupier Rate
66.6%
Houses
85.4%
Rental Stress
31.4%
Mortgage Stress
31.4%
Work From Home
7.3%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
67 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 101 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 816 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 86.0%
- English Spoken at Home
- 91.8%
- Employment Rate
- 46.3%
- Completed Year 12
- 26.0%
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.
23 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.
4.6% of residents (283) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney (211).
Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 6,208 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
Local Jobs
People who work in this town against employed people who live here, 2021 Census.
About 2,745 people work here; 2,467 employed residents live here.
Roughly as many jobs as working residents (1.1 per resident). At least 8% 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
Cars per Dwelling
Council Rates
Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,325 a year through Port Macquarie-Hastings based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Rural and farming 53%
- Residential 22%
- Parks and recreation 7%
- Industrial 7%
- Environmental 6%
- 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: Port Macquarie-Hastings
In the year to August 2026, 546 new dwellings were approved across Port Macquarie-Hastings. That mix is 357 houses and 189 units. Approvals are up 32.7% on the same period a year earlier.
Aboriginal Land Council
Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Bunyah 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 5.1 µg/m³ in 2025 — below Australia's NEPM annual standard (8 µg/m³), slightly above the stricter WHO guideline (5 µg/m³). 4 days exceeded the daily threshold of 25 µg/m³.
PM10 averaged 11.3 µg/m³ · NO₂ averaged 0.92 pphm. Days over the limit in 2025: PM10 1 · NO₂ 0 · ozone 0.
From the Port Macquarie monitoring station, 14.9 km away.
Climate & Setting
from Yarras (Mount Seaview), 46.9 kmHigh rainfall — hot summers, mild winters.
- Elevation
- 8 m
- above sea level, at the town centre
- Distance to the ocean
- 14.5 km
- Annual rainfall
- 2,842 mm
- 156 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 29.0°C
- 12 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 6.7°C
- 1 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.
Industrial Emissions Nearby
1 facility within 5 km- 2.6 kmSewerage and Drainage ServicesTop reported: Total Phosphorus · Total Nitrogen · Ammonia (total)
EV adoption
In postcode 2446, 62 of 13,144 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 1.6% (206 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 2.0%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 2446, 3,968 rooftop-solar systems totalling 26.2 MW have been installed since 2001, against 5,716 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 243 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
3 mortgage brokers are registered in postcode 2446.
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 $688,000 this is $88,000 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 2026-10-27 — 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 Alison Penfold The Nationals
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Alison Penfold | 40.2% | 59.8% | +4.0 |
| 2022 | David Gillespie | 36.2% | 63.8% | -1.4 |
| 2019 | David Gillespie | 34.8% | 65.2% | +3.5 |
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
Currently held by Michael Kemp The Nationals
Next state election: 13 March 2027.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Michael Kemp NP | 62.8% |
| 2019 | Melinda Pavey NP | 64.9% |
| 2015 | Melinda Pavey NP | 60.9% |
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 Wauchope?
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 6,589 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
King Creek NSW 2446
Yippin Creek NSW 2446
Crosslands NSW 2446
Sancrox NSW 2446
Redbank NSW 2446
Herons Creek NSW 2439
Compare Wauchope 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 Wauchope
Is Wauchope a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Wauchope is high (82/100, 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 Wauchope?
Wauchope has a moderate recorded bushfire history (51/100, 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 Wauchope a good place to live?
Wauchope has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (18/100), 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 Wauchope?
Wauchope, NSW had a population of 6,589 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Wauchope, NSW?
The postcode for Wauchope, NSW is 2446.
How far is Wauchope from Sydney?
Wauchope is 373 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 254 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Wauchope?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Wauchope was $57,928 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 Wauchope?
The median advertised rent in Wauchope is $595 a week for houses (43 listings) and $402 a week for units (6 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.
What is the median age in Wauchope?
The median age of residents in Wauchope was 43 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Wauchope at risk of bushfire?
Wauchope has a moderate recorded bushfire history (51/100). 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 Wauchope?
There are 3 schools inside the Wauchope boundary: 2 at and 1 below similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
Is Wauchope walkable?
Wauchope scores 47/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it car-dependent. 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 Wauchope?
The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Wauchope (Port Macquarie) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 5.1 µg/m³ and PM10 of 11.3 µg/m³. That puts Wauchope 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 Wauchope?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Wauchope, Yarras (Mount Seaview) (46.9 km away), summer days average 29°C, winter nights 6.7°C, 2,842 mm of rain a year over 156 rainy days, and 12 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Wauchope?
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 Wauchope belong to?
Wauchope sits within the Port Macquarie-Hastings local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Wauchope?
The average residential rates bill through Port Macquarie-Hastings is $1,325 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Wauchope?
Across Port Macquarie-Hastings, 546 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's up 32.7% 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 Wauchope in?
Wauchope sits within the federal Division of Lyne, currently held by Alison Penfold (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
- Air quality · 2025
- Climate · 2006–2026
- Socio-economic (SEIFA) · 2021
- EV adoption · Jan 2025
- First Home Owner Grant · Sep 2026
- Federal electorate · 2025
- Short-stay rentals · Jun 2026
- 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.