Wellington NSW 2820

Wellington is a town in New South Wales, 357 km from Sydney CBD, around 4 hours 55 minutes by car. Population is 4,096; the median age is 41 and the median household income is $50,700 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 $230 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $936. Wellington is characterised by high crime risk. Of 3 schools within the town boundary, 1 ranks above the state average, and walkability is low.

Is Wellington a good town?

Wellington scores a D (29/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on prices, weaker on transit, safety, and community.

Schools

Mixed results

3 schools · 1 above peer schools

Transit

Car-dependent

Walkability 20/100 · 357.1 km · 293 min drive to Sydney

Prices

More affordable than most

Median $350K · More affordable than 87% of NSW

Safety

High crime risk

Fire 32/100 · Crime 93/100

Community

Highly disadvantaged

SEIFA decile 1/10 · median age 41 · 4,096 residents

D

Liveability Rating

29 / 100 · Ranked #1291 in NSW

Each bar is Wellington's rank among NSW suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better).

Schools quality
69
Some above similar
Safety
20
Bushfire Low · 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
2
Very disadvantaged
Walkability
25
Car-dependent
CBD access
21
357.1 km · 293 min drive to Sydney
How it's calculated: Schools rank 69 × 25% + Safety rank 20 × 25% + Socio-economic rank 2 × 25% + Walkability rank 25 × 15% + CBD access rank 21 × 10% = 29 / 100. Missing components rebalance the remaining weights.

How do you rate the liveability in Wellington?

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

Our score

29 / 100

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

Residents say

…

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Median House Price

Public listings data

Wellington's house market is moving higher: the median sale price reached $350,000, roughly 15% above where it sat a year earlier.

Houses

$350,000

last 7 quarters
Cheaper than 92% of NSW
↑ +15.4% year-on-year

Based on 160 recorded sales in the last 24 months.

Typically sold in 35 days — median across 37 sales that recorded a listing period

By bedrooms

  • 2 bed 23 sales $253K
  • 3 bed 82 sales $344K
  • 4 bed 38 sales $422K
  • 5 bed 5 sales $420K

Land

$87,500

↓ −15.6% year-on-year

Based on 18 recorded sales in the last 24 months.

Typically sold in 49 days — median across 6 sales that recorded a listing period

Currently for Sale

Last 6 months

Houses in Wellington are currently listed at around $375,000 on average. Based on 39 houses listed in the past six months.

$375K

last 3 months
↓ −4.8% vs previous 6 months from $394K
Since 2022: $286K → $388K (+36%)

39 houses listed in the last 6 months.

39 of the suburb's 1,518 dwellings (2.6%) were listed for sale in the last 6 months.

Rental Market

Advertised rents · last 6 months

Houses in Wellington rent for around $480 a week on average, based on 55 houses listed for rent in the past six months.

Houses

$480/wk

last 5 months
↑ +11.6% vs previous 6 months from $430/wk
Since 2021: $305/wk → $525/wk (+72%)

55 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.

Units

$500/wk

6 units advertised for rent in the last 6 months.

61 rentals advertised against an estimated 578 rented homes (10.6%) in the last 6 months.

Rent agreed on new leases

Jul–Sep 2026
3-bed houses
$530/wk
41 bonds
+38% since 2021

Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2820 (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 2025

130 Acceptable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 23% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2820.

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
House
6.7% well above the typical range
Top 1% in NSW

$480/week ($25,000 a year) on a $375,000 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 Wellington safe? Crime statistics

2025

Crime in Wellington sits in the high band, with 621 incidents recorded in 2025 — down roughly 26% on the prior year.

621 offences

26.1% since 2024
Theft 179 (28.8%)
Assault 115 (18.5%)
Harassment & Stalking 89 (14.3%)
Property Damage 88 (14.2%)
Drug Offences 33 (5.3%)
Weapons Offences 33 (5.3%)
Disorderly Conduct 30 (4.8%)
Sexual Offences 30 (4.8%)
Arson 13 (2.1%)
Robbery 5 (0.8%)
Other Offences Against Person 3 (0.5%)
Abduction & Kidnapping 2 (0.3%)
Homicide 1 (0.2%)

Crime Trend

Serious Road Crashes

2021–2025

6 crashes

where someone was killed or admitted to hospital, 1 of them fatal

Where they happened

Mitchell Highway 3 (50.0%)

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

Dubbo Regional Council has published 5 flood studies on the NSW Flood Data Portal. The mapped flood areas are in those studies; SuburbScan does not hold them.

Schools

Three schools serve Wellington, and performance is broadly at peer-suburb levels with one standout. Wellington High School leads the pack.

58
out of 100
Average
3 schools in this town
1 above similar · 2 at similar
  • • 885 students across 3 schools (avg 295)
  • • Sectors: 2 Government, 1 Catholic
  • • ICSEA 792-956, median 816 (below the national baseline of 1000)
  • • Largest: Wellington Public School (405 students)

Primary

Government · P-6 · 405 students
ICSEA 816 (higher than 3% of Australian schools) · 2% top-SEA students
At similar

Secondary

Government · 7-12 · 284 students
ICSEA 792 (higher than 3% of Australian schools) · 1% top-SEA students
Above similar

Combined

Catholic · K-10 · 196 students
ICSEA 956 (higher than 27% of Australian schools) · 14% top-SEA students
At similar

Walkability

Wellington is very car-dependent on foot — at 20/100, nearly all errands require a car. Within the town there are 2 supermarkets, 8 parks and 7 cafes to anchor that walking radius.

20
out of 100
Very Car-Dependent
Public Transport within 1 km 40
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 60
Hospitals within 5 km 60

Public transport

Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Wellington.

59
out of 100
Bus
Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
30.5 arrivals/hr
Off-peak weekday
10.2 arrivals/hr
Saturday
0.2 arrivals/hr
Median peak wait
1 min
Span of service
12.5 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 Wellington.

71
connectivity score / 100
Top 22% in NSW
Most common
Fibre to the node
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
48%
Premises covered
2,347
Technology mix
Fibre to the node (FTTN) 49%
Fibre to the premises (FTTP) 48%
Fixed wireless (WIRELESS) 2%
Satellite (Sky Muster) (SATELLITE) 0%

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

Dubbo: council population

The whole council area, not just Wellington · estimated residents
at 30 June 2025
Residents
57,384
+0.6% in a year
Change
+335
people since 2024
Density
7.6
people per km² across the council area
What drove the change
Natural increase
+361
births minus deaths
Net internal migration
-252
moves within Australia
Net overseas migration
+226
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
1/10
1/10 within NSW
qualifications and job type, income excluded
How evenly that is spread

The ABS scores 12 small areas inside this town and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 3 different deciles — a narrow range, so the average describes the town closely.

Wellington is home to about 4,100 residents, with a median age of 41, broadly in line with the national figure. Median household income runs at $51,000 a year, with unemployment at 8.2%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

4,096

0.5% since 2016

Median Age

41

6.8% since 2016

Median Household Income

$50,700/yr

24.8% since 2016
Bottom 12% in NSW

Census Median Rent

$230/wk

27.8% since 2016

Census Median Mortgage

$936/mo

6.4% since 2016

Avg Household Size

2.3

no change since 2016

Median Personal Income

$28,704/yr

20.5% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

8.2%

40.1% since 2016

Unoccupied Dwellings

17.7%

1.7% since 2016

Total Dwellings

1,518

2.1% since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

61.9%

1.0% since 2016

Houses

89.1%

8.0% since 2016

Rental Stress

23.6%

2.6% since 2016

Mortgage Stress

22.2%

24.7% since 2016

Work From Home

7.0%

112.1% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Houses 1,352 (89.1%)
Townhouses 97 (6.4%)
Flats / Apartments 69 (4.5%)

Property Ownership

Renting 553 (38.1%)
Owned Outright 536 (36.9%)
Mortgage 363 (25.0%)
Of those rentals, social housing 120 (21.7%)

80 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 40 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 553 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.

Demographics

Born in Australia
77.7%
English Spoken at Home
81.3%
Employment Rate
39.9%
11.8% since 2016
Completed Year 12
23.2%

Occupations

Community & Personal Service 269 (20.6%)
Labourers 233 (17.9%)
Technicians & Trades 164 (12.6%)
Professionals 159 (12.2%)
Clerical & Administrative 124 (9.5%)
Machinery Operators & Drivers 115 (8.8%)
Sales 114 (8.7%)
Managers 98 (7.5%)

Religion

Christianity 2,125 (51.9%)
No Religion 1,251 (30.5%)
Islam 26 (0.6%)
Hinduism 19 (0.5%)
Buddhism 18 (0.4%)
Other Religions 16 (0.4%)
Sikhism 4 (0.1%)
Judaism 3 (0.1%)

Country of Birth (overseas)

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.

England 47 (1.1%)
New Zealand 33 (0.8%)
Philippines 31 (0.8%)
Malaysia 11 (0.3%)
Scotland 11 (0.3%)
Germany 10 (0.2%)
China 9 (0.2%)
India 8 (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 95 (2.3%)
2011-2015 23 (0.6%)
2001-2010 32 (0.8%)
1991-2000 9 (0.2%)
1981-1990 25 (0.6%)
Before 1981 99 (2.4%)

95 residents (2.3%) 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.

4.1% of residents (158) lived in a capital city five years earlier, most of them in Sydney (131).

Overseas 105 (2.7%)
Central West 93 (2.4%)
Sydney - Outer West and Blue Mountains 25 (0.7%)

Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 3,832 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.

Spanish 25 (0.6%)
Mandarin 6 (0.1%)
Cantonese 6 (0.1%)
Punjabi 5 (0.1%)
Italian 5 (0.1%)
Thai 4 (0.1%)
Tamil 3 (0.1%)

Age Distribution

0-4 264 (6.4%)
5-14 567 (13.8%)
15-19 220 (5.4%)
20-24 234 (5.7%)
25-34 511 (12.5%)
35-44 371 (9.1%)
45-54 446 (10.9%)
55-64 562 (13.7%)
65-74 480 (11.7%)
75-84 301 (7.3%)
85+ 140 (3.4%)

Family & Household Composition

Lone Person 557 (47.2%)
One Parent Families 293 (24.8%)
Couple Families 250 (21.2%)
Group Household 52 (4.4%)
Other Families 28 (2.4%)

Commute to Work

Car (driver) 811 (72.2%)
Car (passenger) 119 (10.6%)
Worked from Home 79 (7.0%)
Walked Only 76 (6.8%)
Bus 31 (2.8%)
Bicycle 8 (0.7%)

Local Jobs

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

About 1,222 people work here; 1,303 employed residents live here.

Roughly as many jobs as working residents (0.9 per resident).

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 572 (14.0%)
Bachelor Degree 202 (4.9%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 182 (4.4%)
Postgraduate Degree 40 (1.0%)
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 24 (0.6%)

Cars per Dwelling

0 cars 164 (11.1%)
1 car 698 (47.4%)
2 cars 424 (28.8%)
3 cars 127 (8.6%)
4+ cars 61 (4.1%)

Council Rates

Dubbo
FY 2024-25

Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,233 a year through Dubbo based on 2024 figures.

Avg residential rate
$1,233/yr
About the NSW average ($1,230) · median of 128 councils
Valuation basis
Unimproved Value
land only

How this land is zoned

Share of Wellington's area by planning zone
2026-09
  • Rural and farming 48%
  • Residential 23%
  • Environmental 17%
  • Infrastructure and transport 5%
  • Industrial 4%
  • Commercial 1%
  • Parks and recreation 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: Dubbo

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

In the year to August 2026, 405 new dwellings were approved across Dubbo. That mix is 271 houses and 134 units. Approvals are down 11.9% on the same period a year earlier.

Trailing 12 months
405dwellings
-11.9% YoY
Houses
271
detached dwellings
Units
134
townhouses + apartments

Aboriginal Land Council

Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Wellington 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 Wellington (D&j Rural), 1.0 km

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

Elevation
362 m
above sea level, at the town centre
Near high-voltage lines
0.4% of addresses
11 within 100 m of an overhead line of 110 kV or more
Annual rainfall
641 mm
66 rainy days
Summer max (Jan)
32.5°C
32 days ≥ 35°C
Winter min (Jul)
3.0°C
26 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

EV adoption

0.1%
of light vehicles are electric
Up from 0.00% in 2021
+0.0 points this year
Bottom 8% in NSW

In postcode 2820, 7 of 5,299 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 2.3% (123 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 2.5%.

Electric share, year by year
2021
0.00%
2022
0.00%
2023
0.00%
2024
0.10%
2025
0.13%

Rooftop solar

50
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 6.8 kW each

In postcode 2820, 1,447 rooftop-solar systems totalling 9.9 MW have been installed since 2001, against 2,865 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 126 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
202
2020
81
2021
195
2022
72
2023
93
2024
108
2025
115
2026
50

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
$1,825
Loan amount
$280,000
Total interest over 30 years
$377,141

1 mortgage broker is registered in this town.

Deposit
$70,000
Stamp duty
$10,307
Cash needed at settlement
$80,307

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

Dubbo District

Currently held by Dugald Saunders The Nationals

Next state election: 13 March 2027.

Year Winner Won with
2023 Dugald Saunders NP 68.6%
2019 Dugald Saunders NP 52.0%
2015 Troy Grant NP 70.4%

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 Wellington?

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 Wellington 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 Wellington

Is Wellington a safe place to live?

Recorded crime in Wellington is high (93/100, 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 Wellington?

Wellington has a low recorded bushfire history (32/100, 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 Wellington a good place to live?

Wellington has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (29/100), 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 Wellington?

Wellington, NSW had a population of 4,096 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Wellington, NSW?

The postcode for Wellington, NSW is 2820.

How far is Wellington from Sydney?

Wellington is 357 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 293 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Wellington?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Wellington was $50,700 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 Wellington?

The median advertised rent in Wellington is $480 a week for houses (55 listings) and $500 a week for units (6 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.

What is the median age in Wellington?

The median age of residents in Wellington was 41 at the 2021 ABS Census.

Is Wellington at risk of bushfire?

Wellington has a low recorded bushfire history (32/100). 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 Wellington?

There are 3 schools inside the Wellington boundary: 1 above and 2 at similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).

Is Wellington walkable?

Wellington scores 20/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it very 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 weather like in Wellington?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Wellington, Wellington (D&j Rural) (1 km away), summer days average 32.5°C, winter nights 3°C, 641 mm of rain a year over 66 rainy days, and 32 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.

Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Wellington?

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 Wellington belong to?

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

How much are council rates in Wellington?

The average residential rates bill through Dubbo is $1,233 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.

How much is being built near Wellington?

Across Dubbo, 405 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 11.9% 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 Wellington in?

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

Search another suburb or address

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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