Wilcannia NSW 2836
Located in New South Wales, Wilcannia sits 996 km from Sydney CBD, around 12 hours 40 minutes by car. The locality has 735 residents, a median age of 32, and a median household income of $62,972 per year. By household income, education, and employment patterns, it ranks in the bottom 20% nationally. The locality fell 1.3% between 2016 and 2021. At the 2021 Census, households here paid a median rent of $155 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $1,350. Wilcannia is characterised by high crime risk. 2 schools sit within the locality boundary, and walkability is low.
Is Wilcannia a good place to live?
Wilcannia scores a D (10/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on prices, weaker on transit, safety, and community.
Mixed results
2 schools
Car-dependent
Walkability 0/100 · 995.9 km · 760 min drive to Sydney
Below the state median
Median $87K · Cheaper than 99% of NSW
High crime risk
Fire 20/100 · Crime 98/100
Highly disadvantaged
SEIFA decile 1/10 · median age 32 · 735 residents
Liveability Rating
10 / 100 · Ranked #1558 in NSWEach bar is Wilcannia'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 Wilcannia?
Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.
Our score
10 / 100
From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.
Residents say
…
Median House Price
Public listings dataThe median house sale price in Wilcannia sits at $87,000, broadly flat year-on-year. That said, only seven sales settled in the quarter, so the median is a noisy signal — treat it as a direction rather than a level.
$87,000
Based on only 7 sales — small sample, take as indicative.
Is Wilcannia safe? Crime statistics
2025Crime in Wilcannia sits in the high band, with 275 incidents recorded in 2025 — down roughly 34% on the prior year.
275 offences
34.1% since 2024Crime Trend
Serious Road Crashes
2021–202510 crashes
where someone was killed or admitted to hospital, 2 of them fatal
Where they happened
Crashes are counted where they happened, so a main road through the locality 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
Central Darling Shire 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 Wilcannia, and the cohort is trailing peer-suburb performance.
- • 90 students across 2 schools (avg 45)
- • Sectors: 1 Catholic, 1 Government
- • ICSEA 673-740, median 706 (below the national baseline of 1000)
- • Largest: Wilcannia Central School (65 students)
Primary
Combined
Walkability
Wilcannia is very car-dependent on foot — at 0/100, nearly all errands require a car.
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.
NBN connectivity
The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Wilcannia.
- Full-fibre (FTTP) share
- 0%
- Premises covered
- 116
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
Central Darling: council population
The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this locality alone — this locality's own population is in the census section above.
Socio-economic profile
The ABS scores 5 small areas inside this locality and averages them into the single decile above. They fall into 2 different deciles — a narrow range, so the average describes the locality closely.
Wilcannia is home to 735 residents, and skews young, with a median age of 32 against the national 38. Median household income runs at $63,000 a year, with unemployment at 7.1%.
2021 Census · change since 2016
Population
735
Median Age
32
Median Household Income
$62,972/yr
Census Median Rent
$155/wk
Census Median Mortgage
$1,350/mo
Avg Household Size
2.8
Median Personal Income
$27,248/yr
Unemployment Rate
7.1%
Unoccupied Dwellings
39.7%
Total Dwellings
189
Owner-Occupier Rate
39.6%
Houses
85.7%
Rental Stress
12.8%
Mortgage Stress
25.7%
Work From Home
31.1%
Dwelling Types
Property Ownership
40 rented from a state or territory housing authority and 32 from a community housing provider, as a share of the 99 rented dwellings above — not of all dwellings.
Demographics
- Born in Australia
- 75.4%
- English Spoken at Home
- 74.8%
- Employment Rate
- 31.9%
- Completed Year 12
- 15.1%
Occupations
Religion
Country of Birth (overseas)
Largest overseas birthplaces, 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 $332 a year through Central Darling based on 2024 figures.
How this land is zoned
- Rural and farming 90%
- Environmental 10%
Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the locality around it — the property page shows the zone for one address.
Building Approvals: Central Darling
In the year to August 2026, 4 new dwellings were approved across Central Darling. That mix is 2 houses and 2 units.
Aboriginal Land Council
Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Wilcannia 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 Wilcannia (Reid St), 37.5 kmDry climate — very hot summers, cold winters with occasional frost.
- Elevation
- 91 m
- above sea level, at the locality centre
- Annual rainfall
- 295 mm
- 31 rainy days
- Summer max (Jan)
- 35.3°C
- 70 days ≥ 35°C
- Winter min (Jul)
- 4.6°C
- 9 frost days ≤ 0°C
Elevation is the ground at the locality 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 2836, 0 of 495 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 0.6% (3 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 0.6%.
Rooftop solar
In postcode 2836, 297 rooftop-solar systems totalling 2.0 MW have been installed since 2001, against 356 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 6 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 $87,000 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 Jamie Chaffey The Nationals
| Year | Winner | 2PP ALP | 2PP LNP | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Jamie Chaffey | 37.0% | 63.0% | +5.2 |
| 2022 | Mark Coulton | 32.2% | 67.8% | +0.9 |
| 2019 | Mark Coulton | 33.1% | 66.9% | +1.8 |
Results are per division — federal electoral boundaries are redrawn periodically, so the history reflects this division's past, not necessarily the exact locality's voters across time.
State Electorate
Currently held by Roy Butler Independent
Next state election: 13 March 2027.
| Year | Winner | Won with |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Roy Butler IND | 66.0% |
| 2019 | Roy Butler | 56.6% |
| 2015 | Kevin Humphries NP | 62.9% |
Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2021, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this locality's voters. Results: © State of New South Wales through the NSW Electoral Commission, CC BY 4.0, adapted.
Looking at a specific address in Wilcannia?
Every figure above is a locality 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 735 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
Compare Wilcannia 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 Wilcannia
Is Wilcannia a safe place to live?
Recorded crime in Wilcannia is high (98/100, 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 Wilcannia?
Wilcannia has a low recorded bushfire history (20/100, ranked against every Australian suburb with any fire history). These are locality-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.
Is Wilcannia a good place to live?
Wilcannia has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of D (10/100), 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 Wilcannia?
Wilcannia, NSW had a population of 735 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.
What is the postcode for Wilcannia, NSW?
The postcode for Wilcannia, NSW is 2836.
How far is Wilcannia from Sydney?
Wilcannia is 996 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 760 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.
What is the median household income in Wilcannia?
At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Wilcannia was $62,972 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 Wilcannia?
There are too few current rental listings in Wilcannia for a reliable median. At the 2021 ABS Census the median weekly rent was $155, across all dwelling types.
What is the median age in Wilcannia?
The median age of residents in Wilcannia was 32 at the 2021 ABS Census.
Is Wilcannia at risk of bushfire?
Wilcannia 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 locality 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 Wilcannia?
There are 2 schools inside the Wilcannia boundary: 1 below similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).
What is the weather like in Wilcannia?
At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Wilcannia, Wilcannia (Reid St) (37.5 km away), summer days average 35.3°C, winter nights 4.6°C, 295 mm of rain a year over 31 rainy days, and 70 days a year above 35°C over 2006-2026.
Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Wilcannia?
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 Wilcannia belong to?
Wilcannia sits within the Central Darling local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.
How much are council rates in Wilcannia?
The average residential rates bill through Central Darling is $332 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.
How much is being built near Wilcannia?
Across Central Darling, 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 Wilcannia in?
Wilcannia sits within the federal Division of Parkes, currently held by Jamie Chaffey (The Nationals).
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Data freshness
- Census · 2021
- Median sale prices · Oct 2026
- Council rates · FY 2024–25
- Building approvals · Aug 2026
- Schools · 2025
- 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.
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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.