Armidale, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Armidale is a city on NSW's New England Tablelands, almost 1,000 metres above sea level and roughly midway between Sydney and Brisbane. Population: 23,967 at the 2021 Census (ABS 2021 Census QuickStats, SAL10086, Suburbs and Localities). Note: the Armidale Regional LGA (LGA10180) has a broader population of 29,124, covering surrounding villages and rural localities — StreetScout's suburb figure reflects the SAL boundary. The University of New England defines the economic and demographic character of the place: Higher Education is the largest industry employer at 10.3% of the workforce, more than seven times the NSW rate of 1.3%. That institutional weight pulls the demographic profile: 15–24-year-olds account for 17.3% of the population (national: ~11.8%), and single-person households run at 32.8% (NSW: 25.0%). Both patterns track with a student-heavy residential cohort. Median weekly household income is $1,432 — $397 below the NSW median and $314 below the national figure. Median personal income is $730 per week (NSW: $813). The structural upside is housing affordability: median monthly mortgage of $1,500 (NSW: $2,167) and median weekly rent of $290 (NSW: $420). Median age: 36 — three years below NSW. A refugee resettlement history shows in the data: Iraq-born residents account for 2.4% of the population (NSW: 0.7%). Bachelor degree or above: 28.7% (NSW: 27.8%). Almost no one commutes by public transport: 0.4% (NSW: 4.0%) — there is effectively no PT infrastructure for a city of this size.
Around the national middle
Armidale is more socio-economically advantaged than about 44% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 977, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Is Armidale a good place to live?
There’s no single answer — it depends on what matters to you. So instead of one mystery number, we break it down: a transparent score on each part of life we can back with public data, and an honest “not yet” on the parts we can’t.
Around the national middle
A weighted blend of the 3 components we can score for Armidale from public data. It sits alongside — and reconciles with — the socio-economic Suburb Score above; it is a transparent read, not a complete verdict.
Socio-economic advantage
44/100Around the national middle
Around the national middle — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (44/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
49/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $290 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 49% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Amenities & access
80/100Plenty mapped nearby
About 132 everyday places (cafés, shops, services and more) mapped within ~1.2 km of the centre. · OpenStreetMap
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Green spaceNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap green-space mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- TransportNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap public-transport mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- SchoolsNot scored yet — school performance (ACARA / ICSEA) needs a data-reuse licence cleared before we can publish it.
- SafetyNot scored yet — Australia has no single open crime dataset and safety data carries defamation and legal care, so it is gated pending a go/no-go and will be data-only when added.
- CommunityNot scored yet — we won't reduce community to a number from a proxy. We'd rather leave it open than publish an invented value judgement.
A transparent read on public data, not a verdict — and not a measure of any person or community. See our methodology for how each component is worked out and why some aren’t scored yet.
Armidale at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 23,967
- Median age
- 36
- Median weekly household income
- $1,432
- SEIFA score
- 977
- Local government area
- Armidale Regional
- Coordinates
- -30.5019, 151.6713
Map of Armidale
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Armidale
What it costs to live in Armidale and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $290
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,500
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 59%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 38%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Armidale demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Armidale demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Armidale using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is young adults (25–44) at 25% and 18% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 4,269 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 4,139 | 17% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 5,877 | 25% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 5,281 | 22% |
| Seniors (65+) | 4,394 | 18% |
Share of the 23,960 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 2,818 | 32% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 2,377 | 27% |
| Rented | 3,312 | 38% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 7,185 | 82% |
| Townhouses & semis | 1,082 | 12% |
| Flats & apartments | 455 | 5% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 8,785 occupied private dwellings in Armidale.
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,893
- Median weekly personal income
- $730
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 3,937 (18%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 2,802 (13%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 1,896 (8%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 10,729 (57%)
- Labour-force participation
- 56%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.7%
- Employed full-time
- 5,908
- Employed part-time
- 3,822
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Weather and climate in Armidale
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Armidale is January (average daytime high around 25.4°C) and the coolest is July (around 11.7°C). The area receives roughly 705 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25.4°C | 14.4°C | 83 mm |
| Feb | 23.8°C | 13.7°C | 86 mm |
| Mar | 22.1°C | 12.8°C | 115 mm |
| Apr | 18.5°C | 9°C | 30 mm |
| May | 15°C | 5.4°C | 31 mm |
| Jun | 11.9°C | 3.3°C | 42 mm |
| Jul | 11.7°C | 2.4°C | 33 mm |
| Aug | 13.3°C | 2.9°C | 36 mm |
| Sep | 16.7°C | 5.5°C | 37 mm |
| Oct | 20.2°C | 8.5°C | 61 mm |
| Nov | 22.3°C | 10.7°C | 64 mm |
| Dec | 24.3°C | 13°C | 87 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Places in and around Armidale
Amenities mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre, from OpenStreetMap. A guide to what's nearby — not a complete directory.
Eat & drink
5 nearbyManor Restaurant · Hào Sushi & Grill · Wicklow Hotel · Hungry Jack's · Azka
Parks & recreation
110 nearbyNJOY Pilates · Elizabeth Park · Drummond Memorial Park · Bruce Browning Park · Curtis Park · Civic Park
Shops & groceries
2 nearbyMoxon's Bakery · Coles
Healthcare
4 nearbyDental on Marsh · Thorne Dental · Mountview Pharmacy · Rockvale Cardiac Centre
Schools & education
5 nearbyBen Venue Primary School · Presbyterian Ladies College · O'Connor Catholic College · Little Bear Childcare Cottage · Tiny Town Armidale
Things to do
6 nearbyApex Lookout · Out on the Wire · Black Cockatoos · Belgrave Twin Cinema
Eat & drink in and around Armidale
Cafés, restaurants, pubs and takeaway mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre. Listings are drawn from OpenStreetMap and shown as plain data — we don't rank or rate them.
Own a café, restaurant or pub around here?
Claim your listing to feature it at the top of this section. Placement is paid advertising, clearly labelled — never editorial opinion.
Claim this listing- AzkaRestaurant
- Hào Sushi & GrillRestaurant
- Hungry Jack'sTakeaway117 Dumaresq Streethungryjacks.com.au
- Manor RestaurantRestaurant
- Wicklow HotelPub87 Marsh Street, Armidalewicklow.com.au
Listings © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Own a venue here? Suggest a correction.
Share your local knowledge of Armidale
Lived here or spent time in Armidale? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Armidale
Is Armidale a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage, housing affordability and amenities, Armidale rates 54/100 overall (Around the national middle). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Armidale?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Armidale was $290, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,500. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Armidale?
Armidale is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Armidale Regional local government area.
What is the population of Armidale?
At the 2021 Census, Armidale had a population of about 23,967.
Is Armidale an advantaged area?
Armidale has an ABS SEIFA score of 977, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 44 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 44% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Armidale?
Armidale has average daytime highs of about 18.8°C and overnight lows of about 8.5°C, with roughly 705 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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