Bowral, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Bowral is the largest town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, about 130 kilometres south-west of Sydney. Its name is said to come from a local Aboriginal word meaning 'high', fitting for a cool tableland town beneath Mount Gibraltar. Bowral grew quickly in the second half of the nineteenth century, after the railway between Sydney and Melbourne reached the highlands. It is best known today as the cricketing home of Sir Donald Bradman, remembered at the Bradman Museum and International Cricket Hall of Fame. Each spring the town fills with colour for Tulip Time in Corbett Gardens, and its streets of cool-climate gardens, cafes and antique shops draw weekend visitors year-round.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Bowral is more socio-economically advantaged than about 87% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1063, 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 Bowral 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 2 components we can score for Bowral 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
87/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (87/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
6/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $500 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 6% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- 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.
Bowral at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 10,764
- Median age
- 55
- Median weekly household income
- $1,535
- SEIFA score
- 1063
- Local government area
- Wingecarribee
- Coordinates
- -34.4839, 150.4199
Map of Bowral
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Bowral
What it costs to live in Bowral and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $500
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $2,167
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 76%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 19%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Bowral demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Bowral demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Bowral 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 seniors (65+) at 38% and 23% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,529 | 14% |
| Youth (15–24) | 886 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,595 | 15% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 2,674 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 4,095 | 38% |
Share of the 10,779 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 2,307 | 51% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,125 | 25% |
| Rented | 853 | 19% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 3,646 | 81% |
| Townhouses & semis | 727 | 16% |
| Flats & apartments | 130 | 3% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 4,529 occupied private dwellings in Bowral.
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,080
- Median weekly personal income
- $802
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 2,339 (23%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 839 (8%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 125 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 5,527 (62%)
- Labour-force participation
- 48.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.8%
- Employed full-time
- 2,296
- Employed part-time
- 1,787
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 Bowral
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Bowral is January (average daytime high around 24.2°C) and the coolest is July (around 11.3°C). The area receives roughly 985 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24.2°C | 14.3°C | 101 mm |
| Feb | 22.7°C | 13.7°C | 114 mm |
| Mar | 20.6°C | 12.7°C | 141 mm |
| Apr | 17.8°C | 10°C | 72 mm |
| May | 14.4°C | 6.9°C | 45 mm |
| Jun | 11.4°C | 4.9°C | 57 mm |
| Jul | 11.3°C | 4.1°C | 73 mm |
| Aug | 12.2°C | 4.2°C | 66 mm |
| Sep | 15.6°C | 6.2°C | 47 mm |
| Oct | 18.6°C | 8.6°C | 83 mm |
| Nov | 20.6°C | 10.3°C | 83 mm |
| Dec | 22.8°C | 12.5°C | 103 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Bowral
Is Bowral a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, Bowral rates 60/100 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 Bowral?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Bowral was $500, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,167. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Bowral?
Bowral is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wingecarribee local government area.
What is the population of Bowral?
At the 2021 Census, Bowral had a population of about 10,764.
Is Bowral an advantaged area?
Bowral has an ABS SEIFA score of 1063, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 87 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 87% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Bowral?
Bowral has average daytime highs of about 17.7°C and overnight lows of about 9°C, with roughly 985 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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