Carcoar, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Carcoar is a small heritage town in the Central West of New South Wales, about 52km south-west of Bathurst and 258km west of Sydney, sitting roughly 720m above sea level. Settled by Europeans from 1839, it grew into one of the oldest inland towns west of the Blue Mountains and an important administrative and banking centre for the surrounding farming district. The country is that of the Wiradjuri people. Carcoar's fortunes faded as later gold discoveries pulled prospectors further west, and the town was largely left behind by twentieth-century growth - which is why its nineteenth-century streetscape of shops, churches and the old courthouse survives so intact today. It now draws visitors for its heritage buildings and events such as the Carcoar Cup running festival.
Around the national middle
Carcoar is more socio-economically advantaged than about 51% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 989, 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 Carcoar 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 Carcoar 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
51/100Around the national middle
Around the national middle — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (51/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
79/100More affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $195 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 79% 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.
Carcoar at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 271
- Median age
- 55
- Median weekly household income
- $1,187
- SEIFA score
- 989
- Local government area
- Blayney
- Coordinates
- -33.6190, 149.1537
Map of Carcoar
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Carcoar
What it costs to live in Carcoar and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $195
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,517
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 80%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 12%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Carcoar demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Carcoar demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Carcoar 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 mid-life (45–64) at 35% and 11% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 46 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 19 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 33 | 12% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 98 | 35% |
| Seniors (65+) | 86 | 30% |
Share of the 282 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 61 | 50% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 36 | 30% |
| Rented | 15 | 12% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 110 | 93% |
| Townhouses & semis | 4 | 3% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 118 occupied private dwellings in Carcoar.
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,021
- Median weekly personal income
- $662
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 27 (11%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 5 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 4 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 88 (39%)
- Labour-force participation
- 56.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.1%
- Employed full-time
- 72
- Employed part-time
- 43
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.
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Common questions about Carcoar
Is Carcoar 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, Carcoar 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 Carcoar?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Carcoar was $195, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,517. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Carcoar?
Carcoar is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Blayney local government area.
What is the population of Carcoar?
At the 2021 Census, Carcoar had a population of about 271.
Is Carcoar an advantaged area?
Carcoar has an ABS SEIFA score of 989, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 51 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 51% of Australian suburbs.
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