Cowra, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Cowra is a town in the Central West of New South Wales, on the Lachlan River about 310 kilometres west of Sydney and 190 kilometres north of Canberra. Its name evolved from an earlier label, Coura Rocks, used in the 1840s. During the Second World War the town held a large prisoner-of-war camp, and in August 1944 it saw a mass breakout by Japanese prisoners, one of the biggest such escapes of the conflict. In the decades since, Cowra has become a symbol of reconciliation: it cares for the only Japanese war cemetery in Australia and built the Cowra Japanese Garden and Cultural Centre, among the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. Farming and winemaking sustain the district.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Cowra is more socio-economically advantaged than about 12% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 900, 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 Cowra 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.
Lower on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Cowra 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
12/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (12/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
68/100More affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $230 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 68% 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.
Cowra at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 10,145
- Median age
- 46
- Median weekly household income
- $1,107
- SEIFA score
- 900
- Local government area
- Cowra
- Coordinates
- -33.8503, 148.6579
Map of Cowra
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Cowra
What it costs to live in Cowra and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $230
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,235
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 68%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 28%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Cowra demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Cowra demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Cowra 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 26% and 7% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,784 | 18% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,129 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 2,041 | 20% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 2,540 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 2,649 | 26% |
Share of the 10,143 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,701 | 42% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,073 | 26% |
| Rented | 1,149 | 28% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 3,696 | 91% |
| Townhouses & semis | 265 | 6% |
| Flats & apartments | 90 | 2% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 4,083 occupied private dwellings in Cowra.
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,449
- Median weekly personal income
- $617
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 699 (7%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 421 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 981 (10%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 2,705 (34%)
- Labour-force participation
- 52.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.6%
- Employed full-time
- 2,412
- Employed part-time
- 1,434
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 Cowra
Is Cowra 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, Cowra rates 31/100 overall (Lower on the data we score). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Cowra?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Cowra was $230, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,235. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Cowra?
Cowra is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Cowra local government area.
What is the population of Cowra?
At the 2021 Census, Cowra had a population of about 10,145.
Is Cowra an advantaged area?
Cowra has an ABS SEIFA score of 900, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 12 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 12% of Australian suburbs.
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