Glen Innes, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Glen Innes sits high on the Northern Tablelands of New England, in northern New South Wales, about 608 kilometres north of Sydney and some 100 kilometres north of Armidale, on tableland country more than a thousand metres above sea level. The Ngarabal people are recorded as the original owners of the area, whose name for the place, Gindaaydjin, is said to refer to the round stones scattered across the open plains. European settlement began around 1838, the town was gazetted in 1852, and the northern railway reached it in 1884. The name is generally said to honour Major Archibald Clunes Innes. Long a wool, sheep and cattle district, Glen Innes is now known for sapphire fossicking, its Australian Standing Stones and a lively Celtic festival.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Glen Innes is more socio-economically advantaged than about 6% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 867, 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.
Glen Innes at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 6,219
- Median age
- 49
- Median weekly household income
- $904
- SEIFA score
- 867
- Coordinates
- -29.7190, 151.7046
Glen Innes demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Glen Innes 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 29%, 29% of homes are rented, and 8% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 995 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 617 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,209 | 19% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,554 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,828 | 29% |
Share of the 6,203 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,089 | 42% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 621 | 24% |
| Rented | 755 | 29% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 2,329 | 90% |
| Townhouses & semis | 154 | 6% |
| Flats & apartments | 70 | 3% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 2,582 occupied private dwellings in Glen Innes.
- Median weekly rent
- $230
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,068
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,298
- Median weekly personal income
- $515
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 442 (8%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 167 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 547 (9%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,717 (34%)
- Labour-force participation
- 46%
- Unemployment rate
- 7.2%
- Employed full-time
- 1,209
- Employed part-time
- 852
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.
Common questions about Glen Innes
Where is Glen Innes?
Glen Innes is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
What is the population of Glen Innes?
At the 2021 Census, Glen Innes had a population of about 6,219.
Is Glen Innes an advantaged area?
Glen Innes has an ABS SEIFA score of 867, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 6 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 6% of Australian suburbs.
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