Gulgong, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Gulgong is a historic gold-rush town on the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, about 300 kilometres north-west of Sydney and 30 kilometres north of Mudgee on the Cudgegong River. Its name comes from a Wiradjuri word for deep waterhole, the Wiradjuri being the traditional owners of the district. Payable gold was found at Red Hill in 1870 and the township was surveyed that August; the rush swelled the population to around twenty thousand within a few years. Gulgong is closely tied to the writer Henry Lawson, who lived here as a child, and its goldfields streetscape featured on the original Australian ten-dollar note. The well-preserved Prince of Wales Opera House and heritage main streets survive from the boom.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Gulgong is more socio-economically advantaged than about 14% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 907, 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 Gulgong 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 Gulgong 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
14/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (14/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
47/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $300 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 47% 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.
Gulgong at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,680
- Median age
- 41
- Median weekly household income
- $1,371
- SEIFA score
- 907
- Local government area
- Mid-Western Regional
- Coordinates
- -32.3751, 149.5325
Map of Gulgong
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Gulgong
What it costs to live in Gulgong and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $300
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,495
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 73%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 24%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Gulgong demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Gulgong demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Gulgong 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 24% and 7% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 561 | 21% |
| Youth (15–24) | 249 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 620 | 23% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 652 | 24% |
| Seniors (65+) | 582 | 22% |
Share of the 2,664 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 391 | 39% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 339 | 34% |
| Rented | 243 | 24% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 953 | 94% |
| Townhouses & semis | 21 | 2% |
| Flats & apartments | 22 | 2% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,011 occupied private dwellings in Gulgong.
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,753
- Median weekly personal income
- $650
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 178 (7%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 52 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 216 (8%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 668 (33%)
- Labour-force participation
- 55.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.3%
- Employed full-time
- 661
- Employed part-time
- 377
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 Gulgong
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Gulgong is January (average daytime high around 29.9°C) and the coolest is July (around 13°C). The area receives roughly 692 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29.9°C | 17.2°C | 57 mm |
| Feb | 28.4°C | 16.2°C | 52 mm |
| Mar | 25.8°C | 14.6°C | 71 mm |
| Apr | 21.4°C | 10.8°C | 42 mm |
| May | 16.6°C | 6.7°C | 33 mm |
| Jun | 13.4°C | 4.4°C | 45 mm |
| Jul | 13°C | 3.4°C | 52 mm |
| Aug | 14.3°C | 3.7°C | 51 mm |
| Sep | 18.2°C | 6.2°C | 58 mm |
| Oct | 22.2°C | 9.7°C | 75 mm |
| Nov | 24.9°C | 12.1°C | 85 mm |
| Dec | 28°C | 14.8°C | 71 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Gulgong
Is Gulgong 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, Gulgong rates 25/100 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 Gulgong?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Gulgong was $300, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,495. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Gulgong?
Gulgong is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Mid-Western Regional local government area.
What is the population of Gulgong?
At the 2021 Census, Gulgong had a population of about 2,680.
Is Gulgong an advantaged area?
Gulgong has an ABS SEIFA score of 907, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 14 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 14% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Gulgong?
Gulgong has average daytime highs of about 21.3°C and overnight lows of about 10°C, with roughly 692 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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