Merriwa (NSW), NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Merriwa is a town in the Upper Hunter Shire of New South Wales, in the upper Hunter region about 273km north-west of Sydney and roughly midway between Newcastle and Dubbo on the Golden Highway. It grew as a service centre for the surrounding sheep and cattle country, and fine-wool grazing still shapes the district. The Colonial Cottage Museum, housed in an 1857 building, and the old courthouse that served from 1860 preserve the town's nineteenth-century heritage; the former Merriwa Shire was merged into Upper Hunter Shire in 2004. Each June the town celebrates its wool heritage with the colourful Festival of the Fleeces. Old Rowley, winner of the 1940 Melbourne Cup, was retired to Merriwa.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Merriwa (NSW) is more socio-economically advantaged than about 12% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 901, 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 Merriwa (NSW) 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 Merriwa (NSW) 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
64/100More affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $245 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 64% 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.
Merriwa (NSW) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,825
- Median age
- 45
- Median weekly household income
- $1,208
- SEIFA score
- 901
- Local government area
- Upper Hunter Shire
- Coordinates
- -32.1108, 150.2775
Map of Merriwa (NSW)
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Merriwa (NSW)
What it costs to live in Merriwa (NSW) and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $245
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,235
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 68%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 24%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Merriwa (NSW) demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Merriwa (NSW) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Merriwa (NSW) 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 25% and 7% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 360 | 20% |
| Youth (15–24) | 178 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 370 | 20% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 460 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 444 | 25% |
Share of the 1,812 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 282 | 43% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 169 | 25% |
| Rented | 157 | 24% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 633 | 94% |
| Townhouses & semis | 20 | 3% |
| Flats & apartments | 4 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 670 occupied private dwellings in Merriwa (NSW).
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,471
- Median weekly personal income
- $593
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 122 (7%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 35 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 136 (7%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 463 (33%)
- Labour-force participation
- 52.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.8%
- Employed full-time
- 446
- Employed part-time
- 234
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 Merriwa (NSW)
Is Merriwa (NSW) 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, Merriwa (NSW) rates 29/100 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 Merriwa (NSW)?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Merriwa (NSW) was $245, 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 Merriwa (NSW)?
Merriwa (NSW) is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Upper Hunter Shire local government area.
What is the population of Merriwa (NSW)?
At the 2021 Census, Merriwa (NSW) had a population of about 1,825.
Is Merriwa (NSW) an advantaged area?
Merriwa (NSW) has an ABS SEIFA score of 901, 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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