Molong, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Molong sits in the Central West of New South Wales, on the Mitchell Highway about 36 kilometres north-west of Orange and roughly 296 kilometres west of Sydney, at around 565 metres elevation in the Cabonne council area. Its name is said to come from an Aboriginal word meaning 'all rocks'. A military and police outpost was established here in 1826, and copper was discovered at nearby Copper Hill in 1845; the present village was gazetted in March 1849, and the railway from Sydney reached the town in 1886. Molong grew as an early copper-mining centre, and a former hotel dating from 1856 now houses the local historical museum. In July 1900 an extraordinary snowfall of 38 centimetres blanketed the district.
Around the national middle
Molong is more socio-economically advantaged than about 41% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 972, 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.
Molong at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,595
- Median age
- 43
- Median weekly household income
- $1,376
- SEIFA score
- 972
- Coordinates
- -33.1199, 148.8671
Molong demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Molong 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 26%, 21% of homes are rented, and 5% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 523 | 20% |
| Youth (15–24) | 311 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 508 | 20% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 663 | 26% |
| Seniors (65+) | 592 | 23% |
Share of the 2,597 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 386 | 40% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 326 | 34% |
| Rented | 204 | 21% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 814 | 84% |
| Townhouses & semis | 27 | 3% |
| Flats & apartments | 26 | 3% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 968 occupied private dwellings in Molong.
- Median weekly rent
- $270
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,600
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,832
- Median weekly personal income
- $727
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 120 (5%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 37 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 184 (7%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 807 (41%)
- Labour-force participation
- 57.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.1%
- Employed full-time
- 729
- Employed part-time
- 376
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 Molong
Where is Molong?
Molong is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
What is the population of Molong?
At the 2021 Census, Molong had a population of about 2,595.
Is Molong an advantaged area?
Molong has an ABS SEIFA score of 972, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 41 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 41% of Australian suburbs.
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