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.
Is Molong 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.
Below the national middle on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Molong 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
41/100Around the national middle
Around the national middle — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (41/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
55/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $270 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 55% 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.
Molong at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 2,595
- Median age
- 43
- Median weekly household income
- $1,376
- SEIFA score
- 972
- Local government area
- Cabonne
- Coordinates
- -33.1199, 148.8671
Map of Molong
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Molong
What it costs to live in Molong and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $270
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,600
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 74%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 21%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Molong demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
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% 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.
- 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.
Share your local knowledge of Molong
Lived here or spent time in Molong? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Molong
Is Molong 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, Molong rates 46/100 overall (Below the national middle 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 Molong?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Molong was $270, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,600. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Molong?
Molong is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Cabonne local government area.
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.
Nearby suburbs in New South Wales
More suburb guides in New South Wales
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.