Murrurundi, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Murrurundi sits high in the Liverpool Range of the Upper Hunter in New South Wales, on the Pages River about 309km north of Sydney and 193km north-west of Newcastle. The name is generally said to refer to a 'five fingers' rock formation at the town's northern end; the Wanaruah people were the district's original inhabitants. European settlers arrived in the 1820s, the government town was laid out in 1840, and a neighbouring private village called Haydonton grew alongside until the two merged in 1913. A heritage-listed 1872 railway station survives from the steam era. Today Murrurundi is best known for its mountain scenery and the annual King of the Ranges stockman's challenge.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Murrurundi is more socio-economically advantaged than about 10% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 890, 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 Murrurundi 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 Murrurundi 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
10/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (10/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
63/100More affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $250 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 63% 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.
Murrurundi at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 945
- Median age
- 54
- Median weekly household income
- $877
- SEIFA score
- 890
- Local government area
- Upper Hunter Shire
- Coordinates
- -31.7767, 150.8302
Map of Murrurundi
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Murrurundi
What it costs to live in Murrurundi and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $250
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,083
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 73%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 22%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Murrurundi demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Murrurundi demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Murrurundi 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 33% and 10% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 119 | 13% |
| Youth (15–24) | 79 | 8% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 165 | 17% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 270 | 29% |
| Seniors (65+) | 310 | 33% |
Share of the 943 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 177 | 42% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 130 | 31% |
| Rented | 94 | 22% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 400 | 95% |
| Townhouses & semis | 4 | 1% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 420 occupied private dwellings in Murrurundi.
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,307
- Median weekly personal income
- $520
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 85 (10%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 33 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 70 (7%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 267 (33%)
- Labour-force participation
- 46.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 6%
- Employed full-time
- 193
- Employed part-time
- 138
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 Murrurundi
Is Murrurundi 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, Murrurundi rates 28/100 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 Murrurundi?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Murrurundi was $250, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,083. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Murrurundi?
Murrurundi is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Upper Hunter Shire local government area.
What is the population of Murrurundi?
At the 2021 Census, Murrurundi had a population of about 945.
Is Murrurundi an advantaged area?
Murrurundi has an ABS SEIFA score of 890, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 10 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 10% of Australian suburbs.
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