Oberon, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Oberon is a town in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, about 190 kilometres west of Sydney and 49 kilometres south-east of Bathurst, and the seat of Oberon Council. Sitting at more than 1,100 metres above sea level, it is one of the highest towns in the state and regularly sees snow in winter. The district is built on farming, forestry and timber processing, with extensive pine plantations in the surrounding hills. Permanently settled from 1839, the town was first called Bullocks Flat before it was renamed Oberon in 1863. It is best known today as a gateway to the spectacular Jenolan Caves and the rugged wilderness of Kanangra-Boyd National Park.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Oberon is more socio-economically advantaged than about 14% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 909, 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 Oberon 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 Oberon 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
52/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $280 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 52% 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.
Oberon at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 3,319
- Median age
- 47
- Median weekly household income
- $1,321
- SEIFA score
- 909
- Local government area
- Oberon
- Coordinates
- -33.6949, 149.8549
Map of Oberon
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Oberon
What it costs to live in Oberon and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $280
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,517
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 68%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 27%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Oberon demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Oberon demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Oberon 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 13% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 576 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 325 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 687 | 21% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 860 | 26% |
| Seniors (65+) | 868 | 26% |
Share of the 3,316 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 523 | 40% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 368 | 28% |
| Rented | 350 | 27% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,171 | 90% |
| Townhouses & semis | 82 | 6% |
| Flats & apartments | 26 | 2% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 1,294 occupied private dwellings in Oberon.
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,671
- Median weekly personal income
- $709
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 380 (13%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 203 (7%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 184 (6%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 897 (34%)
- Labour-force participation
- 53.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.4%
- Employed full-time
- 894
- Employed part-time
- 408
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 Oberon
Is Oberon 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, Oberon rates 27/100 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 Oberon?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Oberon was $280, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,517. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Oberon?
Oberon is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Oberon local government area.
What is the population of Oberon?
At the 2021 Census, Oberon had a population of about 3,319.
Is Oberon an advantaged area?
Oberon has an ABS SEIFA score of 909, 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.
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