Orange, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Orange is a cool-climate city in the Central West of New South Wales, about 250 kilometres west of Sydney and sitting high on the inland tablelands at over 860 metres. Despite the name, it has nothing to do with the fruit: the surveyor Major Thomas Mitchell named it in 1846 after the Prince of Orange, whom he had served alongside in the Peninsular War. The district lies on Wiradjuri country, and an 1851 gold strike at nearby Ophir helped touch off the Australian gold rush. Today Orange is known for its cool-climate wineries, its apple and stone-fruit orchards and its produce, with Mount Canobolas rising to the south-west.
Around the national middle
Orange is more socio-economically advantaged than about 43% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 975, 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 Orange 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 5 components we can score for Orange 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
43/100Around the national middle
Around the national middle — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (43/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
36/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $330 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 36% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Amenities & access
45/100Some mapped nearby
About 3 everyday places (cafés, shops, services and more) mapped within ~1.2 km of the centre. · OpenStreetMap
Green space
45/100Some green space nearby
About 1.5% of the area within ~1.2 km of the centre is mapped as green space — parks, reserves, sportsgrounds and the like. An area estimate from a radius around the centre, not the suburb boundary. · OpenStreetMap
Transport
66/100A good number of stops nearby
About 10 public-transport stops (bus, train, tram or ferry) mapped within ~1.2 km of the centre. Stop coverage, not timetable frequency. · OpenStreetMap
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- 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.
Orange at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 41,232
- Median age
- 36
- Median weekly household income
- $1,641
- SEIFA score
- 975
- Local government area
- Orange
- Coordinates
- -33.2510, 149.0824
Map of Orange
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Orange
What it costs to live in Orange and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $330
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,690
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 63%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 34%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Orange demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Orange demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Orange 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 young adults (25–44) at 26% and 12% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 8,913 | 22% |
| Youth (15–24) | 4,851 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 10,903 | 26% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 9,220 | 22% |
| Seniors (65+) | 7,352 | 18% |
Share of the 41,239 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 4,631 | 30% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 5,122 | 33% |
| Rented | 5,201 | 34% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 13,198 | 86% |
| Townhouses & semis | 1,559 | 10% |
| Flats & apartments | 553 | 4% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 15,412 occupied private dwellings in Orange.
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,116
- Median weekly personal income
- $836
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 4,474 (12%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 3,093 (8%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 3,238 (8%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 14,859 (48%)
- Labour-force participation
- 61.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.6%
- Employed full-time
- 12,245
- Employed part-time
- 5,944
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.
Weather and climate in Orange
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Orange is January (average daytime high around 27.4°C) and the coolest is July (around 10.3°C). The area receives roughly 848 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27.4°C | 16.1°C | 65 mm |
| Feb | 26.1°C | 14.9°C | 48 mm |
| Mar | 23.3°C | 13.4°C | 70 mm |
| Apr | 19°C | 9.8°C | 66 mm |
| May | 13.9°C | 6.1°C | 52 mm |
| Jun | 10.9°C | 3.9°C | 69 mm |
| Jul | 10.3°C | 3.1°C | 71 mm |
| Aug | 11.3°C | 3°C | 74 mm |
| Sep | 15°C | 5.5°C | 64 mm |
| Oct | 19.2°C | 8.7°C | 81 mm |
| Nov | 21.9°C | 10.9°C | 95 mm |
| Dec | 25.2°C | 13.7°C | 93 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Places in and around Orange
Amenities mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre, from OpenStreetMap. A guide to what's nearby — not a complete directory.
Eat & drink
1 nearbyThe Agrestic Grocer
Parks & recreation
1 nearbySchools & education
1 nearbyOrange Anglican Grammar School
Eat & drink in and around Orange
Cafés, restaurants, pubs and takeaway mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre. Listings are drawn from OpenStreetMap and shown as plain data — we don't rank or rate them.
Own a café, restaurant or pub around here?
Claim your listing to feature it at the top of this section. Placement is paid advertising, clearly labelled — never editorial opinion.
Claim this listing- The Agrestic GrocerCafé426 Mitchell Highway, Orange
Listings © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Own a venue here? Suggest a correction.
Share your local knowledge of Orange
Lived here or spent time in Orange? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Orange
Is Orange a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage, housing affordability, amenities, green space and transport, Orange rates 46/100 overall (Below the national middle on the data we score). Schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Orange?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Orange was $330, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,690. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Orange?
Orange is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Orange local government area.
What is the population of Orange?
At the 2021 Census, Orange had a population of about 41,232.
Is Orange an advantaged area?
Orange has an ABS SEIFA score of 975, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 43 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 43% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Orange?
Orange has average daytime highs of about 18.6°C and overnight lows of about 9.1°C, with roughly 848 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
How big is Orange?
Orange is one of the most populous suburbs in New South Wales — the 4th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 41,232 usual residents).
Where Orange ranks
Orange appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Largest suburbs in New South Wales#4 of 25
- Largest suburbs in Australia#13 of 25
Nearby suburbs in New South Wales
More suburb guides in New South Wales
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.