Parkes (NSW), NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Parkes is a town in the Central West of New South Wales, about 355 kilometres west of Sydney on the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri people, who have lived along the Lachlan and neighbouring rivers for tens of thousands of years. Founded in 1853 and later known as Bushmans after a local goldmine, it was renamed in 1873 to honour Sir Henry Parkes, the statesman often called the father of Australian federation, who had visited that year. Parkes is best known for the 64-metre radio telescope on its outskirts, which helped relay television of the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing and inspired the film The Dish. Each January thousands of fans pour in for the Parkes Elvis Festival.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Parkes (NSW) is more socio-economically advantaged than about 18% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 921, 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 Parkes (NSW) 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 Parkes (NSW) 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
18/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (18/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
57/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $260 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 57% 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.
Parkes (NSW) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 11,324
- Median age
- 39
- Median weekly household income
- $1,401
- SEIFA score
- 921
- Local government area
- Parkes
- Coordinates
- -33.1175, 148.2635
Map of Parkes (NSW)
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Parkes (NSW)
What it costs to live in Parkes (NSW) and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $260
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,300
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 67%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 29%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Parkes (NSW) demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Parkes (NSW) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Parkes (NSW) 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 24% and 6% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 2,340 | 21% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,386 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 2,604 | 23% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 2,734 | 24% |
| Seniors (65+) | 2,269 | 20% |
Share of the 11,333 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,444 | 34% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,400 | 33% |
| Rented | 1,243 | 29% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 3,776 | 88% |
| Townhouses & semis | 168 | 4% |
| Flats & apartments | 282 | 7% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 4,275 occupied private dwellings in Parkes (NSW).
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,863
- Median weekly personal income
- $731
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 674 (6%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 439 (4%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 1,426 (13%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 3,253 (38%)
- Labour-force participation
- 58.5%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.9%
- Employed full-time
- 3,200
- Employed part-time
- 1,509
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 Parkes (NSW)
Is Parkes (NSW) 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, Parkes (NSW) rates 31/100 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 Parkes (NSW)?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Parkes (NSW) was $260, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,300. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Parkes (NSW)?
Parkes (NSW) is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Parkes local government area.
What is the population of Parkes (NSW)?
At the 2021 Census, Parkes (NSW) had a population of about 11,324.
Is Parkes (NSW) an advantaged area?
Parkes (NSW) has an ABS SEIFA score of 921, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 18 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 18% of Australian suburbs.
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