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.
Parkes (NSW) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 11,324
- Median age
- 39
- Median weekly household income
- $1,401
- SEIFA score
- 921
- Coordinates
- -33.1175, 148.2635
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%, 29% of homes are rented, 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).
- Median weekly rent
- $260
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,300
- 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.
Common questions about Parkes (NSW)
Where is Parkes (NSW)?
Parkes (NSW) is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
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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