Tahmoor, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Tahmoor is a town in the Macarthur region of New South Wales, in Wollondilly Shire roughly 97 kilometres south-west of Sydney. Originally known as Myrtle Creek, it took the name Tahmoor — said to come from a local Aboriginal word for the common bronzewing pigeon — when the railway station opened in 1919. Coal mining at the Tahmoor Colliery and poultry processing are among the area's larger employers, alongside local retail and services. For visitors, the Tahmoor Potholes Reserve offers bushwalking tracks to the Mermaid Pools, Bargo Falls and the sandstone gorge of the Bargo River. The surrounding bush was once the feared 'Bargo Brush', a haunt of escaped convicts and bushrangers on the old Great Southern Road south of Sydney.
Less advantaged than the national average
Tahmoor is more socio-economically advantaged than about 31% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 954, 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 Tahmoor 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 Tahmoor 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
31/100Less advantaged than the national average
Less advantaged than the national average — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (31/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
16/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $410 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 16% 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.
Tahmoor at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 5,777
- Median age
- 34
- Median weekly household income
- $1,739
- SEIFA score
- 954
- Local government area
- Wollondilly
- Coordinates
- -34.2292, 150.5907
Map of Tahmoor
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Tahmoor
What it costs to live in Tahmoor and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $410
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $2,167
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 67%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 32%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Tahmoor demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Tahmoor demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Tahmoor 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 27% and 12% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,340 | 23% |
| Youth (15–24) | 707 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,539 | 27% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,326 | 23% |
| Seniors (65+) | 873 | 15% |
Share of the 5,785 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 518 | 26% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 820 | 41% |
| Rented | 638 | 32% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,836 | 91% |
| Townhouses & semis | 156 | 8% |
| Flats & apartments | 17 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 2,013 occupied private dwellings in Tahmoor.
- Average household size
- 2.7 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,030
- Median weekly personal income
- $792
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 662 (12%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 362 (7%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 396 (7%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 1,673 (39%)
- Labour-force participation
- 62.3%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.6%
- Employed full-time
- 1,535
- Employed part-time
- 811
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 Tahmoor
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Tahmoor is January (average daytime high around 26.9°C) and the coolest is July (around 14.2°C). The area receives roughly 867 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26.9°C | 16.3°C | 98 mm |
| Feb | 25.5°C | 15.8°C | 100 mm |
| Mar | 23.5°C | 14.7°C | 119 mm |
| Apr | 20.6°C | 11.6°C | 62 mm |
| May | 17.2°C | 8.2°C | 39 mm |
| Jun | 14.3°C | 6.3°C | 50 mm |
| Jul | 14.2°C | 5.3°C | 53 mm |
| Aug | 15.2°C | 5.5°C | 55 mm |
| Sep | 18.7°C | 7.6°C | 41 mm |
| Oct | 21.7°C | 10.4°C | 76 mm |
| Nov | 23.6°C | 12.3°C | 79 mm |
| Dec | 25.8°C | 14.6°C | 95 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Share your local knowledge of Tahmoor
Lived here or spent time in Tahmoor? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Tahmoor
Is Tahmoor 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, Tahmoor rates 26/100 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 Tahmoor?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Tahmoor was $410, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,167. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Tahmoor?
Tahmoor is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wollondilly local government area.
What is the population of Tahmoor?
At the 2021 Census, Tahmoor had a population of about 5,777.
Is Tahmoor an advantaged area?
Tahmoor has an ABS SEIFA score of 954, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 31 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 31% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Tahmoor?
Tahmoor has average daytime highs of about 20.6°C and overnight lows of about 10.7°C, with roughly 867 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
Nearby suburbs in New South Wales
More suburb guides in New South Wales
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.