Dubbo
Sitting 400 km north-west of Sydney, Dubbo is the de-facto capital of NSW's central west, with 43,516 residents spread across 990 sqkm, a population that has swollen 43% since 2011 yet still feels half-empty at 43.9 people per sqkm. Healthcare alone accounts for 25.2% of local employment (3,484 workers), more than double the national average and a function of Dubbo Base Hospital servicing a 200,000-strong catchment. Median house prices of $590,000 sit well below Orange ($720k) and Bathurst ($660k), the closest peer regional centres, while the 6.5% rental vacancy rate is unusually loose for a town its size. The catch is an aging trajectory: senior share is up 4.4 percentage points in a decade, young-adult share down 2.3pp, and gentrification scoring sits at 76 on the 'advanced' track despite no metro-style price boom.
Population
43,516
Median Age
35.0
Household IncomeiMedian weekly household income (ABS Census)
$1,690/wk
DAs (12 months)iDevelopment Applications lodged in the past year
546
Median House
$655K
12m to Jun 2026 (PSI)
At a median of $590,000, Dubbo housing costs roughly half of metro Sydney and 18% less than Orange, but you trade liquidity for that discount: only two quarters of NSW PSI-derived data show prices grew 7.1% year-on-year (2024 to 2025), a softer trajectory than coastal NSW. The stock is overwhelmingly detached, 83.5% separate houses versus 7.2% apartments, and 44.1% of dwellings carry four or more bedrooms, the highest large-format share among NSW inland centres. Mortgage-to-income sits at a comfortable 21.6%, well below the 30% stress threshold, and 35.7% of households are paying down a mortgage compared to 29.3% who own outright. The arithmetic favours upgraders: family-size land on a teacher-or-nurse income works here in a way it does not in Sydney, because median family weekly income of $2,047 stretches against a $1,582 monthly mortgage payment.
For Buyers
At a median of $590,000, Dubbo housing costs roughly half of metro Sydney and 18% less than Orange, but you trade liquidity for that discount: only two quarters of NSW PSI-derived data show prices grew 7.1% year-on-year (2024 to 2025), a softer trajectory than coastal NSW. The stock is overwhelmingly detached, 83.5% separate houses versus 7.2% apartments, and 44.1% of dwellings carry four or more bedrooms, the highest large-format share among NSW inland centres. Mortgage-to-income sits at a comfortable 21.6%, well below the 30% stress threshold, and 35.7% of households are paying down a mortgage compared to 29.3% who own outright. The arithmetic favours upgraders: family-size land on a teacher-or-nurse income works here in a way it does not in Sydney, because median family weekly income of $2,047 stretches against a $1,582 monthly mortgage payment.
For Investors
Dubbo's investor pitch is yield-and-yield-only, not capital growth. Rents of $310 weekly against a $590,000 median imply a gross yield of about 2.7%, which is thin for a regional centre and worse than Tamworth or Wagga because the 6.5% vacancy rate is more than triple the 2% NSW regional benchmark, meaning landlords are competing aggressively for the 35.1% renter cohort. The pipeline does not help: 505 development applications were lodged in the past 12 months, an unusually thick pipeline for a population this size, and the medium-trend forecast adds 206 residents per year against potentially hundreds of new dwellings. Healthcare workforce migration (overseas net +60 annually, internal +2) is the only demand prop. Buy here for cash flow from nurse and government tenants, or for a long hold tied to the hospital expansion, not for the price chart.
Development Activity
Total DAs
3,094
Last 12 Months
546
YoY ChangeiYear-over-year change in DA lodgements
-4.2%
Avg DA CostiAverage estimated cost per DA in the past year
N/A
Monthly DA Lodgements
DA Categories
Schools in Dubbo iICSEA: school advantage index. 1000 = national avg, higher = more advantaged
Central West Leadership Academy
K-12 · 158 students
Dubbo Christian School
K-12 · 671 students
St Laurence's Catholic Primary School Dubbo
K-6 · 211 students
Macquarie Anglican Grammar School
K-12 · 664 students
St Johns College Dubbo
7-12 · 941 students
Demographics
Dubbo skews younger and more Anglo than the national mean: median age 35 sits 5 years below the country, and only 11.4% are born overseas, 10.2 percentage points below the 21.6% national share, putting Dubbo in the bottom third of NSW for diversity. English ancestry dominates at 15,757 residents, followed by Irish (4,690) and Scottish (3,617), while the largest non-English language community is Nepali (383 speakers), reflecting recent healthcare-led overseas recruitment rather than legacy migration. University attainment of 27.6% trails the national 30.1% by 2.5 points, modest for a regional capital, and the workforce concentrates in Professionals (4,045), Community/Personal Services (3,171) and Clerical (2,677), a public-service-and-care mix that explains why participation is just 59.6% against an aging skew.
Age Distribution
Bedrooms
Dwelling Structure
83.5%
Houses
9.0%
Townhouse
7.2%
Apartment
Tenure
Dubbo's housing market is unusually liquid for a regional centre, with the rental vacancy rate at 6.5%, far above the 2-3% considered balanced in Sydney or Newcastle, which keeps rents at $310 weekly despite the $590,000 median price. Tenure splits roughly into thirds: 29.3% own outright, 35.7% are mortgaged, and 35.1% rent, with no single cohort dominating the way owner-occupiers do in Bathurst (45% mortgaged). Stock is notably big-house: 44.1% of dwellings have four-plus bedrooms, 36.6% have three, and apartments are a rounding error at 7.2%. The price-to-income ratio of about 6.7x is meaningfully lower than Sydney metro's 13x and even below Orange's 7.4x, but the price index has only two quarters of compatible data so trend conclusions are tentative; what is firm is that mortgage stress at 21.6% and rent stress at 18.3% are both well clear of the 30% pain line.
Median House Price Trend
Source: State Valuer-General (12m to Jun 2026 (PSI))
Mortgage / mo
$1,582
Rent / wkiMedian weekly rent for new bonds (January to March 2026), NSW Rental Bond Board (DCJ). Census 2021 median: $310.
$550
Bond data Mar 2026 · houses $570 · units $380
HH Size
2.5
Personal Income / wk
$876
Vacancy Ratei% of dwellings unoccupied on Census night (ABS 2021)
6.5%
Unoccupied
1,070
Rent / IncomeiMedian rent as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
18.3%
Mortgage / IncomeiMedian mortgage as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
21.6%
Community Profile
Languages Spoken at Home
Ancestry
Household Composition
26.7%
Couples, no children
32,271
Total families
Economy & Employment
Dubbo runs on healthcare, education and government, Healthcare alone employs 3,484 people or 25.2% of the workforce, more than double the 13% national share, anchored by Dubbo Base Hospital and the regional cancer centre. Education adds another 12.4% (1,718 jobs) and Public Admin 9.7% (1,335), so 47.3% of all employment sits in the public-funded sector, a structural insulation against private-sector cycles that few regional centres can match. Construction is 9.1% (1,258), unusually high and likely tied to the 505 development applications lodged in the past year. SEIFA paints a nuanced picture: IEO decile 3 and IRSAD decile 3 say education and overall socioeconomic rank are below average, but unemployment of 3.5% is well below NSW's 4.0%, the gap is composition (lower attainment, lower-paid care work) rather than joblessness. Personal income of $876 weekly tracks 11% below the national median.
Unemployment
2.6%
Labour Force
5,341
Unemployed
138
Quarterly Trend
Source: SALM Dec-25
Socio-Economic Indexes (SEIFA)iABS index ranking suburbs from 1 (most disadvantaged) to 10 (most advantaged)
Full-time
69.1%
Part-time
27.4%
Participation
59.6%
Employed
19,655
Occupations
Top Industries
University
27.6%
Postgraduate
6.7%
Born Overseas
11.4%
Dwellings
15,455
Transport to Work
Liveability in Dubbo is car-led and school-rich: 88.4% of commutes are by car driver versus just 0.4% on public transport, the lowest PT share of any NSW regional centre over 40,000 people, and walking/cycling is a slim 3.1%, function of a 990 sqkm footprint rather than topography. The school stack is unusually strong: Central West Leadership Academy posts ICSEA 1072 (158 enrolled), Dubbo Christian School 1049 (671), and Macquarie Anglican Grammar 1040 (664), three Independent options well above the 1000 national average, plus St Johns College Dubbo (Catholic, 941 students) for secondary. Government schools sit lower at ICSEA 972 (Dubbo Public, 520 enrolled). SEIFA IRSAD decile 3 is below state average, but the development pipeline of 505 applications in 12 months, including a neighbourhood supermarket and multiple subdivisions, signals active investment, and volunteering at 15.5% is among the higher participation rates in inland NSW.
Drive
88.4%
Public Transport
0.4%
Walk / Cycle
3.1%
Work from Home
N/A
Population Forecast
+1.87%/yr
(+206 people/yr)
EstablishedThe medium-trend forecast adds 206 residents per year (1.87% annual), taking the modelled population from 11,294 in 2026 to 12,322 by 2031, but the headline number masks two crosscurrents. Migration is net positive at +62 a year, almost entirely overseas (+60) versus internal (+2), meaning Dubbo is recruiting nurses and doctors from abroad faster than it is winning Sydney expats, a different mix from Orange, which leans more on internal city-flight migration. Demographic shift flags 'aging trajectory' with senior share +4.4pp and young-adult share -2.3pp over the decade, and gentrification scoring 76 puts Dubbo in the 'advanced' bucket, driven less by yuppie inflow than by stable older residents staying put. Real income growth of 22.1% over a decade outpaced the affordability ratio worsening from 33.6% to 37.6%, so locals are richer but housing is meaningfully tighter than it was.
Historical + Forecast
Hamilton-Perry + Holt smoothing on ERP 2001-2025
Age Cohort Forecast
Primary Driver
Overseas Migration
Net Overseas / yr
+60
Net Internal / yr
+2
Gentrification Signal
Not gentrifying
Population +43% since 2011
National Ranking iPercentile rank among ~15,000 AU suburbs. 90% = higher than 90% of suburbs
How Dubbo compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dubbo a good suburb to live in?
It depends on what you want. Dubbo is NSW's largest inland regional centre with 43,516 residents, a $590,000 median house price (well below Orange's $720k), and a healthcare-led economy where 25.2% of workers are in healthcare and 12.4% in education. Mortgage stress sits at 21.6% and unemployment at 3.5%, both healthier than national. Trade-offs: just 0.4% public transport use, schools span ICSEA 963 to 1072, and the 6.5% rental vacancy rate signals oversupply.
What is the median house price in Dubbo?
The median house price in Dubbo is $590,000 based on 2024-2025 NSW PSI-derived data, with prices rising from $560,000 in 2024 to $600,000 in 2025, a 7.1% year-on-year lift but only 2 quarters of comparable data, so the trend is preliminary. That median is roughly 18% below Orange, 11% below Bathurst, and less than half of metro Sydney, putting Dubbo firmly in the affordable-regional bracket.
What schools are in Dubbo?
Dubbo has 10 schools spanning ICSEA 963 to 1072. The strongest performers are Central West Leadership Academy (Independent, ICSEA 1072, 158 students), Dubbo Christian School (1049, 671 students) and Macquarie Anglican Grammar (1040, 664 students). Catholic options include St Johns College Dubbo (secondary, 941 enrolled, ICSEA 1004) and several primary schools. Dubbo Public School (Government, 520 students, ICSEA 972) is the largest government primary.
Is Dubbo safe?
Crime statistics for Dubbo are not currently published in our dataset for direct comparison. What we can show: SEIFA IRSAD decile is 3 (below the NSW median of 5-6), unemployment is 3.5% (below national), and need-for-assistance is 6.5% of population. Volunteering rate of 15.5% suggests reasonable community engagement. For specific crime rates, BOCSAR Local Government Area data for Dubbo Regional Council is the authoritative source.
Is Dubbo good for property investment?
Dubbo offers yield not capital growth. Rents of $310 weekly against a $590,000 median imply a gross yield of about 2.7%, thinner than Tamworth or Wagga and well below the 4% regional NSW benchmark. The 6.5% rental vacancy rate is triple the 2% balanced-market threshold, and 505 development applications lodged in 12 months will add stock against just 206 net new residents per year. Suited to long-hold healthcare-tenant strategies rather than short-cycle flipping.
How is Dubbo's population changing?
Dubbo's population grew 43% since 2011 to 43,516 today, and the medium-trend forecast adds 206 residents annually (1.87% per year) reaching about 12,322 in the modelled cohort by 2031. Migration is +62 net per year, with 60 from overseas versus just 2 internal, Dubbo recruits nurses and doctors from abroad faster than it attracts Sydney expats. Senior share is up 4.4 percentage points in a decade and young-adult share down 2.3pp, an aging trajectory.
What is the development outlook for Dubbo?
Dubbo recorded 505 development applications in the past 12 months, an unusually thick pipeline for a regional centre of 43,516 residents. Recent samples include a neighbourhood supermarket, light-industry subdivisions, and multiple new dwelling-house erections. With Construction employing 9.1% of the workforce (1,258 jobs) versus the 8% national share, and only 206 net new residents forecast annually, supply may run ahead of demand, visible already in the 6.5% rental vacancy rate.
How to read these comparisons
Phrases like "above the national average" reference the unweighted median across Australian suburbs with more than 1,000 residents, not population-weighted national figures. Suburb-level medians are more useful for ranking suburbs against each other; ABS census headlines are population-weighted (so dominated by Sydney and Melbourne) and can read very differently.
Current baseline (refreshed 2026-05-10): median age 40, university-educated 30.1%, born overseas 21.6%, average household size 2.5 people.
Data sources: ABS 2021 Census (demographics, income, tenure), state Valuer-General (house prices), Department of Jobs SALM (unemployment), ACARA (school ICSEA), state Crime Statistics agencies (offences), council DA portals (development applications). Population forecasts use a Hamilton-Perry cohort model calibrated to ABS ERP.
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