Wingham
Affordability and age define Wingham more than anything else. The median house price of $508,000 sits far below Sydney and most coastal NSW markets, while the median age of 47 runs a full 7 years above the national figure. Those two facts reinforce each other: cheap detached housing (92.1% of dwellings are separate houses) draws retirees and downsizers rather than young families, and the resulting older population keeps demand steady but slow. Household income falls in just the 17.8th percentile nationally, and the suburb scores decile 1 on the IRSAD advantage index, placing it among Australia's more disadvantaged areas. Spread across 61.53 km2 at only 87.7 people per km2, this is a low-density rural town of 5,395 residents where 44.9% own their home outright.
Population
5,395
Median Age
47.0
Household IncomeiMedian weekly household income (ABS Census)
$1,105/wk
DAs (12 months)iDevelopment Applications lodged in the past year
49
Median House
$508K
2024-2025 (PSI derived)
At a $508,000 median, Wingham is genuinely affordable, well below metropolitan NSW, and prices rose 7.8% from $500,000 in 2024 to $539,000 in 2025. The stock suits owner-occupiers: 92.1% of dwellings are separate houses and only 2.9% are apartments, so buyers are choosing land and space rather than units. Three-bedroom homes dominate at 51.7% and four-plus bedroom houses make up 28.8%, a family-and-retiree house mix. Affordability shows in the loan burden too, with average monthly mortgage repayments of $1,371 producing a mortgage-to-income ratio of 28.7%, below the 30% stress threshold despite household incomes sitting in only the 17.8th percentile. Outright owners at 44.9% comfortably outnumber the 32.0% carrying a mortgage, a sign of a settled, debt-free ownership base rather than recent leveraged buyers.
For Buyers
At a $508,000 median, Wingham is genuinely affordable, well below metropolitan NSW, and prices rose 7.8% from $500,000 in 2024 to $539,000 in 2025. The stock suits owner-occupiers: 92.1% of dwellings are separate houses and only 2.9% are apartments, so buyers are choosing land and space rather than units. Three-bedroom homes dominate at 51.7% and four-plus bedroom houses make up 28.8%, a family-and-retiree house mix. Affordability shows in the loan burden too, with average monthly mortgage repayments of $1,371 producing a mortgage-to-income ratio of 28.7%, below the 30% stress threshold despite household incomes sitting in only the 17.8th percentile. Outright owners at 44.9% comfortably outnumber the 32.0% carrying a mortgage, a sign of a settled, debt-free ownership base rather than recent leveraged buyers.
For Investors
Investors face a thin rental market here. Only 23.1% of residents rent, well below the national share, and weekly rent of $306 against the $508,000 median implies a gross yield near 3.1%, modest but better than premium metro suburbs. The 5.5% vacancy rate is on the higher side, pointing to soft tenant demand in a town where most occupants own outright. Population support is weak: the forecast trend is mildly negative at -0.11% a year, and migration is balanced rather than a growth driver, adding just 5 overseas and 4 internal residents annually. Development activity is moderate at 48 applications in 12 months, mostly single dwelling alterations and one subdivision rather than rental supply. With rent having grown 53.0% over the decade, the case rests on long-run rent escalation and capital appreciation more than yield or tenant volume.
Development Activity
Total DAs
288
Last 12 Months
49
YoY ChangeiYear-over-year change in DA lodgements
+11.4%
Avg DA CostiAverage estimated cost per DA in the past year
N/A
Monthly DA Lodgements
DA Categories
Schools in Wingham iICSEA: school advantage index. 1000 = national avg, higher = more advantaged
St Joseph's Primary School
K-6 · 118 students
Wingham Public School
K-6 · 240 students
Wingham High School
7-12 · 520 students
Wingham Brush Public School
K-6 · 203 students
Demographics
Wingham skews distinctly old and Anglo. The median age of 47 is 7.0 years above national, and the trajectory is aging, with the senior share up 4.2 points while the young share fell 2.1 points over the decade. Only 7.1% of residents were born overseas, which is 14.5 points below the national figure, and ancestry is heavily Anglo-Celtic, led by English (2,466), Scottish (552) and Irish (507). University qualifications reach just 15.5%, fully 14.6 points below national, consistent with a regional working town rather than a knowledge-economy centre. Average household size is 2.3, which is 0.2 below national, reflecting the high count of couples without children (1,232 families, 30.4% of all families). Christianity dominates with 2,808 adherents, far ahead of any other religion.
Age Distribution
Bedrooms
Dwelling Structure
92.1%
Houses
4.4%
Townhouse
2.9%
Apartment
Tenure
Tenure tilts toward outright ownership: 44.9% own their home with no mortgage, 32.0% carry a mortgage and just 23.1% rent. The large outright share signals long-held, debt-free housing typical of an older population rather than churn from new buyers. The stock is overwhelmingly detached at 92.1% separate houses, with apartments a token 2.9% and semi-detached dwellings 4.4%, so density stays low. Three-bedroom homes account for 51.7% and four-plus bedroom houses 28.8%, leaving smaller two-bedroom dwellings at only 15.7%. The median rose from $500,000 to $539,000 across 2024-2025, a 7.8% one-year move. Both stress measures stay manageable, with mortgage-to-income at 28.7% and rent-to-income at 27.7%, each below the 30% threshold, which is why affordability holds even though household income ranks in only the 17.8th percentile.
Median House Price Trend
Source: State Valuer-General
Mortgage / mo
$1,371
Rent / wk
$306
HH Size
2.3
Personal Income / wk
$577
Vacancy Ratei% of dwellings unoccupied on Census night (ABS 2021)
5.5%
Unoccupied
123
Rent / IncomeiMedian rent as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
27.7%
Mortgage / IncomeiMedian mortgage as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
28.7%
Community Profile
Ancestry
Household Composition
30.4%
Couples, no children
4,052
Total families
Economy & Employment
Healthcare is the dominant employer at 32.5% of workers (389 jobs), reflecting Wingham's role as a service hub for an aging district, followed by Education at 10.9% (131) and Retail at 9.6% (115). By occupation, Community and Personal Service workers (354) and Labourers (310) lead, ahead of Professionals (270), which fits the suburb's decile 1 IEO score for education and occupation. The labour market is soft: unemployment runs at 7.5%, above typical metro levels, and participation is only 45.3% because 1,964 residents sit outside the labour force, a direct consequence of the older age profile. Full-time employment reaches 59.9%. The low SEIFA scores are consistent across indexes, with IRSAD at decile 1 and IER at decile 2, marking genuine economic disadvantage, though real incomes still grew 18.2% over the decade.
Unemployment
5.2%
Labour Force
2,414
Unemployed
126
Quarterly Trend
Source: SALM Dec-25
Socio-Economic Indexes (SEIFA)iABS index ranking suburbs from 1 (most disadvantaged) to 10 (most advantaged)
Full-time
59.9%
Part-time
32.6%
Participation
45.3%
Employed
1,853
Occupations
Top Industries
University
15.5%
Postgraduate
2.8%
Born Overseas
7.1%
Dwellings
2,126
Transport to Work
Wingham is a car-dependent rural town: 90.3% of residents drive to work and only 0.3% use public transport, far below metro areas, with 4.4% walking or cycling. No schools are recorded inside the 61.53 km2 boundary in this dataset, so families rely on facilities in neighbouring areas, a practical reality for a low-density town at 87.7 people per km2. The SEIFA profile shows real disadvantage, with IRSAD at decile 1 and IRSD at decile 2, the lower tiers nationally, and 9.0% of residents (452 people) need daily assistance, well above what a younger suburb would show, reflecting the median age of 47. On the positive side, volunteering runs at 15.5% and housing stays affordable, with rent-to-income at 27.7%, supporting a stable if quiet lifestyle.
Drive
90.3%
Public Transport
0.3%
Walk / Cycle
4.4%
Work from Home
N/A
Population Forecast
-0.11%/yr
(-6 people/yr)
EstablishedWingham is effectively static and slowly shrinking. The forecast annual growth is -0.11%, a loss of about 6 people a year, and the 10-year population change was just 1.5%. Historical counts bear this out, moving from 5,427 in 2023 to 5,437 in 2025 with no clear upward trend, and the medium projection drifts from 5,409 in 2026 down to 5,381 by 2031. Migration is balanced rather than expansionary, contributing 5 overseas and 4 internal residents a year, too little to offset the aging-driven natural decline. The gentrification stage reads not gentrifying, with a score of 0, though a separate shift index flags early signs at score 43 alongside worsening affordability that climbed from 50.4% in 2011 to 53.0% in 2021. Growth, when it comes, will be incremental rather than transformative.
Historical + Forecast
Hamilton-Perry + Holt smoothing on ERP 2001-2025
Age Cohort Forecast
Primary Driver
Balanced
Net Overseas / yr
+5
Net Internal / yr
+4
Gentrification Signal
Not gentrifying
National Ranking iPercentile rank among ~15,000 AU suburbs. 90% = higher than 90% of suburbs
How Wingham compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wingham a good suburb to live in?
Wingham suits buyers wanting affordable space, with a $508,000 median house price and 92.1% detached houses. It is a quiet, aging rural town where the median age of 47 runs 7 years above national. The main trade-offs are a decile 1 IRSAD score, indicating economic disadvantage, and very limited public transport at 0.3%.
What is the median house price in Wingham?
The median house price is $508,000, well below most coastal NSW markets. Prices rose 7.8% from $500,000 in 2024 to $539,000 in 2025. Weekly rent averages $306 and average monthly mortgage repayments run about $1,371, giving a mortgage-to-income ratio of 28.7%, below the stress threshold.
What schools are in Wingham?
No schools are recorded inside the 61.53 km2 Wingham boundary in this dataset, so families rely on schools in neighbouring areas. University qualifications among residents reach only 15.5%, which is 14.6 points below the national figure, consistent with a regional working town.
Is Wingham safe?
Detailed crime statistics are not available for Wingham in this dataset. As indirect context, the suburb is a low-density rural town of 5,395 residents at 87.7 people per km2, with a settled population where 44.9% own their home outright and turnover is low at 20.8%.
Is Wingham good for property investment?
Rent of $306 a week against the $508,000 median gives a gross yield near 3.1%, modest but above premium metro suburbs. Only 23.1% of residents rent and the vacancy rate is 5.5%, so the tenant pool is thin. With a -0.11% population trend, returns lean on capital growth rather than yield.
How is Wingham's population changing?
Population is broadly flat and edging down, with a forecast annual change of -0.11% and a 10-year rise of just 1.5%. Counts moved from 5,427 in 2023 to 5,437 in 2025, and the medium projection falls to 5,381 by 2031. The profile is aging, with the senior share up 4.2 points over the decade.
How much development is happening in Wingham?
There were 48 development applications lodged in the past 12 months, moderate for a town of 5,395 residents. Most are single dwelling alterations or new house builds, with one subdivision, rather than large rental supply, consistent with a slow-growth area where the population trend is -0.11% annually.
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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