Dubbo
NSWDubbo is a growing suburb in NSW with 43,516 residents.
- SAL code
- 11299
- SA2
- 105031101
- Population
- 43,516
Dubbo, NSW had 43,516 residents at the 2021 Census, with the broader statistical area showing a 6.0% growth over the last five years. The predominant age group is 25-34 years, and the median age sits at 35. Households are most often couples with children, and those with a mortgage repay a median of $1,582 a month. Around 62.4% of homes are owner-occupied, with the largest single tenure being owned with a mortgage at 34.3%. Most dwellings are separate houses, making up 83.8% of the suburb's housing stock. The suburb has 172 parks and reserves mapped within its boundary. Source: ABS Census 2021 and Estimated Resident Population, with amenity counts from state Open Data and OpenStreetMap.
Suburb analysis
Dubbo, NSW at a glance
Dubbo is the regional capital of Western NSW, sitting on the Macquarie River about 400 km north-west of Sydney. It's a service hub for a wide rural catchment — health, education, freight, livestock — with a housing mix that runs from quarter-acre suburban blocks to small acreages on the fringe. The data tiles below cover the demographic baseline; this card adds the live market, lifestyle and council pipeline.
For homebuyers
Dubbo gives you a lot of house for the money compared with metro NSW, with block sizes that range from standard 500m² lots through to 1-acre+ holdings on the edges. The city centre runs along Macquarie and Talbragar Streets, with Orana Mall in East Dubbo as the main shopping anchor and Centro Dubbo, Riverdale and Delroy Park covering the western side. Dubbo Hospital completed a $250M redevelopment that added a regional trauma service and the Western Cancer Centre, so you don't have to travel to Sydney for serious care. There are around 20 schools across the city plus a Charles Sturt University campus next to Dubbo College Senior Campus. Recreation runs deep — 22 sportsgrounds, two golf clubs, three swimming pools, the Macquarie River frontage, and Taronga Western Plains Zoo about 5 km west. Sydney is roughly a 5-hour drive or a 1-hour flight from Dubbo Regional Airport. In short: a regional centre with metro-grade services, big blocks and short local commutes, if you're comfortable being 400 km from the coast.
For investors
Dubbo is a tight-supply regional market with steady house growth and a thin unit segment. Median house $627,100 against $540/week rent gives a ~4.5% gross gross yield (Your Investment Property May 2026); units sit at a median $335,000 with ~0.75% annual growth (YIP May 2026). Houses grew +9.44% over 12 months (+2.80% quarter); around 1,000 house sales in the past 12 months versus only 42 unit sales. Vacancy is ~0.6% (DPN 2026) and houses average 31 days on market; units 44 (htag May 2026).
Strengths
- Solid 12-month house growth (~+9.44% YoY, YIP May 2026) on a regional median that's still well below Sydney metro entry points.
- Vacancy ~0.6% (DPN 2026) and only 0.7 months of inventory (htag May 2026) — landlords have pricing power.
- Deep house market with ~1,000 sales/yr (YIP May 2026) — easy to enter and exit at scale for a regional centre.
- Diversified employment base (health, education, agribusiness, government services) anchored by the post-redevelopment Dubbo Hospital.
Trade-offs
- Yield around ~3.4-4.5% depending on the source (htag vs YIP, May 2026) — middling for a regional, not a high-cashflow market.
- Unit segment is thin and slow: ~42 sales/yr, 44 days on market and ~0.75% annual growth (YIP / htag May 2026) — limited diversification away from houses.
- Affordability index ~38 years (htag May 2026) is stretched relative to local incomes despite the absolute price level.
- Regional exposure: market depth and rental demand are tied to a narrower set of local employers than metro centres.
What's coming
Dubbo Regional Council's draft 2025/2026 budget allocates $5.67M to renewal works at Dubbo Regional Airport (including runway strengthening and a 510kWh solar canopy over public parking), $759,000 to capital works at the Dubbo Regional Livestock Markets as the first horizon of a $10.29M overhaul through to 2035, plus CCTV renewal across ~35 cameras at 10 sites in Dubbo and Wellington CBDs, new cemetery facilities, and an extra $200,000 for street trees.
Bottom line
For homebuyers: a service-rich regional capital where the house-for-the-money equation still works. For investors: a tight-vacancy house play with steady growth — not a high-yield punt and not a unit market.
Population
?43,516
Suburb · Census 2021
5-Year Growth
+6.0%
3yr: +3.4% · 10yr: +21.0%
SA2 · 5yr
Household Income
$1,690/wk
Suburb · Census 2021 median
Median Age
35
Suburb · Census 2021
Socio-Economic Index
?5/10
SA2 · middle-range
Unemployment
?1.9%
SA2 · Q4 2025
Schools
13
7 primary, 3 secondary
Hospitals
?2
Within suburb
Childcare services
?33
22 long day, 8 OSHC, 1 family
Parks & green space
?172
Parks, reserves
Transport stops
?7
GTFS stops
Dwelling approvals
No data for this suburb
Median Weekly Rent
Based on NSW rental bond lodgements, aggregated at postcode level. All SALs sharing this postcode show the same median.
Median House Sale Price
Source: state Valuer-General (suburb-level quarterly medians).
→ Calculate stamp duty on this suburb's median price→ Estimate mortgage repayments→ Calculate rental yield (price + median rent)
Safety & Crime
2025 Q4Reported incidents from NSW police. Offence rates may not reflect all crime.
Population over time — Dubbo - South (SA2)
ABS publishes annual estimates only at SA2; Dubbo suburb alone is ~43,516 (Census 2021).
Source: ABS ERP (latest release · 2025) · Census 2021. Numbers refreshed quarterly.
Growth at a Glance
Population grew from 15,475 to 20,712 over 24 years, averaging 1.2% per year.
Schools
13 in suburbSector
13 public
Type
6 primary · 3 secondary · 1 K-12
Total enrolment
4,784
Avg per school
368
Government school catchment
Intake zonePrimary
Dubbo PS50.8%
- Dubbo NPS 16.6%
- Ballimore PS 10.9%
- Wongarbon PS 9.6%
- Orana Hts PS 7.2%
- Narromine PS 2.5%
- Dubbo SPS 1.3%
- Dubbo WPS 0.5%
- Buninyong PS 0.5%
- Geurie PS 0.1%
- Wellington PS 0.0%
- Yeoval CS 0.0%
- Gilgandra PS 0.0%
Secondary
Dubbo Snr97.5%
- Dubbo Delroy 67.9%
- Dubbo South 29.6%
- Narromine HS 2.5%
- Wellington HS 0.0%
- Yeoval CS 0.0%
- Gilgandra HS 0.0%
Source: NSW Department of Education — School Intake Zones. Boundaries can be amended without notice; confirm with the school before relying on enrolment.
Profile
Census snapshot
Housing
Public housing 3.7%Almost entirely detached houses (83.8%), mixed tenure (62.4% own or mortgage).
Dwelling mix
Tenure
NSW 33%
Number of bedrooms
Bushfire risk
Source: NSW RFS BFPL via SEED
As of May 2026
Overlap is the percentage of the suburb's land area inside the mapped bushfire polygons. Always verify the exact property address with the relevant authority before making decisions.
Flood risk
This suburb falls outside every flood polygon mapped by the relevant authority. Always confirm at the property address — local conditions and unmapped overlays can still apply.
Overlap is the percentage of the suburb's land area inside the mapped flood polygons. Always verify the exact property address with the relevant authority before making decisions. Source when available: NSW Rural Fire Service (BFPL) and NSW DPHI EPI Flood.
Planning zones
16 zones in suburb| Code | Zone | % covered | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| RU1 | ZoneRural | 61.3% | 607.39 km² |
| R5 | ZoneResidential | 11.6% | 114.98 km² |
| RU2 | ZoneRural | 10.8% | 106.83 km² |
| RU4 | ZoneRural | 3.6% | 35.21 km² |
| R2 | ZoneResidential | 2.8% | 27.96 km² |
| SP2 | ZoneSpecial use | 2.1% | 20.38 km² |
| C1 | ZoneEnvironmental | 1.8% | 18.14 km² |
| SP3 | ZoneSpecial use | 1.2% | 12.31 km² |
| E5 | ZoneEnvironmental | 1.0% | 9.63 km² |
| RE1 | ZoneRecreation | 0.8% | 7.66 km² |
| W2 | ZoneWaterway | 0.7% | 7.38 km² |
| E4 | ZoneEnvironmental | 0.7% | 6.96 km² |
| C3 | ZoneEnvironmental | 0.6% | 5.61 km² |
| RE2 | ZoneRecreation | 0.4% | 3.58 km² |
| R1 | ZoneResidential | 0.3% | 3.34 km² |
| E3 | ZoneEnvironmental | 0.2% | 1.81 km² |
Source: NSW DPHI EPI Land Zoning (ZONE_NSW/2026-04-29/1eccf1a530fa1be5) · As of Apr 2026. Zone boundaries are amended periodically; verify the exact property with the relevant council before relying on permitted use.