Orange
NSWOrange is a stable suburb in NSW with 41,232 residents.
- SAL code
- 13103
- SA2
- 103041077
- Population
- 41,232
- LGA
- Orange
Orange, NSW had 41,232 residents at the 2021 Census, with the broader statistical area roughly steady over the last five years. The predominant age group is 5-14 years, and the median age sits at 36. Households are most often couples with children, and those with a mortgage repay a median of $1,690 a month. Around 63.2% of homes are owner-occupied, with the largest single tenure being rented at 33.7%. Most dwellings are separate houses, making up 86.2% of the suburb's housing stock. The suburb has 127 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
Orange, NSW at a glance
Orange is a regional city in the NSW Central Tablelands, ~254 km west of Sydney and 56 km from Bathurst, sitting at 862 m elevation on the slopes of Mount Canobolas. The economy leans on Orange Base Hospital, Cadia-Ridgeway Mine, NSW DPI and a large cool-climate wine and food sector. Housing is a wide spread of federation cottages, mid-century stock and newer estate releases on the city fringes. The data tiles below cover the demographic baseline; this card adds the live market, lifestyle and council pipeline.
For homebuyers
Orange feels more like a small city than a country town. The CBD has European street trees that turn in autumn, a real restaurant scene, and the standard chains (Woolworths, Coles, Bunnings) sit alongside independents. Cook Park and the Orange Botanic Gardens anchor the central greenbelt, and the Adventure Playground next to the gardens is a weekend default. Newer estates sit in Bletchington, North Orange, Clare and the Poplars, while the inner streets carry well-kept federation stock. Schools include Orange High School, James Sheahan Catholic High School and a Charles Sturt University campus. The airport is ~15 km south and NSW TrainLink's Central West XPT runs to Sydney and Dubbo. Orange records the heaviest snowfalls of any major Australian city thanks to the Mount Canobolas elevation, so winters are genuinely cold (Wikipedia). The wine region carries 80+ vineyards and up to 30 cellar doors, with Orange F.O.O.D Week and the Orange Wine Festival (October-November) the two anchor events. In short: a regional city with cold-climate character, real cultural depth, and prices roughly half of equivalent metro Sydney.
For investors
Median house $715,000 against $580/week rent gives a 4.43% gross yield; units sit at $490,000 / $460/week for 5.04% (Your Investment Property + htag January 2026). PRD's 1st Half 2026 update has the Q4 2025 median house price at $730,000 with annual growth of 7.8% for houses and 20.4% for units. Days-on-market run 47 (houses) and 36 (units). Sales were deep at 971 house and 87 unit transactions over the 12 months to January 2026, and the vacancy rate sat at 1.0% in December 2025 — well below the REIA 3.0% benchmark.
Strengths
- Tight rental market — 1.0% vacancy at December 2025 against the 3.0% REIA benchmark (PRD 1H 2026).
- Deep transaction market for a regional city — 971 house + 87 unit sales in the 12 months to January 2026.
- Diversified employer base (Orange Base Hospital, Cadia-Ridgeway, NSW DPI, Charles Sturt) reduces single-industry tenant risk.
- Unit segment running hard — 20.4% Q4-on-Q4 unit price growth and 5.04% gross yield (PRD + YIP January 2026).
Trade-offs
- Days-on-market of 47 for houses (htag January 2026) is slower than tight metro markets — exit liquidity is regional-paced.
- House capital growth of 4.38% over 12 months (htag January 2026) trails the unit segment and recent Sydney runs.
- Mining exposure via Cadia-Ridgeway — 4.8% of local employment is gold ore mining (ABS 2021 / homely) — links part of the rental base to commodity cycles.
- Redmond Place is a 330-lot approved release off the Mitchell Highway (Orange City Council); meaningful future supply once infrastructure funding lands.
What's coming
The $261M Orange Base Hospital redevelopment continues to anchor health infrastructure, with a palliative-care expansion in active campaigning (NSW Health Infrastructure). The Bloomfield Private Hospital health-and-retail precinct ($54M, ~500 FTE jobs at completion) is under construction. The Orange Conservatorium and Planetarium is expected to open in March 2026. Council has flagged a 330-lot Redmond Place residential release pending infrastructure funding, plus a business-park build-out around the airport on ~200 ha of council-owned land.
Bottom line
For homebuyers: a cold-climate regional city with real food, wine and cultural depth at roughly half Sydney pricing. For investors: a tight, diversified-employer rental market with a strong unit-segment run and a hospital-led pipeline backing demand.
Population
?41,232
Suburb · Census 2021
5-Year Growth
+0.1%
3yr: -0.1% · 10yr: -2.1%
SA2 · 5yr
Household Income
$1,641/wk
Suburb · Census 2021 median
Median Age
36
Suburb · Census 2021
Socio-Economic Index
?3/10
SA2 · more disadvantaged
Unemployment
?4.6%
SA2 · Q4 2025
Schools
10
7 primary, 2 secondary
Hospitals
?1
Within suburb
Childcare services
?34
20 long day, 9 OSHC, 1 family
Parks & green space
?127
Parks, reserves
Transport stops
?6
GTFS stops
Dwelling approvals
?31
Orange · Feb 2026
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 — Orange (SA2)
ABS publishes annual estimates only at SA2; Orange suburb alone is ~41,232 (Census 2021).
Source: ABS ERP (latest release · 2025) · Census 2021. Numbers refreshed quarterly.
Growth at a Glance
Population grew from 21,667 to 19,154 over 24 years, averaging -0.5% per year.
Schools
9 in suburbSector
9 public
Type
6 primary · 2 secondary
Total enrolment
4,118
Avg per school
458
Government school catchment
Intake zonePrimary
Calare PS37.4%
- Clergate PS 10.0%
- Bowen PS 8.9%
- Molong CS 8.4%
- Orange PS 8.3%
- Glenroi Hts PS 8.2%
- Orange EPS 6.6%
- Bletchington PS 6.2%
- Borenore PS 5.1%
- Canobolas PS 0.8%
- Spring Hill PS 0.0%
Secondary
Orange HS51.6%
- Canobolas RTHS 40.0%
- Molong CS 8.4%
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 4.8%Almost entirely detached houses (86.2%), mixed tenure (63.2% own or mortgage), built for families (42% are 3 bed).
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 | 36.9% | 55.69 km² |
| C3 | ZoneEnvironmental | 12.1% | 18.28 km² |
| R1 | ZoneResidential | 10.4% | 15.76 km² |
| SP2 | ZoneSpecial use | 8.2% | 12.34 km² |
| R5 | ZoneResidential | 7.3% | 11.03 km² |
| RU2 | ZoneRural | 7.0% | 10.60 km² |
| R2 | ZoneResidential | 6.8% | 10.20 km² |
| RE1 | ZoneRecreation | 3.5% | 5.31 km² |
| E4 | ZoneEnvironmental | 2.8% | 4.30 km² |
| RE2 | ZoneRecreation | 2.2% | 3.31 km² |
| E3 | ZoneEnvironmental | 0.9% | 1.40 km² |
| C4 | ZoneEnvironmental | 0.9% | 1.29 km² |
| C2 | ZoneEnvironmental | 0.3% | 0.49 km² |
| E2 | ZoneEnvironmental | 0.3% | 0.48 km² |
| MU1 | ZoneBusiness | 0.1% | 0.18 km² |
| E1 | ZoneEnvironmental | 0.1% | 0.17 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.