suburb.guide

NSW · Upper Lachlan Shire Council

Big Hill, 2579

Est. population · Jun 2025

81

Growth (1 yr)

+1.3%

Growth (5 yr)

+6.6%

Median age

53

Median income

$2,333/wk

Employment rate

43.7%

University qualified

11.3%

Work from home

37.9%

Median house price · October to December 2025

$1,400,000

Languages at home

Mostly English at home

2021 Census · usual residence

  • National parks
  • Rural living
What Big Hill is known for: National parks, Rural living

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Big Hill, NSW suburb snapshot — Suburb Guide

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Suburb Guide, “Big Hill, NSW Suburb Guide”, updated 2 October 2026, https://suburb.guide/nsw/big-hill-nsw

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Suburb profile

Big Hill is a rural locality in New South Wales, in Upper Lachlan Shire Council. It is close to the Wollondilly River and the Tarlo River.

Local amenities are a relative strength, with local amenities 100% above the peer median. Working from home is more common than in comparable places, with working from home 87% above the peer median, and population has been growing faster than in comparable places, with population growth 84% above the peer median. Space is a strength, but car dependence is high. Trade-offs centre on higher housing costs and weaker employment.

Overall, Big Hill suits people prioritising local amenities over lower housing costs.

Generated from the official metrics on this page. It can omit nuance or contain errors — check the tables and source notes before relying on it.

Strengths and weaknesses

Rural locality · compared with rural localities in New South Wales (2685)

Strengths

  • Working from home is more common than in comparable places
  • Local amenities are a relative strength
  • Population has been growing faster than in comparable places

Weaknesses

  • Housing is among the most expensive in its peer group
  • Employment rates sit below those of comparable places

What stands out

  • Wollondilly River
  • Tarlo River
  • Mount Modickmurribar
  • River National Park
  • Space is a strength, but car dependence is high

Who it suits

  • StudentsInsufficient data
  • Budget buyersInsufficient data

Housing, growth and risk

How Big Hill compares

A quick read of housing, growth, livability, and risk

Median house price

$1.4M

-7.2% change

Median rent

$570/wk

Population (ERP)

81

+1.3% annual growth

Dwelling vacancy

64.3%

Census unoccupied dwellings

How it compares

Relative standing using percentiles, ranks, and national deciles

Crime rate

15th

percentile in state (higher = more crime)

Pop. growth

74th

percentile in NSW

Rented dwellings

0%

2021 Census tenure

Advantage (IRSAD)

7/10

national SEIFA decile

Population growth

Recent ERP change over 1 and 5 years

Housing mix

Dwelling types from the 2021 Census

Risks & flags

Quick scan — open a section below for full context

Living here

Housing

Houses (January to March 2026)
$570
Median house price (October to December 2025)
$1,400,000
Median price change
-7.2%

Median weekly rent from NSW DCJ rent tables. Figures can be unreliable where few bonds were lodged in the quarter.

Contributes to desirability score · Housing (10%) · Future Growth (6%)

Household crowding and healthy vacancy — not cheapness Modest price change as a healthy-growth band

Data sources & freshness

Population

Estimated resident population

81(June 2025)

+1.3% annual · +6.6% over 5 years · 74th percentile in NSW

Growth figures & methodology
Annual growth
+1.3%
5-year growth
+6.6%
Change in 1 year
+1
Change in 5 years
+5
Growth rank in NSW
74th percentile

ABS Estimated Resident Population allocated to this suburb from SA2-level data. Not an official ABS suburb count.

Methodology

Figures are allocated from ABS Estimated Resident Population at Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2), using 2021 Census share within overlapping SA2 regions. Where Census data is unavailable, area overlap is used instead.

The dashed chart line is a simple growth-trend estimate to June 2030 (~100), extrapolated at +1.4% average annual growth since 2011. It is illustrative only — not an official ABS forecast.

2021 Census figures

2021 Census

Population
78
Median age
53
Median household income / week
$2,333
Dwelling vacancy
64.3%
Unoccupied private dwellings
36 of 56
Median monthly mortgage
$1,777
Median weekly rent (2021 Census)
$550
Tenure (owned / mortgaged / rented)
50% / 50% / 0%
Employment rate
43.7%
Travel to work (WFH / public transport / car)
37.9% / 0% / 48.3%
Walked or cycled to work
0%
Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
15 / 0 / 0

Contributes to desirability score · Community (12%) · Accessibility (12%) · Future Growth (6%)

Employment, household income and owned-outright tenure (2021 Census) Work-from-home and public-transport commute shares (2021 Census) Five-year population change as a healthy-growth band, not a boom bonus

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community Profile (including method of travel to work and educational attainment) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

    The 2026 Census was conducted in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.

  • Estimated Resident Population — Australian Bureau of Statistics · 2025 · Updated · SA2 ERP allocated to suburb boundaries

Qualifications

11.3% of adults have a university degree, compared with 27.8% across New South Wales. 22.5% have a trade or vocational qualification.

  • University qualified11.3% · 27.8% NSW
  • Diploma qualified7% · 9.3% NSW
  • Trade / vocational22.5% · 15% NSW
  • Year 12 or below59.2% · 47.9% NSW

Highest qualification field

Main field of the highest non-school qualification (2021 Census).

  • Management and commerce40%
  • Society and culture32%
  • Food, hospitality and personal services16%
  • Engineering and related technologies12%
How these groups are defined
MeasureDefinition
University qualifiedBachelor degree or higher
Diploma qualifiedAdvanced Diploma / Diploma
Trade / vocationalCertificate III + IV
Year 12Year 12 as highest attainment
Below Year 12Year 11 / 10 / 9 or below

People aged 15 years and over, 2021 Census. University, diploma and trade shares match ABS highest educational attainment (HEAP). Year 12 and below Year 12 are combined in the chart because the General Community Profile reports school-only attainment as a residual.

Contributes to desirability score · Community (12%)

University qualifications from the 2021 Census

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community Profile (including method of travel to work and educational attainment) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

    The 2026 Census was conducted in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.

Tax & income

Median taxable income (2023–24)
$54,570

44th percentile in NSW · -7% vs Australia

Median salary / wages (2023–24)
$61,660

47th percentile in NSW · -5% vs Australia

Residents with rental investments
15.0%

56th percentile in NSW · +9% vs Australia

Median super balance (2023–24)
$87,126

72nd percentile in NSW · +38% vs Australia

Residents with business income
14.0%

87th percentile in NSW · +35% vs Australia

Australian Taxation Office Taxation Statistics 2023–24, individuals Table 25. Figures describe taxpayers who live in postcode 2579 — not a suburb-level official statistic. Rental investment is the share of local taxpayers reporting rental income or loss, not the share of local properties owned by investors.

Counts, net rent & state comparison
Taxpayers in this postcode
2,788
Taxpayers reporting net rent
405
Median net rent
$1,463
Taxpayers reporting business income
399
Taxable income vs state median
-2%
Salary / wages vs state median
-2%
Rental investment vs state median
+7%
Super vs state median
+24%
Business income vs state median
+40%

Percentiles rank this postcode among unique postcodes in NSW, so suburbs that share a postcode are not counted twice. Dollar figures are compared with Australia-wide ATO medians from the same release. Median net rent is among taxpayers who reported the rent label and can be negative.

Data sources & freshness

  • Taxation Statistics 2023–24 — individuals by postcode (Table 25) — Australian Taxation Office · Updated · Annual release; taxpayer residential postcode, not suburb boundary

Community & culture

10.9% born overseas

Language at home
50 English only · 0 other
Non-English at home
0%
Born overseas
6 (10.9%)
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
7 (9%)
Australian citizens
51

Religion

44.9%Most common religion · Christianity

Christianity is the most common response at 44.9%, while 26.9% reported no religion.

MeasureSuburbState
No religion26.9%32.8%
Christianity44.9%47.6%
Other / not stated28.2%19.6%
Christian denominations
DenominationSuburbState
Catholic21.8%22.4%
Anglican14.1%11.9%

2021 Census — languages spoken at home, birthplace, Indigenous status, and religious affiliation (usual residence). Religion is optional on the Census form.

Data sources & freshness

  • 2021 Census — General Community Profile (including method of travel to work and educational attainment) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Updated

    The 2026 Census was conducted in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.

Crime & safety

Offence counts are estimated for this suburb from postcode 2579, which is shared with other suburbs.

Reported offences decreased compared with the previous period.

Offence counts & rates
Total offences (Jan 2025 to Dec 2025)
3
Against the person
1
Against property
2
Rate per 1,000 residents
37
Person-crime prevalence
About 1 in 78 residents
State crime-rate percentile
15.1th (higher = more crime)
Decrease (daily rate)
-24.8%
Recorded road crashes (in suburb)
1
Crash rate per 1,000 residents (state rank)
12.35

Most common offence types

  • Assault Police0
  • Domestic Violence Related Assault0
  • Fraud1
  • Non-Domestic Violence Related Assault0
  • Sexual Assault0

Contributes to desirability score · Safety (22%)

Crime rate, offences against the person, year-on-year trend and recorded road crash rates

Data sources & freshness

Family & Lifestyle

Schools & preschools

School list
School catchments
  • Crookwell HSGovernment school catchment overlapping this suburb boundarysecondary_catchment
  • Exeter PSGovernment school catchment overlapping this suburb boundaryprimary_catchment
  • Marulan PSGovernment school catchment overlapping this suburb boundaryprimary_catchment
  • Moss Vale HSGovernment school catchment overlapping this suburb boundarysecondary_catchment
  • Mulwaree HSGovernment school catchment overlapping this suburb boundarysecondary_catchment
  • Taralga PSGovernment school catchment overlapping this suburb boundaryprimary_catchment

Government school intake zones that overlap this suburb boundary. Living in a catchment does not guarantee enrolment; check the education authority.

Contributes to desirability score · Education (14%)

Median school ICSEA first, then school and catchment counts

Data sources & freshness

  • NSW government school intake zones — NSW Department of Education · current · Updated · Open catchment polygons where published

Amenities

2 mapped amenities

Local character & venue list

Local character

  • Limited walkable amenities nearby
Walkability proxy
0/100
Cafés per 1,000 residents
0
Food & drink per 1,000 residents
0
Parks per 1,000 residents
0
Sport & outdoors(2)
  • Kerrawary Nature ReserveNature reserve
  • Tarlo River National ParkNature reserve

Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe). Transport stops are summarised by type rather than listed individually. Campgrounds, beaches, wineries and local trails are included when they sit inside the suburb boundary.

Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (12%)

Food, shopping, recreation and sport per 1,000 residents (OpenStreetMap)

Data sources & freshness

  • Local amenity insights — Suburb Guide (derived) · current · Updated
  • OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated

Green cover

Green cover of suburb area
0%
Woodland / forest cover
0%
Parks & woodland features (OSM)
0
Parks (OSM)
0
Typical summer maximum
24°C

Green cover is the share of this suburb's boundary overlapping OpenStreetMap parks, woodland and forest polygons — not a satellite tree-canopy product. Summer maximum is the WorldClim / Open-Meteo seasonal normal already collected for Weather.

Contributes to desirability score · Environment (12%)

Tree canopy first, then green-cover area and parks per 1,000

Data sources & freshness

  • OpenStreetMap green cover and tree canopy — OpenStreetMap contributors · current · Updated · Park/woodland polygons intersected with suburb boundaries

Health access

Nearest hospital
Bourke Street Health Service (35.5 km)
Nearest hospital type
Hospital
Nearest hospital emergency
Emergency department
GP clinics in suburb
0

GP clinic counts from OpenStreetMap. Bulk-billing figures only include clinics tagged in OSM (sparse and unofficial — not a Medicare list).

Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (12%)

Hospitals, GPs and aged care

Data sources & freshness

NDIS participation

NDIS participants (31 March 2026)
2
Participants per 1,000 residents
24.7

Active NDIS participants allocated from NDIA Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2, ASGS 2016) counts to this suburb boundary. Not an official suburb-level NDIS figure · as at 31 March 2026.

For NDIS spend and service-demand exploration by SA2 or postcode, see the Care Sector Demand Map.

Data sources & freshness

Weather

Typical conditions by season for suburbs in the same ~44 km climate area. Rainfall totals are summed from monthly WorldClim layers; rainy-day counts are approximate.

Summer (Dec–Feb)

Usual max / min
24° / 13°
Rainfall
282 mm · ~35 rainy days

Autumn (Mar–May)

Usual max / min
18° / 9°
Rainfall
241 mm · ~30 rainy days

Winter (Jun–Aug)

Usual max / min
11° / 3°
Rainfall
179 mm · ~22 rainy days

Spring (Sep–Nov)

Usual max / min
18° / 7°
Rainfall
201 mm · ~25 rainy days

Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (12%)

Temperature and humidity comfort

Data sources & freshness

  • Seasonal climate normals — WorldClim 2.1 · Updated

Future & Planning

Planning & development

Development applications from NSW Planning Portal.

2026· 1 proposal

  • May 2026

  • Demolition; Shed; Erection of a new structure; Driveways and hard stand spaces
    85 ARTHURSLEIGH ROAD BIG HILL 2579Determined
2025· 2 proposals

  • August 2025

  • Demolition; Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure; Carport
    GARMORAN VALLEY ROAD BIG HILL 2579Determined

  • March 2025

  • Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure; Garage, carport or carparking space
    1901 BRAYTON ROAD BIG HILL 2579Determined
2024· 1 proposal

  • April 2024

  • Erection of a new structure; Dual occupancy (detached); Garage, carport or carparking space
    2125 BRAYTON ROAD BIG HILL 2579Determined
2023· 2 proposals

  • October 2023

  • Dwelling house; Erection of a new structure; Garage, carport or carparking space
    2125 BRAYTON ROAD BIG HILL 2579Determined
  • Dwelling house; Change of use of land or a building or the classification of a building under the Building Code of Australia
    GARMORAN VALLEY ROAD BIG HILL 2579Determined

Data sources & freshness

Hazards

Bushfire planning zone
Overlay applies
Flood / inundation overlay
No mapped inundation on suburb boundary

Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via NSW bush fire prone land mapping. Flood cover uses NSW flood planning polygons against the suburb boundary.

Contributes to desirability score · Safety (22%)

Bushfire and flood hazard overlays

Data sources & freshness

  • Bushfire and flood planning overlays — State government hazard layers · current · Updated

Politics & representation

Federal electorate
Riverina
Member of Parliament
Michael McCORMACK (The Nationals)
Results from
2025 federal election
Electorate enrolment (2025)
128,537
Turnout (2025)
92.8%
Swing since 2022 (2025)
-2.9 pp toward Coalition

Two-party preferred (2025)

Coalition 62.6%Labor 37.4%

Estimated suburb voting profile

Estimated from 8 nearby ordinary polling places (up to 77.2 km away).

Coalition 68.6%Labor 31.4%

6.0 percentage points more Coalition-leaning than the electorate

Estimated swing since 2022: -5.8 pp toward Coalition

Nearest polling places

  • TaralgaLabor 29.4% · Coalition 70.6% TPP (2025)22.4 km away
  • LagganLabor 24.4% · Coalition 75.6% TPP (2025)45.5 km away
  • CrookwellLabor 36.4% · Coalition 63.6% TPP (2025)49.1 km away
  • Grabben GullenLabor 24.9% · Coalition 75.1% TPP (2025)55.0 km away
  • BindaLabor 35.1% · Coalition 64.9% TPP (2025)62.2 km away

Federal electorate from AEC federal division boundaries (2025 redistribution). Division-level results are official AEC figures from the latest general election, with by-election updates where applicable. The estimated suburb profile blends up to eight nearest ordinary polling booths in the same electorate using inverse-distance weighting from the suburb centroid — an approximation, not official AEC data. Nearest polling places are shown for reference.

Data sources & freshness

Socio-economic

IRSAD decile (2021)
7/10
IRSD decile (2021)
6/10

ABS Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), 2021 release — the latest available, derived from the 2021 Census. Deciles rank suburbs nationally from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest).

What do IRSAD and IRSD measure?

IRSAD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage. Combines indicators of advantage (e.g. high income, skilled occupations) and disadvantage. Higher decile = more advantaged relative to other Australian areas.

IRSD — Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage. Focuses on disadvantage only (e.g. low income, unemployment, limited education). Higher decile = less disadvantage nationally.

A new SEIFA edition typically follows each census; the ABS has not announced a release date beyond 2021.

Contributes to desirability score · Community (12%)

Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD and IRSD deciles)

Data sources & freshness

More in Upper Lachlan Shire Council

Other suburbs in the same local government area.