Upper Hunter Shire

New South Wales · Mid North Coast · 14,201 people · 42 suburbs · 6 postcodes

Upper Hunter Shire at a glance

14,201

Population

#78 of 130 in NSW

7,827

km² area

2/km² density

42.2

Median age

+2.5 vs NSW

$1,470

Median HH income/wk

#71 of 130 in NSW

943

SEIFA IRSAD

#84 of 130 in NSW

Schools

9 gov, 3 Cath, 1 indep

9.1%

Born overseas

26.0%

Renting

Map shows the Upper Hunter Shire LGA boundary in blue with a marker per suburb. Hover for suburb name, click for details.

Marker colour reflects SEIFA IRSAD decile: ● 1-2 (most disadvantaged), ● 3-4, ● 5-6, ● 7-8, ● 9-10 (most advantaged).

Boundary source: ABS ASGS 2021. Map tiles: OpenStreetMap contributors.

Upper Hunter Shire is a Local Government Area in New South Wales, in the Sydney region. It covers 42 suburbs across 6 postcodes and an area of 7,827 km². Upper Hunter Shire has a population of 14,201 , ranking #78 most populous in NSW. The most populous suburb is Scone (5,824 residents), and the highest median household income is in Belltrees at $2,750/week. The LGA-wide median household income is $1,470/week and median age is 42.2. About 9.1% of residents were born overseas and 4.1% speak a language other than English at home.

Who lives here

Age structure

18.6%

10.5%

23.7%

26.3%

20.8%

0–14 (18.6%) 15–24 (10.5%) 25–44 (23.7%) 45–64 (26.3%) 65+ (20.8%)

Show counts

0–14 years	2,631 (18.6%)
15–24 years	1,486 (10.5%)
25–44 years	3,340 (23.7%)
45–64 years	3,710 (26.3%)
65+ years	2,941 (20.8%)

9.1%

Born overseas

4.1%

Speak a language other than English at home

6.9%

First Nations

2.4

Avg household size

How they live

Housing tenure

39.3%

34.6%

26.0%

Owned outright (39.3%) Mortgaged (34.6%) Renting (26.0%)

Dwelling type mix

94.5%

Separate house (94.5%) Semi/townhouse (5.0%) Flat/apartment (0.5%)

$267

Median weekly rent

$1,585

Median monthly mortgage

37.8%

Households with 0-1 cars

62.2%

Households with 2+ cars

Work and learning

3.2%

Unemployment rate

4,369

In full-time work

1,977

In part-time work

Schools in Upper Hunter Shire

13 schools across Upper Hunter Shire: 69.2% Government, 23.1% Catholic, 7.7% Independent. The NSW average is 69.6% / 16.9% / 13.5%. Schools here have a median ICSEA of 943 (range 879 to 1025). NSW median is 1005; national mean is 1000.

Sector mix

69.2%

23.1%

NSW average for comparison

69.6%

16.9%

13.5%

Government Catholic Independent

Type breakdown

69.2%

15.4%

Primary (69.2%) Secondary (15.4%) Combined (15.4%) Special (0%)

ICSEA range

700 National mean 1000 1300

LGA median 943 NSW median 1005LGA range 879 to 1025

ICSEA (Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage) summarises the socio-economic background of each school's families. Higher values indicate more advantage. Source: ACARA 2025.

All 13 schools in Upper Hunter Shire, sorted by enrolment:

School	Sector	Type	Suburb	Students	ICSEA
Scone Grammar School	Independent	Combined	Scone	692	1025
St Joseph's Catholic College	Catholic	Secondary	Aberdeen	685	968
Scone Public School	Government	Primary	Scone	400	943
Scone High School	Government	Secondary	Scone	316	894
Merriwa Central School	Government	Combined	Merriwa	221	879
Aberdeen Public School	Government	Primary	Aberdeen	151	890
St Mary's Primary School	Catholic	Primary	Scone	138	1002
St Joseph's Primary School	Catholic	Primary	Merriwa	49	1000
Murrurundi Public School	Government	Primary	Murrurundi	36	893
Cassilis Public School	Government	Primary	Cassilis	11	959
Ellerston Public School	Government	Primary	Ellerston	11	935
Blandford Public School	Government	Primary	Blandford	10	978
Belltrees Public School	Government	Primary	Belltrees	9	927

Source: ACARA School Profiles 2025. ICSEA shown where reported; some schools (notably small primaries) do not publish ICSEA.

SEIFA socio-economic indexes

SEIFA 2021 ranks Australian areas across four dimensions. Scores are population-weighted averages of suburb-level SEIFA scores within Upper Hunter Shire. Higher scores indicate more advantage; the national mean is 1000.

IRSAD

Relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage

943

Ranked #84 of 130 NSW LGAs

IRSD

Relative disadvantage only (lower = more disadvantaged)

974

IER

Economic resources: income, wealth, housing

999

IEO

Education and occupation: qualifications, skill levels

911

Suburbs in Upper Hunter Shire

Upper Hunter Shire contains 42 suburbs and 6 postcodes. Sorted by population.

Suburb	Postcode	Population	Median income	Median age
Scone	2337	5,824	$1,507/wk	39
Aberdeen	2336	2,051	$1,426/wk	41
Merriwa	2329	1,825	$1,208/wk	45
Murrurundi	2338	945	$877/wk	54
Cassilis	2329	278	$1,375/wk	42
Wingen	2337	277	$1,571/wk	41
Parkville	2337	275	$2,029/wk	41
Middle Brook	2337	260	$1,968/wk	44
Segenhoe	2337	219	$1,478/wk	39
Blandford	2338	205	$1,449/wk	51
Gungal	2333	186	$1,333/wk	45
Moobi	2337	168	$2,388/wk	36
Gundy	2337	165	$1,525/wk	50
Upper Dartbrook	2336	152	$1,843/wk	42
Rouchel	2336	137	$2,031/wk	46
Moonan Flat	2337	131	$1,458/wk	46
Ellerston	2337	123	$1,446/wk	41
Dartbrook	2336	110	$2,449/wk	41
Bunnan	2337	94	$784/wk	53
Glenbawn	2337	89	$2,250/wk	38
Owens Gap	2337	80	$2,062/wk	37
Waverly	2337	77	$1,625/wk	42
Upper Rouchel	2336	73	$2,187/wk	51
Timor	2338	55	$1,531/wk	43
Dry Creek	2337	50	$2,374/wk	39
Sandy Creek	2338	42	$2,249/wk	48
Belltrees	2337	37	$2,750/wk	32
Kars Springs	2337	37	$1,749/wk	49
Woolooma	2337	35	$1,687/wk	55
Davis Creek	2336	34	$1,125/wk	44
Scotts Creek	2338	25	$725/wk	47
Stewarts Brook	2337	24	$1,375/wk	59
Murulla	2337	23	$2,625/wk	34
Green Creek	2338	19	$2,250/wk	44
Moonan Brook	2337	19	$492/wk	67
Brawboy	2337	18	$1,812/wk	30
Pages Creek	2337	13	$1,624/wk	55
Glenrock	2337	10	$1,125/wk	23
Tomalla	2337	6	$1,125/wk	40
Pages River	2338	5	$1,024/wk	64
Rossgole	2336	5	$1,749/wk	62
Omadale	2337			13

Postcodes covered

2329, 2333, 2336, 2337, 2338, 2835

Compare Upper Hunter Shire with neighbouring LGAs

Side-by-side demographic and socio-economic snapshot of Upper Hunter Shire and its closest neighbouring LGAs.

LGA	Population	Median age	Median HH income	SEIFA IRSAD	% renting	% overseas-born
Upper Hunter Shire (NSW)	14,201	42.2	$1,470/wk	943	26.0%	9.1%
Muswellbrook	16,154	36.8	$1,633/wk	906	35.6%	8.3%
Mid-Coast	95,814	53.0	$1,089/wk	912	23.8%	10.1%
Liverpool Plains	7,702	46.4	$1,229/wk	909	25.8%	4.7%
Mid-Western Regional	25,598	41.5	$1,604/wk	948	25.5%	8.1%
Tamworth Regional	62,017	39.3	$1,500/wk	935	32.8%	8.5%

Services and amenities

NDIS Providers NDIS provider directory for Upper Hunter Shire Climate & weather Climate data for Scone

Frequently asked questions about Upper Hunter Shire

What is the population of Upper Hunter Shire?

The 2021 Census recorded 14,201 people living in Upper Hunter Shire, across 42 suburbs.

What suburbs are in Upper Hunter Shire?

Upper Hunter Shire contains 42 suburbs. The most populous are Scone, Aberdeen, Merriwa, Murrurundi, Cassilis.See the full list in the Suburbs section above.

What postcodes are in Upper Hunter Shire?

Upper Hunter Shire covers 6 postcodes: 2329, 2333, 2336, 2337, 2338, 2835.

What is the median household income in Upper Hunter Shire?

The population-weighted median household income across Upper Hunter Shire is $1,470 per week (2021 Census), ranking #71 of 130 NSW LGAs.

How many schools are in Upper Hunter Shire?

Upper Hunter Shire has 13 schools, including 9 government, 3 Catholic, and 1 independent schools (ACARA 2025).

What is the SEIFA score for Upper Hunter Shire?

Upper Hunter Shire has a population-weighted SEIFA IRSAD score of 943, where the national average is 1000. Higher scores indicate more relative advantage.

Page last reviewed June 2026. Data sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census (CC BY 4.0), SEIFA 2021 (IRSD, IRSAD, IER, IEO), ACARA School Profiles 2025, ABS ASGS 2021 LGA boundaries. How this data is sourced.