New South Wales · Postcode 2880

Broken Hill postcode and suburb data

New South Wales · Phone area code 02 · 935 km from Sydney

Very Remote Bottom 20% SEIFA
17,706
Population (2021)
$1,176
Household income/wk
$220
Median rent/wk
44
Median age
2/10
SEIFA advantage

Suburb snapshot

Broken Hill at a glance vs NSW

Fast facts and benchmark bars show the suburb's key postcode, Census, SEIFA, school and LGA signals in context.

Quick facts

2880 Postcode See every suburb sharing this postcode
17,706 People Resident population, Census 2021
Broken Hill Council area 1 suburbs, 1 postcodes
44 Median age Years, Census 2021
$1,176/wk Household income Suburb median, Census 2021 dollars
Decile 2/10 SEIFA advantage Lower SEIFA advantage
10 Schools ACARA 2025 profiles in this suburb

Benchmarks against NSW

Household income
$1,176/wk
39% below NSW average
Suburb median, Census 2021
Weekly rent
$220/wk
51% below NSW average
Suburb median, Census 2021
SEIFA advantage
2/10
4.0 deciles below NSW average
IRSAD decile, higher means more advantage
Median age
44 years
1.0 years younger than NSW average
Resident median age
Unemployment
5.5%
0.5 pts above NSW average
Census labour-force rate

Income, rent and SEIFA figures are from the ABS 2021 Census and are reported in 2021 dollars, not adjusted for subsequent inflation.

Where Broken Hill ranks: SEIFA decile 2 places it in the bottom 20% of Australia for socio-economic advantage.

ABS Census 2021 · SEIFA 2021

Detailed comparison table

Broken Hill vs the NSW average and the national average, using population-weighted 2021 Census data.

MetricBroken HillNSW avgAU avg
Household income/wk $1,176 -NSW $1,931 $1,836
Rent/wk $220 -NSW $445 $390
Mortgage/month $867 -NSW $2,247 $1,958
Median age 44 45.0 45.0
SEIFA decile 2/10 -NSW 6.0/10 6.0/10
Unemployment 5.5% ≈NSW 5.0% 5.0%

Green pill = at least 10% above the NSW average; red = at least 10% below; grey = within 10%. For unemployment, colour polarity is inverted: lower is better.

Broken Hill is a very remote community in New South Wales, with postcode 2880. It lies roughly 935 km from Sydney, classified by the ABS as very remote Australia. The area is administered by Broken Hill.

According to the 2021 Census, Broken Hill has a population of 17,706 with a median age of 44. The median weekly household income is $1,176, below the NSW average. The unemployment rate is 5.5%. The Indigenous population is 1,761 (9.9% of residents).

Housing in Broken Hill includes a median weekly rent of $220, median monthly mortgage repayment of $867, with 7,345 total dwellings. Housing costs in the area sit below the NSW average. Owner-occupied dwellings (owned or mortgaged) make up 75.3% of housing.

On the SEIFA Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage, Broken Hill scores in decile 2 out of 10, which is well below the national average.

There are 10 schools in the Broken Hill area, including Willyama High School, Broken Hill High School, Morgan Street Public School and others.

Broken Hill is part of the Broken Hill and Far West statistical area in New South Wales.

Broken Hill details

Location, Census, housing, SEIFA and geography fields used across this profile.

Postcode2880
StateNew South Wales (NSW)
Phone Area Code02
Population (2021)17,706
Median Age44 years
Median Household Income (Census 2021)$1,176/week
Median Personal Income (Census 2021)$650/week
Median Weekly Rent (Census 2021)$220
Median Monthly Mortgage (Census 2021)$867
Average Household Size2.2 persons
Area13034.1 km²
Population Density1/km²
Total Dwellings7,345
Australian Citizens89.1%
Indigenous Population1,761 (9.9%)
Unemployment Rate5.5%
SEIFA IRSAD Decile2/10 (well below average)
Latitude-31.9539135
Longitude141.4539396
Distance from Sydney935 km
Region (SA4)Far West and Orana
Area (SA3)Broken Hill and Far West
Local GovernmentBroken Hill
Federal ElectorateParkes
State ElectorateBarwon
Time ZoneACST (UTC+9:30), Australia/Broken_Hill (standard time)

Age Profile

0–14 (17.0%) 15–24 (10.6%) 25–44 (23.1%) 45–64 (26.1%) 65+ (23.2%)
Show counts
0–14 years3,014 (17.0%)
15–24 years1,874 (10.6%)
25–44 years4,088 (23.1%)
45–64 years4,616 (26.1%)
65+ years4,111 (23.2%)

Housing Tenure

Owned outright (44.0%) Mortgaged (31.3%) Rented (24.7%)

SEIFA socio-economic index

Broken Hill is in SEIFA IRSAD decile 2 of 10. Higher deciles indicate more relative socio-economic advantage. This is an area-level index, not a score for individual households.
More disadvantagedMiddle rangeMore advantaged

Health Conditions (2021 Census)

Arthritis2,504 (14.1%)
Asthma2,126 (12.0%)
Diabetes1,443 (8.1%)
Heart Disease1,072 (6.1%)
Cancer604 (3.4%)
Lung Condition592 (3.3%)
Dementia181 (1.0%)

Long-term health conditions self-reported in the 2021 Census. Persons may report more than one condition.

Motor Vehicles per Dwelling

No vehicle700 (9.7%)
1 vehicle3,076 (42.8%)
2 vehicles2,379 (33.1%)
3+ vehicles1,028 (14.3%)

Schools in Broken Hill

ACARA 2025 school profiles for schools located in Broken Hill. ICSEA is shown where ACARA publishes it.

Willyama High School
Secondary · Gov · ICSEA 903 · 570 students
Broken Hill High School
Secondary · Gov · ICSEA 892 · 411 students
Morgan Street Public School
Primary · Gov · ICSEA 960 · 290 students
Alma Public School
Primary · Gov · ICSEA 875 · 255 students
Broken Hill North Public School
Primary · Gov · ICSEA 864 · 206 students
Burke Ward Public School
Primary · Gov · ICSEA 858 · 200 students
Sacred Heart Parish School
Primary · Cat · ICSEA 990 · 190 students
Broken Hill Public School
Primary · Gov · ICSEA 881 · 162 students
Railway Town Public School
Primary · Gov · ICSEA 868 · 124 students
School of the Air
Primary · Gov · ICSEA 985 · 120 students

Suburbs Near Broken Hill

Same Postcode (2880)

More Broken Hill Data

Page last reviewed . Data sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census (CC BY 4.0), SEIFA 2021 IRSAD, ACARA school profiles 2025. How this data is sourced.