Orange and Cabonne are the two most affluent local government areas (LGAs) in the Central West, data has revealed.
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The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has ranked LGAs across the country according to their relative advantage and disadvantage.
The data is pulled from the 2021 Census and takes into account income, education, employment, occupation and housing to determine socio-economic status.
Of 10 LGAs in the Central West, Cabonne was deemed the best off with Orange not far behind.
At a state level, with the scale of 1 being the most disadvantaged, Cabonne came in at 102 out of 128 LGAs in NSW, meaning it is the 26th most affluent in the state. Orange ranks at 87 and is the 41st most affluent.
Cowra was named the worst in the region, ranked the 21st most disadvantaged LGA in the state. Lithgow was not far behind at 23rd.
Central West LGAs and their state ranking:
- Cowra - 21
- Lithgow - 23
- Parkes - 29
- Forbes - 52
- Mid-Western - 64
- Dubbo Regional - 74
- Blayney - 81
- Bathurst - 83
- Orange - 87
- Cabonne - 102
A roof over your head
A big difference between Orange and Cabonne is the housing situation.
Cabonne residents are more likely to be better off when it comes to both buying and renting. A whopping 44.5 per cent of homes are owned outright, 34.5 per cent are owned with a mortgage and 15.6 are rentals.
The median monthly mortgage repayment is $1625 and the median weekly rent is just $250.
Orange meanwhile has one-third of homes owned outright (30.8 per cent), another third owned with a mortgage (33.7 per cent) and a final third rented (32.6 per cent).
The median monthly mortgage repayment is $1700 while rent is a lot more expensive over the boundary, renters pay a median weekly total of $330.
In comparison to a more disadvantaged LGA, in Cowra 43.8 per cent of houses are owned outright, 26.7 per cent are owned with a mortgage and 25.1 per cent are rented.
The median rent weekly is $230 while the median monthly mortgage repayment is just $1200, less than the average monthly rent in Orange.
Money, money, money
However the median personal weekly income is much less in Cowra, sitting at $606. By comparison Orange and Cabonne residents have more to play with, $842 and $768 respectively.
Orange and Cabonne post similar numbers when it comes to employment with 62.1 and 61.1 per cent of people working respectively.
This number is down in Cowra with only 51.5 per cent of people in the workforce.
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