Central West, NSW
About the Central West region
This NSW region begins at the temperate, elevated Central Tablelands to the west of the majestic Blue Mountains and stretches all the way to the semi-arid Central West plains, taking in about 63,000 km² of land in total. It is home to the major regional centres of Orange and Bathurst, along with other smaller, charming regional cities and country towns.
Beginning just 2.5 hours out of Sydney, this region is nonetheless something else entirely — a place of magnificent rural landscapes, amazing food & wine and a rich local history that you'll find quite difficult to leave.
The Wiradjuri people are the traditional owners of much of the land on which the Central West region now stands. We encourage readers to use the AIATSIS Map of Indigenous Australia to learn more about Aboriginal history and culture in the region.
Local councils
NSW's Central West region includes 11 municipalities: Bathurst Shire, Blayney Shire, Cabonne Shire, Cowra Shire, Forbes Shire, Lachlan Shire, Lithgow City, Oberon Shire, Orange City, Parkes Shire and Weddin Shire.
Climate information
The Central West enjoys a temperate to warm climate, with a median temperature of about 28 °C in summer, dropping to around 12 °C in the winter months.
The region receives of 600-1000 mm of rain annually, on average, although the volume of rainfall is lower in the far western reaches of the region.
Population
The estimated population of the Central West region is reported as 181,272.
Education
The Central West region is home to a diverse range of pre-schools, primary schools and secondary schools, both public and private, giving parents plenty of choice on where to send their children.
For those seeking tertiary education, the region also has several universities, including Charles Sturt campuses in Bathurst and Orange and TAFEs in Forbes, Bathurst, Grenfell, Orange, Cowra and Condobolin.
Employment and local businesses
The Central West region has a Gross Regional Product (GRP) of approximately $13 billion, and supports 73,991 jobs.
The manufacturing industry makes up the greatest contribution to GRP, accounting for 14.04% of this value, while the health care & social assistance industry is the region's biggest employer. Agriculture and mining are also significant contributors to the regional economy, underpinned by rich soil and significant natural resources.
Housing
There is no listed median house price for the Central West region at large, but such measurements do exist for the biggest cities in the region: Orange and Bathurst.
As of 2019, Orange's had a median house price of $405,000 and a weekly rental median of $360 per. Meanwhile, Bathurst's median house price was $397,500 and its weekly rental median was $330.
Events
Where: Orange, NSW
When: Annually, in February
What: This week-long poetry festival celebrates Australia's best-known poet, Banjo Patterson, at his birthplace. Although the highlight of the fair is the bush poetry performances and competitions, it offers something for everyone, with night markets, professional entertainers, local history tours, barbecues and a Banjo Patterson Festival Dinner to conclude the celebrations on the final day.
Where: Bathurst, NSW
When: Annually, in October
What: Bathurst is Australia's motorsport Mecca, and the Bathurst 1000 is an annual pilgrimage for rev-heads from across the nation. The 161-lap race (which, as the name would suggest, totals 1000 km) brings the best racers in Australia together to compete on one of the country's toughest tracks. When not conducting races, the track is a public road that can be driven on by anyone. It is worth noting, though, that the speed limit is just 60 km/h, so there is no point trying to be the King of the Mountain.
Where: Orange, NSW
When: Annually, in late July and early August
What: This festival is sure to warm you up in body and soul, celebrating everything that is best about authentic country winters. Enjoy cook outs, spectacular bonfires and char-grilled feasts under the brilliantly starry skies of Orange, unsullied by light pollution, or huddle up next to the fireplace in a local pub for a laid back meal with family and friends.
Additional Information
Central West has 11 subregions. Use the list below or the map above to learn more about individual subregions.
Central West Schools
- Government Schools
- Independent Schools
Combined
- Lake Cargelligo Central School LAKE CARGELLIGO NSW 2672
- Molong Central School MOLONG NSW 2866
- Peak Hill Central School PEAK HILL NSW 2869
- Portland Central School PORTLAND NSW 2847
- Tottenham Central School TOTTENHAM NSW 2873
- Trundle Central School TRUNDLE NSW 2875
- Tullamore Central School TULLAMORE NSW 2874
- Tullibigeal Central School TULLIBIGEAL NSW 2669
- Yeoval Central School YEOVAL NSW 2868
Primary
- Bathurst Public School BATHURST NSW 2795
- Bathurst South Public School BATHURST NSW 2795
- Bathurst West Public School BATHURST NSW 2795
- Bedgerabong Public School BEDGERABONG NSW 2871
- Black Springs Public School BLACK SPRINGS NSW 2787
- Blayney Public School BLAYNEY NSW 2799
- Bletchington Public School ORANGE NSW 2800
- Bogan Gate Public School BOGAN GATE NSW 2876
- Borenore Public School BORENORE NSW 2800
- Bowen Public School ORANGE NSW 2800
- Bribbaree Public School BRIBBAREE NSW 2594
- Calare Public School ORANGE NSW 2800
- Canobolas Public School ORANGE NSW 2800
- Canowindra Public School CANOWINDRA NSW 2804
- Capertee Public School CAPERTEE NSW 2846
- Caragabal Public School CARAGABAL NSW 2810
- Carcoar Public School CARCOAR NSW 2791
- Cargo Public School CARGO NSW 2800
- Clergate Public School CLERGATE NSW 2800
- Condobolin Public School CONDOBOLIN NSW 2877
- Cooerwull Public School LITHGOW NSW 2790
- Cowra Public School COWRA NSW 2794
- Cudal Public School CUDAL NSW 2864
- Cullen Bullen Public School CULLEN BULLEN NSW 2790
- Cumnock Public School CUMNOCK NSW 2867
- Eglinton Public School EGLINTON NSW 2795
- Eugowra Public School EUGOWRA NSW 2806
- Forbes North Public School FORBES NSW 2871
- Forbes Public School FORBES NSW 2871
- Glen Alice Public School GLEN ALICE NSW 2849
- Glenroi Heights Public School ORANGE NSW 2800
- Gooloogong Public School GOOLOOGONG NSW 2805
- Greenethorpe Public School GREENETHORPE NSW 2809
- Grenfell Public School GRENFELL NSW 2810
- Hampton Public School HAMPTON NSW 2790
- Hill End Public School HILL END NSW 2850
- Holmwood Public School COWRA NSW 2794
- Kelso Public School KELSO NSW 2795
- Koorawatha Public School KOORAWATHA NSW 2807
- Lithgow Public School LITHGOW NSW 2790
- Lyndhurst Public School LYNDHURST NSW 2797
- Mandurama Public School MANDURAMA NSW 2792
- Manildra Public School MANILDRA NSW 2865
- Meadow Flat Public School MEADOW FLAT NSW 2795
- Middleton Public School PARKES NSW 2870
- Millthorpe Public School MILLTHORPE NSW 2798
- Mount Victoria Public School MOUNT VICTORIA NSW 2786
- Mullion Creek Public School MULLION CREEK NSW 2800
- Mulyan Public School COWRA NSW 2794
- Nashdale Public School NASHDALE NSW 2800
- Neville Public School NEVILLE NSW 2799
- Oberon Public School OBERON NSW 2787
- O'Connell Public School O'CONNELL NSW 2795
- Orange East Public School ORANGE NSW 2800
- Orange Public School ORANGE NSW 2800
- Parkes East Public School PARKES NSW 2870
- Parkes Public School PARKES NSW 2870
- Perthville Public School PERTHVILLE NSW 2795
- Quandialla Public School QUANDIALLA NSW 2721
- Raglan Public School RAGLAN NSW 2795
- Rockley Public School ROCKLEY NSW 2795
- Sofala Public School SOFALA NSW 2795
- Spring Hill Public School SPRING HILL NSW 2800
- Spring Terrace Public School SPRING TERRACE NSW 2798
- Trunkey Public School TRUNKEY CREEK NSW 2795
- Wallerawang Public School WALLERAWANG NSW 2845
- Wattle Flat Public School WATTLE FLAT NSW 2795
- Woodstock Public School WOODSTOCK NSW 2793
- Wyangala Dam Public School WYANGALA NSW 2808
- Zig Zag Public School LITHGOW NSW 2790
Secondary
- Blayney High School BLAYNEY NSW 2799
- Canobolas Rural Technology High School ORANGE NSW 2800
- Canowindra High School CANOWINDRA NSW 2804
- Condobolin High School CONDOBOLIN NSW 2877
- Cowra High School COWRA NSW 2794
- Denison College of Secondary Education, Bathurst High Campus BATHURST NSW 2795
- Denison College of Secondary Education, Kelso High Campus KELSO NSW 2795
- Forbes High School FORBES NSW 2871
- Lithgow High School LITHGOW NSW 2790
- Oberon High School OBERON NSW 2787
- Orange High School ORANGE NSW 2800
- Parkes High School PARKES NSW 2870
- The Henry Lawson High School GRENFELL NSW 2810
Special
- Anson Street School ORANGE NSW 2800
- Carenne School BATHURST NSW 2795
- Holman Place School COWRA NSW 2794
Combined
- All Saints' College Bathurst BATHURST NSW 2795
- Kinross Wolaroi School ORANGE NSW 2800
- Mountains Christian College BLACKHEATH NSW 2785
- OneSchool Global, Condobolin campus CONDOBOLIN NSW 2877
- OneSchool Global, Mount Victoria campus MOUNT VICTORIA NSW 2786
- OneSchool Global, Orange campus EAST ORANGE NSW 2800
- Orange Anglican Grammar School ORANGE NSW 2800
- Orange Christian School ORANGE NSW 2800
- Parkes Christian School PARKES NSW 2870
- Scots All Saints College BATHURST NSW 2795
- Scots All Saints College, All Saints Campus BATHURST NSW 2795
- St Raphael's Catholic School COWRA NSW 2794
Primary
- Cathedral Catholic Primary School BATHURST NSW 2795
- Catherine McAuley Catholic Primary School ORANGE NSW 2800
- Holy Family Catholic Primary School KELSO NSW 2795
- Holy Family Parish School PARKES NSW 2870
- OneSchool Global, Cowra campus COWRA NSW 2794
- Scots All Saints College, Lithgow Campus LITHGOW NSW 2790
- St Columba's Catholic Primary School YEOVAL NSW 2868
- St Edward's Catholic Primary School CANOWINDRA NSW 2804
- St Francis Xavier's Primary School LAKE CARGELLIGO NSW 2672
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School BLAYNEY NSW 2799
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School OBERON NSW 2787
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School EUGOWRA NSW 2806
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School MANILDRA NSW 2865
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School MOLONG NSW 2866
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School PORTLAND NSW 2847
- St Joseph's Parish School CONDOBOLIN NSW 2877
- St Joseph's Parish School PEAK HILL NSW 2869
- St Joseph's Primary School GRENFELL NSW 2810
- St Laurence's Parish School FORBES NSW 2871
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School ORANGE NSW 2800
- St Patrick's Parish School TRUNDLE NSW 2875
- St Patrick's Catholic Primary School LITHGOW NSW 2790
- St Philomena's Catholic Primary School SOUTH BATHURST NSW 2795
- The Assumption Catholic Primary School BATHURST NSW 2795
Secondary
- James Sheahan Catholic High School ORANGE NSW 2800
- Kinross Wolaroi School, PLC Site ORANGE NSW 2800
- La Salle Academy LITHGOW NSW 2790
- MacKillop College BATHURST NSW 2795
- MacKillop College, St Joseph's House Perthville PERTHVILLE NSW 2795
- Red Bend Catholic College FORBES NSW 2871
- St Stanislaus' College BATHURST NSW 2795
- St Stanislaus' College, Sunnyside Farm BATHURST NSW 2795
Special
- Skillset Senior College MITCHELL NSW 2795
Central West Housing
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Houses in Central West
The price of a house in Central West ranges from around $83,000 to $1,550,000.
A typical house in has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms & parking for 2 cars.
Central West Census Information
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Dwelling Type
What types of residential properties are available in Central West?
Source: ABS 2016 Census GCP -
Tenure Type
Which residential properties in Central West are owned, mortgaged or rented out?
Source: ABS 2016 Census GCP -
Change in Residence
Did people in Central West change address in the last year?
Source: ABS 2016 Census GCP -
Working Population
What age groups are most strongly represented in Central West?
Source: ABS 2016 Census GCP -
Top 5 Industries
What industries do people in Central West work in?
- Health care and social assistance
- Retail trade
- Education and training
- Agriculture forestry and fishing
- Public administration and safety
Source: ABS 2016 Census GCP -
Family Size
How many people live in a household in Central West?
Source: ABS 2016 Census GCP
What's happening in Central West
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Be Amazed by Forbes New South Wales Situated in NSW's Central West region, right at the heart of the Lachlan Valley and home to almost 10,000 people, Forbes New South Wales is...
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An Oasis in Orange, New South Wales A couple enjoying views overlooking Rowlee Wines vineyard.
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Happily Ever After in Weddin, New South Wales Sheep graze on the plains of Weddin Shire. Image credit Weddin Shire Council.
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Go Regional With Move to More Early mornings watching the sunrise, quiet afternoons with the family, vast stretches of land untouched by houses – there’s so much to...
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Live Like a King in Oberon, New South Wales Oberon is just north of the Great Dividing Range and part of Central West NSW.
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Where to See Autumn Leaves Near Sydney In rural New South Wales, the delights of autumn go beyond food and wine festivals.
Properties in Central West
- For Sale
- For Rent