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ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026
The Rock is a regional centre in New South Wales, Australia, with a population of approximately 1,347, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 406 km from the Sydney CBD, The Rock is a regional area in New South Wales. The median household income is $70,616 per year.
Household earnings in The Rock are below the state average, which may affect long-term capital growth. Distance from major centres is a consideration, though regional markets can offer higher rental yields.
Official Australia Post postcode for The Rock. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
Australia Post Postcode Finder →Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Weekly median rent for occupied homes. Live rental data integration coming soon.
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Estimated 1 school within or near this suburb.
Find schools near The Rock on My School →Estimated 1 park and green spaces near this suburb.
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
The Rock is a smaller community of 1,347 — about 25% of the New South Wales suburb median (5,325) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. The Rock's median household income of $70,616/year is 28% below the New South Wales suburb median ($97,552) — this is an affordability play where returns lean on yield and patient capital growth rather than demographic premium. Rent of $245/week (82% coverage of the $1,300/month median mortgage) leaves a gap of roughly $238/month that a typical investor bridges with negative gearing, depreciation and capital growth. The Rock is 406 km from Sydney, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand. Separate houses make up 92% of dwellings — 16 percentage points above the New South Wales median of 76% — pointing to a family-oriented, land-rich market where value is concentrated in the underlying block.
How The Rock stacks up against the median of all New South Wales suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean The Rock sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | The Rock | NSW median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 1,347 | 5,325 | -75% |
| Median household income | $70,616/yr | $97,552/yr | -28% |
| Median rent (weekly) | $245 | $430 | -43% |
| Median mortgage (monthly) | $1,300 | $2,167 | -40% |
| Distance to CBD | 406 km | 45 km | +802% |
| Separate houses | 92% | 76% | +16pp |
Pre-inspection briefing for The Rock — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 1,347 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider New South Wales market over full cycles.
Moderate rental coverage: rent of $245/week covers 82% of a $1,300/month mortgage, leaving a $238/month gap that an investor bridges with equity, depreciation and tax benefits.
With 92% houses in a 1,347-person market, renovation margins depend on individual street and aspect rather than any suburb-wide story — do comparable-sales analysis before committing capital.
Run the numbers on a The Rock property
Scenario comparison, cash flow analysis, tax modelling, and PDF export — all in one place.
Create free account →Capital-growth expectations for The Rock are modest for 2026 — incomes 28% below the NSW median of $97,552 and a population of 1,347 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~82% of the typical mortgage ($1,062/month rent vs $1,300/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 32/100 places The Rock in the lower tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is cautious heading into the second half of 2026.
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The Rock scores 32/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a weak rating. That score is driven by a population of 1,347, median household income of $70,616/year and median weekly rent of $245. Whether it fits your portfolio depends on whether you are targeting cash flow, capital growth, or a value-add renovation — all three are scored with suburb-specific numbers elsewhere on this page.
The main demand drivers in The Rock are a median household income of $70,616/year, a dwelling mix that is 92% separate houses, roughly 1 schools and 1 parks within the catchment. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand and are the factors we weight most heavily in the suburb's investment score.
The Rock has a usual resident population of approximately 1,347, compared with a New South Wales suburb median of 5,325 — placing it in the lower half of the state's suburbs by size. Population is the clearest proxy for market depth: more residents mean more transactions and typically a shorter average days-on-market on resale.
The Rock sits 406 km straight-line from the Sydney CBD. This is a regional market where CBD distance is only indicative — local industry diversity and commute alternatives matter more.
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $245 in The Rock, equating to approximately $12,740/year in gross rental income (state median $430/week). Market rents have typically drifted above the recorded figure — verify against current listings on realestate.com.au and Domain before making an offer.
The median monthly mortgage repayment in The Rock is $1,300, or approximately $15,600/year (vs $2,167/month state median). Stress-test your own borrowing at rates 1–2 percentage points above today's to make sure you can still service the loan through an RBA tightening cycle.
A median weekly rent of $245 works out to $1,062/month, covering 82% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,300/month. That leaves a $238/month shortfall (around $2,856/year before tax benefits), so a typical owner-occupier-priced property here is negatively geared. Actual cash flow depends on your deposit, loan terms, ownership costs and marginal tax rate — run the full numbers in our rental yield calculator.
The main risks are a thin buyer pool (1,347 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,300 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($70,616 vs $97,552 state median), the broader New South Wales market cycle. Each of these is covered in the Risk Factors section above with suburb-specific numbers rather than generic warnings.
Every number on this page comes from the ABS 2021 Census of Population and Housing, Australia Post postcode reference data, and OpenStreetMap amenity tiles. The investment score, strategy verdicts, and comparison table are computed deterministically from those inputs — no opinion, no estimation. See our full methodology and the data sources and licences for the formulas we use.