Orange vs Southern Tablelands

Orange and Southern Tablelands are two regional New South Wales areas with very different layouts. Orange is a somewhat walkable hub where most homes are within a 15-minute walk of a park (89.2%), a school (74.0%), and public transport (87.8%). In contrast, Southern Tablelands is mostly car-dependent, with far fewer homes near public transport (54.4%) or schools (44.5%). Orange also has a far higher street connectivity score and more amenity types within walking distance than Southern Tablelands.

These two areas have tracked similarly since 2011 in some respects, such as the similar proportion of people who speak a First Nations language. They also share a nearly identical typical personal income for First Nations residents, at around $610. While Southern Tablelands has a slightly larger First Nations population and a higher First Nations Year 12 completion rate of 35.2%, Orange has a slightly higher unemployment rate for this group at 9.5%.