Muswellbrook · Council (LGA)
How well-off the area is, how fast its population is growing, and the businesses and new homes here.
A low overall advantage score of 2 puts Muswellbrook among the most disadvantaged areas compared to most of the country. This is a struggling region where a lack of formal education and job skills weighs heavily on the local economy.
All council (lga) areas, 2021. The marker is Muswellbrook — lower than 86% of areas.
SEIFA indexes ranking relative advantage and disadvantage.
Education and job skills are particularly low, ranking in the bottom 10% of similar areas. This helps explain why the overall advantage score of 908 is smaller than about 80% of other areas.
2
Lower than 86% of council (lga) areas.
ABS Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage, 2021, as a national decile: 1 = among the 10% most disadvantaged areas in Australia, 10 = among the 10% most advantaged. IRSAD summarises both advantage and disadvantage, so a high score reflects relatively many high-income, well-educated households and few low-income, low-skill ones.
3
Lower than 71% of council (lga) areas.
ABS Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage, 2021, as a national decile: 1 = among the 10% most disadvantaged areas in Australia, 10 = among the least disadvantaged. IRSD focuses on disadvantage alone (low income, low education, unemployment, unskilled occupations), so a higher decile means relatively less disadvantage.
4
Lower than 64% of council (lga) areas.
ABS Index of Economic Resources, 2021, as a national decile: 1 = among the 10% lowest areas for economic resources in Australia, 10 = among the highest. IER reflects the income, housing costs, dwelling size and assets of households, so a higher decile means relatively greater economic resources.
1
Lower than 99% of council (lga) areas.
ABS Index of Education and Occupation, 2021, as a national decile: 1 = among the 10% lowest areas for education and occupation in Australia, 10 = among the highest. IEO reflects residents' qualifications and the skill level of their jobs, so a higher decile means a more highly educated and skilled workforce.
908
Lower than 80% of council (lga) areas.
ABS Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage, 2021, as a raw index score (standardised so the Australian average is about 1000). Higher scores indicate relatively greater advantage; lower scores greater disadvantage.
Annual population estimates and change since the census.
The population has grown by 2.4% since 2021, though this is lower than most areas and well below the New South Wales figure of 6.1%.
16,859
Higher than 54% of council (lga) areas.
Estimated resident population (ABS), 2025.
2.4%
Lower than 63% of council (lga) areas.
Population growth since the 2021 Census, from ABS annual estimates.
Operating businesses and dwellings approved.
There are 1,145 businesses in the area. While this is smaller than about 53% of similar places, there were 51 new dwellings approved, which is larger than about 52% of comparable areas.
1,145
Lower than 54% of council (lga) areas.
Operating businesses (ABS Counts of Australian Businesses), June 2025.
51
Lower than 51% of council (lga) areas.
Dwelling units approved in 2024-25 (ABS Building Approvals).
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Economy & Advantage in Muswellbrook [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/lga/LGA15650/muswellbrook/topic/economy-advantage
