A New South Wales council area. It covers every suburb inside the council boundary, so it is wider than any one of them.
Population grew −0.5% over the year to 30 June 2025, against +1.5% for Australia over the same period.
Natural increase was the largest component of that change, as an outflow.
Dwelling approvals were +71.9% against the twelve months before. Approvals are permission to build, not completed dwellings.
Completions over the same period were equivalent to 86% of commencements, for New South Wales. These figures compare pipeline flows and do not track individual approved dwellings through construction.
Achieved rents moved +9.5% over the year, against +5.9% for the middle council area in New South Wales.
Each of these is a separate reading with its own rule and its own figures, set out under Housing Balance below. There is deliberately no single score: one number would hide which of them was doing the work.
At $460 a week, Lithgow is higher than 22% of the 103 NSW council areas we hold.
Half of new leases in Lithgow were between $393 and $520 a week — a quarter came in under $393, and a quarter above $520.
Rents there are up 9.5% over the past year, faster than the typical NSW council area (up 5.9%).
Based on 106 new leases. Enough to be meaningful, but a single unusual quarter will move it.
The most common new lease there was a three-bedroom house, at $495 a week across 48 of them.
Median weekly rent of bonds lodged in the quarter, which is new lettings only. Every point is a figure the publisher published; nothing between them is filled in.
| Median weekly rent | $460 | publisher’s figure · June quarter 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| A quarter of new leases came in below | $393 | publisher’s figure · June quarter 2026 |
| A quarter came in above | $520 | publisher’s figure · June quarter 2026 |
| Median sale price | $553,000 | publisher’s figure · March quarter 2026 |
| Gross rental yield | 4.33% | calculated from the two above |
| Rental bonds held | 1,672 | publisher’s figure · June quarter 2026 |
Every quarter the publisher reported, as figures rather than a shape. Download as CSV — a stable link you can cite, check against the publisher’s own workbook, or put in a spreadsheet.
| Quarter | Median weekly rent | Change on the quarter before |
|---|---|---|
| June quarter 2026 | $460 | +3.4% |
| March quarter 2026 | $445 | 0.0% |
| December quarter 2025 | $445 | +4.0% |
| September quarter 2025 | $428 | +1.9% |
| June quarter 2025 | $420 | -6.7% |
| March quarter 2025 | $450 | +12.5% |
| December quarter 2024 | $400 | 0.0% |
| September quarter 2024 | $400 | -2.4% |
| June quarter 2024 | $410 | +2.5% |
| March quarter 2024 | $400 | +2.6% |
| December quarter 2023 | $390 | +5.4% |
| September quarter 2023 | $370 | -2.6% |
| June quarter 2023 | $380 | +1.3% |
| March quarter 2023 | $375 | +1.4% |
| December quarter 2022 | $370 | +2.8% |
| September quarter 2022 | $360 | +1.4% |
| June quarter 2022 | $355 | +1.4% |
| March quarter 2022 | $350 | +6.1% |
| December quarter 2021 | $330 | -2.9% |
| September quarter 2021 | $340 | +6.3% |
| June quarter 2021 | $320 | 0.0% |
| March quarter 2021 | $320 | +3.2% |
| December quarter 2020 | $310 | -3.1% |
| September quarter 2020 | $320 | +7.4% |
| June quarter 2020 | $298 | -0.7% |
| March quarter 2020 | $300 | 0.0% |
| December quarter 2019 | $300 | 0.0% |
| September quarter 2019 | $300 | +1.7% |
| June quarter 2019 | $295 | -1.7% |
| March quarter 2019 | $300 | -5.7% |
| December quarter 2018 | $318 | +6.0% |
| September quarter 2018 | $300 | +1.7% |
| June quarter 2018 | $295 | +1.7% |
| March quarter 2018 | $290 | 0.0% |
| December quarter 2017 | $290 | 0.0% |
| September quarter 2017 | $290 | — |
The council areas either side of Lithgow, ranked by the same figure in the same quarter.
| Council area | Median rent | One year |
|---|---|---|
| Gundagai | $450 | +5.9% |
| Liverpool Plains | $450 | +20.0% |
| Hilltops | $460 | +8.2% |
| Lithgow | $460 | +9.5% |
| Armidale Regional | $480 | +14.3% |
| Griffith | $480 | +3.7% |
| Narromine | $480 | +12.9% |
The same quarter, split the way New South Wales splits it. The figure at the top of this page blends all of these together, so it describes none of them exactly. A blank cell means the publisher reported nothing for that combination here — usually because there were too few new leases to publish.
| Size | Houses |
|---|---|
| 2 bedrooms | $400count withheld |
| 3 bedrooms | $49548 new leases |
| 4 bedrooms | $550count withheld |
Where housing demand is coming from, how quickly supply is being delivered, and how rents are responding. Six readings, each with the figures behind it and the rule that turned those figures into a word. None of them says a market is short of housing: that needs household formation, which APRIQ does not hold, and is not estimated here.
Population and migration here were published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for Lithgow itself.
Weak
How fast the population is growing, against the national rate.
| Population growth, Lithgow | −0.5% | the year to 30 June 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Population growth, Australia | +1.5% | the year to 30 June 2025 |
Strong when growth is at least half a percentage point above the national rate, weak when at least half a point below, moderate in between. Population is one ABS instrument measured the same way everywhere, so a market compares to Australia.
Natural increase (an outflow)
Which component moved the population most over the latest year the ABS splits it.
| Natural increase, Lithgow | −81 | the year to 30 June 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Net internal migration, Lithgow | −58 | the year to 30 June 2025 |
| Net overseas migration, Lithgow | +45 | the year to 30 June 2025 |
The largest of natural increase, net internal migration and net overseas migration by absolute size, so a large outflow is named rather than hidden inside a net total. This states which component was largest. It says nothing about why anyone moved.
Expanding
Whether dwelling approvals are running above or below the year before.
| Dwellings approved, Lithgow | 55 | the twelve months to June 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| The twelve months before, Lithgow | 32 | a year earlier |
| Change on the year before, Lithgow | +71.9% | the twelve months to June 2026 |
Expanding above +10%, contracting below −10%, stable in between, comparing twelve months of approvals against the twelve before them. An approval is permission to build, not a dwelling. Where a market is smaller than the areas the Australian Bureau of Statistics counts approvals for, this is a blend of those areas' own changes, weighted by how much of each the market covers — not a count of approvals here.
Moderate
How much housing is being finished, against how much is being started.
| Dwellings completed, New South Wales | 8,883 | March quarter 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Dwellings started, New South Wales | 10,373 | March quarter 2026 |
| Completions as a share of commencements | 86% | March quarter 2026 |
Strong at or above 95% of commencements, weak below 80%, moderate in between, over the same twelve months. Completions during the period compared with commencements during the period — these figures compare pipeline flows and do not track individual approved dwellings through construction.
High
How fast achieved rents are rising, against the rest of the state.
| Rent change over a year, Lithgow | +9.5% | June quarter 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Rent change over a year, the middle council area in New South Wales | +5.9% | June quarter 2026 |
High when rents rose at least one percentage point faster than the state, low when at least a point slower, moderate in between. Compared against the state rather than the nation because each bond authority defines its own series: changes compare, levels do not.
High
How much of this market's picture was measured for this market.
| Demand evidence | measured for this market | how it was made |
|---|---|---|
| Components present | 5 of 5 | on this page |
High where the demand evidence was published for this geography and most components are present; moderate where it was derived through an official ABS correspondence; limited where it describes a larger area containing this market, or where components are missing.
Lithgow is a council area, which is the same boundary the Australian Bureau of Statistics publishes population and dwelling approvals for. Both are shown here as the ABS states them, on their own clocks: population is estimated at 30 June and revised for years afterwards, dwelling approvals are counted monthly. Where the two are compared, the comparison is made over one twelve-month window both cover — which is usually an earlier year than the latest approvals figure, so each row names its own period.
Lithgow lost population over the year to 30 June 2025 while approving dwellings, so this ratio is negative.
Dwelling approvals in the twelve months to June 2026 were 71.9% higher than the twelve months before.
Dwelling approvals are an indicator of the future housing pipeline, not completed dwellings. Approved work can lapse, and what proceeds is finished months or years later.
The three components the Australian Bureau of Statistics publishes for the year to 30 June 2025, which add to the change in estimated resident population over that year. Each is a count over those twelve months, not a level at the end of them — unlike the population figure above, which is a headcount at a date. They are net figures: net internal migration of −300 means 300 more people left than arrived, not that 300 people left. All three are shown together because each is only meaningful against the other two. This is a single year — the ABS publishes the split annually and APRIQ holds one edition of it, so it is not a trend and no direction can be read from it.
| Component | People |
|---|---|
| Natural increase | −81 |
| Net internal migration | −58 |
| Net overseas migration | +45 |
| Total change in population | −94 |
The year to 30 June 2025 · knowable 31 March 2026 · ABS regional population, components of change. APRIQ publishes the three together and draws no conclusion from them: what a given number of arrivals means for housing depends on household size and formation, which are not held.
Estimated resident population at 30 June each year, as most recently restated by the ABS. Every point is an estimate rather than a count — the Census is the count, and the years between are carried forward from births, deaths and migration.
New residential dwellings approved each quarter, summed from the monthly figures the ABS publishes. A quarter missing any of its months is left out rather than shown short. These are approvals, not completions.
| Estimated resident population | 20,693 | 30 June 2025 · knowable 31 March 2026 · ABS regional population |
|---|---|---|
| Annual population growth | -0.5% | the year to 30 June 2025 · knowable 31 March 2026 · calculated from the two estimates named |
| Population growth a year over five years | -0.4% | the five years to 30 June 2025 · knowable 31 March 2026 · calculated from the two estimates named |
| Dwellings approved | 55 | the twelve months to June 2026 · knowable 6 August 2026 · ABS building approvals |
| Houses approved | 45 | the twelve months to June 2026 · knowable 6 August 2026 · ABS building approvals |
| Townhouses, units and apartments approved | 10 | the twelve months to June 2026 · knowable 6 August 2026 · ABS building approvals |
| Approved dwellings per 1,000 residents | 2.7 | the twelve months to June 2026 against 30 June 2025 · knowable 6 August 2026 · calculated from the two figures named |
| People added per dwelling approved | -2.9 | the year to 30 June 2025 · knowable 6 August 2026 · calculated over one twelve-month window both series cover |
| Change in approvals on the year before | +71.9% | the twelve months to June 2026 against the twelve months to June 2025 · knowable 6 August 2026 · four quarters against the four before them |
Population is the Australian Bureau of Statistics Regional Population release, and dwelling approvals are its Building Approvals release; both are used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Population figures are dated by the ABS release that restated them, so a figure for an earlier year became knowable on the day that release went up rather than in the year it describes. Method, sources and licences.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics publishes commencements, dwellings under construction and completions for states and territories and nowhere finer — there is no council or suburb breakdown of any of them. These figures describe New South Wales as a whole, not this market, and are shown because the approval figures above cannot say on their own whether approved dwellings are being built.
| Approved | 51,967 | the twelve months to March 2026 · knowable 6 August 2026 · ABS building approvals, summed over the state |
|---|---|---|
| Approved and not yet started | 12,745 | March quarter 2026 · knowable 8 July 2026 · ABS building activity — a count at this date |
| Started | 51,714 | the twelve months to March 2026 · knowable 8 July 2026 · ABS building activity |
| Under construction | 80,522 | March quarter 2026 · knowable 8 July 2026 · ABS building activity — a count at this date |
| Completed | 44,804 | the twelve months to March 2026 · knowable 8 July 2026 · ABS building activity |
The first three lines are permission and intent. Only the last counts homes that exist.
Dwellings were started at 100% of the rate they were approved over the twelve months to March 2026.
Fewer were finished than started (87% as many), so the number under construction grew.
What is under construction represents about 1.8 years of building at the current rate of completions.
These are counts of activity in a period, not a cohort. The Australian Bureau of Statistics does not publish which approvals became which commencements, so none of these figures says what share of any particular approvals was built.
Four separate readings, each with the figures behind it and the rule that turned those figures into words. There is deliberately no single score: one number would hide which of these was doing the work, and a market with strong rental evidence and no population figure would score as though it had both. Every signal describes what has been measured — none of them is advice, and none says what will happen next.
Rising faster than most of New South Wales
How rents here moved over a year, against the typical council area in New South Wales.
| Rent change over a year here | +9.5% | June quarter 2026 against a year earlier |
|---|---|---|
| The middle council area in New South Wales | +5.9% | June quarter 2026 against a year earlier |
| Difference | +3.6 percentage points | June quarter 2026 against a year earlier |
| Markets in the comparison | 103 | June quarter 2026 against a year earlier |
The difference between this market’s one-year rent change and the middle change across every council area the same publisher reports, in percentage points: 3 or more above is well above, 1 above is above, within 1 either way is in line. Changes are compared within one state because each bond authority defines its own series — movement may be compared between them, the rent itself may not.
Population is falling
How fast the population here is changing, against how fast Australia is changing.
| Annual population growth here | −0.5% | the year to 30 June 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Australia, the same year | +1.5% | the year to 30 June 2025 |
| Difference | −2.0 percentage points | the year to 30 June 2025 |
| Growth a year over five years | −0.4% | the five years to 30 June 2025 |
The difference between this market’s annual population growth and Australia’s, in percentage points: 1.5 or more above is well above the national rate, 0.5 above is above it, within 0.5 either way is in line with it, and a fall is named as a fall. Both figures are ABS estimated resident population at 30 June, the same instrument measured the same way, so they may be compared directly.
Approving well below the national rate
How many dwellings this market approved over twelve months for every thousand residents, against the national rate. Approvals are permission to build, not completed dwellings.
| Approved dwellings per 1,000 residents | 2.7 | the twelve months to June 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Australia, the same twelve months | 7.4 | the twelve months to June 2026 |
| Change on the twelve months before | +71.9% | the twelve months to June 2026 against the twelve months to June 2025 |
| People added per dwelling approved | -2.9 | the year to 30 June 2025 |
This market’s approved dwellings per thousand residents divided by Australia’s: twice the national rate or more is well above it, a quarter above is above it, within a fifth either way is in line, and below four fifths is below. Both are ABS building approvals over the same twelve months. An approval is permission to build — some of it lapses, and the rest completes months or years later — so this describes a pipeline and never housing that exists.
Adequate
How much weight the figures on this page can carry.
| New leases behind the current figure | 106 | June quarter 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Quarters of history | 36 | to June quarter 2026 |
| How current | The latest quarter published anywhere | June quarter 2026 |
| Origin | As the publisher published it | June quarter 2026 |
| Knowability | Dated by the publisher’s own release timing | June quarter 2026 |
Strong needs 200 or more new leases behind the current figure, the most recent quarter published anywhere, and eight or more quarters of history. Adequate needs 50 leases and no more than one quarter behind. A withheld count cannot earn better than thin, because a suppressed number is unknown rather than small.
The latest figures here are for June quarter 2026, which ended 30 June 2026. The next is September quarter 2026, ending 30 September 2026; it appears here once the publisher releases it, and we do not predict that date.
The rent figures here are published by NSW Department of Communities and Justice and used under an open licence. Any other figure on this page names its own publisher on the line it appears on. Every rent figure is either as published or arithmetic on figures as published. APRIQ models and estimates nothing: where a figure is a publisher’s own estimate — an estimated resident population is one — it is called an estimate where it is shown. Growth is measured between named quarters, never by counting back rows, because an area is published only when it clears the publisher’s reporting threshold. This page exists because Lithgow has 106 bonds behind its current figure and 36 quarters of history; markets with less than that get no page rather than a thin one. Method, sources and licences.