Redbrick courthouse building with classical columns
The quick read on
NSW 2871 · Forbes
What homes cost, how rents have moved, and a feel for the people who call it home.
latest suburb median
ABS 2021
Forbes, New South Wales
Median sale price and rental income of properties in Forbes (NSW) NSW
Based on 176 sales in the preceding 12 months
$488,000
Up 3.3% over 12 months
Based on 145 rental listings in the preceding 12 months
$425 per week
Up 6.3% over 12 months
Market data updated September 2026.
The median house price in Forbes (NSW), NSW is currently $488,000, based on the latest 12 months of sales. Forbes (NSW) has a 12-month growth rate of 3.3% for houses.
Two-bedroom houses have a median sale price of $370,000, Three-bedroom houses have a median sale price of $442,000, Four-bedroom houses have a median sale price of $640,000, Larger houses have a median sale price of $830,000 in Forbes (NSW).
If you're looking to lease, the median rent for houses in Forbes (NSW) is $425 per week. The median house rent has increased 6.3% over the last 12 months.
The median rent for units and apartments in Forbes (NSW) is $300 per week and has remained unchanged over the last 12 months.
Crime and safety
The overall rate for Forbes is 8,437 offences per 100,000 residents — 156% above the Rest of NSW benchmark.
That is the clearest suburb-wide answer. Open the detailed profile to see how the pattern changes across offence types and different parts of Forbes.
Overall crime rate
8,437
offences per 100,000 residents
156% aboveRest of NSW
Suburb-wide estimate from Microburbs' public crime model; it is not an address-level measure.
The people behind the postcode
Forbes NSW 2871 is in New South Wales, within Rest of NSW.
8,157 people call Forbes home, with an average of 2.3 people per household and a median household income of $1,221 a week.
Public ABS 2021 Census figures. The bars compare the local share with the capital-region benchmark.
Share of residents in each age band.
Share of occupied private dwellings.
Share of homes with a stated ownership or rental status.
Vehicles available to occupied households.
Selected ways residents worked or travelled on Census day.
8.0% of workers in Forbes worked from home on Census day — about half the rate across Rest of NSW.
25.8% of people in Forbes described themselves as having no religion in the 2021 Census.
A closer look at the Census
Open any question for a plain-English reading of the public 2021 Census for Forbes NSW 2871.
19.4% of Forbes's residents were children under 15 in the 2021 Census. That is close to the Rest of NSW average.
2,116 family households lived in Forbes; 34.0% were couple families and 19.2% were one-parent families.
35.1% of local families included children under 15. That is almost exactly typical for Rest of NSW.
These are suburb-wide household figures, not school or childcare ratings.
Forbes had 8,157 residents at the 2021 Census.
21.5% of residents were aged 25 to 44.
36.9% were 55 or older. That is close to the Rest of NSW average.
Age shares use the suburb’s total Census population.
Separate houses made up 88.6% of occupied private dwellings in Forbes.
Townhouses and other attached homes represented 4.9% of occupied private dwellings.
Flats and apartments accounted for 5.1% of occupied private dwellings.
All three shares use occupied private dwellings as the denominator.
39.0% of households with a stated tenure owned their home outright. That is close to the Rest of NSW average.
31.6% were buying their home with a mortgage.
29.4% rented their home. That is close to the Rest of NSW average.
Tenure shares include households that stated one of these three arrangements.
The average household in Forbes had 2.3 people.
One-person households made up 32.1% of occupied homes. That is somewhat above the Rest of NSW average.
Two-person households represented 36.9%, while 19.8% had four or more usual residents.
Household size counts usual residents in occupied homes.
8.0% of workers worked from home on Census day. That is about half the Rest of NSW rate.
69.3% drove a car as their only travel method. That is well above the Rest of NSW average.
0.4% used only a train, tram or bus, while 4.0% walked or cycled.
Travel figures are a 2021 Census-day snapshot.
5.9% of occupied households had no motor vehicle available. That is almost exactly typical for Rest of NSW.
One-car households formed 37.4% of the total.
56.8% of households had two or more vehicles.
Vehicle counts refer to occupied households, not individual residents.
63.4% were at the same address five years earlier, while 36.6% reported a different address.
4.3% of residents were born outside Australia. That is about half the Rest of NSW rate.
Mobility figures cover residents who answered the relevant Census question.
89.7% of residents used only English at home.
2.2% used a language other than English at home.
0.1% spoke Mandarin at home, 0.2% spoke Cantonese and 0.0% spoke Hindi.
Home language is separate from English proficiency.
4.3% of Forbes's population was born outside Australia, while roughly 95.7% was born in Australia.
0.2% of residents were born in China.
0.4% were born in India, while Australian citizenship across the whole suburb stood at 90.2%.
Birthplace, citizenship and ancestry describe different parts of identity.
English ancestry accounted for 39.6% of ancestry responses in Forbes.
Australian ancestry made up 44.9% of responses.
Chinese ancestry represented 0.5% of responses.
People may nominate more than one ancestry, so these are shares of responses.
15.9% of employed residents worked in professional occupations. That is somewhat below the Rest of NSW average.
Managers accounted for 15.3% of employed residents, while clerical and administrative workers made up 9.9%.
Health care and social assistance employed 13.2% of workers, and education and training employed 11.6%.
Occupation and industry figures describe employed residents of the suburb.
The labour-force participation rate was 56.2%, compared with 56.4% across Rest of NSW.
33.8% of residents aged 15 and over worked full time, while 16.8% worked part time.
Unemployment was 4.1%, compared with 4.6% across Rest of NSW.
Labour-force figures come from the 2021 Census.
53.1% reported no selected long-term health condition.
9.6% reported a long-term mental health condition, including depression or anxiety.
9.4% reported asthma, 12.7% arthritis and 6.6% diabetes excluding gestational diabetes.
These are self-reported suburb-wide Census figures, not address-level health risks.
16.1% of people in the qualifications table held a bachelor degree. That is somewhat below the Rest of NSW average.
Postgraduate degrees accounted for 3.2% of qualification responses.
Diploma-level qualifications represented 12.0%, while certificate-level qualifications represented 44.0%.
Qualification categories are reported separately and are not school ratings.
Median household income was $1,221 per week in the 2021 Census.
The median monthly mortgage repayment reported by local households was $1,257.
Occupied renting households reported a median rent of $230 per week.
These household figures are from 2021; current sale and asking-rent medians appear in the market section.
Working from home was 8.0% in Forbes, compared with 15.7% across Rest of NSW.
Outright ownership was 39.0% locally and 39.6% across Rest of NSW. That is close to the Rest of NSW average.
Renting accounted for 29.4% in Forbes, against 27.9% across Rest of NSW.
Capital-region comparisons use the same Census definitions and year.
Three useful questions
The median house price is $488,000. Bedroom count, land and condition still create a wide range around those suburb medians.
The Census counted 2,116 local families, and 19.4% of residents were under 15. That describes the community; school quality, travel times and the right fit for a particular family need separate research.
Larger houses have a median around $830,000, the closest bedroom benchmark we hold to a $1.5m budget. Individual homes can differ substantially with block size, renovation and location.
Medians describe recorded market activity across the suburb; they are historical context, not a valuation or forecast for an individual home.
Explore the area
Open a free street report for local prices, rents and recorded sale history.
Compare nearby suburb prices, rents and five-year market trends.
Keep exploring
Use the finders to compare places and properties, or open the full report when you need the street, risk, schools and growth research.
Figures update as new market and census data arrives. This suburb overview is general information, not a valuation or financial advice.