Moving to East Maitland (Metford area) from Thornton (Millers Forest area)
Schools, childcare, demographics and house prices for East Maitland - Metford and Thornton - Millers Forest, side by side - all from public government data.
East Maitland (Metford area) has 18,334 people (ABS, June 2025), +0.3% in a year, a median house price of $871,000, 9 schools and 20 childcare services. Full East Maitland (Metford area) suburb profile.
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Sources: ABS ERP June 2025 · ABS Census 2021 · ABS SEIFA 2021 · ACARA School Profile 2025 · ACECQA NQS register · Valuer-General Victoria & DFFH (VIC) · DCJ Housing sales Mar 2026 and rent Jun 2026 (NSW) · RTA Queensland rents (QLD) · NSW BOCSAR (NSW) · CSA Victoria (VIC). How we source this data →
Which school is zoned?
The free government school your child can attend in each area - side by side, never a blended average.
Thornton Public School
The government school your child can attend for free by living in Thornton - Millers Forest.
This is the zoned government school for the centre of Thornton - Millers Forest (NSW catchment data) - addresses elsewhere in the suburb may be zoned to a different school.
See the catchment on the mapFee-paying schools can’t be enrolled in by zone - they’re shown for context, not as the area’s school quality.
We show school intake context and catchments, not exam results. We don’t publish a school ranking.
Metford Public School
The government school your child can attend for free by living in East Maitland - Metford.
This is the zoned government school for the centre of East Maitland - Metford (NSW catchment data) - addresses elsewhere in the suburb may be zoned to a different school.
See the catchment on the mapFee-paying schools can’t be enrolled in by zone - they’re shown for context, not as the area’s school quality.
We show school intake context and catchments, not exam results. We don’t publish a school ranking.
Honest tradeoff
Government schools in East Maitland - Metford and Thornton - Millers Forest have a similar average ICSEA (957 and 947) - a measure of student intake, not teaching quality.
Catholic/independent schools are separate from the free government catchment - average ICSEA East Maitland - Metford 1,038 (5 schools), Thornton - Millers Forest 1,034 (3 schools).
There are 9 schools in East Maitland - Metford, compared to 5 in Thornton - Millers Forest.
Childcare services matched by suburb name: 20 in East Maitland - Metford vs 14 in Thornton - Millers Forest.
East Maitland - Metford has a SEIFA advantage (IRSAD) of Decile 4, below Thornton - Millers Forest's Decile 6. Decile 10 is the most advantaged nationally.
Similar suburbs near East Maitland - Metford
Related moves
What is the population of East Maitland (Metford area)?
18,334 people lived in East Maitland (Metford area) at June 2025 (ABS Estimated Resident Population), a change of +0.3% over the year. Thornton (Millers Forest area) had 19,925.
Are houses cheaper in East Maitland (Metford area) than in Thornton (Millers Forest area)?
No. The median house price is $871,000 in East Maitland (Metford area) and $857,000 in Thornton (Millers Forest area), 2% higher in East Maitland (Metford area).
How many schools are in East Maitland (Metford area)?
ACARA lists 9 schools in East Maitland (Metford area), against 5 in Thornton (Millers Forest area). The zoned government school for an address is shown above under "Which school is zoned?".
Make this comparison yours
The Move Planner adds your kids' ages, school catchment zones on the map, and a shareable link for your partner.
Plan the move: Thornton - Millers Forest → East Maitland - Metford