Hornsby

New South Wales · Sydney - North Sydney and Hornsby · 140,289 people · 32 suburbs · 16 postcodes

Hornsby at a glance

140,289
Population
#19 of 130 in NSW
425
km² area
330/km² density
41.3
Median age
+1.6 vs NSW
1117
SEIFA IRSAD
#14 of 130 in NSW
48
Schools
30 gov, 4 Cath, 14 indep
40.7%
Born overseas
24.1%
Renting

Map shows the Hornsby LGA boundary in blue with a marker per suburb. Hover for suburb name, click for details.

Marker colour reflects SEIFA IRSAD decile: ● 1-2 (most disadvantaged), ● 3-4, ● 5-6, ● 7-8, ● 9-10 (most advantaged).

Boundary source: ABS ASGS 2021. Map tiles: OpenStreetMap contributors.

Federal electorate boundaries can be toggled on the map. Boundary source: ABS ASGS 2021 CED boundaries.

Hornsby is a metropolitan Local Government Area in New South Wales, in the Sydney region. It covers 32 suburbs across 16 postcodes and an area of 425 km². Hornsby has a population of 140,289 , ranking #19 most populous in NSW. The most populous suburb is Hornsby (22,462 residents).About 40.7% of residents were born overseas and 35.8% speak a language other than English at home.

Who lives here

Age structure

0–14 (19.1%) 15–24 (12.1%) 25–44 (24.5%) 45–64 (27.1%) 65+ (17.2%)
Show counts
0–14 years26,814 (19.1%)
15–24 years16,992 (12.1%)
25–44 years34,399 (24.5%)
45–64 years37,976 (27.1%)
65+ years24,117 (17.2%)
40.7%
Born overseas
35.8%
Speak a language other than English at home
0.6%
First Nations
2.9
Avg household size

How they live

Housing tenure

Owned outright (35.3%) Mortgaged (40.6%) Renting (24.1%)

Dwelling type mix

Separate house (75.4%) Semi/townhouse (6.9%) Flat/apartment (17.7%)
$558
Median weekly rent
$2,732
Median monthly mortgage
45.2%
Households with 0-1 cars
54.8%
Households with 2+ cars

Work and learning

4.1%
Unemployment rate
42,319
In full-time work
21,313
In part-time work

Schools in Hornsby

48 schools across Hornsby: 62.5% Government, 8.3% Catholic, 29.2% Independent. The NSW average is 69.6% / 16.9% / 13.5%. Schools here have a median ICSEA of 1128 (range 984 to 1209). NSW median is 1005; national mean is 1000.

Sector mix

NSW average for comparison
Government Catholic Independent

Type breakdown

Primary (56.2%) Secondary (18.8%) Combined (16.7%) Special (8.3%)

ICSEA range

700 National mean 1000 1300
LGA median 1128 NSW median 1005LGA range 984 to 1209

ICSEA (Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage) summarises the socio-economic background of each school's families. Higher values indicate more advantage. Source: ACARA 2025.

All 48 schools in Hornsby, sorted by enrolment:

School Sector Type Suburb Students ICSEA
Barker College Independent Combined Hornsby 2,856 1166
Cherrybrook Technology High School Government Secondary Cherrybrook 2,098 1146
Pacific Hills Christian School Independent Combined Dural 1,475 1118
Cheltenham Girls High School Government Secondary Beecroft 1,436 1142
Mount St Benedict College Independent Secondary Pennant Hills 1,331 1147
Loreto Normanhurst Independent Combined Normanhurst 1,240 1164
Pennant Hills High School Government Secondary Pennant Hills 1,131 1109
Arden Anglican School, Junior Campus Independent Combined Beecroft 997 1173
Hornsby North Public School Government Primary Hornsby 937 1148
Cherrybrook Public School Government Primary Cherrybrook 886 1164
Beecroft Public School Government Primary Beecroft 837 1187
Tangara School for Girls Independent Combined Cherrybrook 771 1141
Normanhurst Boys High School Government Secondary Normanhurst 752 1207
Hornsby Girls High School Government Secondary Hornsby 722 1209
Northholm Grammar School Independent Combined Arcadia 698 1137
Asquith High School Government Secondary Asquith 669 1082
Galston High School Government Secondary Galston 570 1044
John Purchase Public School Government Primary Cherrybrook 550 1168
Hornsby High School Government Secondary Asquith 542 1045
Hornsby South Public School Government Primary Hornsby 534 1110
Redfield College Independent Combined Dural 530 1140
Pennant Hills Public School Government Primary Pennant Hills 490 1143
Thornleigh West Public School Government Primary Thornleigh 477 1142
Mount Colah Public School Government Primary Mount Colah 442 1098
Hornsby Heights Public School Government Primary Hornsby 420 1104
Asquith Public School Government Primary Asquith 384 1102
Epping North Public School Government Primary North Epping 382 1174
Normanhurst Public School Government Primary Normanhurst 372 1139
Normanhurst West Public School Government Primary Thornleigh 363 1136
Dural Public School Government Primary Dural 350 1102
Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Primary School Catholic Primary Waitara 337 1153
Wideview Public School Government Primary Berowra Heights 321 1102
St Bernard's Catholic Primary School Catholic Primary Berowra Heights 297 1131
Berowra Public School Government Primary Berowra 272 1085
Lorien Novalis School for Rudolf Steiner Education Independent Combined Dural 238 1103
St Patrick's Catholic Primary School Catholic Primary Asquith 223 1124
St Agatha's Catholic Primary School Catholic Primary Pennant Hills 217 1147
Galston Public School Government Primary Galston 147 1042
Mount Kuring-gai Public School Government Primary Mount Kuring-Gai 132 1083
Brooklyn Public School Government Primary Brooklyn 79 1064
Clarke Road School Government Special Hornsby 61 1063
Pacific Berowra Christian School Independent Primary Berowra 61 1136
Arcadia Public School Government Primary Arcadia 60 1065
New Hope Christian School Independent Special Dural 49 1071
Warrah Specialist School Independent Special Dural 34 1065
Marri Mittigar School Independent Special Hornsby 28 984
Cowan Public School Government Primary Cowan 24 1063
Blue Gum Community School Independent Primary Hornsby 21 1105

Source: ACARA School Profiles 2025. ICSEA shown where reported; some schools (notably small primaries) do not publish ICSEA.

SEIFA socio-economic indexes

SEIFA 2021 ranks Australian areas across four dimensions. Scores are population-weighted averages of suburb-level SEIFA scores within Hornsby. Higher scores indicate more advantage; the national mean is 1000.

IRSAD

Relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage

1117
Ranked #14 of 130 NSW LGAs

IRSD

Relative disadvantage only (lower = more disadvantaged)

1084

IER

Economic resources: income, wealth, housing

1081

IEO

Education and occupation: qualifications, skill levels

1122

Suburbs in Hornsby

Hornsby contains 32 suburbs and 16 postcodes. Sorted by population.

SuburbPostcodePopulationMedian incomeMedian age
Hornsby 2077 22,462 $1,952/wk 38
Cherrybrook 2126 19,082 $2,924/wk 43
Beecroft 2119 10,291 $2,962/wk 43
Thornleigh 2120 8,898 $2,681/wk 40
Dural 2158 7,900 $2,489/wk 45
Waitara 2077 7,837 $2,106/wk 36
Mount Colah 2079 7,816 $2,505/wk 40
Pennant Hills 2120 7,588 $2,433/wk 43
Hornsby Heights 2077 6,354 $2,699/wk 41
Asquith 2077 6,160 $2,300/wk 36
Normanhurst 2076 5,387 $2,590/wk 41
Berowra Heights 2082 5,286 $2,468/wk 42
Berowra 2081 4,762 $2,781/wk 41
North Epping 2121 4,657 $3,062/wk 44
Westleigh 2120 4,501 $3,021/wk 45
Galston 2159 3,195 $2,295/wk 46
Cheltenham 2119 2,166 $3,573/wk 46
Mount Kuring-Gai 2080 1,766 $2,428/wk 42
Arcadia 2159 1,475 $2,659/wk 46
Brooklyn 2083 737 $2,062/wk 48
Cowan 2081 631 $2,250/wk 41
Dangar Island 2083 313 $1,857/wk 56
Fiddletown 2159 259 $2,562/wk 40
Berrilee 2159 212 $2,349/wk 51
Canoelands 2157 177 $2,166/wk 45
Berowra Waters 2082 169 $1,812/wk 56
Laughtondale 2775 102 $1,724/wk 50
Forest Glen 2157 71 $2,583/wk 39
Milsons Passage 2083 32 $949/wk 62
Singletons Mill 2775 3 $725/wk 60
Berowra Creek 2082
Hillside 2157

Postcodes covered

2076, 2077, 2079, 2080, 2081, 2082, 2083, 2119, 2120, 2121, 2126, 2157, 2158, 2159, 2330, 2775

Compare Hornsby with neighbouring LGAs

Side-by-side demographic and socio-economic snapshot of Hornsby and its closest neighbouring LGAs.

LGA Population Median age SEIFA IRSAD % renting % overseas-born
Hornsby (NSW) 140,289 41.3 1117 24.1% 40.7%
Ku-ring-gai 131,179 42.4 1163 20.4% 42.5%
Central Coast (NSW) 346,577 43.1 978 28.6% 16.1%
The Hills Shire 203,118 39.2 1134 21.8% 40.6%
Hawkesbury 68,064 39.1 1009 24.6% 13.2%
Northern Beaches 263,532 41.9 1125 27.8% 30.2%

Services and amenities

NDIS Providers NDIS provider directory for Hornsby Climate & weather Climate data for Hornsby

Frequently asked questions about Hornsby

What is the population of Hornsby?

The 2021 Census recorded 140,289 people living in Hornsby, across 32 suburbs.

What suburbs are in Hornsby?

Hornsby contains 32 suburbs. The most populous are Hornsby, Cherrybrook, Beecroft, Thornleigh, Dural.See the full list in the Suburbs section above.

What postcodes are in Hornsby?

Hornsby covers 16 postcodes: 2076, 2077, 2079, 2080, 2081, 2082, 2083, 2119, 2120, 2121, 2126, 2157, 2158, 2159, 2330, 2775.

How many schools are in Hornsby?

Hornsby has 48 schools, including 30 government, 4 Catholic, and 14 independent schools (ACARA 2025).

What is the SEIFA score for Hornsby?

Hornsby has a population-weighted SEIFA IRSAD score of 1117, where the national average is 1000. Higher scores indicate more relative advantage.

Page last reviewed . Data sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census (CC BY 4.0), SEIFA 2021 (IRSD, IRSAD, IER, IEO), ACARA School Profiles 2025, ABS ASGS 2021 LGA boundaries. How this data is sourced.