Inner West

New South Wales · Sydney - Inner West · 180,536 people · 24 suburbs · 19 postcodes

Inner West at a glance

180,536
Population
#15 of 130 in NSW
34
km² area
5,236/km² density
37.7
Median age
-2.0 vs NSW
$2,439
Median HH income/wk
#14 of 130 in NSW
1119
SEIFA IRSAD
#12 of 130 in NSW
58
Schools
38 gov, 12 Cath, 8 indep
33.2%
Born overseas
45.8%
Renting

Map shows the Inner West 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.

Inner West is a metropolitan Local Government Area in New South Wales, in the Sydney region. It covers 24 suburbs across 19 postcodes and an area of 34 km². Inner West has a population of 180,536 , ranking #15 most populous in NSW. The most populous suburb is Marrickville (26,570 residents), and the highest median household income is in Birchgrove at $3,603/week. The LGA-wide median household income is $2,439/week and median age is 37.7. About 33.2% of residents were born overseas and 25.2% speak a language other than English at home.

Who lives here

Age structure

0–14 (14.4%) 15–24 (10.3%) 25–44 (36.5%) 45–64 (25.0%) 65+ (13.8%)
Show counts
0–14 years25,983 (14.4%)
15–24 years18,660 (10.3%)
25–44 years65,937 (36.5%)
45–64 years45,064 (25.0%)
65+ years24,916 (13.8%)
33.2%
Born overseas
25.2%
Speak a language other than English at home
1.2%
First Nations
2.3
Avg household size

How they live

Housing tenure

Owned outright (25.0%) Mortgaged (29.2%) Renting (45.8%)

Dwelling type mix

Separate house (34.6%) Semi/townhouse (30.8%) Flat/apartment (34.6%)
$526
Median weekly rent
$2,997
Median monthly mortgage
71.0%
Households with 0-1 cars
29.0%
Households with 2+ cars

Work and learning

4.4%
Unemployment rate
65,253
In full-time work
26,825
In part-time work

Schools in Inner West

58 schools across Inner West: 65.5% Government, 20.7% Catholic, 13.8% Independent. The NSW average is 69.6% / 16.9% / 13.5%. Schools here have a median ICSEA of 1125 (range 1019 to 1182). NSW median is 1005; national mean is 1000.

Sector mix

NSW average for comparison
Government Catholic Independent

Type breakdown

Primary (67.2%) Secondary (17.2%) Combined (10.3%) Special (5.2%)

ICSEA range

700 National mean 1000 1300
LGA median 1125 NSW median 1005LGA range 1019 to 1182

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 58 schools in Inner West, sorted by enrolment:

School Sector Type Suburb Students ICSEA
Trinity Grammar School Independent Combined Summer Hill 2,296 1168
Newington College Independent Combined Stanmore 2,072 1182
Christian Brothers' High School Lewisham Independent Combined Lewisham 1,231 1074
Newtown High School of Performing Arts Government Secondary Newtown 1,145 1127
St Vincent's College Ashfield Catholic Combined Ashfield 1,092 1043
Tempe High School Government Secondary Tempe 985 1096
Fort Street High School Government Secondary Petersham 917 1176
Sydney Secondary College Balmain Campus Government Secondary Rozelle 854 1112
Casimir Catholic College Catholic Secondary Marrickville 827 1052
Dulwich High School of Visual Arts and Design Government Secondary Dulwich Hill 804 1092
Sydney Secondary College Leichhardt Campus Government Secondary Leichhardt 784 1104
Ashfield Boys High School Government Secondary Ashfield 751 1074
Summer Hill Public School Government Primary Summer Hill 662 1167
Marrickville High School Government Secondary Marrickville 625 1052
St Maroun's College Independent Combined Marrickville 567 1051
Stanmore Public School Government Primary Stanmore 560 1138
Haberfield Public School Government Primary Haberfield 542 1125
Leichhardt Public School Government Primary Leichhardt 532 1122
Orange Grove Public School Government Primary Leichhardt 519 1132
Wilkins Public School Government Primary Marrickville 508 1135
Rozelle Public School Government Primary Rozelle 507 1162
Ashfield Public School Government Primary Ashfield 474 1096
Marrickville West Public School Government Primary Marrickville 411 1070
St Brigid's Catholic Primary School Catholic Primary Marrickville 372 1072
Annandale Public School Government Primary Annandale 363 1145
Annandale North Public School Government Primary Annandale 359 1148
Dulwich Hill Public School Government Primary Dulwich Hill 358 1099
Fr John Therry Catholic Primary School Balmain - Rozelle Catholic Primary Balmain 349 1170
Tempe Public School Government Primary Tempe 346 1096
Balmain Public School Government Primary Balmain 321 1172
Camdenville Public School Government Primary Newtown 310 1132
Ferncourt Public School Government Primary Marrickville 285 1125
Newtown Public School Government Primary Newtown 272 1140
Kegworth Public School Government Primary Leichhardt 252 1117
Petersham Public School Government Primary Petersham 232 1137
Newtown North Public School Government Primary Newtown 221 1132
Birchgrove Public School Government Primary Balmain 214 1132
Marrickville Public School Government Primary Marrickville 213 1090
Lewisham Public School Government Primary Lewisham 198 1121
St Patrick's Catholic Primary School Catholic Primary Summer Hill 163 1136
St Brendan's Catholic Primary School Catholic Primary Annandale 155 1166
St Peters Public School Government Primary St Peters 154 1099
St Pius' Catholic Primary School Catholic Primary Enmore 121 1100
St Paul of the Cross Catholic Primary School Catholic Primary Dulwich Hill 118 1094
Dobroyd Point Public School Government Primary Haberfield 116 1149
St Michael's Catholic Primary School Catholic Primary Stanmore 116 1160
St Joan of Arc Catholic Primary School Catholic Primary Haberfield 110 1083
Australia Street Infants School Government Primary Newtown 104 1143
Inner Sydney Montessori School Independent Primary Balmain 95 1178
Nicholson Street Public School Government Primary Balmain East 95 1151
St Fiacre's Catholic Primary School Catholic Primary Leichhardt 91 1151
Mackillop Education Waranara School Independent Special Annandale 85 1019
Eileen O'Connor Catholic College Catholic Special Lewisham 74 1052
The Athena School Independent Combined Newtown 52 1058
Yeo Park Infants School Government Primary Ashfield 48 1144
The John Berne School Independent Special Lewisham 45 1038
Taverners Hill Infants School Government Primary Petersham 20 1129
NSW School of Languages Government Secondary Petersham

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 Inner West. Higher scores indicate more advantage; the national mean is 1000.

IRSAD

Relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage

1119
Ranked #12 of 130 NSW LGAs

IRSD

Relative disadvantage only (lower = more disadvantaged)

1057

IER

Economic resources: income, wealth, housing

989

IEO

Education and occupation: qualifications, skill levels

1143

Suburbs in Inner West

Inner West contains 24 suburbs and 19 postcodes. Sorted by population.

SuburbPostcodePopulationMedian incomeMedian age
Marrickville 2204 26,570 $2,170/wk 37
Ashfield 2131 23,012 $1,888/wk 36
Leichhardt 2040 15,158 $2,673/wk 37
Newtown 2042 14,690 $2,330/wk 34
Dulwich Hill 2203 14,046 $2,095/wk 38
Balmain 2041 10,454 $3,039/wk 42
Annandale 2038 9,487 $2,683/wk 38
Rozelle 2039 8,553 $3,196/wk 40
Petersham 2049 8,200 $2,217/wk 36
Lilyfield 2040 7,641 $2,858/wk 41
Stanmore 2048 7,619 $2,395/wk 36
Summer Hill 2130 7,288 $2,260/wk 36
Haberfield 2045 6,480 $2,761/wk 46
Lewisham 2049 4,060 $2,405/wk 34
Enmore 2042 3,871 $2,309/wk 35
St Peters 2044 3,629 $2,924/wk 35
Tempe 2044 3,550 $2,452/wk 39
Birchgrove 2041 3,228 $3,603/wk 46
Balmain East 2041 1,900 $3,020/wk 46
Sydenham 2044 1,100 $2,245/wk 36
Enfield South 2133
Missenden Road 2050
Petersham North 2049
Westgate 2048

Postcodes covered

2038, 2039, 2040, 2041, 2042, 2044, 2045, 2048, 2049, 2050, 2130, 2131, 2133, 2203, 2204, 2287, 2350, 2421, 2800

Compare Inner West with neighbouring LGAs

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

LGA Population Median age Median HH income SEIFA IRSAD % renting % overseas-born
Inner West (NSW) 180,536 37.7 $2,439/wk 1119 45.8% 33.2%
Sydney 207,999 34.2 $2,226/wk 1124 65.8% 49.0%
Canterbury-Bankstown 385,402 36.4 $1,603/wk 966 39.4% 44.8%
Burwood 44,034 37.4 $1,848/wk 1053 44.5% 52.1%
Canada Bay 86,721 40.8 $2,432/wk 1118 37.8% 39.1%
Bayside (NSW) 175,826 36.9 $1,969/wk 1046 44.0% 48.4%

Services and amenities

NDIS Providers NDIS provider directory for Inner West Climate & weather Climate data for Marrickville

Frequently asked questions about Inner West

What is the population of Inner West?

The 2021 Census recorded 180,536 people living in Inner West, across 24 suburbs.

What suburbs are in Inner West?

Inner West contains 24 suburbs. The most populous are Marrickville, Ashfield, Leichhardt, Newtown, Dulwich Hill.See the full list in the Suburbs section above.

What postcodes are in Inner West?

Inner West covers 19 postcodes: 2038, 2039, 2040, 2041, 2042, 2044, 2045, 2048, 2049, 2050, 2130, 2131, 2133, 2203, 2204, 2287, 2350, 2421, 2800.

What is the median household income in Inner West?

The population-weighted median household income across Inner West is $2,439 per week (2021 Census), ranking #14 of 130 NSW LGAs.

How many schools are in Inner West?

Inner West has 58 schools, including 38 government, 12 Catholic, and 8 independent schools (ACARA 2025).

What is the SEIFA score for Inner West?

Inner West has a population-weighted SEIFA IRSAD score of 1119, 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.