Auburn - South
Statistical Area - sa2

Auburn - South has seen population growth performance typically on par with national averages when looking at short and medium term trends

Auburn - South's population is approximately 9,346 as of August 2025. This figure indicates a growth of 486 people, representing a 5.5% increase since the 2021 Census, which reported a population of 8,860. The change is inferred from the estimated resident population of 9,349 in June 2024 and an additional 71 validated new addresses since the Census date. This results in a population density ratio of 3,846 persons per square kilometer, placing Auburn - South within the top 10% of locations assessed by AreaSearch, indicating high demand for land in the area. The 5.5% growth since the census is close to the state's rate of 6.4%, suggesting competitive growth fundamentals. Overseas migration contributed approximately 75.7% of overall population gains during recent periods.

AreaSearch uses ABS/Geoscience Australia projections for each SA2 area, released in 2024 with a base year of 2022. For areas not covered by this data, AreaSearch employs the NSW State Government's SA2 level projections, released in 2022 with a base year of 2021. Growth rates by age group from these aggregations are applied to all areas for years 2032 to 2041. Based on the latest population numbers, Auburn - South is expected to increase by approximately 952 persons to 2041, reflecting a total increase of 10.0% over the 17-year period.

Residential development activity is lower than average in Auburn - South according to AreaSearch's national comparison of local real estate markets

Auburn South has seen approximately 56 new home approvals annually. The Australian Bureau of Statistics produces development approval data on a financial year basis, with around 284 homes approved over the past five years from FY20 to FY25. By FY26, there have been about 10 approvals so far. On average, only 0.2 people per year moved to the area for each dwelling built between FY20 and FY25, indicating that new supply has kept pace with or exceeded demand, providing ample buyer choice and creating capacity for population growth beyond current forecasts.

The average construction cost of new dwellings was around $361,000, below the regional average, suggesting more affordable housing options for buyers. This financial year alone has seen approximately $37.6 million in commercial approvals, indicating strong commercial development momentum. Compared to Greater Sydney, Auburn South shows substantially reduced construction levels, with 56.0% fewer approvals per person. This constrained new construction usually reinforces demand and pricing for existing dwellings. Recent construction comprises about 52.0% detached houses and 48.0% townhouses or apartments, demonstrating an increasing blend of attached housing types offering choices across price ranges, from spacious family homes to more accessible compact options.

This represents a significant shift from the current housing mix, which is predominantly houses at around 73.0%. This change reflects reduced availability of development sites and addresses shifting lifestyle demands and affordability requirements. Auburn South has approximately 261 people per dwelling approval, indicating a low density market. Future projections suggest Auburn South will add about 936 residents by 2041. With current construction levels, housing supply should adequately meet demand, creating favourable conditions for buyers while potentially enabling growth that exceeds current forecasts.

Auburn - South has very high levels of nearby infrastructure activity, ranking in the top 20% nationally

Changes to local infrastructure significantly influence an area's performance. AreaSearch has identified five projects likely impacting the area. Notable ones are Sydney Metro West, Kerrs Road Upgrade, Lidcombe Wellbeing and Accommodation Precinct, and Regents Park Affordable Rental Housing. The following list details those most relevant.

Professional plan users can use the search below to filter and access additional projects.

Employment conditions in Auburn - South face significant challenges, ranking among the bottom 10% of areas assessed nationally

Auburn - South has a skilled workforce with diverse sector representation. Its unemployment rate is 9.6%, with an estimated employment growth of 0.5% over the past year.

As of June 2025, 3,645 residents are employed, and the unemployment rate is 5.4%. This is higher than Greater Sydney's rate of 4.2%, indicating room for improvement. Workforce participation in Auburn - South lags significantly at 41.4% compared to Greater Sydney's 60.0%. The key industries of employment among residents are health care & social assistance, retail trade, and construction.

Transport, postal & warehousing shows notable concentration with employment levels at 1.7 times the regional average. However, professional & technical has limited presence at 7.1% compared to the regional average of 11.5%. The area offers limited local employment opportunities as indicated by the Census working population vs resident population count. Between June 2024 and June 2025, employment increased by 0.5%, while labour force increased by 3.2%, leading to a rise in unemployment by 2.4 percentage points. In comparison, Greater Sydney saw employment grow by 2.6% and unemployment rise by 0.3 percentage points over the same period. State-level data from Sep-25 shows NSW employment contracted by 0.41%, losing 19,270 jobs, with an unemployment rate of 4.3%. This compares favourably to the national unemployment rate of 4.5% and lags behind national employment growth of 0.26%. Jobs and Skills Australia's national employment forecasts from May 2025 project a 6.6% increase over five years and 13.7% over ten years nationally. Applying these projections to Auburn - South's employment mix suggests local growth of approximately 6.5% over five years and 13.4% over ten years, based on simple weighting extrapolation for illustrative purposes only.

Income figures position the area below 75% of locations analysed nationally by AreaSearch

Auburn-South's median income among taxpayers was $30,664 in financial year 2022, according to AreaSearch data aggregated from the latest ATO figures. The average income for Auburn-South during this period was $37,842. In comparison, Greater Sydney had median and average incomes of $56,994 and $80,856 respectively in the same year. Based on Wage Price Index growth of 10.6% since financial year 2022, estimated current incomes for Auburn-South would be approximately $33,914 (median) and $41,853 (average) as of March 2025. Census data shows individual incomes are at the 3rd percentile ($496 weekly), while household incomes perform better at the 37th percentile. Income analysis reveals that 30.0% of residents fall within the $1,500 - 2,999 income bracket, with a total of 2,803 people in this category. This pattern is similar to regional levels where 30.9% of residents occupy this income range. Housing affordability pressures are severe in Auburn-South, with only 78.8% of income remaining after housing costs, ranking at the 31st percentile.

Auburn - South is characterized by a predominantly suburban housing profile, with above-average rates of outright home ownership

In Auburn - South, as assessed in the latest Census, 72.8% of dwellings were houses while 27.1% consisted of other types such as semi-detached homes, apartments, and 'other' dwellings. This contrasts with Sydney metro's figures of 33.5% houses and 66.5% other dwellings. Home ownership in Auburn - South was recorded at 30.7%, with mortgaged dwellings at 32.4% and rented ones at 36.8%. The median monthly mortgage repayment in the area stood at $2,167, aligning with Sydney metro's average, while median weekly rent was $435 compared to Sydney metro's $2,167 and $470 respectively. Nationally, Auburn - South's mortgage repayments were significantly higher than the Australian average of $1,863, and rents were substantially above the national figure of $375.

Auburn - South features high concentrations of family households and group households, with a higher-than-average median household size

Family households constitute 80.2% of all households, including 48.9% couples with children, 16.9% couples without children, and 12.7% single parent families. Non-family households comprise the remaining 19.8%, with lone person households at 15.5% and group households making up 4.4% of the total. The median household size is 3.5 people, larger than the Greater Sydney average of 2.8.

Educational outcomes in Auburn - South fall within the lower quartile nationally, indicating opportunities for improvement in qualification attainment

The area has university qualification rates at 25.6%, significantly lower than the SA3 average of 39.9%. This presents both challenges and opportunities for targeted educational initiatives. Bachelor degrees are most common at 18.1%, followed by postgraduate qualifications at 6.3% and graduate diplomas at 1.2%. Vocational pathways account for 22.6% of qualifications among those aged 15 and above, with advanced diplomas at 10.0% and certificates at 12.6%.

Educational participation is high, with 35.9% of residents currently enrolled in formal education. This includes 12.2% in primary education, 9.0% in secondary education, and 7.5% pursuing tertiary education. The area has two schools serving primary education: St Joseph the Worker Catholic Primary School and Auburn West Public School, with a total of 672 students. Auburn - South demonstrates typical Australian school conditions (ICSEA: 979) with balanced educational opportunities. Both schools focus exclusively on primary education, with secondary options available in surrounding areas. The area has 7.2 school places per 100 residents, below the regional average of 10.8, indicating some students may attend schools in adjacent areas.

Transport servicing is moderate compared to other areas nationally based on assessment of service frequency, route connectivity and accessibility

Transport analysis shows 49 active transport stops operating within Auburn - South. These stops service a mix of buses along 21 individual routes, providing 594 weekly passenger trips collectively. Transport accessibility is rated excellent with residents typically located 119 meters from the nearest stop.

Service frequency averages 84 trips per day across all routes, equating to approximately 12 weekly trips per stop.

Auburn - South's residents boast exceedingly positive health performance metrics with younger cohorts in particular seeing very low prevalence of common health conditions

Health outcomes data shows excellent results in Auburn-South, with younger cohorts particularly having a very low prevalence of common health conditions. Approximately 45% of the total population (~4,205 people) has private health cover, compared to 48.5% across Greater Sydney and the national average of 55.3%. Diabetes and arthritis were found to be the most common medical conditions in the area, affecting 5.6 and 5.2% of residents respectively.

A total of 79.3% of residents declared themselves completely clear of medical ailments, compared to 83.5% across Greater Sydney. The area has 13.0% of residents aged 65 and over (1,210 people), which is higher than the 11.1% in Greater Sydney. Health outcomes among seniors require more attention than those in the broader population despite being above average.

Auburn - South is among the most culturally diverse areas in the country based on AreaSearch assessment of a range of language and cultural background related metrics

Auburn-South is among the most culturally diverse areas in Australia, with 55.5% of its population born overseas and 80.2% speaking a language other than English at home. The predominant religion in Auburn-South is Islam, comprising 47.7% of people, compared to 23.4% across Greater Sydney. In terms of ancestry, the top three groups are Other (34.4%), Chinese (23.0%), and Lebanese (11.4%), significantly higher than regional averages of 8.9%, 5.6%, and 4.1% respectively.

Notably, Korean is overrepresented at 1.4% in Auburn-South compared to 7.7% regionally, Vietnamese at 2.7% compared to 2.6%, and Sri Lankan at 0.5% compared to 0.5%.

Auburn - South's young demographic places it in the bottom 15% of areas nationwide

Auburn-South's median age is 33, which is younger than Greater Sydney's figure of 37 and Australia's national average of 38 years. Compared to Greater Sydney, Auburn-South has a higher proportion of residents aged 5-14 (14.4%) but fewer residents aged 45-54 (10.6%). Between the 2021 Census and now, the population share of those aged 15-24 has increased from 14.0% to 15.3%, while the 35-44 age group has grown from 12.5% to 13.6%. Conversely, the 55-64 age cohort has decreased from 11.7% to 10.3%. By 2041, population forecasts indicate significant demographic changes for Auburn-South. The 75-84 age group is projected to grow by 99%, adding 332 residents to reach a total of 670. This growth reflects broader demographic aging, with residents aged 65 and older representing 60% of the anticipated population increase. Meanwhile, the 25-34 and 5-14 age cohorts are expected to experience population declines.