Dulwich Hill - Lewisham

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

Dulwich Hill - Lewisham's population is approximately 19,119 as of February 2026. This figure represents an increase of 1,171 people since the 2021 Census, which recorded a population of 17,948. The change is inferred from ABS estimates of 18,681 in June 2024 and additional validated new addresses since the Census date. This results in a population density ratio of 7,081 persons per square kilometer, placing it within the top 10% of national locations assessed by AreaSearch. Over the past decade, Dulwich Hill - Lewisham has exhibited resilient growth patterns with an annual compound growth rate of 0.8%, surpassing its SA4 region's growth. Overseas migration contributed approximately 73.2% of overall population gains during recent periods.

AreaSearch adopts 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 uses 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 the years 2032 to 2041. According to demographic trends, national areas are expected to have lower quartile growth moving forward. Dulwich Hill - Lewisham is projected to grow by 315 persons to 2041 based on the latest annual ERP population numbers, reflecting a reduction of 0.6% in total over the 17 years.

AreaSearch assessment of residential development drivers sees a low level of activity in Dulwich Hill - Lewisham, placing the area among the bottom 25% of areas assessed nationally

Dulwich Hill - Lewisham has seen approximately 36 new homes approved annually. Over the past five financial years, from FY21 to FY25, around 184 homes were approved, with a further 146 approved in FY26 so far. On average, about 1.4 people moved to the area each year for every dwelling built during these five years. However, this ratio has recently increased to 31.2 people per dwelling over the past two financial years, suggesting growing popularity and potential undersupply.

The average expected construction cost value of new homes is around $291,000, aligning with regional patterns. This year, $5.7 million in commercial approvals have been registered, indicating the area's residential character. Compared to Greater Sydney, Dulwich Hill - Lewisham has significantly less development activity, at 60.0% below the regional average per person. This constrained new construction typically reinforces demand and pricing for existing dwellings. The new building activity shows a skew towards compact living, with 12.0% detached houses and 88.0% medium to high-density housing. This shift from the area's current housing composition (29.0% houses) reflects decreasing availability of developable sites and changing lifestyles, offering affordable entry pathways for downsizers, investors, and first-time purchasers. With around 1962 people per dwelling approval, Dulwich Hill - Lewisham indicates a highly mature market.

Given stable or declining population projections, housing demand pressures are expected to reduce, benefiting potential buyers.

Dulwich Hill - Lewisham has very high levels of nearby infrastructure activity, ranking in the top 10% nationally

Changes to local infrastructure significantly influence an area's performance. AreaSearch has identified 37 projects likely impacting the area. Key projects include Cooks to Cove GreenWay, JF Laxton Reserve Upgrade, Sydney Metro Sydenham to Bankstown Conversion, and Dulwich Hill Village Master Plan. The following list details those most relevant.

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

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The employment landscape in Dulwich Hill - Lewisham shows performance that lags behind national averages across key labour market indicators

Dulwich Hill - Lewisham has an educated workforce with a notable technology sector presence, and its unemployment rate is 5.1%. As of September 2025, 11,844 residents are employed, with the area's unemployment rate at 5.1%, which is 0.9% higher than Greater Sydney's rate of 4.2%. The workforce participation rate in Dulwich Hill - Lewisham is 76.7%, compared to Greater Sydney's 70.0%.

According to Census data, 60.4% of residents work from home. Employment is concentrated in professional & technical (1.3 times the regional level), health care & social assistance, and education & training sectors. Construction employment is lower than the regional average at 5.5%. The area appears to offer limited local employment opportunities based on Census data comparing working population to resident population.

Between September 2024 and September 2025, labour force levels increased by 0.2%, while employment declined by 0.9%, causing a rise in unemployment rate of 1.0 percentage points. In contrast, Greater Sydney saw employment growth of 2.1% and labour force growth of 2.4%, with an unemployment rate increase of 0.2 percentage points. Jobs and Skills Australia's national employment forecasts from May-25 project national employment growth of 6.6% over five years and 13.7% over ten years. Applying these projections to Dulwich Hill - Lewisham's employment mix suggests local employment should increase by 7.1% over five years and 14.3% over ten years, though this is a simple weighting extrapolation for illustrative purposes and does not account for localised population projections.

Income metrics indicate excellent economic conditions, with the area achieving higher performance than 75% of national locations assessed by AreaSearch

In financial year 2023, Dulwich Hill - Lewisham SA2 had a median income among taxpayers of $72,831 and an average of $92,254, according to AreaSearch's latest postcode level ATO data. Nationally, these figures are extremely high, with Greater Sydney having a median of $60,817 and an average of $83,003. Based on Wage Price Index growth of 8.86% since financial year 2023, estimates for September 2025 would be approximately $79,284 (median) and $100,428 (average). Census 2021 income data shows that incomes in Dulwich Hill - Lewisham rank highly nationally, between the 75th and 90th percentiles. Income analysis reveals that the largest segment comprises 32.3% of residents earning $1,500 to $2,999 weekly, mirroring the metropolitan region where 30.9% occupy this bracket. A substantial proportion of high earners (34.2%) indicates strong economic capacity in the suburb. High housing costs consume 18.5% of income, but strong earnings place disposable income at the 72nd percentile nationally. The area's SEIFA income ranking places it in the 9th decile.

Dulwich Hill - Lewisham features a more urban dwelling mix with significant apartment living, with a higher proportion of rental properties than the broader region

Dwelling structure in Dulwich Hill - Lewisham, as evaluated at the Census conducted in 2016, comprised 28.7% houses and 71.4% other dwellings such as semi-detached homes, apartments, and 'other' dwellings, compared to Sydney metro's 55.9% houses and 44.1% other dwellings. As of the latest data available in 2021, the level of home ownership within Dulwich Hill - Lewisham was at 24.0%, with the remainder of dwellings either mortgaged (28.9%) or rented (47.2%). The median monthly mortgage repayment in the area was $2,600 as of 2021, while the median weekly rent figure was recorded at $480. In comparison, Sydney metro's figures were $2,427 and $470 respectively for mortgage repayments and rents. Nationally, Dulwich Hill - Lewisham's mortgage repayments are significantly higher than the Australian average of $1,863, as per 2021 data, while rents are substantially above the national figure of $375.

Dulwich Hill - Lewisham features high concentrations of group households and lone person households, with a lower-than-average median household size

Family households account for 59.2% of all households, including 23.2% couples with children, 25.5% couples without children, and 9.3% single parent families. Non-family households constitute the remaining 40.8%, with lone person households at 33.6% and group households comprising 7.2%. The median household size is 2.2 people, which is smaller than the Greater Sydney average of 2.7.

Dulwich Hill - Lewisham shows strong educational performance, ranking in the upper quartile nationally when assessed across multiple qualification and achievement indicators

Dulwich Hill - Lewisham's educational attainment is notably higher than broader benchmarks. Among residents aged 15+, 52.0% hold university qualifications, compared to 30.4% in Australia and 32.2% in NSW. Bachelor degrees are the most common at 33.0%, followed by postgraduate qualifications (14.4%) and graduate diplomas (4.6%). Vocational pathways account for 22.0% of qualifications, with advanced diplomas at 10.5% and certificates at 11.5%.

Educational participation is high, with 28.5% currently enrolled in formal education. This includes 8.3% in tertiary education, 7.5% in primary education, and 6.3% pursuing secondary education.

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

Dulwich Hill - Lewisham has 85 active public transport stops offering train, light rail, and bus services. These stops are served by 47 routes, facilitating 12,759 weekly passenger trips in total. The average distance to the nearest stop for residents is 131 meters, indicating excellent accessibility. In this predominantly residential area, most commuters travel outward. Car remains the primary mode of transport at 63%, with train at 17% and bus at 7%. Vehicle ownership averages 0.6 per dwelling, lower than the regional average.

According to the 2021 Census, 60.4% of residents work from home, potentially influenced by COVID-19 conditions. Service frequency across all routes averages 1,822 trips per day, equating to approximately 150 weekly trips per stop.

The level of general health in Dulwich Hill - Lewisham is notably higher than the national average with both young and old age cohorts seeing low prevalence of common health conditions

Dulwich Hill-Lewisham shows superior health outcomes based on AreaSearch's evaluation of mortality rates and chronic condition prevalence. Both young and elderly cohorts exhibit low prevalence of common health conditions. The rate of private health cover is exceptionally high at approximately 67% of the total population (12,771 people), compared to 59.9% across Greater Sydney and a national average of 55.7%.

Mental health issues impact 10.9% of residents, while asthma affects 8.5%. A total of 69.8% declare themselves completely clear of medical ailments, compared to 74.6% in Greater Sydney. Health outcomes among the working-age population are typical. The area has 13.5% of residents aged 65 and over (2,573 people), lower than Greater Sydney's 15.4%. Health outcomes among seniors are above average, with national rankings broadly aligned with the general population.

Dulwich Hill - Lewisham was found to be more culturally diverse than the vast majority of local markets in Australia, upon assessment of a range of language and cultural background related metrics

Dulwich Hill-Lewisham has a higher cultural diversity than most local areas, with 33.5% of its population born overseas and 27.9% speaking a language other than English at home. Christianity is the predominant religion in Dulwich Hill-Lewisham, comprising 38.9% of the population. Notably, Judaism is overrepresented, making up 0.4% compared to 0.8% across Greater Sydney.

The top three ancestry groups are English (20.6%), Australian (17.8%), and Other (12.9%). Some ethnic groups show notable differences: Hungarian (0.5% vs regional 0.3%), Greek (4.4% vs 1.9%), and Lebanese (2.0% vs 2.6%) are overrepresented in Dulwich Hill-Lewisham compared to the region.

Dulwich Hill - Lewisham's population is slightly younger than the national pattern

Dulwich Hill - Lewisham has a median age of 37, matching Greater Sydney's figure of 37 and closely resembling Australia's median age of 38 years. The 25-34 age group is strongly represented at 20.4%, higher than Greater Sydney's percentage. Meanwhile, the 5-14 cohort is less prevalent at 8.0%. Notably, Dulwich Hill - Lewisham has a higher concentration of the 25-34 age group compared to the national average of 14.4%. Between 2021 and the present, the population aged 15 to 24 grew from 10.0% to 11.3%, while those aged 35 to 44 increased from 17.4% to 18.5%. Conversely, the 5-14 age group declined from 9.2% to 8.0%. By 2041, demographic projections indicate significant shifts in Dulwich Hill - Lewisham's age structure. The 85+ cohort is expected to grow by 89%, reaching 690 people from the current 365. This growth will be led by those aged 65 and above, who are projected to comprise 85% of the population growth. However, the 55-64 and 15-24 age groups are expected to experience population declines.