Newtown (NSW)
Statistical Area - sa2

An assessment of population growth drivers in Newtown reveals an overall ranking slightly below national averages considering recent, and medium term trends

Newtown NSW's population is approximately 15,506 as of Aug 2025. This figure represents an increase of 839 people since the 2021 Census, which reported a population of 14,667. The ABS estimated resident population in June 2024 was 15,548, with an additional 15 validated new addresses since the Census date contributing to this change. This results in a population density ratio of 9,876 persons per square kilometer, placing Newtown among the top 10% of locations assessed by AreaSearch, indicating high demand for land in the area. Between the Census and Aug 2025, Newtown's population growth rate of 5.7% is within 0.7 percentage points of the state average of 6.4%, suggesting competitive growth fundamentals. Overseas migration contributed approximately 86.3% of overall population gains during recent periods in Newtown.

AreaSearch uses ABS/Geoscience Australia projections for each SA2 area, released in 2024 with a base year of 2022, and NSW State Government's SA2 level projections where applicable, released in 2022 with a base year of 2021. These projections indicate above median population growth is expected for the area until 2041, with an increase of 2,386 persons projected by that year, reflecting a total increase of 15.7% over the 17-year period.

The level of residential development activity in Newtown is very low in comparison to the average area assessed nationally by AreaSearch

Development activity data has been compiled for Newtown.

Compared to Greater Sydney, Newtown's building activity is significantly lower, at 93.0% below the regional average per person. This limited new supply typically supports stronger demand and values for established homes in the area. Nationally, Newtown's building activity level is also lower, indicative of market maturity and potential development constraints. In terms of new building activity, detached houses comprise 25.0%, while medium and high-density housing accounts for 75.0%. This focus on higher-density living offers more affordable entry points, appealing to downsizers, investors, and first-home buyers. Notably, developers are constructing a greater proportion of detached housing than previously indicated (5.0% at Census), reflecting persistent strong demand for family homes in the area. Newtown has approximately 3447 people per dwelling approval, indicative of an established market.

Newtown has very high levels of nearby infrastructure activity, ranking in the top 10% nationally

Changes to local infrastructure significantly impact an area's performance. AreaSearch has identified 36 projects that could affect this region. Notable projects include Federation Place Warehouse Conversion, Our Fairer Future Plan - Inner West Housing Strategy (35,000 New Homes), Coronation Property Erskineville Village, and Park Sydney - Arbor Stage 2. The following list details those most relevant.

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

Newtown has seen below average employment performance when compared to national benchmarks

Newtown in New South Wales (NSW) has a highly educated workforce with a notable technology sector. The unemployment rate was 4.9% as of June 2025.

Over the past year, employment stability was relatively high. There were 10,707 residents employed by June 2025, with an unemployment rate of 5.6%, which is 0.7% higher than Greater Sydney's rate of 4.9%. Workforce participation in Newtown was 74.6%, compared to Greater Sydney's 60.0%. The dominant employment sectors were professional & technical, health care & social assistance, and education & training.

Professional & technical jobs were particularly concentrated, at 1.6 times the regional average. However, construction jobs were under-represented, with only 4.1% of Newtown's workforce compared to 8.6% in Greater Sydney. Many residents commute elsewhere for work based on Census data. Between June 2024 and June 2025, employment increased by 0.4%, while labour force grew by 0.7%, leading to a rise in unemployment rate of 0.2 percentage points. In comparison, Greater Sydney saw employment growth of 2.6% and an unemployment increase of 0.3 percentage points. State-level data from Sep-25 showed NSW employment contracted by 0.41% (losing 19,270 jobs), with the state unemployment rate at 4.3%, compared to the national unemployment rate of 4.5%. National employment forecasts from Jobs and Skills Australia for May 2025 project a 6.6% growth over five years and 13.7% over ten years. Applying these projections to Newtown's employment mix suggests local growth of approximately 7.3% over five years and 14.6% over ten years, based on simple weighting extrapolation for illustrative purposes.

The economic profile demonstrates exceptional strength, placing the area among the top 10% nationally based on comprehensive AreaSearch income analysis

Newtown's income level is among the top percentile nationally according to latest ATO data aggregated by AreaSearch for financial year 2022. Newtown's median income among taxpayers is $68,874 and average income stands at $94,610. Greater Sydney's figures are $56,994 and $80,856 respectively. Based on Wage Price Index growth of 10.6% since financial year 2022, current estimates would be approximately $76,175 (median) and $104,639 (average) as of March 2025. According to 2021 Census figures, household, family and personal incomes all rank highly in Newtown, between the 84th and 95th percentiles nationally. Income distribution shows 29.8% of population (4,620 individuals) fall within $1,500 - $2,999 income range, consistent with broader trends across region showing 30.9% in same category. Substantial proportion of high earners (39.4% above $3,000/week) indicates strong economic capacity throughout suburb. High housing costs consume 21.0% of income, but strong earnings place disposable income at 77th percentile and area's SEIFA income ranking places it in 9th decile.

Newtown displays a diverse mix of dwelling types, with above-average rates of outright home ownership

Newtown's housing structure, as per the latest Census, consisted of 5.1% houses and 94.9% other dwellings (semi-detached, apartments, 'other' dwellings). This contrasts with Sydney metro's figures of 2.3% houses and 97.7% other dwellings. Home ownership in Newtown stood at 17.4%, with mortgaged dwellings at 23.9% and rented ones at 58.6%. The median monthly mortgage repayment was $3,000, significantly higher than Sydney metro's average of $2,705. The median weekly rent in Newtown was $550, matching the Sydney metro figure but substantially higher than the national average of $375. Nationally, Newtown's mortgage repayments were notably higher at $3,000 compared to the Australian average of $1,863.

Newtown features high concentrations of group households and lone person households, with a higher-than-average median household size

Family households account for 49.6% of all households, including 15.3% couples with children, 28.0% couples without children, and 5.1% single parent families. Non-family households constitute the remaining 50.4%, with lone person households at 36.6% and group households comprising 13.9%. The median household size is 2.1 people, which is larger than the Greater Sydney average of 1.9.

Newtown shows strong educational performance, ranking in the upper quartile nationally when assessed across multiple qualification and achievement indicators

Educational attainment in Newtown is notably higher than national averages. Among residents aged 15+, 59.7% hold university qualifications, compared to 30.4% nationally and 32.2% in NSW. University degrees are the most prevalent (38.0%), followed by postgraduate qualifications (17.7%) and graduate diplomas (4.0%). Vocational pathways account for 18.5%, including advanced diplomas (9.1%) and certificates (9.4%).

Educational participation is high, with 28.9% currently enrolled in formal education, comprising 14.0% in tertiary, 5.0% in primary, and 3.8% in secondary education. Newtown has a robust network of six schools educating approximately 2,132 students, with an academic achievement index (ICSEA) of 1115. The educational mix includes four primary, one secondary, and one K-12 school. As an education hub, Newtown offers 13.8 school places per 100 residents, significantly above the regional average of 7.7, attracting students from surrounding communities.

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

Transport analysis indicates 27 active transport stops in Newtown. These consist of a mix of train and bus services. There are 22 individual routes operating across these stops, serving a total of 11,789 weekly passenger trips.

Transport accessibility is rated as excellent, with residents located an average of 144 meters from the nearest transport stop. Service frequency averages 1,684 trips per day across all routes, equating to approximately 436 weekly trips per individual stop.

Newtown's residents are extremely healthy with both young and old age cohorts seeing low prevalence of common health conditions

Analysis of health metrics shows strong performance throughout Newtown. Both young and old age cohorts have low prevalence of common health conditions.

The rate of private health cover is exceptionally high at approximately 69% of the total population (10,745 people), compared to the national average of 55.3%. The most common medical conditions in the area are mental health issues impacting 13.5% of residents and asthma affecting 8.3%. A total of 69.9% of residents declare themselves completely clear of medical ailments, compared to 77.4% across Greater Sydney. As of June 20XX (exact year unknown), the area has 8.8% of residents aged 65 and over (1,361 people). Health outcomes among seniors are above average, broadly in line with the general population's health profile.

Newtown 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

Newtown's cultural diversity was notable, with 17.9% of its population speaking a language other than English at home and 32.3% born overseas. Christianity was the predominant religion in Newtown, accounting for 23.2%. However, Judaism was overrepresented compared to Greater Sydney, comprising 1.1% versus 1.1%.

The top three ancestry groups were English (24.1%), Australian (18.7%), and Irish (11.4%). Notably, French (1.1%) and Spanish (0.8%) ethnicities were overrepresented compared to regional averages of 1.1% and 1.0%, respectively. Welsh ethnicity was also slightly higher at 0.8% versus the regional average of 0.6%.

Newtown hosts a young demographic, positioning it in the bottom quartile nationwide

Newtown's median age is 34 years, which is lower than Greater Sydney's average of 37 years, and considerably younger than Australia's median age of 38 years. Compared to Greater Sydney, Newtown has a higher proportion of residents aged 25-34 (28.8%), but fewer residents aged 5-14 (5.6%). This concentration of 25-34 year-olds is significantly higher than the national average of 14.5%. Between the 2021 Census and present, the proportion of residents aged 15-24 has increased from 13.1% to 15.9%, while the proportion of those aged 45-54 has decreased from 13.5% to 11.6%. By 2041, Newtown's population is projected to experience substantial demographic changes. The 25-34 age group is expected to grow by 52%, adding 2,321 residents to reach a total of 6,793. Conversely, population declines are forecast for the 45-54 and 35-44 age cohorts.