Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee

An assessment of population growth drivers in Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee reveals an overall ranking slightly below national averages considering recent, and medium term trends

Based on AreaSearch's analysis, Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee's population is around 18,271 as of Feb 2026. This reflects an increase of 80 people (0.4%) since the 2021 Census, which reported a population of 18,191 people. The change is inferred from the estimated resident population of 18,222 from the ABS as of June 2024 and an additional 36 validated new addresses since the Census date. This population level equates to a density ratio of 1,370 persons per square kilometer, which is above the average seen across national locations assessed by AreaSearch. Population growth for the area was primarily driven by overseas migration, which was essentially the sole driver of population gains during recent periods.

AreaSearch is adopting ABS/Geoscience Australia projections for each SA2 area, as released in 2024 with 2022 as the base year. For any SA2 areas not covered by this data, AreaSearch is utilising the NSW State Government's SA2 level projections, as released in 2022 with 2021 as the base year. Growth rates by age group from these aggregations are also applied to all areas for years 2032 to 2041. Regarding demographic trends, a population increase just below the median of national statistical areas is expected, with the area expected to grow by 1,312 persons to 2041 based on the latest annual ERP population numbers, reflecting a gain of 6.9% in total over the 17 years.

AreaSearch analysis of residential development drivers sees Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee recording a relatively average level of approval activity when compared to local markets analysed countrywide

Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee has seen around 61 new homes approved each year, totalling 307 homes over the past 5 financial years. So far in FY-26139 approvals have been recorded. As the area has experienced population decline, development activity has been adequate in relative terms, which is a positive for buyers, while new homes are being built at an average construction cost of $830,000, demonstrating a developer focus on the premium segment with upmarket properties. Additionally, $137.0 million in commercial development approvals have been recorded this financial year, suggesting robust local business investment.

When measured against Greater Sydney, Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee shows 13.0% lower construction activity (per person) and places within the 71st percentile of areas assessed nationally, though building activity has accelerated in recent years. This level is likewise lower than the national average, reflecting market maturity and pointing to possible development constraints. Recent construction comprises 52.0% detached houses and 48.0% medium and high-density housing, with a growing mix of townhouses and apartments providing options across different price points, from family homes to more affordable compact living. This marks a significant departure from existing housing patterns (currently 75.0% houses), suggesting diminishing developable land availability and responding to evolving lifestyle preferences and housing affordability needs. With around 226 people per dwelling approval, Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee shows characteristics of a low density area.

Future projections show Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee adding 1,263 residents by 2041 (from the latest AreaSearch quarterly estimate). At current development rates, new housing supply should comfortably meet demand, providing good conditions for buyers and potentially supporting growth beyond current population projections.

Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee has moderate levels of nearby infrastructure activity, ranking in the 49thth percentile nationally

Nothing can influence an area's performance as much as changes to local infrastructure, major projects, and planning initiatives. In total 37 projects have been identified by AreaSearch that are likely to have an impact on the area. Key projects include The Residences at Wahroonga Estate, Braeside Street Road Upgrade, Sydney Adventist Hospital Redevelopment, and Hammondcare Hospital And Seniors Housing Development, with the list below detailing those likely to be of most relevance.

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

Denotes AI-based impression for illustrative purposes only, not to be taken as definitive under any circumstances. Please follow links and conduct other investigations from the project's source for actual imagery. Developers and project owners wishing us to use original imagery please Contact Us and we will do so.

Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee has seen below average employment performance when compared to national benchmarks

Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee possesses a highly educated workforce, with the technology sector a particular standout in terms of representation, an unemployment rate of 4.0%, and relative employment stability over the past year. As of December 2025, 9,104 residents are in work while the unemployment rate is 0.2% below Greater Sydney's rate of 4.2%, and workforce participation lags significantly (62.9% compared to Greater Sydney's 70.2%). Based on Census responses, a high 61.3% of residents were found to work from home, though Covid-19 lockdown impacts should be considered.

Leading employment industries among residents comprise professional & technical, health care & social assistance, and finance & insurance. The area has particular employment specialization in professional & technical, with an employment share of 1.6 times the regional level. Meanwhile, construction has limited presence with 5.0% employment compared to 8.6% regionally. The predominantly residential area appears to offer limited employment opportunities locally, as indicated by the count of Census working population vs resident population.

Based on AreaSearch analysis of SALM and ABS data, over the 12 months to December 2025, labour force levels increased by 0.9% combined with employment decreasing by 0.2%, causing the unemployment rate to rise by 1.1 percentage points. This compares to Greater Sydney, where employment grew by 2.2%, labour force expanded by 2.3%, and unemployment rose marginally. Jobs and Skills Australia's national employment forecasts from May-25 can offer further insight into potential future demand within Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee. These projections, covering five and ten-year periods, have been mapped against the local employment profile to estimate growth patterns. While national employment is forecast to expand by 6.6% over five years and 13.7% over ten years, growth rates differ significantly between industry sectors. Applying these industry-specific projections to Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee's employment mix suggests local employment should increase by 7.7% over five years and 15.4% over ten years (please note this is a simple weighting extrapolation for illustrative purposes and does not take into account localised population projections).

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

According to AreaSearch's aggregation of the latest postcode level ATO data released for FY-23, the Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee SA2 had a median income among taxpayers of $66,775 with the average level standing at $116,710. This is among the top percentile nationally and compares to levels of $60,817 and $83,003 across Greater Sydney respectively. Based on Wage Price Index growth of 8.86% since FY-23, current estimates would be approximately $72,691 (median) and $127,051 (average) as of September 2025. Census 2021 income data shows household, family and personal incomes all rank highly in Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee, between the 86th and 98th percentiles nationally. The data shows the $4000+ bracket dominates with 41.7% of residents (7,619 people), diverging from the metropolitan region where the $1,500 - 2,999 category predominates at 30.9%. The district demonstrates considerable affluence with 53.2% earning over $3,000 per week, supporting premium retail and service offerings. Housing accounts for 13.9% of income while strong earnings rank residents within the 98th percentile for disposable income and the area's SEIFA income ranking places it in the 10th decile.

Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee is characterized by a predominantly suburban housing profile, with above-average rates of outright home ownership

Dwelling structure within Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee, as evaluated at the latest Census, comprised 75.1% houses and 25.0% other dwellings (semi-detached, apartments, 'other' dwellings), in comparison to Sydney metro's 55.9% houses and 44.1% other dwellings. Meanwhile, the level of home ownership within Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee was well beyond that of Sydney metro, at 42.5%, with the remainder of dwellings either mortgaged (41.1%) or rented (16.4%). The median monthly mortgage repayment in the area was well above the Sydney metro average at $3,600, while the median weekly rent figure was recorded at $650, compared to Sydney metro's $2,427 and $470. Nationally, Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee's mortgage repayments are significantly higher than the Australian average of $1,863, while rents are substantially above the national figure of $375.

Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee features high concentrations of family households, with a higher-than-average median household size

Family households dominate at 83.9% of all households, comprising 48.1% couples with children, 26.4% couples without children, and 8.7% single parent families. Non-family households make up the remaining 16.1%, with lone person households at 15.0% and group households comprising 1.0% of the total. The median household size of 2.9 people is larger than the Greater Sydney average of 2.7.

Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee demonstrates exceptional educational outcomes, ranking among the top 5% of areas nationally based on AreaSearch's comprehensive analysis of qualification and performance metrics

Educational attainment in Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee significantly surpasses broader benchmarks, with 55.9% of residents aged 15+ holding university qualifications compared to 30.4% in Australia and 32.2% in NSW. This substantial educational advantage positions the area strongly for knowledge-based opportunities. Bachelor degrees lead at 34.4%, followed by postgraduate qualifications (17.7%) and graduate diplomas (3.8%). Vocational pathways account for 18.5% of qualifications among those aged 15+ – advanced diplomas (10.2%) and certificates (8.3%).

Educational participation is notably high, with 33.5% of residents currently enrolled in formal education. This includes 10.7% in secondary education, 10.2% in primary education, and 8.2% pursuing tertiary education.

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

Public transport analysis reveals 131 active transport stops operating within Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee, comprising a mix of trains and buses. These stops are serviced by 54 individual routes, collectively providing 4,696 weekly passenger trips. Transport accessibility is rated as excellent, with residents typically located 184 meters from the nearest transport stop. As a primarily residential area, most residents commute outward; the car remains the dominant mode at 81%, with 10% by train and 5% walking. Vehicle ownership averages 1.6 per dwelling, which is above the regional average. A high 61.3% of residents work from home (2021 Census; may reflect COVID-19 conditions).

Service frequency averages 670 trips per day across all routes, equating to approximately 35 weekly trips per individual stop. The accompanying map shows the 100 nearest stops to the location centrepoint.

Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee's residents boast exceedingly positive health performance metrics with very low prevalence of common health conditions across all age groups

Health outcomes data demonstrates outstanding results across Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee, based on AreaSearch's assessment of mortality rates and chronic condition prevalence. There is a very low prevalence of common health conditions across all age groups, and the rate of private health cover is exceptionally high at approximately 78% of the total population (14,342 people). This compares to 59.9% across Greater Sydney and a national average of 55.7%.

The most common medical conditions in the area are arthritis and asthma, impacting 6.4% and 6.3% of residents, respectively, while 74.1% declared themselves as completely clear of medical ailments compared to 74.6% across Greater Sydney. The area has 21.5% of residents aged 65 and over (3,928 people), which is higher than the 15.4% in Greater Sydney. Health outcomes among seniors are particularly strong, with national rankings broadly in line with the general population.

Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee 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

Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee scores highly on cultural diversity, with 28.0% of its population speaking a language other than English at home and 39.0% born overseas. The main religion in Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee is Christianity, which makes up 52.7% of the population. However, the most apparent overrepresentation was in Judaism, which comprises 0.6% of the population, compared to 0.8% across Greater Sydney.

In terms of ancestry (country of birth of parents), the top three represented groups in Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee are English, comprising 24.6% of the population, which is substantially higher than the regional average of 19.0%, Australian, comprising 18.8% of the population, and Chinese, comprising 12.3% of the population. Additionally, there are notable divergences in the representation of certain other ethnic groups: South Australian is notably overrepresented at 1.7% of Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee (vs 0.5% regionally), Korean at 1.7% (vs 1.1%) and Sri Lankan at 0.6% (vs 0.3%).

Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee's median age exceeds the national pattern

The 43-year median age in Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee is considerably higher than Greater Sydney's average of 37 as well as substantially exceeding the 38-year national average. The age profile shows 45 - 54 year-olds are particularly prominent (15.7%), while the 25 - 34 group is comparatively smaller (5.2%) than in Greater Sydney. Since 2021, the 15 to 24 age group has grown from 14.2% to 16.4% of the population, while the 75 to 84 cohort increased from 6.9% to 8.4%. Conversely, the 35 to 44 cohort has declined from 12.4% to 11.1% and the 25 to 34 group dropped from 6.4% to 5.2%. Looking ahead to 2041, demographic projections reveal significant shifts in Wahroonga (East) - Warrawee's age structure. The 85+ age cohort is projected to grow exceptionally, expanding by 781 people (113%) from 694 to 1,476. Notably, the combined 65+ age groups will account for 91% of total population growth, reflecting the area's aging demographic profile. On the other hand, the 25 to 34 and 15 to 24 cohorts are expected to experience population declines.