Forestville (NSW)

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

As of February 2026, the population of the suburb of Forestville (NSW) is estimated at around 8,731 people. This figure reflects an increase of 72 individuals since the 2021 Census, which recorded a population of 8,659 people. The change was inferred from AreaSearch's resident population estimate of 8,686 following examination of the latest ERP data release by the ABS in June 2024 and an additional 24 validated new addresses since the Census date. This results in a population density ratio of 1,889 persons per square kilometer, which is higher than the average seen across national locations assessed by AreaSearch. Forestville's growth rate of 0.8% since the Census places it within 2.5 percentage points of the SA3 area's growth rate of 3.3%, indicating competitive growth fundamentals. Overseas migration was primarily responsible for population gains in recent periods.

AreaSearch is adopting 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. Growth rates by age group from these aggregations are applied to all areas for the years 2032 to 2041. Demographic trends suggest lower quartile growth for statistical areas analysed by AreaSearch, with the suburb expected to increase by 355 persons to reach a total population of 9,086 by 2041, reflecting an overall increase of 3.5% over the 17-year period.

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

Forestville has seen approximately 13 dwelling approvals annually over the past five financial years, totalling around 65 homes. In FY26 so far, there have been 9 recorded approvals. On average, 0.5 new residents per year have arrived with each new home built between FY21 and FY25, suggesting supply meets or exceeds demand. The average construction cost of these dwellings is $866,000, indicating a focus on the premium segment.

This financial year has seen $90,000 in commercial approvals registered, reflecting Forestville's residential nature. Compared to Greater Sydney, Forestville has roughly half the rate of new dwelling approvals per person. Nationally, it ranks around the 46th percentile for areas assessed, suggesting relatively constrained buyer choice and supporting interest in existing homes. However, building activity has increased recently.

Recent construction comprises 88.0% detached houses and 12.0% attached dwellings, maintaining Forestville's traditional suburban character. With approximately 354 people per dwelling approval, Forestville shows a developed market. According to AreaSearch's latest quarterly estimate, the area is forecasted to gain around 310 residents by 2041. At current development rates, new housing supply should comfortably meet demand, providing good conditions for buyers and potentially supporting growth beyond current population projections.

Forestville 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 20 projects likely to influence the area. Notable ones include Forestway Shopping Centre Redevelopment, Forestville RSL Club Redevelopment, Angel Place Seniors Living, and Forest High School Science and Technology Centre. The following list details those most relevant.

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.

Employment performance in Forestville exceeds national averages across key labour market indicators

Forestville has a highly educated workforce with strong professional services representation, an unemployment rate of 2.9% as per AreaSearch's statistical area data aggregation. As of December 2025, 4,462 residents are employed while the unemployment rate is 1.3% below Greater Sydney's rate of 4.2%. Workforce participation in Forestville is lower at 65.5%, compared to Greater Sydney's 70.2%.

Census responses indicate that 54.3% of residents work from home, potentially influenced by Covid-19 lockdowns. Dominant employment sectors include professional & technical, health care & social assistance, and education & training. Forestville has a notable concentration in professional & technical jobs, with levels at 1.3 times the regional average. Conversely, transport, postal & warehousing is under-represented, comprising only 2.7% of Forestville's workforce compared to Greater Sydney's 5.3%.

The predominantly residential area appears to offer limited local employment opportunities. Between December 2024 and December 2025, the labour force decreased by 0.2%, while employment declined by 0.8%, leading to a rise in unemployment rate of 0.7 percentage points. In contrast, Greater Sydney experienced employment growth of 2.2% and labour force growth of 2.3%. Jobs and Skills Australia's national employment forecasts from May-25 project overall employment growth of 6.6% over five years and 13.7% over ten years. Applying these projections to Forestville's employment mix suggests local employment should increase by 7.2% over five years and 14.4% over ten years, though this is a simple weighting extrapolation for illustrative purposes and does not consider localized population projections.

The area exhibits notably strong income performance, ranking higher than 70% of areas assessed nationally through AreaSearch analysis

Forestville's median taxpayer income was $58,481 with an average of $98,558 in financial year 2023. This is among the top percentile nationally, contrasting with Greater Sydney's median income of $60,817 and average income of $83,003. By September 2025, current estimates would be approximately $63,662 (median) and $107,290 (average), based on a Wage Price Index growth of 8.86% since financial year 2023. According to the 2021 Census, household incomes rank exceptionally at the 90th percentile ($2,507 weekly). Income analysis reveals that 32.1% of locals (2,802 people) fall into the $4000+ category, differing from the surrounding region where the $1,500 - 2,999 category predominates at 30.9%. The locality demonstrates considerable affluence with 43.4% earning over $3,000 per week. High housing costs consume 16.8% of income, though strong earnings place disposable income at the 89th percentile. The area's SEIFA income ranking places it in the 9th decile.

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

Forestville's dwelling structure, as per the latest Census, consisted of 80.4% houses and 19.6% other dwellings (semi-detached, apartments, 'other' dwellings), contrasting with Sydney metro's 55.9% houses and 44.1% other dwellings. Home ownership in Forestville stood at 41.2%, with mortgaged dwellings at 38.3% and rented ones at 20.5%. The median monthly mortgage repayment was $3,250, higher than Sydney metro's average of $2,427. The median weekly rent in Forestville was $650, compared to Sydney metro's $470. Nationally, Forestville's mortgage repayments were significantly higher at $3,250 versus the Australian average of $1,863, and rents were substantially above the national figure of $375.

Forestville features high concentrations of family households, with a higher-than-average median household size

Family households account for 78.1% of all households, including 46.2% couples with children, 21.4% couples without children, and 9.6% single parent families. Non-family households constitute the remaining 21.9%, with lone person households at 21.0% and group households comprising 1.1%. The median household size is 2.9 people, which is larger than the Greater Sydney average of 2.7.

Forestville demonstrates exceptional educational outcomes, ranking among the top 5% of areas nationally based on AreaSearch's comprehensive analysis of qualification and performance metrics

Forestville's educational attainment exceeds national averages. Among residents aged 15+, 43.2% hold university qualifications compared to Australia's 30.4% and NSW's 32.2%. Bachelor degrees are most prevalent at 28.6%, followed by postgraduate qualifications (11.0%) and graduate diplomas (3.6%). Vocational credentials are also common, with 25.8% of residents holding such qualifications - advanced diplomas (11.2%) and certificates (14.6%).

Educational participation is high, with 33.4% currently enrolled in formal education. This includes 11.7% in primary, 11.1% in secondary, and 5.6% pursuing tertiary education.

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

Forestville has 41 active public transport stops, offering a mix of bus services. These stops are served by 53 different routes, collectively facilitating 3802 weekly passenger trips. Transport accessibility is rated good, with residents typically residing 298 meters from the nearest stop. Predominantly residential, most Forestville residents commute outward, with car being the primary mode at 85%, and bus at 7%. Vehicle ownership averages 1.4 per dwelling, above the regional average. According to the 2021 Census, a high 54.3% of residents work from home, potentially due to COVID-19 conditions.

Service frequency averages 543 trips daily across all routes, equating to approximately 92 weekly trips per individual stop.

Forestville'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 Forestville. AreaSearch's assessment found low prevalence of common health conditions across both young and old age cohorts. The rate of private health cover was exceptionally high at approximately 66% of the total population (5743 people), compared to 59.9% across Greater Sydney, with a national average of 55.7%.

The most common medical conditions in the area were arthritis and asthma, impacting 7.1 and 6.2% of residents respectively. A total of 73.2% of residents declared themselves completely clear of medical ailments, compared to 74.6% across Greater Sydney. Forestville has 19.8% of residents aged 65 and over (1728 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.

Forestville 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

Forestville's population showed higher cultural diversity than most local markets, with 33.2% born overseas and 25.4% speaking a language other than English at home. Christianity was the predominant religion, accounting for 54.1%. Judaism, while small at 0.8%, was proportionally similar to Greater Sydney's 0.8%.

The top three ancestry groups were English (25.4%), Australian (21.8%), and Other (13.6%). Notably, French (1.9%) and Serbian (0.6%) were overrepresented compared to regional averages of 0.5% each. Croatian was also relatively high at 1.0%, versus the region's 0.7%.

Forestville hosts a notably older demographic compared to the national average

The median age in Forestville is 43 years, which is higher than Greater Sydney's average of 37 years and exceeds the national average of 38 years. The age profile shows that those aged 5-14 years make up 15.2% of the population, while those aged 25-34 years constitute only 5.6%. Between 2021 and present, the proportion of individuals aged 15 to 24 has increased from 12.2% to 15.7%, while the percentage of those aged 45 to 54 has decreased from 16.3% to 15.0%. By 2041, demographic projections indicate significant shifts in Forestville's age structure. The number of individuals aged 65-74 is projected to increase by 280 people (40%), from 707 to 988. Notably, the combined population of those aged 65 and above will account for 90% of total population growth, reflecting Forestville's aging demographic profile. Conversely, the populations of individuals aged 15-24 and 0-4 are expected to decline.