Bankstown, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Bankstown lies in south-western Sydney, about 19 kilometres from the city centre, and is the busy commercial heart of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown. Before European settlement the surrounding Cumberland Plain woodland was the Country of the Bediagal people, whose lands bordered those of the Dharawal and Darug. In 1795 Matthew Flinders and George Bass rowed up the Georges River and reported favourably on the land along its banks; Governor John Hunter soon established one of the colony's pioneer settlements there. He named it after Sir Joseph Banks, the naturalist who had sailed to Australia with Captain James Cook in 1770. The early riverside settlement is partly preserved within Mirambeena Regional Park. From the 1940s Bankstown Airport and wartime aircraft manufacturing drove rapid industrial growth, and post-war migration made the suburb one of the most multicultural in the country. Paul Keating, Australia's twenty-fourth prime minister, grew up locally and is honoured by a park bearing his name.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Bankstown is more socio-economically advantaged than about 15% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 913, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Bankstown at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 34,933
- Median age
- 34
- Median weekly household income
- $1,331
- SEIFA score
- 913
- Coordinates
- -33.9214, 151.0313
Bankstown demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Bankstown using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is young adults (25–44) at 32%, 50% of homes are rented, and 61% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 7,095 | 20% |
| Youth (15–24) | 4,492 | 13% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 11,340 | 32% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 7,682 | 22% |
| Seniors (65+) | 4,310 | 12% |
Share of the 34,919 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 2,346 | 21% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 2,697 | 25% |
| Rented | 5,531 | 50% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 3,292 | 30% |
| Townhouses & semis | 1,112 | 10% |
| Flats & apartments | 6,419 | 58% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 10,978 occupied private dwellings in Bankstown.
- Median weekly rent
- $400
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,800
- Average household size
- 2.9 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,436
- Median weekly personal income
- $542
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 19,758 (61%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 25,708 (80%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 143 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 17,298 (65%)
- Labour-force participation
- 46%
- Unemployment rate
- 10.3%
- Employed full-time
- 5,686
- Employed part-time
- 3,468
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Weather and climate in Bankstown
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Bankstown is January (average daytime high around 27.9°C) and the coolest is July (around 17°C). The area receives roughly 862 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27.9°C | 18.8°C | 83 mm |
| Feb | 26.8°C | 18.3°C | 94 mm |
| Mar | 25.3°C | 17.3°C | 141 mm |
| Apr | 22.8°C | 13.9°C | 72 mm |
| May | 19.8°C | 10.4°C | 40 mm |
| Jun | 16.9°C | 8.4°C | 57 mm |
| Jul | 17°C | 7°C | 57 mm |
| Aug | 18.1°C | 7.6°C | 53 mm |
| Sep | 20.9°C | 9.8°C | 43 mm |
| Oct | 23.5°C | 12.6°C | 78 mm |
| Nov | 24.8°C | 14.7°C | 72 mm |
| Dec | 27.1°C | 17°C | 72 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Bankstown
Where is Bankstown?
Bankstown is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
What is the population of Bankstown?
At the 2021 Census, Bankstown had a population of about 34,933.
Is Bankstown an advantaged area?
Bankstown has an ABS SEIFA score of 913, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 15 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 15% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Bankstown?
Bankstown has average daytime highs of about 22.6°C and overnight lows of about 13°C, with roughly 862 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
How big is Bankstown?
Bankstown is one of the most populous suburbs in New South Wales — the 8th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 34,933 usual residents).
Where Bankstown ranks
Bankstown appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Largest suburbs in New South Wales#8 of 25
- Largest suburbs in Australia#25 of 25
Nearby suburbs in New South Wales
More suburb guides in New South Wales
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.