Carlingford, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Carlingford is a suburb of Sydney about 22 kilometres north-west of the central business district, in the City of Parramatta, sitting astride Pennant Hills Road where Northern and Western Sydney meet. The Wallumedegal people lived in the country between the Parramatta and Lane Cove Rivers, and their name is thought to come from wallumai, a word for the snapper, joined with matta, associated with a place or water. From 1804 the area lay within the Field of Mars Common, and through the 19th century it became orchard country, its hills planted with oranges, stone fruit, apples and pears. The name Carlingford was adopted in 1883 for the post office at Mobbs Hill; one account traces it to a worker who likened the hill to the town of Carlingford in County Louth, Ireland, another to Lord Carlingford, a British colonial under-secretary. The selective James Ruse Agricultural High School, opened in 1959, recalls the district's farming past, and a light-rail station reached the suburb in 2024.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Carlingford is more socio-economically advantaged than about 93% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1085, 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.
Is Carlingford a good place to live?
There’s no single answer — it depends on what matters to you. So instead of one mystery number, we break it down: a transparent score on each part of life we can back with public data, and an honest “not yet” on the parts we can’t.
Strong on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 3 components we can score for Carlingford from public data. It sits alongside — and reconciles with — the socio-economic Suburb Score above; it is a transparent read, not a complete verdict.
Socio-economic advantage
93/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (93/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
6/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $500 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 6% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Amenities & access
80/100Plenty mapped nearby
About 144 everyday places (cafés, shops, services and more) mapped within ~1.2 km of the centre. · OpenStreetMap
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Green spaceNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap green-space mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- TransportNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap public-transport mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- SchoolsNot scored yet — school performance (ACARA / ICSEA) needs a data-reuse licence cleared before we can publish it.
- SafetyNot scored yet — Australia has no single open crime dataset and safety data carries defamation and legal care, so it is gated pending a go/no-go and will be data-only when added.
- CommunityNot scored yet — we won't reduce community to a number from a proxy. We'd rather leave it open than publish an invented value judgement.
A transparent read on public data, not a verdict — and not a measure of any person or community. See our methodology for how each component is worked out and why some aren’t scored yet.
Carlingford at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 28,044
- Median age
- 38
- Median weekly household income
- $2,084
- SEIFA score
- 1085
- Local government area
- Parramatta
- Coordinates
- -33.7745, 151.0454
Map of Carlingford
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Carlingford
What it costs to live in Carlingford and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $500
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $2,500
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 64%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 33%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Carlingford demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Carlingford demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Carlingford 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 28% and 57% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 5,858 | 21% |
| Youth (15–24) | 3,036 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 7,984 | 28% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 6,646 | 24% |
| Seniors (65+) | 4,512 | 16% |
Share of the 28,036 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 2,761 | 30% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 3,077 | 34% |
| Rented | 2,982 | 33% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 5,286 | 58% |
| Townhouses & semis | 1,134 | 12% |
| Flats & apartments | 2,682 | 29% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 9,111 occupied private dwellings in Carlingford.
- Average household size
- 3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,181
- Median weekly personal income
- $791
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 15,519 (57%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 17,906 (66%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 115 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 16,676 (79%)
- Labour-force participation
- 58.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.2%
- Employed full-time
- 7,106
- Employed part-time
- 3,592
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 Carlingford
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Carlingford is January (average daytime high around 28.4°C) and the coolest is July (around 16.8°C). The area receives roughly 854 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28.4°C | 18.6°C | 85 mm |
| Feb | 27.1°C | 18.1°C | 92 mm |
| Mar | 25.4°C | 16.9°C | 139 mm |
| Apr | 22.9°C | 13.6°C | 72 mm |
| May | 19.7°C | 10°C | 37 mm |
| Jun | 16.7°C | 8°C | 57 mm |
| Jul | 16.8°C | 7.1°C | 56 mm |
| Aug | 17.9°C | 7.6°C | 52 mm |
| Sep | 20.9°C | 9.8°C | 44 mm |
| Oct | 23.7°C | 12.6°C | 77 mm |
| Nov | 25.2°C | 14.7°C | 73 mm |
| Dec | 27.5°C | 16.9°C | 70 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Places in and around Carlingford
Amenities mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre, from OpenStreetMap. A guide to what's nearby — not a complete directory.
Eat & drink
16 nearbyKFC · McDonald's · Jane's Kitchen · Carlingford Gourmet Pizza · Domino's · Fortune Bites
Parks & recreation
100 nearbyFitness First · Carlile Swimming Carlingford · Carlingford Skatepark · Hunts Creek Reserve · John Wearn Reserve · Carlingford Memorial Park
Shops & groceries
7 nearbyWoolworths · Coles · Jusco Supermarket · Tongli Supermarket · Medmart · Caltex Star Mart
Healthcare
3 nearbyMediAdvice · Priceline Pharmacy · Chemist Warehouse
Schools & education
12 nearbyNorth Rocks Child Care Centre · Carlingford Public School · Cumberland High School · Carlingford West Public School · Saint Gerards Catholic Primary School · Carlingford High School
Things to do
6 nearbyCarlingford Library · Waterfall Art Gallery · Sydney Australia Temple · 1st Carlingford Scout Group
Eat & drink in and around Carlingford
Cafés, restaurants, pubs and takeaway mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre. Listings are drawn from OpenStreetMap and shown as plain data — we don't rank or rate them.
Own a café, restaurant or pub around here?
Claim your listing to feature it at the top of this section. Placement is paid advertising, clearly labelled — never editorial opinion.
Claim this listing- CanteenRestaurant
- Carlingford Bowling ClubPub334 Pennant Hills Road
- Carlingford Gourmet PizzaTakeaway285C Pennant Hills Road, Carlingfordcarlingfordgourmetpizza.com.au
- Domino'sTakeaway312b Pennant Hills Road, Carlingford
- Fortune BitesRestaurant
- Fortune PalaceRestaurantfortunepalacecarlingford.com.au
- Great FoodRestaurant
- Guzman y GomezTakeaway
- Hotpot PalaceRestaurant
- Jane's KitchenRestaurantPennant Hills Road
- KFCTakeawaykfc.com.au
- McDonald'sTakeawaymcdonalds.com.au
- OportoTakeaway
- SubwayTakeaway
Showing 14 mapped places; more may exist that aren't yet on OpenStreetMap.
Listings © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Own a venue here? Suggest a correction.
Share your local knowledge of Carlingford
Lived here or spent time in Carlingford? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Carlingford
Is Carlingford a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage, housing affordability and amenities, Carlingford rates 68/100 overall (Strong on the data we score). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Carlingford?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Carlingford was $500, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,500. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Carlingford?
Carlingford is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Parramatta local government area.
What is the population of Carlingford?
At the 2021 Census, Carlingford had a population of about 28,044.
Is Carlingford an advantaged area?
Carlingford has an ABS SEIFA score of 1085, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 93 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 93% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Carlingford?
Carlingford has average daytime highs of about 22.7°C and overnight lows of about 12.8°C, with roughly 854 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
How big is Carlingford?
Carlingford is one of the most populous suburbs in New South Wales — the 18th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 28,044 usual residents).
Where Carlingford ranks
Carlingford 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#18 of 25
Nearby suburbs in New South Wales
More suburb guides in New South Wales
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.