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.
Carlingford at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 28,044
- Median age
- 38
- Median weekly household income
- $2,084
- SEIFA score
- 1085
- Coordinates
- -33.7745, 151.0454
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%, 33% of homes are rented, 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.
- Median weekly rent
- $500
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,500
- 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).
Common questions about Carlingford
Where is Carlingford?
Carlingford is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
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
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