Chatswood, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Chatswood is a busy commercial centre on Sydney's Lower North Shore, about 10 km north of the city centre, and the administrative seat of the City of Willoughby. Its name comes from Charlotte Harnett, wife of an early mayor and district pioneer, Richard Harnett: her nickname 'Chattie' and the area's once-wooded character gave 'Chattie's Wood', soon shortened to Chatswood. Residential settlement began in 1876 and grew quickly after the North Shore railway opened in 1890 and the Harbour Bridge in 1932. Once a place of orchards, dairy farms and factories, Chatswood is today one of the North Shore's major retail and office hubs, its shops lining Victoria Avenue beneath a cluster of high-rise towers, and home to a large and diverse community.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Chatswood is more socio-economically advantaged than about 96% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1113, 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 Chatswood 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 Chatswood 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
96/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (96/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
3/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $577 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 3% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Amenities & access
92/100Plenty mapped nearby
About 292 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.
Chatswood at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 25,553
- Median age
- 37
- Median weekly household income
- $2,158
- SEIFA score
- 1113
- Local government area
- Willoughby
- Coordinates
- -33.7958, 151.1812
Map of Chatswood
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Chatswood
What it costs to live in Chatswood and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $577
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $2,858
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 46%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 50%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Chatswood demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Chatswood demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Chatswood 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 35% and 64% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 4,277 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 2,815 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 8,873 | 35% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 5,729 | 22% |
| Seniors (65+) | 3,852 | 15% |
Share of the 25,546 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 2,489 | 26% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,905 | 20% |
| Rented | 4,778 | 50% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 2,660 | 28% |
| Townhouses & semis | 414 | 4% |
| Flats & apartments | 6,442 | 68% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 9,531 occupied private dwellings in Chatswood.
- Average household size
- 2.5 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,455
- Median weekly personal income
- $938
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 15,840 (64%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 15,595 (64%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 55 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 17,019 (83%)
- Labour-force participation
- 60.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.5%
- Employed full-time
- 7,472
- Employed part-time
- 3,467
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 Chatswood
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Chatswood is January (average daytime high around 25.7°C) and the coolest is July (around 16.5°C). The area receives roughly 1084 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25.7°C | 19.3°C | 104 mm |
| Feb | 25.1°C | 19°C | 119 mm |
| Mar | 24°C | 18°C | 186 mm |
| Apr | 21.9°C | 15°C | 100 mm |
| May | 19.2°C | 11.7°C | 56 mm |
| Jun | 16.5°C | 9.8°C | 74 mm |
| Jul | 16.5°C | 8.7°C | 70 mm |
| Aug | 17.3°C | 9.2°C | 67 mm |
| Sep | 19.6°C | 11.3°C | 55 mm |
| Oct | 21.8°C | 13.7°C | 92 mm |
| Nov | 22.8°C | 15.5°C | 78 mm |
| Dec | 24.7°C | 17.5°C | 83 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Places in and around Chatswood
Amenities mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre, from OpenStreetMap. A guide to what's nearby — not a complete directory.
Eat & drink
163+ nearbyChatswood Hotel · Mamak · Mellow Sweets · Bao Dao Taiwanese Kitchen · La Latina · McDonald's
Parks & recreation
36+ nearbyCrunch Fitness · Fitness First · F45 Training · Yoga Hotspot · Anytime Fitness · Movement101 | Body101
Shops & groceries
31+ nearbyColes Chatswood Chase · EzyMart · Aldi · Coles Local · Tongli · Asian City
Healthcare
37+ nearbyChatswood Medical & Dental Centre · Bentleigh Dental Care · Chatswood Dental Centre · Chats Dental · TerryWhite Chemmart · Healthpac
Schools & education
12+ nearbyKU Chatswood Community Preschool · Kookaburra Kindergarten · Swan Academy · Only about children · Proed · Chatswood Public School
Things to do
13+ nearbyHoyts · Ripple · Visiting Enki · Here to stay · Fish Youth Centre · MOSAIC Multicultural Centre
Eat & drink in and around Chatswood
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- Allure CafeCafé640-650 Pacific Highway
- An Viet ChatswoodRestaurant370 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood
- B2BCafé
- Bao Dao Taiwanese KitchenRestaurant376 Shop 8 Victoria Avenue, Chatswoodbaodao.com.au
- BeauteaCafé427-441 Victoria Avenue
- Blend CaféCafé7 Victor Street, Chatswood
- Burger PatchRestaurant
- Chatswood BBQ and HotpotRestaurant
- Chatswood BBQ RestaurantRestaurant
- Chatswood HotelPub
- Chimi ChuriCafé6 Help Street
- Clay Pot KitchenRestaurant
- CoffeehoodCafé
- CupparomaCafé
- Domino'sTakeaway
- Doodee NoodleRestaurantdodee.com.au
- EbisuRestaurant
- Gong ChaCafé
- Hakata MaruRestaurant
- Hand Made Brown Sugar PearlCafé
- Hero SushiTakeaway
- Hu's Inn Taiwanese CuisineRestaurant84 Archer Streethusinn.com.au
- Ju Wei XiangRestaurant
- KaiCafé316 Victoria Avenue
- Kay Japanese RestaurantRestaurant369 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood
- Khao PlaRestaurant370-374 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood
- Kuma Don YakinikuTakeaway
- La LatinaRestaurant82 Archer Street, Chatswood
- Lamb & CuminTakeaway
- Machi machiCafé
- Mama MulanRestaurantmamamulan.com.au
- MamakRestaurant1-5 Railway Streetmamak.com.au
- Man-ChuRestaurant
- McDonald'sTakeaway
- Mellow SweetsCafé
- Mr StonepotRestaurant427-441 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood
- Nando'sRestaurant
- Naruto Japanese RestaurantRestaurant
- PattisonsCafé
- Red Chilli Sichuan RestaurantRestaurant
- Salt & Light Fusion CafeCafé
- ShabushabuRestaurant
- ShareteaCafé
- Skewers GoRestaurant
- Smoque BrassiereRestaurant409 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood
- Sushi HubRestaurant
- Tea & CoCafé
- Tea Square CafeCafé
- The Great Northern HotelRestaurant
- The Northeast RestaurantRestaurant
- The Orchard HotelPub
- Ting Hao ARestaurant
- Uncle Chuan ChuanTakeaway
- Viet SensesRestaurant375 Victoria Avenue
- Waffy ChoccyCafé
- White TableCafé
- WOWBBQ ChatswoodRestaurantArcher Street, Chatswoodinstagram.com
- Yatai Ozeki ChatswoodTakeaway1 Anderson Street
- YayoiRestaurant
- Zhangliang MalatangRestaurant300A Victoria Avenue
Showing 60 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 Chatswood
Lived here or spent time in Chatswood? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Chatswood
Is Chatswood 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, Chatswood rates 72/100 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 Chatswood?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Chatswood was $577, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,858. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Chatswood?
Chatswood is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Willoughby local government area.
What is the population of Chatswood?
At the 2021 Census, Chatswood had a population of about 25,553.
Is Chatswood an advantaged area?
Chatswood has an ABS SEIFA score of 1113, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 96 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 96% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Chatswood?
Chatswood has average daytime highs of about 21.3°C and overnight lows of about 14.1°C, with roughly 1,084 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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