Dee Why, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Dee Why is a coastal suburb on Sydney's Northern Beaches, about eighteen kilometres north-east of the city and the administrative seat of the Northern Beaches Council. The origin of its unusual name is genuinely uncertain: the earliest record is a cryptic 'Dy Beach' jotted in the surveyor James Meehan's field book in 1815, variously explained as a survey marker or as a word from the local Aboriginal language. Aboriginal people are known to have fished its once wider and deeper lagoon, where black swans gathered in great flocks. Much of the district was later left by Elizabeth Jenkins to the Salvation Army in 1900, whose farm and hostels shaped its early growth before the land was subdivided. Today it is loved for its surf beach and for the free Stony Range Botanic Garden.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Dee Why is more socio-economically advantaged than about 90% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1071, 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 Dee Why 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 Dee Why 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
90/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (90/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
4/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $550 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 4% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Amenities & access
92/100Plenty mapped nearby
About 153 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.
Dee Why at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 23,354
- Median age
- 36
- Median weekly household income
- $2,106
- SEIFA score
- 1071
- Local government area
- Northern Beaches
- Coordinates
- -33.7512, 151.2888
Map of Dee Why
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Dee Why
What it costs to live in Dee Why and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $550
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $2,457
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 50%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 47%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Dee Why demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Dee Why demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Dee Why 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 39% and 46% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 3,505 | 15% |
| Youth (15–24) | 2,328 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 9,128 | 39% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 5,581 | 24% |
| Seniors (65+) | 2,806 | 12% |
Share of the 23,348 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 2,064 | 21% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 2,886 | 29% |
| Rented | 4,670 | 47% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,512 | 15% |
| Townhouses & semis | 240 | 2% |
| Flats & apartments | 8,073 | 82% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 9,865 occupied private dwellings in Dee Why.
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,460
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,065
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 10,429 (46%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 7,962 (36%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 162 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 14,187 (74%)
- Labour-force participation
- 72.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.7%
- Employed full-time
- 8,174
- Employed part-time
- 4,212
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 Dee Why
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Dee Why 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 Dee Why
Amenities mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre, from OpenStreetMap. A guide to what's nearby — not a complete directory.
Eat & drink
54 nearbyTiffany's Gourmet · Girdlers · Cafe Plenty · Seafood at the beach · Dee Why Hotel · Sea Bar Cafe
Parks & recreation
64 nearbyPat Taylor Swim School · KX Pilates · Stony Range Regional Botanic Garden · Cromer Park · Dee Why Beach Pool · James Meehan Reserve
Shops & groceries
13 nearbyUnited Dee Why Beach · Dee Why Fruit Market · Fisher Road Store · Woolworths · IGA Local Grocer Dee Why Beach · ALDI
Healthcare
10 nearbyWarringah Medical Centre · Dee Why General Practice · Chemist Warehouse · Pacific Medical Centre · Dee Why Health Care · Oaks Avenue Pharmacy
Schools & education
9 nearbyPittwater House · Dee Why Public School · Dee Why Children's Centre · Ekidna - Dee Why School Of Early Learning · Fisher Road School · Karuna Montessori School
Things to do
3 nearbyCromer Community Centre · Dee Why Swan · Dee Why Library
Eat & drink in and around Dee Why
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- 21 gramsCaféSouth Creek Road
- An VietRestaurantanvietfresh.com.au
- Aom JaiTakeawayPacific Parade
- BambolinaCafébambolinacoffee.com.au
- Beach Burrito CoRestaurant
- Cafe PlentyCafé
- Changas PriestCaféPacific Parade
- Chargrill Charlie'sRestaurantHoward Avenue
- ChillBARCafé
- Corretto Dee WhyRestaurant
- Dee Why HotelPubPittwater Road, Dee Why
- Domino'sTakeaway
- DY LocalCafé
- FishbowlTakeaway
- Food House NepalTakeaway27-33 Oaks Avenuefoodhousenepal.com.au
- French BasketCafé15 The Strand, Dee Whyfrenchbasket.com.au
- GirdlersCafé7-8 The Strandgirdlers.com.au
- Gloria Jean'sCaféHoward Avenue
- Grill'dTakeaway
- Gusto on the BeachCaféMonash Parade, Dee Why
- Guzman y GomezTakeaway
- Hero SushiTakeaway
- HideoutCafé30 Fisher Road
- Jade ChopsticksTakeawayPacific Parade
- JB & SonsRestaurant154-158 Pacific Parade
- Kaori SushiRestaurant15-19 Pacific Parade
- KFCTakeaway36 Fisher Road, Dee Whykfc.com.au
- Lemon ThaiTakeaway860B Pittwater Road
- Made in DYCafé
- Mary'sCafé
- Ocean SushiRestaurant6 The Strandfacebook.com
- One Bakery & CafeCafé1A Redman Road, Dee Why
- OportoTakeaway
- P'Nut Street NoodlesTakeaway
- RashaysRestaurant
- Sacrebleu!Cafésacrebleu.com.au
- Salt Meats CheeseRestaurant
- Sand barBarsandbardewhy.com.au
- Sea Bar CafeCafé
- Seafood at the beachTakeaway
- Slashed BurgersTakeawayslashedburger.com.au
- Sushi Train Dee WhyTakeaway
- The Nepalese JointTakeawayPacific Parade
- The Thai And IRestaurantThe Strand, Dee Why
- The Turmeric TableRestaurant4 The Strandtheturmerictable.com.au
- three beansCafé
- Tibetan Peace RestaurantRestaurant860 Pittwater Road
- Tiffany's GourmetTakeaway
- Top BBQ & Seafood RestaurantRestaurant3-6 The Strandtopbbq.com.au
- Turkish GrillTakeawayPittwater Road
- TwistCafé
- Wock BarTakeaway
- ZUBI on OaksCafé
Showing 53 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 Dee Why
Lived here or spent time in Dee Why? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Dee Why
Is Dee Why 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, Dee Why rates 69/100 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 Dee Why?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Dee Why was $550, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,457. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Dee Why?
Dee Why is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Northern Beaches local government area.
What is the population of Dee Why?
At the 2021 Census, Dee Why had a population of about 23,354.
Is Dee Why an advantaged area?
Dee Why has an ABS SEIFA score of 1071, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 90 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 90% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Dee Why?
Dee Why 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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