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.
Dee Why at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 23,354
- Median age
- 36
- Median weekly household income
- $2,106
- SEIFA score
- 1071
- Coordinates
- -33.7512, 151.2888
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%, 47% of homes are rented, 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.
- Median weekly rent
- $550
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,457
- 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).
Common questions about Dee Why
Where is Dee Why?
Dee Why is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
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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