Fairfield (NSW), NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Fairfield sits at the heart of the Cumberland Plain in Western Sydney, about 30 kilometres west of the central business district, and is the administrative centre of Fairfield City. The Cabrogal-Gandangara people lived across the district for many thousands of years before European settlement. One of the earliest land grants here went to Gabriel Louis Marie Huon de Kerrileau, a Breton soldier who had fled the French Revolution; in 1807 he named his property Castel Paul, after the town of his birth in Brittany. Later owners combined the grants into a single estate, and the arrival of the railway in 1856 — its station is the oldest surviving railway building in New South Wales — spurred timber, fruit and farming industries. After the Second World War, waves of migration transformed Fairfield into one of Australia's most culturally diverse communities, today home to a large and vibrant Assyrian and Iraqi population.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Fairfield (NSW) is more socio-economically advantaged than about 3% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 829, 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 Fairfield (NSW) 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.
Lower on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Fairfield (NSW) 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
3/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (3/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
26/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $365 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 26% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- 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.
Fairfield (NSW) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 18,596
- Median age
- 40
- Median weekly household income
- $1,092
- SEIFA score
- 829
- Local government area
- Fairfield
- Coordinates
- -33.8740, 150.9510
Map of Fairfield (NSW)
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Fairfield (NSW)
What it costs to live in Fairfield (NSW) and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $365
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,733
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 39%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 58%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Fairfield (NSW) demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Fairfield (NSW) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Fairfield (NSW) 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 mid-life (45–64) at 28% and 70% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 3,135 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 2,348 | 13% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 4,850 | 26% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 5,116 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 3,147 | 17% |
Share of the 18,596 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,258 | 21% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,069 | 18% |
| Rented | 3,440 | 58% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 2,390 | 40% |
| Townhouses & semis | 800 | 13% |
| Flats & apartments | 2,747 | 46% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 5,979 occupied private dwellings in Fairfield (NSW).
- Average household size
- 2.9 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,246
- Median weekly personal income
- $454
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 12,172 (70%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 14,053 (83%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 121 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 7,046 (48%)
- Labour-force participation
- 32.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 12.1%
- Employed full-time
- 2,210
- Employed part-time
- 1,337
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 Fairfield (NSW)
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Fairfield (NSW) 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).
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Common questions about Fairfield (NSW)
Is Fairfield (NSW) a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, Fairfield (NSW) rates 11/100 overall (Lower 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 Fairfield (NSW)?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Fairfield (NSW) was $365, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,733. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Fairfield (NSW)?
Fairfield (NSW) is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Fairfield local government area.
What is the population of Fairfield (NSW)?
At the 2021 Census, Fairfield (NSW) had a population of about 18,596.
Is Fairfield (NSW) an advantaged area?
Fairfield (NSW) has an ABS SEIFA score of 829, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 3 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 3% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Fairfield (NSW)?
Fairfield (NSW) 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).
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