Fairlight, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Fairlight is a harbourside pocket of northern Sydney, set on the Northern Beaches between Balgowlah and Manly along either side of Sydney Road. It takes its name from Fairlight House, built by Henry Gilbert Smith on land he bought in 1853 and named after a village on the East Sussex coast of England. The suburb looks north over Sydney Harbour, where Fairlight Beach, with its small tidal swimming pool, sits on the Manly Scenic Walkway and makes a favoured vantage point for watching harbour yacht races. The walkway can be followed west toward the Spit Bridge. Fairlight is also home to the Manly Golf Club, while a strip of shops and cafes lines Sydney Road. From 1878 the local ferries carried the name Fairlight, later borrowed by a celebrated synthesiser.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Fairlight is more socio-economically advantaged than about 99% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1171, 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.
Fairlight at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 6,141
- Median age
- 39
- Median weekly household income
- $3,251
- SEIFA score
- 1171
- Coordinates
- -33.7939, 151.2743
Fairlight demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Fairlight 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 31%, 35% of homes are rented, and 34% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,060 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 566 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,935 | 31% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 1,642 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 946 | 15% |
Share of the 6,149 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 805 | 33% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 713 | 30% |
| Rented | 844 | 35% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 635 | 26% |
| Townhouses & semis | 538 | 22% |
| Flats & apartments | 1,223 | 51% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 2,407 occupied private dwellings in Fairlight.
- Median weekly rent
- $720
- Median monthly mortgage
- $3,467
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $4,187
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,491
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 2,010 (34%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 641 (11%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 23 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 4,044 (83%)
- Labour-force participation
- 70%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.2%
- Employed full-time
- 2,174
- Employed part-time
- 1,011
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 Fairlight
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Fairlight 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 Fairlight
Where is Fairlight?
Fairlight is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
What is the population of Fairlight?
At the 2021 Census, Fairlight had a population of about 6,141.
Is Fairlight an advantaged area?
Fairlight has an ABS SEIFA score of 1171, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 99 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 99% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Fairlight?
Fairlight 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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