Hurstville, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Hurstville sits in southern Sydney, about 16 kilometres south of the central business district, and serves as the administrative centre of the Georges River Council in the St George district. At the time of the First Fleet the country along the Georges River, from Botany Bay towards present-day Liverpool, was home to the Eora people; an early meeting at Lime Kiln Bay in January 1788 saw food and drink shared between the visitors and the local inhabitants. The name joins the old English 'hurst', meaning a wooded eminence, to 'ville' for a town. Crown grants in 1808 went to the brothers John and Robert Townson, and in 1812 the merchant Simeon Lord bought the holding and called it Lord's Forest; from 1850 Michael Gannon subdivided it into small farms known as Gannon's Forest. A local school took the name Hurstville in 1876, the railway station borrowed it when the line opened in 1884, and the municipality was incorporated in 1887 before being declared a city in 1988. Today Hurstville is one of Sydney's busiest multicultural centres, with a large Chinese community, the Westfield shopping complex and a reputation as a dining destination. Among those who grew up here were the three-time Formula One world champion Jack Brabham and the tennis great Ken Rosewall.
More advantaged than the national average
Hurstville is more socio-economically advantaged than about 64% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1012, 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 Hurstville 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.
Around the national middle
A weighted blend of the 5 components we can score for Hurstville 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
64/100More advantaged than the national average
More advantaged than the national average — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (64/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
8/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $470 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 8% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Amenities & access
92/100Plenty mapped nearby
About 258 everyday places (cafés, shops, services and more) mapped within ~1.2 km of the centre. · OpenStreetMap
Green space
55/100Some green space nearby
About 3% of the area within ~1.2 km of the centre is mapped as green space — parks, reserves, sportsgrounds and the like. An area estimate from a radius around the centre, not the suburb boundary. · OpenStreetMap
Transport
90/100Well served by public-transport stops
About 115 public-transport stops (bus, train, tram or ferry) mapped within ~1.2 km of the centre. Stop coverage, not timetable frequency. · 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.
- 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.
Hurstville at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 31,162
- Median age
- 33
- Median weekly household income
- $1,804
- SEIFA score
- 1012
- Local government area
- Georges River
- Coordinates
- -33.9632, 151.1006
Map of Hurstville
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Hurstville
What it costs to live in Hurstville and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $470
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $2,167
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 49%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 47%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Hurstville demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Hurstville demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Hurstville 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 37% and 71% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 4,056 | 13% |
| Youth (15–24) | 4,862 | 16% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 11,503 | 37% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 6,442 | 21% |
| Seniors (65+) | 4,302 | 14% |
Share of the 31,165 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 2,499 | 24% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 2,679 | 25% |
| Rented | 4,993 | 47% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 3,164 | 30% |
| Townhouses & semis | 860 | 8% |
| Flats & apartments | 6,467 | 61% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 10,529 occupied private dwellings in Hurstville.
- Average household size
- 2.8 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,802
- Median weekly personal income
- $698
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 21,191 (71%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 23,800 (81%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 74 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 20,064 (76%)
- Labour-force participation
- 57.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.9%
- Employed full-time
- 6,955
- Employed part-time
- 5,190
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 Hurstville
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Hurstville is January (average daytime high around 27.9°C) and the coolest is July (around 17°C). The area receives roughly 862 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27.9°C | 18.8°C | 83 mm |
| Feb | 26.8°C | 18.3°C | 94 mm |
| Mar | 25.3°C | 17.3°C | 141 mm |
| Apr | 22.8°C | 13.9°C | 72 mm |
| May | 19.8°C | 10.4°C | 40 mm |
| Jun | 16.9°C | 8.4°C | 57 mm |
| Jul | 17°C | 7°C | 57 mm |
| Aug | 18.1°C | 7.6°C | 53 mm |
| Sep | 20.9°C | 9.8°C | 43 mm |
| Oct | 23.5°C | 12.6°C | 78 mm |
| Nov | 24.8°C | 14.7°C | 72 mm |
| Dec | 27.1°C | 17°C | 72 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Places in and around Hurstville
Amenities mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre, from OpenStreetMap. A guide to what's nearby — not a complete directory.
Eat & drink
108 nearbyHurstville Ritz Hotel · Meridian Hotel · Club Central Hurstville · Taste of Shunde · KFC · Yu Star BBQ Restaurant
Parks & recreation
73 nearbyJetts Fitness · Inspired · Anytime Fitness · Wellness Department · Hurstville Oval · Croot Park
Shops & groceries
39 nearbyBakery King Cake Shop · Ka Lot Fuk Supermarket · Hung Tak Butchery · Cheng Xing Meat · Golden Palace Bakery · Happy Daily
Healthcare
17 nearbyChemist Warehouse · Friendly Pharmacy · Priceline Pharmacy · Harrington's Pharmacy · Penshurst Pharmacy · Penshurst Dental
Schools & education
15 nearbyCrèche · Bridge St Kids · Good Start Early Learning · Hurstville South Public School · Hurstville Public School · Woniora Road School
Things to do
6 nearbyEvent Cinemas Hurstville · Hurstville Museum and Gallery · Hurstville City Library
Eat & drink in and around Hurstville
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- @NoodleTakeaway
- 18GRAMSCafé225H Forest Road
- 7 MileRestaurant
- Adam's KebabsTakeaway
- Akira SushiTakeaway
- BBQ At WorkRestaurant
- Bsp'eriaRestaurant129 Laycock Roadbsperia.com
- Canton Noodle HouseRestaurant
- Central GroundsCafé
- Checkpoint CharlieCafé
- Cho ExpressTakeaway
- Club Central HurstvillePub2 Crofts Avenueclubcentralhurstville.com.au
- Daddy LuTakeaway
- De Yang BBQTakeaway
- Delight Dim SimRestaurant121 Forest Road
- Diamond CafeCafé197 Forest Roadfacebook.com
- Dougie's GrillRestaurant239 Forest Roaddougiesgrill.com.au
- Dumpling ParkRestaurant173 Forest Roadinstagram.com
- FalchaRestaurant165 Forest Roadfalcha.com.au
- Fancy Duckpot RestaurantRestaurant
- Feng You Dim SimRestaurant
- Golden LotusRestaurant1 Ormonde Paradehurstvillersl.com.au
- Golden Sands RestaurantRestaurant
- Gong ChaCafé
- Guo's Noodle HouseRestaurant285 Forest Road
- He She LaRestaurant177 Forest Roadrestaurant.heshela.com.au
- Hong Kong DelightTakeaway
- Hurstville Chinese RestaurantRestaurant184 Forest Roadhcr95860828.wixsite.com
- Hurstville Ritz HotelPub350 Forest Roadhurstvilleritz.com.au
- Jun Kopi Malaysia KitchenRestaurant
- Kampong BoyRestaurant
- Kazuki Japanese KitchenRestaurant176 Forest Roadorder.online
- Kebab StyleTakeaway
- KFCTakeaway
- Lazy PandaCafé
- Machi machiCafé227 Forest Roadmachimachi.com.au
- McDonald'sTakeaway
- Mediterranean Pizza & YeerosTakeaway
- Meet FreshRestaurant175 Forest Roadinstagram.com
- Meridian HotelPub220 Forest Roadmeridianhotel.com.au
- Miss SaigonRestaurant185C Forest Road
- MixueCafé227 Forest Roadinstagram.com
- Mr Chao BBQRestaurant198 Forest Road
- Nara LoungeRestaurant309B Forest Roadnaralounge.com.au
- Penshurst HotelPub29 Penshurst Streetpenshursthotel.com.au
- RiceryRestaurant
- SanpomenRestaurant
- ShareteaCafé
- Stoneage Korean BBQRestaurant266 Forest Roadstoneage-korean-bbq-hurstville.store
- Sun Ming RestaurantRestaurant173A Forest Roadsunminghurstville.com.au
- Sushi 4 UTakeaway
- Sydney Foodie StationRestaurant
- Taste of Hong KongRestaurant
- Taste of QuianRestaurant
- Taste of ShundeRestaurant9-11 Crofts Avenueinstagram.com
- The Good KitchenRestaurant171 Forest Roadfacebook.com
- Tim's CafeCafé
- Yu Star BBQ RestaurantRestaurant
- Zhengxin Big Fried ChickenTakeaway
- 张亮麻辣烫Restaurant
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 Hurstville
Lived here or spent time in Hurstville? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Hurstville
Is Hurstville 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, amenities, green space and transport, Hurstville rates 62/100 overall (Around the national middle). Schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Hurstville?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Hurstville was $470, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,167. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Hurstville?
Hurstville is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Georges River local government area.
What is the population of Hurstville?
At the 2021 Census, Hurstville had a population of about 31,162.
Is Hurstville an advantaged area?
Hurstville has an ABS SEIFA score of 1012, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 64 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 64% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Hurstville?
Hurstville has average daytime highs of about 22.6°C and overnight lows of about 13°C, with roughly 862 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
How big is Hurstville?
Hurstville is one of the most populous suburbs in New South Wales — the 11th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 31,162 usual residents).
Where Hurstville ranks
Hurstville appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Largest suburbs in New South Wales#11 of 25
Nearby suburbs in New South Wales
More suburb guides in New South Wales
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.