Merrylands, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Merrylands is a suburb of Western Sydney, lying about twenty-five kilometres west of the central business district within the Cumberland City Council area. It takes its name from the former English home of Arthur Todd Holroyd, a nineteenth-century settler who acquired land here in 1855 and whose name also lives on in the neighbouring suburb of Holroyd. The commercial heart of Merrylands gathers around its railway station on Merrylands Road, where a cluster of art deco buildings from the 1930s and 1940s still stands, alongside the Stockland Merrylands shopping centre. Green space is generous: the Central Gardens nature reserve, entered from Merrylands Road, is home to kangaroos, emus and birdlife among its lake and waterfalls, while parks such as Merrylands Park and Granville Park offer sporting fields and a swim centre. The suburb has produced notable Australians including the track-and-field athlete Betty Cuthbert, who was born here, and the rapper Barkaa, who grew up locally.
Less advantaged than the national average
Merrylands is more socio-economically advantaged than about 22% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 933, 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 Merrylands 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.
Below the national middle on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 5 components we can score for Merrylands 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
22/100Less advantaged than the national average
Less advantaged than the national average — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (22/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
20/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $400 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 20% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Amenities & access
80/100Plenty mapped nearby
About 120 everyday places (cafés, shops, services and more) mapped within ~1.2 km of the centre. · OpenStreetMap
Green space
55/100Some green space nearby
About 6.6% 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 100 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.
Merrylands at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 32,472
- Median age
- 33
- Median weekly household income
- $1,470
- SEIFA score
- 933
- Local government area
- Cumberland
- Coordinates
- -33.8341, 150.9851
Map of Merrylands
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Merrylands
What it costs to live in Merrylands and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $400
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $2,100
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 49%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 47%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Merrylands demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Merrylands demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Merrylands 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 34% and 55% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 6,732 | 21% |
| Youth (15–24) | 4,337 | 13% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 10,912 | 34% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 6,846 | 21% |
| Seniors (65+) | 3,643 | 11% |
Share of the 32,470 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 2,216 | 22% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 2,633 | 27% |
| Rented | 4,662 | 47% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 4,842 | 49% |
| Townhouses & semis | 1,347 | 14% |
| Flats & apartments | 3,630 | 37% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 9,928 occupied private dwellings in Merrylands.
- Average household size
- 3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,656
- Median weekly personal income
- $607
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 16,281 (55%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 20,714 (71%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 214 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 14,516 (59%)
- Labour-force participation
- 45.6%
- Unemployment rate
- 9.5%
- Employed full-time
- 5,388
- Employed part-time
- 3,300
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 Merrylands
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Merrylands 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).
Places in and around Merrylands
Amenities mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre, from OpenStreetMap. A guide to what's nearby — not a complete directory.
Eat & drink
13 nearbyLa Mono Charcoal Chicken · Fabio's Italian Restaurant · Heart 2 Heart Lebanese Patisserie · Domino's · Shawarmani · Billabong Hotel
Parks & recreation
79 nearbyAnytime Fitness · Merrylands Park · Freame Park · King Park · Lawson Square · Morris Street Park
Shops & groceries
9 nearbyMoody Mixed Business · Petina Bakery · Reddy Express · Coles Merrylands · Aldi · Woolworths Merrylands
Healthcare
7 nearbyCincotta Chemist · Triple Three Medical Centre · Pitt Street Medical Centre · Priceline Pharmacy · Medscan Merrylands · Well Health Medical Hub
Schools & education
9 nearbyHilltop Daycare · Merrylands East Public School · Merrylands Public School · Fowler Road School · Parramatta West Public School · Holroyd School
Things to do
3 nearbyMerrylands Central Library · Merrylands Youth Centre · Maltese Community Council of NSW
Eat & drink in and around Merrylands
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- Baked & CoCaféMerrylands
- Billabong HotelPubMerrylands
- Domino'sTakeawaydominos.com.au
- Fabio's Italian RestaurantRestaurant
- Heart 2 Heart Lebanese PatisserieCafé
- Kabul HouseRestaurant
- La Mono Charcoal ChickenTakeaway
- Mad MexTakeaway
- Mrs. FieldsCaféMerrylands
- ShawarmaniRestaurant
- The Coffee ClubCafé
Showing 11 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 Merrylands
Lived here or spent time in Merrylands? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Merrylands
Is Merrylands 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, Merrylands rates 48/100 overall (Below the national middle on the data we score). Schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Merrylands?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Merrylands was $400, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,100. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Merrylands?
Merrylands is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Cumberland local government area.
What is the population of Merrylands?
At the 2021 Census, Merrylands had a population of about 32,472.
Is Merrylands an advantaged area?
Merrylands has an ABS SEIFA score of 933, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 22 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 22% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Merrylands?
Merrylands 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).
How big is Merrylands?
Merrylands is one of the most populous suburbs in New South Wales — the 9th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 32,472 usual residents).
Where Merrylands ranks
Merrylands appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
Nearby suburbs in New South Wales
More suburb guides in New South Wales
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.