Mosman, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Mosman is an affluent harbourside suburb on Sydney's Lower North Shore, about 8 km north-east of the city centre on a peninsula between Sydney Harbour and Middle Harbour. The area was originally home to the Borogegal people. Its name comes from Archibald Mosman, who with his twin brother George took up a land grant here in 1831 and ran a whaling station in the sheltered inlet now called Mosman Bay. Today the suburb is best known for Taronga Zoo, which has looked out over the harbour since 1916, and for swimming spots such as Balmoral Beach. Leafy streets and harbour views have long made it one of Sydney's most sought-after addresses.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Mosman is more socio-economically advantaged than about 99% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1169, 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 Mosman 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.
Strong on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 3 components we can score for Mosman 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
99/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (99/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
3/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $590 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 3% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Amenities & access
92/100Plenty mapped nearby
About 287 everyday places (cafés, shops, services and more) mapped within ~1.2 km of the centre. · 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.
- 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.
Mosman at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 28,329
- Median age
- 45
- Median weekly household income
- $2,892
- SEIFA score
- 1169
- Local government area
- Mosman
- Coordinates
- -33.8285, 151.2476
Map of Mosman
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Mosman
What it costs to live in Mosman and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $590
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $3,870
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 64%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 33%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Mosman demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Mosman demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Mosman 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 36% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 4,611 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 2,965 | 10% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 6,584 | 23% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 7,965 | 28% |
| Seniors (65+) | 6,205 | 22% |
Share of the 28,330 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 4,422 | 38% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 2,980 | 26% |
| Rented | 3,822 | 33% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 4,028 | 35% |
| Townhouses & semis | 1,389 | 12% |
| Flats & apartments | 6,001 | 52% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 11,543 occupied private dwellings in Mosman.
- Average household size
- 2.3 people
- Median weekly family income
- $4,502
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,487
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 10,011 (36%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 4,673 (17%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 82 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 19,047 (84%)
- Labour-force participation
- 61.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 3.6%
- Employed full-time
- 9,002
- Employed part-time
- 4,017
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 Mosman
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Mosman 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).
Places in and around Mosman
Amenities mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre, from OpenStreetMap. A guide to what's nearby — not a complete directory.
Eat & drink
43 nearbyBoronia House Tea Room · Mosman Hotel · Buena Vista Hotel · Pizza Hut · Pasture of Balmoral · Bottom of the Harbour
Parks & recreation
203 nearbyClifton Gardens Reserve · Reservoir Park · Hampshire Park · Memory Park · Hunter Park · Lawry Plunkett Reserve
Shops & groceries
8 nearbyRitchies Supa IGA · Scoop wholefoods · EzyMart · Berkelo · 7-Eleven
Healthcare
4 nearbyBridgepoint Pharmacy · Priceline Pharmacy
Schools & education
10 nearbyMosman Public School · Mosman High School · Queenwood School for Girls · Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School Mosman · Blessed Sacrament Catholic Primary School · Mosman Church of England Preparatory School
Things to do
19 nearbyCarroll's Lookout · Mosman Public Library · Billy · The White Flower · Orb · Alinta
Eat & drink in and around Mosman
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- Albion Lane CafeCafé
- Avenue Road CafeCafé
- Bahn Mi DeliciousCafé
- Balmoral Beach KioskCafé
- Beach HouseRestaurant
- Boronia House Tea RoomCafé624 Military Road, Mosman
- Bottom of the HarbourRestaurant
- Buena Vista HotelPub76 Middle Head Road, Mosman
- Burnt OrangeCafé
- Burnt OrangeRestaurantburntorange.com.au
- ChaosCafé
- Chargrill CharliesRestaurant
- Four Frogs CreperieCafé
- Four Frogs CreperieRestaurant155 Middle Head Roadfourfrogs.com.au
- Fourth Village ProvidoreCafé5a Vista Street, Mosman
- Heirloom Specialty CoffeeCafé81 Avenue Road, Mosman
- Kazzi Beach Greek BalmoralRestaurant
- MiloRestaurant99 Military Road
- Mosman HotelPub
- ONICERestaurant161 Middle Head Roadonice.com.au
- Pasture of BalmoralCafé51 The Esplanade
- Pattison'sCafé
- Pizza HutRestaurant
- Public Dining RoomRestaurant2A The Esplanadepublicdiningroom.com.au
- Rosso CavallinoRestaurant803 Military Road
- Simple Simons Coffee House CafeCafé
- Thai KanteenRestaurant541 Military Road, Mosman
- The Bathers' PavilionRestaurant4 The Esplanadebatherspavilion.com.au
- The Boathouse Balmoral BeachRestaurant2 The Esplanadetheboathousebb.com.au
- The Buffalo OZ GrillTakeaway
- The BuffalOzRestaurant
- The Classic Cupcake CoCafé167 Avenue Road, Mosmantheccc.com.au
- The Penny RoyalCafé
- The Source Espresso BarCafé
- The Village CafeCafé
Showing 35 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 Mosman
Lived here or spent time in Mosman? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Mosman
Is Mosman 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 and amenities, Mosman rates 73/100 overall (Strong 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 Mosman?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Mosman was $590, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $3,870. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Mosman?
Mosman is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Mosman local government area.
What is the population of Mosman?
At the 2021 Census, Mosman had a population of about 28,329.
Is Mosman an advantaged area?
Mosman has an ABS SEIFA score of 1169, 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 Mosman?
Mosman 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).
How big is Mosman?
Mosman is one of the most populous suburbs in New South Wales — the 17th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 28,329 usual residents).
Where Mosman ranks
Mosman 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#17 of 25
Nearby suburbs in New South Wales
More suburb guides in New South Wales
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.