Parramatta, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Parramatta lies about 24 kilometres west of the Sydney CBD at the head of the navigable Parramatta River, and is widely described as Greater Sydney's second CBD. LGA population: 256,729 at the 2021 Census (ABS 2021 Census QuickStats, LGA16260). Founded by the colony in 1788, it is one of the oldest inland European settlements in Australia. The data portrait of 2021 Parramatta is one of fast, internationally-driven change: bachelor degree or above at 44.2% of residents — nearly double the national 26.3%, well ahead of the NSW average, though below the leafy north-shore councils. Only 42.4% of residents were born in Australia, versus 66.9% nationally. English is the only language spoken at home in 38.2% of households (national: 72.0%). Top birthplace countries beyond Australia: India (11.3%) and China (11.3%), each more than one in nine residents; South Korea third at 4.3%. Median age: 35, four years below NSW. Despite the very recent-arrival demographic profile, median weekly household income is $2,051 — above both the NSW median of $1,829 and the national figure of $1,746. That combination of high international-born proportion and above-median income is the Parramatta story in two figures: this is not an arrival suburb, it is a destination for the internationally credentialled. Median rent: $450 per week (NSW: $420). 47.3% of dwellings are flats and apartments (national: 14.2%). Computer system design employs 5.7% of workers (national: 1.8%). 30.0% of residents study in tertiary education (NSW: 23.8%).
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Parramatta is more socio-economically advantaged than about 88% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1065, 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 Parramatta 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 Parramatta 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
88/100Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (88/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
12/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $440 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 12% 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.
Parramatta at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 30,211
- Median age
- 32
- Median weekly household income
- $2,092
- SEIFA score
- 1065
- Local government area
- Parramatta
- Coordinates
- -33.8150, 151.0082
Map of Parramatta
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Parramatta
What it costs to live in Parramatta and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $440
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $2,080
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 28%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 70%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Parramatta demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Parramatta demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Parramatta 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 53% and 74% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 4,914 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 3,360 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 15,922 | 53% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 4,023 | 13% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,996 | 7% |
Share of the 30,215 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,125 | 10% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 2,110 | 18% |
| Rented | 8,251 | 70% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 903 | 8% |
| Townhouses & semis | 665 | 6% |
| Flats & apartments | 10,062 | 86% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 11,754 occupied private dwellings in Parramatta.
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,314
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,015
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 20,912 (74%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 20,811 (74%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 156 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 20,246 (81%)
- Labour-force participation
- 68.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 7.1%
- Employed full-time
- 10,490
- Employed part-time
- 3,883
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 Parramatta
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Parramatta 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 Parramatta
Amenities mapped within about 1.2km of the suburb centre, from OpenStreetMap. A guide to what's nearby — not a complete directory.
Eat & drink
178+ nearbySariwon Korean Bulgoki BBQ · Mumbai Express · Nautauki Sala Indian · Max Brenners · Mr Stonebow · Velvet Lounge
Parks & recreation
17+ nearbyWater Play · Paperbark Playground · Fitness First · F45 Training · YMCA · Anytime Fitness
Shops & groceries
35+ nearbyCity Convenience · Coles Parramatta North · Star Grocery · Day Day Market · Sing Kee Asian Grocery Store · T&J Bakery Cake Shop
Healthcare
28+ nearbyChemist Warehouse · Frontline Medical Centre · Parramatta Dental Surgery · Shopsmart Wholesale Pharmacy · Chew Dental Care · Argyle Street Medical Centre
Schools & education
10+ nearbyEDU-Kingdom School · Little Bees Childcare Centre · Choice Academic College · Parramatta Community College · Pre-Uni New College · Launch Pad WSU Parramatta
Things to do
19+ nearbySentry Box · Persian Library · Experiment Farm Cottage · Heritage and Visitor Information Centre · Brislington Medical and Nursing Museum · Old Government House
Eat & drink in and around Parramatta
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- 3 Bells CaféCafé
- 5 Loaves CafeCafé
- A2B Veg RestaurantRestauranta2bsydney.com.au
- Armani RestaurantRestaurant
- Bar QualiaCafé154 Marsden Street, Parramatta
- Barbe-QRestaurant306 Church Street, Parramatta
- Bay VistaRestaurant330 Church Street, Parramatta
- Bondi PizzaRestaurant320 Church Street, Parramattabondipizza.com.au
- Bun Yuet Seafood RestaurantRestaurant
- Café LipariCafé
- Café MamboCafé
- Cafe MolinaniCafé
- Chambers Fine CoffeeCafé
- Coco CubanoRestaurant302 Church Street, Parramatta
- CrustTakeaway
- Domino'sTakeaway91 Grose Street
- Dragon Peking RestaurantRestaurant
- Eastern Concourse Bakery CafeCafé
- Eden's CaféCafé
- Gosh CafeCafé85 George Street, Parramatta
- Hot Box Pizza BurgersTakeaway
- KFCTakeaway
- Kouzina GrecoRestaurant
- La CoccinelleRestaurant292 Church Street, Parramatta
- Lucien Baked GoodsCafé
- Mad MexTakeaway
- Matty's SandwichesTakeaway
- Max BrennersRestaurant159-175 Church Street, Parramatta
- McDonald'sTakeaway159-175 Church Street, Parramatta
- MikazukiRestaurant
- Monty's PizzaTakeaway
- Mr StonebowRestaurant159-175 Church Street
- Mumbai ExpressTakeaway
- Nando'sRestaurant20 Victoria Roadnandos.com.au
- Nautauki Sala IndianRestaurant79 Macquarie Street
- Parramatta Leagues ClubPubparraleagues.com.au
- Persian KitchenRestaurant94 Phillip Street, Parramatta
- Pho PasteurRestaurant137 Church Street, Parramatta
- Piccolo MeCafé
- River CanyonRestaurant96 Phillip Street, Parramattarivercanyon.com.au
- Rose and CrownPub11 Victoria Road, Parramatta
- Sahara Turkish RestaurantRestaurantArgyle Street, Level 2 Dining Precinctsahararestaurant.com.au
- Sahra by the RiverRestaurant
- Saravanna BhavanRestaurant
- Sariwon Korean Bulgoki BBQRestaurant
- Sauté Thai RestaurantRestaurant
- Shanghai Chef KitchenRestaurant
- ShareteaCafé
- StarbucksCafé159-175 Church Street, Parramatta
- SubwayTakeaway
- Sun Ming BBQ RestaurantRestaurant
- Sushi MataRestaurant277b Church Street, Parramatta
- Swanky Noodle RestaurantRestaurant
- Taste GalleryRestaurant
- Terrace Cafe RestaurantCafé
- The Shed Cafe ParramattaCafé45 Macquarie Street, Parramatta
- Velvet LoungeBar
- Volcano's Steakhouse & RibsRestaurant311-313 Church Street, Parramatta
- White Henry Cafe & CateringCafé118 Church Street, Parramatta
- Wok Asian RecipeRestaurant
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 Parramatta
Lived here or spent time in Parramatta? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Parramatta
Is Parramatta 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, Parramatta rates 70/100 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 Parramatta?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Parramatta was $440, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,080. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Parramatta?
Parramatta is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Parramatta local government area.
What is the population of Parramatta?
At the 2021 Census, Parramatta had a population of about 30,211.
Is Parramatta an advantaged area?
Parramatta has an ABS SEIFA score of 1065, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 88 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 88% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Parramatta?
Parramatta 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 Parramatta?
Parramatta is one of the most populous suburbs in New South Wales — the 14th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 30,211 usual residents).
Where Parramatta ranks
Parramatta 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#14 of 25
Nearby suburbs in New South Wales
More suburb guides in New South Wales
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.