Penrith, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Penrith sits in Outer Western Sydney on the eastern bank of the Nepean River, about 55 km west of the city centre. Before British settlement the district was the Country of the Mulgoa people of the Dharug nation, who fished the river and gathered yams and other bush foods. An exploring party led by Captain Watkin Tench reached the broad river in June 1789, becoming the first Europeans to see the area; Governor Arthur Phillip named the waterway after Evan Nepean, a senior Home Office official. The origin of the town's own name remains uncertain, though it is thought to have been borrowed from Penrith in Cumbria, England. The railway reached the town in 1863, and it became a city in 1959. Today Penrith is a major commercial centre of Greater Western Sydney, home to the Panthers rugby league club and, at nearby Penrith Lakes, the rowing course built for the Sydney 2000 Olympics alongside a whitewater slalom stadium.
Less advantaged than the national average
Penrith is more socio-economically advantaged than about 24% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 939, 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 Penrith 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.
Lower on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Penrith 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
24/100Less advantaged than the national average
Less advantaged than the national average — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (24/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
23/100Less affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $380 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 23% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- 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.
Penrith at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 17,966
- Median age
- 36
- Median weekly household income
- $1,397
- SEIFA score
- 939
- Local government area
- Penrith
- Coordinates
- -33.7453, 150.6896
Map of Penrith
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Penrith
What it costs to live in Penrith and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $380
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,783
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 36%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 60%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Penrith demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Penrith demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Penrith 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 33% and 27% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 2,682 | 15% |
| Youth (15–24) | 2,447 | 14% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 6,001 | 33% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 3,775 | 21% |
| Seniors (65+) | 3,067 | 17% |
Share of the 17,972 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,206 | 15% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,613 | 21% |
| Rented | 4,718 | 60% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 2,824 | 36% |
| Townhouses & semis | 1,599 | 20% |
| Flats & apartments | 3,403 | 43% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 7,841 occupied private dwellings in Penrith.
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,850
- Median weekly personal income
- $812
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 4,398 (27%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 3,266 (20%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 1,116 (6%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 7,446 (50%)
- Labour-force participation
- 57.2%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.2%
- Employed full-time
- 5,000
- Employed part-time
- 2,157
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 Penrith
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Penrith is January (average daytime high around 29.5°C) and the coolest is July (around 17.1°C). The area receives roughly 813 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29.5°C | 18.5°C | 86 mm |
| Feb | 28.1°C | 17.8°C | 92 mm |
| Mar | 26°C | 16.5°C | 136 mm |
| Apr | 23.3°C | 12.8°C | 69 mm |
| May | 20°C | 8.8°C | 33 mm |
| Jun | 17.1°C | 6.9°C | 47 mm |
| Jul | 17.1°C | 5.4°C | 50 mm |
| Aug | 18.3°C | 6°C | 47 mm |
| Sep | 21.6°C | 8.6°C | 38 mm |
| Oct | 24.7°C | 11.9°C | 70 mm |
| Nov | 26.4°C | 14.1°C | 67 mm |
| Dec | 28.6°C | 16.7°C | 78 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Penrith
Is Penrith a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, Penrith rates 24/100 overall (Lower 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 Penrith?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Penrith was $380, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,783. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Penrith?
Penrith is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Penrith local government area.
What is the population of Penrith?
At the 2021 Census, Penrith had a population of about 17,966.
Is Penrith an advantaged area?
Penrith has an ABS SEIFA score of 939, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 24 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 24% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Penrith?
Penrith has average daytime highs of about 23.4°C and overnight lows of about 12°C, with roughly 813 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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