St Ives (NSW), NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
St Ives is a leafy, established suburb on Sydney's Upper North Shore, set within Ku-ring-gai Council and wrapped by national park on its northern and eastern edges. Governor Arthur Phillip and a party of men explored the area in 1788, camping at Bungaroo near what is now Hunter Avenue, and a small timber-felling industry followed. The district was later known for its apple orchards, though residential demand long ago ended commercial fruit growing. At its heart, the St Ives Shopping Village faces the Village Green, a popular park with sporting fields that hosts the annual Festival on the Green. Bushland reserves give the suburb a green, unhurried character: the Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden and the blackbutt forest of Dalrymple-Hay Nature Reserve both sit along Mona Vale Road, drawing walkers and families at weekends.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
St Ives (NSW) is more socio-economically advantaged than about 99% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1161, 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 St Ives (NSW) 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 2 components we can score for St Ives (NSW) 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
1/100Among the more expensive suburbs
Median weekly rent was $688 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 1% 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.
St Ives (NSW) at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 18,384
- Median age
- 43
- Median weekly household income
- $2,888
- SEIFA score
- 1161
- Local government area
- Ku-ring-gai
- Coordinates
- -33.7289, 151.1698
Map of St Ives (NSW)
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in St Ives (NSW)
What it costs to live in St Ives (NSW) and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $688
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $3,467
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 82%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 17%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the St Ives (NSW) demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
St Ives (NSW) demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile St Ives (NSW) 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 27% and 49% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 3,783 | 21% |
| Youth (15–24) | 2,061 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 3,620 | 20% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 4,929 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 3,986 | 22% |
Share of the 18,379 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 2,634 | 42% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 2,513 | 40% |
| Rented | 1,045 | 17% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 4,164 | 66% |
| Townhouses & semis | 481 | 8% |
| Flats & apartments | 1,644 | 26% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 6,299 occupied private dwellings in St Ives (NSW).
- Average household size
- 2.9 people
- Median weekly family income
- $3,306
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,077
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 8,768 (49%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 6,145 (34%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 34 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 11,552 (84%)
- Labour-force participation
- 59.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.3%
- Employed full-time
- 5,060
- Employed part-time
- 2,579
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 St Ives (NSW)
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in St Ives (NSW) 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).
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Common questions about St Ives (NSW)
Is St Ives (NSW) 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, St Ives (NSW) rates 66/100 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 St Ives (NSW)?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in St Ives (NSW) was $688, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $3,467. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is St Ives (NSW)?
St Ives (NSW) is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia, in the Ku-ring-gai local government area.
What is the population of St Ives (NSW)?
At the 2021 Census, St Ives (NSW) had a population of about 18,384.
Is St Ives (NSW) an advantaged area?
St Ives (NSW) has an ABS SEIFA score of 1161, 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 St Ives (NSW)?
St Ives (NSW) 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).
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