Surry Hills, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Surry Hills is an inner-eastern suburb of Sydney, about 1 km south-east of the city centre in the City of Sydney. Once a crowded working-class district at the heart of the city's rag trade and clothing industry, it has gentrified since the 1980s into one of Sydney's densest restaurant, cafe and creative precincts, with a long-standing place in the city's LGBTQ life. Crown Street is its main spine, and other features include Prince Alfred Park, the Brett Whiteley Studio, and the monthly Surry Hills Markets at Shannon Reserve. The name dates to an early land grant called Surry Hills Farm, after Surrey in England, and the spelling stuck as the area filled with terrace housing from the 1850s.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Surry Hills is more socio-economically advantaged than about 98% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1138, 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.
Surry Hills at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 15,828
- Median age
- 35
- Median weekly household income
- $2,308
- SEIFA score
- 1138
- Coordinates
- -33.8849, 151.2100
Surry Hills demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Surry Hills 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 52%, 65% of homes are rented, and 48% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 880 | 6% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,494 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 8,285 | 52% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 3,513 | 22% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,646 | 10% |
Share of the 15,818 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,071 | 14% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,429 | 18% |
| Rented | 5,088 | 65% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 84 | 1% |
| Townhouses & semis | 2,261 | 29% |
| Flats & apartments | 5,325 | 68% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 7,786 occupied private dwellings in Surry Hills.
- Median weekly rent
- $550
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,839
- Average household size
- 1.8 people
- Median weekly family income
- $3,551
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,442
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 6,994 (48%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 4,047 (28%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 149 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 11,903 (80%)
- Labour-force participation
- 70.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 4.7%
- Employed full-time
- 7,114
- Employed part-time
- 2,141
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 Surry Hills
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Surry Hills is January (average daytime high around 26.6°C) and the coolest is July (around 17.2°C). The area receives roughly 902 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26.6°C | 19.6°C | 80 mm |
| Feb | 25.9°C | 19.2°C | 103 mm |
| Mar | 24.8°C | 18.2°C | 149 mm |
| Apr | 22.6°C | 14.8°C | 82 mm |
| May | 19.9°C | 11.4°C | 46 mm |
| Jun | 17.1°C | 9.5°C | 69 mm |
| Jul | 17.2°C | 8.1°C | 59 mm |
| Aug | 18°C | 8.6°C | 54 mm |
| Sep | 20.4°C | 10.7°C | 44 mm |
| Oct | 22.6°C | 13.6°C | 78 mm |
| Nov | 23.7°C | 15.5°C | 70 mm |
| Dec | 25.6°C | 17.7°C | 68 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Surry Hills
Where is Surry Hills?
Surry Hills is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
What is the population of Surry Hills?
At the 2021 Census, Surry Hills had a population of about 15,828.
Is Surry Hills an advantaged area?
Surry Hills has an ABS SEIFA score of 1138, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 98 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 98% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Surry Hills?
Surry Hills has average daytime highs of about 22°C and overnight lows of about 13.9°C, with roughly 902 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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