Vaucluse, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Vaucluse is one of Sydney's most prestigious harbourside suburbs, set on the South Head peninsula about eight kilometres east of the central business district, with Sydney Harbour on one side and the Tasman Sea on the other. Many homes look out across the water towards the Harbour Bridge, and a string of sheltered coves, among them Parsley Bay and Shark Beach, lines the harbour shore. Before European settlement the land was home to the Birrabirragal people, a clan of the coastal Dharug language group. The suburb takes its name from Vaucluse House, a Gothic-style mansion long owned by the explorer and statesman William Charles Wentworth and now kept as a museum; its name echoes a celebrated spring in southern France. On the ocean ridge stands Macquarie Lighthouse, first built to a design by Francis Greenway in 1816.
Among Australia's more advantaged suburbs
Vaucluse is more socio-economically advantaged than about 99% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1172, 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.
Vaucluse at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 9,510
- Median age
- 43
- Median weekly household income
- $3,418
- SEIFA score
- 1172
- Coordinates
- -33.8560, 151.2762
Vaucluse demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Vaucluse 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 29%, 24% of homes are rented, and 39% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 1,799 | 19% |
| Youth (15–24) | 1,211 | 13% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 1,958 | 21% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 2,735 | 29% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,811 | 19% |
Share of the 9,514 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,297 | 39% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 1,063 | 32% |
| Rented | 801 | 24% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 1,606 | 49% |
| Townhouses & semis | 278 | 8% |
| Flats & apartments | 1,332 | 40% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 3,296 occupied private dwellings in Vaucluse.
- Median weekly rent
- $700
- Median monthly mortgage
- $4,200
- Average household size
- 2.7 people
- Median weekly family income
- $4,560
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,393
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 3,537 (39%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 1,874 (21%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 29 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 6,077 (84%)
- Labour-force participation
- 59.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 4%
- Employed full-time
- 2,555
- Employed part-time
- 1,458
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 Vaucluse
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Vaucluse 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).
Common questions about Vaucluse
Where is Vaucluse?
Vaucluse is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
What is the population of Vaucluse?
At the 2021 Census, Vaucluse had a population of about 9,510.
Is Vaucluse an advantaged area?
Vaucluse has an ABS SEIFA score of 1172, 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 Vaucluse?
Vaucluse 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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