NSW · Sydney Council
Darlington, 2008
Current weather
17.1°CClear sky
51% humidity · 17.1 km/h wind · 21.2° / 13.8° today · 2.5 mm rain
Updated
Desirability score
- Green suburb
- Café precinct
- Cycling
- High desirability
Suburb profile
Darlington is a well-connected mid-sized suburb in Sydney with everyday amenities close at hand. Sitting close to the city centre, it is easy to dip into neighbouring suburbs for work, dining and events. Tree-lined streets and leafy pockets give the suburb a noticeably green, settled character.
Young professionals and new households shape much of the local mix. A genuine café and dining culture runs through the area, with locals returning to favourite spots. Parks, reserves and open space make it genuinely outdoor-friendly for walks, sport and weekend downtime.
Homes here are sought-after, with many people drawn to the lifestyle the area offers. Tree-lined streets and established homes set the tone, with little pressure to reinvent the neighbourhood.
The desirability score is below average, weighed down by weaker housing affordability and growth momentum against similar metro suburbs, even with parks and green space and community and employment holding up better.
Population
- Population
- 2,597
- Median age
- 27
- Median household income / week
- $2,392
- Dwelling vacancy
- 20.1%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 206 of 1,026
- Median monthly mortgage
- $3,200
- Employment rate
- 60.7%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 27 / 624 / 157
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Employment, household income and age diversity (2021 Census)
Data sources & freshness
- 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 Census release
The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
Housing
- Flats / units (January to March 2026)
- $900
- Houses (January to March 2026)
- $700
- All types (January to March 2026)
- $869
- Rental bonds lodged (January to March 2026)
- 1,554
Median weekly rent from NSW DCJ rent tables. Figures can be unreliable where few bonds were lodged in the quarter.
Contributes to desirability score · Housing (15%) · Future Growth (7%)
Median price, rental yield and vacancy Recent price momentum
Data sources & freshness
- DCJ rent tables — NSW Department of Communities and Justice · Period: January to March 2026 · Updated on site · Quarterly releases
Crime & safety
- Total offences (Jan 2025 to Dec 2025)
- 220
- Against the person
- 36
- Against property
- 138
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 84.7
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 72 residents
- State safety percentile
- 59.8th (lower crime is better)
- Increase (daily rate)
- +3.6%
Reported offences increased compared with the previous period.
Reported offences by period
Most common offence types
- Fraud88
- Malicious Damage To Property47
- Other Theft106
- Steal From Dwelling63
- Steal From Retail Store102
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Crime rate and year-on-year trend
Data sources & freshness
- BOCSAR postcode crime statistics — NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research · Period: Jan 2024 to Dec 2024 → Jan 2025 to Dec 2025; Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 · Updated on site · Rolling 12-month windows
Public transport
7 public transport stops in this suburb
- City Rd After Cleveland St
- City Rd After Cleveland St
- Cleveland St At Boundary St
- King St Opp Carillon Av
- University Of Sydney, City Rd
Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)
Public transport stop coverage
Data sources & freshness
- Timetables Complete GTFS stops (© Transport for NSW, CC BY 4.0) — Transport for NSW — Open Data Hub · Period: current · Updated on site · GTFS static feed (updated nightly)
Planning & development
Development applications from NSW Planning Portal (lodged 2020–2026).
2 planning-related records
2025· 1 proposal
December 2025
- Dwelling house; Alterations or additions to an existing building or structure17 THOMAS STREET DARLINGTON, NSW, 2008Determined
2023· 1 proposal
January 2023
- Educational establishment; Other385 Abercrombie Street, DarlingtonDetermined
Contributes to desirability score · Future Growth (7%)
Development and planning activity
Data sources & freshness
- Online DA development application register — NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure · Period: 2020–2026 · Updated on site · Daily open-data feed (applications from Oct 2018)
Amenities
180 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
- Arts centre
- ANZATM
- Commonwealth BankATM
- NABATM
- WestpacATM
- Hermann's BarBar
- Bbq (3)
- Bench (53)
- Bicycle Parking (23)
- Bicycle Repair Station
Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe).
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Food, shopping, recreation and sport (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Parks & reserves
4 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Charles Kernan ReservePark
- Shepherd Street ReservePark
- Vine Street PlaygroundPark
- Vine Street ReservePark
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Period: current · Updated on site
Health access
- Hospitals & GP clinics
- 1
- Emergency department
- Not in suburb
- Campus DentalCity Roaddentist
Contributes to desirability score · Accessibility (15%)
Hospitals and GP clinics
Data sources & freshness
- Hospitals & clinics — OpenStreetMap + state health datasets · Period: current · Updated on site
Socio-economic (SEIFA)
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 10/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 8/10
SEIFA indexes from ABS 2021. Decile 10 = most advantaged / least disadvantaged in Australia.
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD decile)
Data sources & freshness
- SEIFA 2021 (IRSAD / IRSD) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 SEIFA release
Hazards
- Bushfire planning zone
- No overlay at centroid
Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via NSW bush fire prone land mapping.
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Bushfire hazard overlays
Data sources & freshness
- Hazard planning overlays — State government hazard layers · Period: current · Updated on site
Green cover
- Parks & woodland (OSM)
- 10
- Parks (OSM)
- 10
OpenStreetMap parks and natural woodland features mapped within the suburb boundary.
Contributes to desirability score · Environment (10%)
Parks and green cover (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap green cover features — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Desirability Index
- Desirability score
- 38.4/100 — Below average
- National rank
- 3743rd in Australia
- State rank
- 1171st in NSW
- Peer rank
- #320 among Metro Sydney · Established suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #654 among Metro Sydney suburbs
- Data confidence
- 74%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived score) · Period: current · Updated on site · Derived from source metrics
Recent changes
- ANZamenitiesatm
- Angry Tony'samenitiesrestaurant
- Arts centreamenitiesarts_centre
- Australia Postamenitiespost_box
- Bbqamenitiesbbq
- Bbqamenitiesbbq
- Bbqamenitiesbbq
- Beirut Falafelamenitiesfast_food
- Benchamenitiesbench
- Benchamenitiesbench
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
More in Sydney Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of New South Wales.