Hornsby
NSWHornsby is a stable suburb in NSW with 22,462 residents.
- SAL code
- 11943
- SA2
- 121021577
- Population
- 22,462
Hornsby, NSW had 22,462 residents at the 2021 Census, with the broader statistical area showing a 2.0% growth over the last five years. The predominant age group is 35-44 years, and the median age sits at 38. Households are most often couples with children, and those with a mortgage repay a median of $2,240 a month. Around 54.6% of homes are owner-occupied, with the largest single tenure being rented at 43.0%. Most dwellings are flats or apartments, making up 59.2% of the suburb's housing stock. The suburb has 27 parks and reserves mapped within its boundary. Source: ABS Census 2021 and Estimated Resident Population, with amenity counts from state Open Data and OpenStreetMap.
Suburb analysis
Hornsby, NSW at a glance
Hornsby is the commercial anchor of Sydney's Upper North Shore, ~27 km north of the CBD in Hornsby Shire. It pairs a major rail/retail hub (Westfield + the T1/T9/Central Coast junction) with bushland edges that lead straight into Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. The data tiles below cover the demographic baseline; this card adds the live market, lifestyle and council-pipeline context.
For homebuyers
Hornsby is the everything-on-one-street end of the Upper North Shore: Westfield Hornsby anchors the retail core, the station is a four-line interchange (T1 North Shore, T9 Northern, Central Coast & Newcastle, plus Metro feeds), and the bush is genuinely on the doorstep — bushwalking tracks lead from town into Ku-ring-gai Chase. Stock is mixed: post-war houses on bigger lots through the residential streets, and a steady pipeline of mid-rise apartments around the station. Schools are a real draw — Hornsby Girls High (selective, ranked 5th in NSW for NAPLAN 2024) and Normanhurst Boys High (14th) both pull catchment-shoppers from across northern Sydney; Barker College (Hornsby fringe) covers the private-school tier. Town Hall is ~40 minutes by train. In short: a working hub with rail, retail and bush all in walking distance — denser and more practical than the leafier upper-North-Shore postcodes around it.
For investors
Hornsby splits hard into two sub-markets. Median house $1.85M against $850/wk rent gives a thin ~2.43% gross yield (Your Investment Property / htag, May 2026); 12-month house growth +3.35%, 114 sales, 40 days on market. Units are the deeper, faster book — median $727,500, $630/wk rent, ~4.31% yield, 23 days on market and 390 sales over 12 months. Shire-level vacancy ~1.77% (htag, early 2026) keeps leasing tight.
Strengths
- Deep unit market (~390 sales/yr, 23 days on market) makes entry and exit straightforward at the apartment grain.
- Tight Shire-level vacancy (~1.77%, htag early 2026) supports steady rent growth.
- Selective-school catchments (Hornsby Girls High, Normanhurst Boys High) underpin durable family demand at the house grain.
- Four-line rail interchange + Westfield Hornsby make this one of the few northern-Sydney centres genuinely walkable to work, transit and retail.
Trade-offs
- House yields are very thin (~2.43%) — this is a capital-growth-or-bust play at the detached grain, not cashflow.
- House capital growth was modest at +3.35% over the 12 months to early 2026 (htag) — below the broader Sydney pace.
- House market is shallow (114 sales/yr) and slow (40 days) — exit timing matters more here than in higher-turnover suburbs.
- Apartment supply around the station continues to come on through the Hornsby Town Centre Masterplan — watch unit-grain rents into 2027.
What's coming
Hornsby Shire Council's 2025/26 Operational Plan carries an $81M capital program. The headline project is Hornsby Park — the former quarry conversion ~1 km west of the centre — with the Quarry Loop shared path under construction and the Old Mans Valley Field of Play funded by a Thriving Suburbs grant. Westleigh Park sports complex is paused after the state government withdrew funding. Town Centre Masterplan delivery continues alongside.
Bottom line
For homebuyers: a practical, transit-rich Upper-North-Shore hub with selective schools and bush on the doorstep. For investors: thin house yields but a deep, fast unit market — pick the grain that matches the strategy.
Population
?22,462
Suburb · Census 2021
5-Year Growth
+2.0%
3yr: +7.0% · 10yr: +6.8%
SA2 · 5yr
Household Income
$1,952/wk
Suburb · Census 2021 median
Median Age
38
Suburb · Census 2021
Socio-Economic Index
?5/10
SA2 · middle-range
Unemployment
?8.7%
SA2 · Q4 2025
Schools
5
3 primary, 1 secondary
Hospitals
?1
Within suburb
Childcare services
?19
16 long day, 4 OSHC
Parks & green space
?27
Parks, reserves
Transport stops
?77
GTFS stops
Dwelling approvals
No data for this suburb
Median Weekly Rent
Based on NSW rental bond lodgements, aggregated at postcode level. All SALs sharing this postcode show the same median.
Median House Sale Price
Source: state Valuer-General (suburb-level quarterly medians).
→ Calculate stamp duty on this suburb's median price→ Estimate mortgage repayments→ Calculate rental yield (price + median rent)
Safety & Crime
2025 Q4Reported incidents from NSW police. Offence rates may not reflect all crime.
Population over time — Hornsby - East (SA2)
ABS publishes annual estimates only at SA2; Hornsby suburb alone is ~22,462 (Census 2021).
Source: ABS ERP (latest release · 2025) · Census 2021. Numbers refreshed quarterly.
Growth at a Glance
Population grew from 8,886 to 12,798 over 24 years, averaging 1.5% per year.
Schools
4 in suburbSector
4 public
Type
2 primary · 1 secondary
Total enrolment
2,252
Avg per school
563
Government school catchment
Intake zonePrimary
Hornsby NPS46.9%
- Hornsby SPS 32.5%
- Waitara PS 10.9%
- Asquith PS 9.3%
- Dural PS 0.2%
- Normanhurst WPS 0.2%
- Mt Colah PS 0.0%
- Hornsby Hts PS 0.0%
- Thornleigh WPS 0.0%
Secondary
Hornsby HS79.4%
- Ku-ring-gai HS 10.9%
- Asquith HS 9.3%
- Galston HS 0.2%
- Turramurra HS 0.2%
- Pennant Hls HS 0.0%
Source: NSW Department of Education — School Intake Zones. Boundaries can be amended without notice; confirm with the school before relying on enrolment.
Profile
Census snapshot
Housing
Public housing 2.5%Predominantly apartments (59.2%), mixed tenure (54.6% own or mortgage), built for families (48% are 2 bed).
Dwelling mix
Tenure
NSW 33%
Number of bedrooms
Bushfire risk
Source: NSW RFS BFPL via SEED
As of May 2026
Overlap is the percentage of the suburb's land area inside the mapped bushfire polygons. Always verify the exact property address with the relevant authority before making decisions.
Flood risk
This suburb falls outside every flood polygon mapped by the relevant authority. Always confirm at the property address — local conditions and unmapped overlays can still apply.
Overlap is the percentage of the suburb's land area inside the mapped flood polygons. Always verify the exact property address with the relevant authority before making decisions. Source when available: NSW Rural Fire Service (BFPL) and NSW DPHI EPI Flood.
Planning zones
10 zones in suburb| Code | Zone | % covered | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| R2 | ZoneResidential | 45.9% | 3.85 km² |
| RE1 | ZoneRecreation | 14.5% | 1.22 km² |
| C1 | ZoneEnvironmental | 10.4% | 0.87 km² |
| R4 | ZoneResidential | 6.3% | 0.53 km² |
| RE2 | ZoneRecreation | 5.8% | 0.49 km² |
| SP2 | ZoneSpecial use | 5.8% | 0.49 km² |
| MU1 | ZoneBusiness | 3.8% | 0.32 km² |
| R3 | ZoneResidential | 3.2% | 0.27 km² |
| E4 | ZoneEnvironmental | 2.9% | 0.24 km² |
| E3 | ZoneEnvironmental | 1.3% | 0.11 km² |
Source: NSW DPHI EPI Land Zoning (ZONE_NSW/2026-04-29/1eccf1a530fa1be5) · As of Apr 2026. Zone boundaries are amended periodically; verify the exact property with the relevant council before relying on permitted use.