Lakemba
NSWLakemba is a declining suburb in NSW with 17,092 residents.
- SAL code
- 12266
- SA2
- 119021573
- Population
- 17,092
Lakemba, NSW had 17,092 residents at the 2021 Census, with the broader statistical area roughly steady over the last five years. The predominant age group is 25-34 years, and the median age sits at 32. Households are most often couples with children, and those with a mortgage repay a median of $1,712 a month. Around 38.6% of homes are owner-occupied, with the largest single tenure being rented at 58.1%. Most dwellings are flats or apartments, making up 70.2% of the suburb's housing stock. The suburb has 14 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
Lakemba, NSW at a glance
Lakemba sits ~12 km south-west of the Sydney CBD on the Bankstown line in the City of Canterbury-Bankstown. Density is high for the corridor (~7,900 people/km2), Haldon Street is the cultural spine, and the just-finalised TOD masterplan locks in major redevelopment around the metro station. The data tiles below cover the demographic baseline; this card adds the live market, lifestyle, and council context they don't.
For homebuyers
Lakemba is one of Sydney's most culturally diverse pockets — about 60% of residents were born overseas, with strong Bangladeshi, Lebanese, Pakistani and Indian communities. Haldon Street is the local heart: Middle Eastern grocers, halal butchers, Lebanese, Bangladeshi and Turkish restaurants, and the annual Ramadan Night Markets that pull more than 1.4 million visitors over a month. The dwelling mix is a real split — older interwar and post-war houses on standard lots beside walk-up red-brick units from the 60s and 70s, with newer infill apartments closer to the station. Lakemba railway station is on the Bankstown line (currently being converted to Sydney Metro standards), with Wiley Park a 14-minute walk west and Belmore one stop east. Lakemba Public School and Wiley Park Girls High are both within the suburb; Roselands shopping is ~3 km south. In short: a dense, walkable, deeply multicultural inner-south-west suburb where the food strip and the metro upgrade are the two things that define daily life.
For investors
Lakemba is a unit-led market with a wide gap between segments. Median house sale $1,480,000 against $650/week rent gives a thin ~2.88% gross yield with -1.33% 12-month growth, off just 49 sales (Your Investment Property, May 2026, CoreLogic data to March 2026). Units tell a different story: median $520,000, $530/week rent, ~5.41% gross yield, +11.11% 12-month growth, 213 sales. SQM has the suburb vacancy rate around 1.15-1.9%; days-on-market for houses ~39.
Strengths
- Strong unit growth (+11.11% YoY) and yield (~5.41%) on a ~$520k entry — rare for inner-south-west Sydney (Your Investment Property May 2026).
- Tight rental market — vacancy ~1.15-1.9% (SQM) supports steady cashflow.
- Sydney Metro conversion of the Bankstown line plus the finalised TOD masterplan put a long structural tailwind under station-precinct stock.
- High unit transaction volume (213 sales/12mo) gives genuine liquidity for buy-and-hold investors.
Trade-offs
- House segment is going backwards on price (-1.33% YoY) at a $1.48m median — capital-growth thesis on houses is weak right now.
- Yield on houses ~2.88% — well below holding costs at current rates.
- TOD masterplan unlocks 9,000+ new homes within 400m of the station; meaningful future supply could compress unit yield through 2027-28.
- Days-on-market for houses ~39 vs much shorter on units — bid-ask is wider than headline medians suggest.
What's coming
The Lakemba TOD Masterplan was finalised by the NSW Government in February 2026, replacing blanket TOD controls with Council's tailored scheme — over 9,000 new homes within 400m of Lakemba station. Council is progressing public-domain upgrades on Haldon Street (Investing in Our Communities funding), a Fairmount Street Reserve playground upgrade, and a proposed 40 km/h commercial-centre speed zone.
Bottom line
For homebuyers: a dense, food-led, deeply multicultural Bankstown-line suburb on the cusp of a metro-driven rebuild. For investors: a unit-yield play with metro tailwinds, tempered by a soft house segment and a substantial TOD supply pipeline.
Population
?17,092
Suburb · Census 2021
5-Year Growth
-0.1%
3yr: +4.9% · 10yr: +0.1%
SA2 · 5yr
Household Income
$1,227/wk
Suburb · Census 2021 median
Median Age
32
Suburb · Census 2021
Socio-Economic Index
?1/10
SA2 · more disadvantaged
Unemployment
?8.7%
SA2 · Q4 2025
Schools
3
2 primary
Hospitals
No data for this suburb
Childcare services
?11
9 long day, 5 OSHC
Parks & green space
?14
Parks, reserves
Transport stops
?70
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 — Lakemba (SA2)
ABS publishes annual estimates only at SA2; Lakemba suburb alone is ~17,092 (Census 2021).
Source: ABS ERP (latest release · 2025) · Census 2021. Numbers refreshed quarterly.
Growth at a Glance
Population grew from 15,171 to 17,756 over 24 years, averaging 0.7% per year.
Schools
2 in suburbSector
2 public
Type
1 primary
Total enrolment
895
Avg per school
448
Government school catchment
Intake zonePrimary
Hampden Park PS50.4%
- Belmore SPS 22.7%
- Lakemba PS 21.2%
- Greenacre PS 5.6%
- Belmore NPS 0.1%
- McCallums Hill PS 0.0%
- Wiley Park PS 0.0%
Secondary
Wiley Park GHS94.9%
- Belmore BHS 94.9%
- Kingsgrove NHS 94.3%
- Strathfield SHS 5.6%
- Punchbowl BHS 5.1%
- Bankstown GHS 5.1%
- Sir Joseph Banks HS 0.1%
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 1.9%Predominantly apartments (70.2%), rental-heavy (58.1% renting), built for families (65% are 2 bed).
Dwelling mix
Tenure
NSW 33%
Number of bedrooms
Bushfire risk
This suburb falls outside every bushfire 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 bushfire 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.
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
8 zones in suburb| Code | Zone | % covered | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| R4 | ZoneResidential | 58.6% | 1.28 km² |
| R3 | ZoneResidential | 18.2% | 0.40 km² |
| E1 | ZoneEnvironmental | 7.0% | 0.15 km² |
| RE1 | ZoneRecreation | 6.0% | 0.13 km² |
| E4 | ZoneEnvironmental | 4.5% | 0.10 km² |
| SP2 | ZoneSpecial use | 3.7% | 0.08 km² |
| R2 | ZoneResidential | 1.5% | 0.03 km² |
| E3 | ZoneEnvironmental | 0.4% | 7,832 m² |
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.