The Ponds
NSWThe Ponds is a stable suburb in NSW with 16,315 residents.
- SAL code
- 13851
- SA2
- 116021628
- Population
- 16,315
The Ponds, NSW had 16,315 residents at the 2021 Census, with the broader statistical area showing a 2.4% growth over the last five years. The predominant age group is 35-44 years, and the median age sits at 35. Households are most often couples with children, and those with a mortgage repay a median of $3,000 a month. Around 74.3% of homes are owner-occupied, with the largest single tenure being owned with a mortgage at 62.3%. Most dwellings are separate houses, making up 84.2% of the suburb's housing stock. The suburb has 22 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
The Ponds, NSW at a glance
The Ponds is a master-planned, family-skewed suburb ~40 km north-west of Sydney CBD in Blacktown City, on the Tallawong-Rouse Hill metro corridor. Most homes were built post-2008 on compact lots, the streetscape is uniformly modern, and the population is dominated by couple-with-children households. The data tiles below cover the demographic baseline; this card adds the live market, lifestyle and council pipeline.
For homebuyers
The Ponds reads as a planned, finished community rather than a frontier estate — predominantly 4- and 5-bedroom houses on compact lots, walkable streets, and a chain of constructed waterways and reserves running through the middle of it. The Ponds Shopping Centre (Woolworths + ~20 specialty shops, opened 2015) is the local anchor; Rouse Hill Town Centre (~1 km, 250+ stores including Coles, Kmart, Big W, Reading Cinemas) handles the bigger trip, and Stanhope Village (~3 km) covers the gap. Tallawong Metro is ~1.5 km north and runs trains every four minutes through Norwest, Macquarie Park and Chatswood to Town Hall. Schools are a defining feature: Riverbank Public School and The Ponds High School (both opened 2015) are the in-suburb options and consistently among the better-performing public schools in the corridor; John Palmer Public sits beside the shopping centre. In short: a planned outer-NW family suburb with strong schools and metro access, where you trade lot size and yard depth for newness and walkability.
For investors
The Ponds is a capital-priced, low-yield, owner-occupier-dominated market. Median house $1,615,000 against $880/week rent gives a ~2.89% gross yield; units are thin (~$670/wk → 4.44% but only 5 sales in 12 months) per Your Investment Property (May 2026). 12-month house growth -0.31%, with a +1.32% bounce in the most recent quarter. 202 house sales in the past 12 months — deep enough to enter — and houses average 31 days on market.
Strengths
- Metro on the doorstep — Tallawong (~1.5 km) runs every ~4 minutes to the CBD, supporting tenant demand from Norwest / Macquarie Park commuters.
- Strong school catchments (The Ponds High, Riverbank Public, John Palmer Public) anchor long-tenancy family renters.
- Deep house transaction market (~202 sales/yr) makes entry and exit straightforward at this price band.
- Walkable retail layering — The Ponds SC, Rouse Hill Town Centre and Stanhope Village all within ~3 km.
Trade-offs
- Yields are thin (~2.9% houses) — a negatively-geared, growth-dependent hold rather than a cashflow play.
- 12-month price action is flat-to-negative (-0.31% YoY houses, YIP May 2026) — the corridor is digesting earlier gains.
- Almost no stratified stock (5 unit sales in 12 months) — limited diversification or smaller-ticket entry.
- Land-release pressure across the broader North West Growth Area continues to add new supply that competes with established Ponds stock.
What's coming
Blacktown City's 2025/26 Works Improvement Program is funded out of a $767m council budget with $126m in capital works across roads, footpaths and stormwater. The Ponds High School upgrade (NSW Budget 2025-26, Western Sydney package) is in delivery as part of an additional 600 classrooms across North-West Sydney. Watch Blacktown's Developments Online for site-specific pacing along Riverbank Drive.
Bottom line
For homebuyers: a planned, school-anchored family suburb with metro access — at a $1.6m price tag. For investors: a low-yield, growth-dependent hold in a market that's currently flat.
Population
?16,315
Suburb · Census 2021
5-Year Growth
+2.4%
3yr: +2.3% · 10yr: +9.3%
SA2 · 5yr
Household Income
$3,285/wk
Suburb · Census 2021 median
Median Age
35
Suburb · Census 2021
Socio-Economic Index
?10/10
SA2 · least disadvantaged
Unemployment
?1.4%
SA2 · Q4 2025
Schools
4
2 primary, 1 secondary
Hospitals
No data for this suburb
Childcare services
?5
3 long day, 2 OSHC
Parks & green space
?22
Parks, reserves
Transport stops
?53
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 — Kellyville Ridge - The Ponds (SA2)
ABS publishes annual estimates only at SA2; The Ponds suburb alone is ~16,315 (Census 2021).
Source: ABS ERP (latest release · 2025) · Census 2021. Numbers refreshed quarterly.
Growth at a Glance
Population grew from 676 to 21,774 over 24 years, averaging 15.6% per year.
Schools
4 in suburbSector
4 public
Type
2 primary · 1 secondary
Total enrolment
5,418
Avg per school
1,355
Government school catchment
Intake zonePrimary
John Palmer PS47.0%
- Riverbank PS 38.2%
- Barnier PS 9.1%
- Kellyville Ridge PS 5.2%
- Tallawong PS 0.4%
Secondary
The Ponds HS85.2%
- Wyndham College 9.6%
- Quakers Hill HS 9.1%
- Glenwood HS 5.2%
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 0.1%Almost entirely detached houses (84.2%), owner-occupied (74.3%), built for families (61% are 4 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
Source: NSW Planning Portal EPI Flood
As of May 2026
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.
Planning zones
7 zones in suburb| Code | Zone | % covered | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| R3 | ZoneResidential | 46.1% | 2.14 km² |
| R2 | ZoneResidential | 26.6% | 1.24 km² |
| SP2 | ZoneSpecial use | 15.3% | 0.71 km² |
| RE1 | ZoneRecreation | 7.6% | 0.36 km² |
| C2 | ZoneEnvironmental | 3.6% | 0.17 km² |
| E1 | ZoneEnvironmental | 0.4% | 0.02 km² |
| SP1 | ZoneSpecial use | 0.3% | 0.02 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.