Hurstville, NSW
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Hurstville sits in southern Sydney, about 16 kilometres south of the central business district, and serves as the administrative centre of the Georges River Council in the St George district. At the time of the First Fleet the country along the Georges River, from Botany Bay towards present-day Liverpool, was home to the Eora people; an early meeting at Lime Kiln Bay in January 1788 saw food and drink shared between the visitors and the local inhabitants. The name joins the old English 'hurst', meaning a wooded eminence, to 'ville' for a town. Crown grants in 1808 went to the brothers John and Robert Townson, and in 1812 the merchant Simeon Lord bought the holding and called it Lord's Forest; from 1850 Michael Gannon subdivided it into small farms known as Gannon's Forest. A local school took the name Hurstville in 1876, the railway station borrowed it when the line opened in 1884, and the municipality was incorporated in 1887 before being declared a city in 1988. Today Hurstville is one of Sydney's busiest multicultural centres, with a large Chinese community, the Westfield shopping complex and a reputation as a dining destination. Among those who grew up here were the three-time Formula One world champion Jack Brabham and the tennis great Ken Rosewall.
More advantaged than the national average
Hurstville is more socio-economically advantaged than about 64% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 1012, 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.
Hurstville at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 31,162
- Median age
- 33
- Median weekly household income
- $1,804
- SEIFA score
- 1012
- Coordinates
- -33.9632, 151.1006
Hurstville demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Hurstville 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 young adults (25–44) at 37%, 47% of homes are rented, and 71% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 4,056 | 13% |
| Youth (15–24) | 4,862 | 16% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 11,503 | 37% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 6,442 | 21% |
| Seniors (65+) | 4,302 | 14% |
Share of the 31,165 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 2,499 | 24% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 2,679 | 25% |
| Rented | 4,993 | 47% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 3,164 | 30% |
| Townhouses & semis | 860 | 8% |
| Flats & apartments | 6,467 | 61% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 10,529 occupied private dwellings in Hurstville.
- Median weekly rent
- $470
- Median monthly mortgage
- $2,167
- Average household size
- 2.8 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,802
- Median weekly personal income
- $698
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 21,191 (71%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 23,800 (81%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 74 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 20,064 (76%)
- Labour-force participation
- 57.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.9%
- Employed full-time
- 6,955
- Employed part-time
- 5,190
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 Hurstville
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Hurstville is January (average daytime high around 27.9°C) and the coolest is July (around 17°C). The area receives roughly 862 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27.9°C | 18.8°C | 83 mm |
| Feb | 26.8°C | 18.3°C | 94 mm |
| Mar | 25.3°C | 17.3°C | 141 mm |
| Apr | 22.8°C | 13.9°C | 72 mm |
| May | 19.8°C | 10.4°C | 40 mm |
| Jun | 16.9°C | 8.4°C | 57 mm |
| Jul | 17°C | 7°C | 57 mm |
| Aug | 18.1°C | 7.6°C | 53 mm |
| Sep | 20.9°C | 9.8°C | 43 mm |
| Oct | 23.5°C | 12.6°C | 78 mm |
| Nov | 24.8°C | 14.7°C | 72 mm |
| Dec | 27.1°C | 17°C | 72 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Hurstville
Where is Hurstville?
Hurstville is a suburb of New South Wales, Australia.
What is the population of Hurstville?
At the 2021 Census, Hurstville had a population of about 31,162.
Is Hurstville an advantaged area?
Hurstville has an ABS SEIFA score of 1012, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 64 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 64% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Hurstville?
Hurstville has average daytime highs of about 22.6°C and overnight lows of about 13°C, with roughly 862 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
How big is Hurstville?
Hurstville is one of the most populous suburbs in New South Wales — the 11th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 31,162 usual residents).
Where Hurstville ranks
Hurstville appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
- Largest suburbs in New South Wales#11 of 25
Nearby suburbs in New South Wales
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