Snapshot of North Sydney

The North Sydney Local Government Area is located on the northern side of Sydney Harbour, and covers 10 square kilometres. It is both urban and green in character, comprising two Central Business Districts (CBD's), smaller suburban centres, residential areas, parks and open spaces.

The Estimated Residential Population is 62,323 (as at June 2007), and there are marginally more females (52.4%) than males (47.6%). The number of Indigenous persons (0.2%) is proportionately lower than Greater Sydney (1.1%).

North Sydney attracts young adults who move to the area for employment. Almost 78% of residents participate in the labour force, and 62% of employed persons were employed as either Managers and Administrators or Professionals, compared with 36% for the Greater Sydney region. 25-34 year olds are the dominant population group, representing 27.6% of the population, followed by 35-49 year olds (22.8%).

Family households are the most common household type (46.0%), followed by lone person households (34.8%), and group households (7.3%). While lone person households are not the most common, there are significantly more than Greater Sydney (21.6%). The population is also highly mobile (67% of residents were at a different address five years before).

With regard to the different kinds of dwellings, the majority of people in private property live in flats, units or apartments (70.3%), with most renting (46.4%). Others fully own their properties (22.3%) or are in the process of buying them (19.0%). There is some public housing spread among the LGA that provides the only option for very low and low-income earners to remain in North Sydney

The majority of residents were born in Australia (55.4%). However, there are significant numbers of people born overseas (33.5%). Of those born overseas, the top ten countries of birth are the UK, New Zealand, Japan, China, Hong Kong, South Africa, USA, India, Malaysia and Germany. The majority of residents only speak English at home (73%). Of those who speak another language at home, the top ten languages are Cantonese, Japanese, Mandarin, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Korean, Greek and Hindi. The English language skills of those who speak another language vary.

As well as its residential population, North Sydney also has large numbers of day-time visitors. There are about 60,053 people employed in North Sydney. The industries employing the highest number of people are "Professional, Scientific and Technical Services", (16%), "Computer System Design and Related Services" (12%), "Telecommunications Services" (5%), "Administrative Services" (5%), "Auxiliary Finance and Insurance Services" (5%). There are also 19 educational institutions drawing a total student population of 18,282 students, of which significant numbers live outside North Sydney.

Moreover, at certain times of the year and for special events tens of thousands of people travel to North Sydney to watch boat races by day, fireworks by night, or to simply picnic by the Harbour. Monthly markets, in three locations throughout North Sydney, as well as Christmas, Youth Week and other festival events, attract thousands more.

Changes in North Sydney 2001 to 2006

North Sydney has both a growing and a relatively young resident population. Between 2001 and 2006, the usually resident population counted in the Census grew by 3,250 people, or 5.9%.

With regard to specific population groups, the 25-34 year olds group increased slightly between 2001 and 2006, but the largest increases were in 35-49 year olds (up by 1,217 people) and 60-69 year olds (up by 1,372 people).

This could indicate a change in the role and function of North Sydney LGA, with both parent groups and "empty nesters" moving in. There has also been an increase in 0-4 year olds. Though this group only represented 4.5% of the population (6.6% across Sydney), the population increased by 512 people - a 23.8% increase in number since 2001. The parents of these children are likely to be in the 35-49 year age group, so the increase in both these groups indicates that the area is beginning to attract slightly older couples who are starting families later in life. Some of this population is likely to be couples who have lived in the area for some time, established themselves and are now deciding to have children.

This increase in children is also evident in the household type characteristics - couple families with children under 15 increased from 18.4% to 20.5% of all families. However, the dominant family type in North Sydney is still couple families without children, accounting for 57.4% of family households in 2006. Lone person households were a very significant household type, representing 35.6% of all households; however this represented a slight decline since 2001. The majority of lone person households were younger (aged 15-44), but a significant minority (23%) contained lone persons aged over 65. These people are most likely ageing in place.

Overall, household size in North Sydney was relatively steady at 1.90 persons per dwelling, significantly lower than the Greater Sydney average, reflecting the smaller household types (Couples without children and Lone person households) prevalent in the area. Dwelling structures also reflected this, with 52.6% being high density dwellings (flats in blocks of three storeys or more), and only 12.4% separate houses. However, the proportion of separate houses did increase slightly between 2001 and 2006.

Both individual and household incomes for North Sydney residents are relatively high compared to the Greater Sydney region. 51% of individuals had incomes in the top quartile in 2006; however this group barely changed in number between 2001 and 2006. The largest increase was in the third quartile ("medium highest") group. For household incomes, 42.6% were in the top quartile in 2006, and this also showed the largest increase since 2001. This combination of results may indicate the influx of dual-income couple families into the area, where each partner is on a moderate-high income.

Despite a slight decline between 2001 and 2006, rental is still the dominant housing market in North Sydney, accounting for 46.4% of all occupied dwellings. Weekly rent paid was generally much higher than the Greater Sydney average, with 54.2% of rented dwellings being in the top quartile of rents across Sydney. However this proportion decreased from 62.1% in 2001, with increases in all the lower quartiles, perhaps indicating that rents in other parts of Sydney are "catching up" to North Sydney. Housing loan repayments were also higher than average, with 58.8% paying more than $2,000 per month.

Looking at Cultural and Linguistic Diversity, North Sydney was a little less diverse than Greater Sydney as a whole, with 18.2% of the population being born in a non-English speaking country, compared to 24.0% in Sydney-wide. However this proportion increased from 17.2% in 2001. The proportion of total overseas-born was actually a little higher than that for Greater Sydney, but English speaking countries made up 15.1% of the total population, double the figure for Sydney. The emerging birthplace groups in North Sydney were China, India and Malaysia, all increasing significantly since 2001. People speaking a language other than English at home increased from 14.7% in 2001 to 16.5% in 2006. The major increases were in Chinese languages and Spanish.

Of the 35,334 employed people counted in North Sydney, 34.2% used public transport to get to work, almost double the Greater Sydney average of 18.0%. There was an increase of 8.9% in people travelling to work by bus, while the use of ferries declined slightly. Train and car use was steady, and 12.3% of people walked to work, up from 11.8%, and almost three times the Greater Sydney average, indicating the accessibility of workplace to residential locations in the area. This shows that despite some clear demographic changes mentioned above, North Sydney does retain its role within the Greater Sydney region as a major residential location for people seeking proximity to their employment in the inner Sydney and North Shore areas.

Summary of changes in North Sydney, 2001-2006:

• 5.9% increase in population
• Increase in infants (0-4 year olds), older parents (35-49 year olds) and retirement age people (60-69 year olds).
• Increase in couple families, both with and without children, and a decrease in lone person households.
• Household incomes, rents and mortgage payments are still heavily skewed towards the high end, but less so than in 2001.
• Increase in cultural and linguistic diversity.
• More people taking buses and walking to work, less people taking ferries, but car and train use remains relatively stable.
• North Sydney retains its role and function as an area where young professionals move for employment, living in lone person or couple only households, however this is diversifying a little, with more children being born and an increase in families and family housing types.

The Council contains representatives from the following four wards:

1. Cremorne Ward
2. Tunks Ward
3. Victoria Ward
4. Wollstonecraft Ward