Best Sydney suburbs for families with good primary schools
Carlingford tops the ranking: 4 of its 4 schools rate above their ACARA peer group. The strongest results cluster between 8 and 32 km of the Sydney CBD. These 30 suburbs came from a field of 143 eligible Sydney suburbs.
This ranking scores every eligible Sydney suburb on the share of primary-school students at schools that outperform their ACARA peer group, adjusted for socio-economic advantage, walkability, and safety. Public and private results are ranked separately since the buyer decisions differ.
For each Sydney suburb we compute the share of primary-school enrolments at schools rated above their ACARA peer group, blended with the ABS SEIFA socio-economic index, OpenStreetMap walkability, and a composite safety score. The share is Bayesian-smoothed so a suburb with two-of-two above-peer schools can't leapfrog a suburb with eight-of-ten. A small volume bonus rewards suburbs offering more school choice — parents with two children in different year levels value optionality that a single-school suburb can't deliver.
Best Sydney suburbs for good public primary schools
Public/government-sector primary schools — includes K-6 schools and the primary component of K-12 government schools within the suburb boundary.
Carlingford
NSW 2118 · 28,044 residents4/4 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Castle Hill
NSW 2154 · 40,874 residents4/4 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Baulkham Hills
NSW 2153 · 37,415 residents4/4 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Eastwood
NSW 2122 · 18,695 residents2/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Epping
NSW 2121 · 29,551 residents3/5 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
West Ryde
NSW 2114 · 13,171 residents2/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Haberfield
NSW 2045 · 6,480 residents2/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Jannali
NSW 2226 · 6,632 residents2/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Cherrybrook
NSW 2126 · 19,082 residents2/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Oatley
NSW 2223 · 10,664 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Surry Hills
NSW 2010 · 15,828 residents2/3 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Wahroonga
NSW 2076 · 17,853 residents2/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Glenwood
NSW 2768 · 15,829 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Cammeray
NSW 2062 · 7,088 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Pymble
NSW 2073 · 11,775 residents2/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · walkable
Ranked from 143 qualifying suburbs.
Best Sydney suburbs for good private primary schools
Catholic and independent primary schools — includes standalone primaries and the primary component of K-12 combined schools.
Rose Bay
NSW 2029 · 9,911 residents3/3 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Maroubra
NSW 2035 · 30,722 residents4/6 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Waitara
NSW 2077 · 7,837 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Eastwood
NSW 2122 · 18,695 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Chatswood
NSW 2067 · 25,553 residents2/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Woollahra
NSW 2025 · 7,189 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Sydney
NSW 2000 · 16,667 residents2/3 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
North Strathfield
NSW 2137 · 4,618 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Dulwich Hill
NSW 2203 · 14,046 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Stanmore
NSW 2048 · 7,619 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Lewisham
NSW 2049 · 4,060 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Croydon
NSW 2132 · 10,755 residents2/3 above peer schools · very advantaged area · walkable
Kensington
NSW 2033 · 11,927 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Ryde
NSW 2112 · 31,907 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Gladesville
NSW 2111 · 12,867 residents1/2 above peer schools · very advantaged area · very walkable
Ranked from 102 qualifying suburbs.
40% share of schools above their peer group · 20% socio-economic advantage (SEIFA) · 25% walkability · 15% safety (bushfire, crime, flood risks combined). Plus a small volume bonus rewarding suburbs offering more school choice. See how we calculate for the full methodology.
Common questions about this ranking
What are the best Sydney suburbs for families with good primary schools?
Carlingford tops the ranking: 4 of its 4 schools rate above their ACARA peer group. The strongest results cluster between 8 and 32 km of the Sydney CBD. These 30 suburbs came from a field of 143 eligible Sydney suburbs.
How is this ranking scored?
Each eligible Sydney suburb is scored on four factors: 40% share of schools rated above their ACARA peer group (Bayesian-smoothed so a tiny suburb with 2/2 can't outrank a suburb with 8/10), 20% ABS SEIFA socio-economic advantage, 25% OpenStreetMap-derived walkability, and 15% safety (bushfire, crime and flood risks combined). A small volume bonus rewards suburbs offering more school choice.
Why are public and private schools ranked separately?
Buyer decisions differ: parents choosing between government-sector primary schools weigh very different factors from parents choosing between Catholic and independent schools. Blending the two hides the signal a reader is actually looking for, so we publish both lists on the same page.
Which suburbs are eligible for the ranking?
To appear on the list, a suburb needs at least 2 qualifying schools inside its boundary and a resident population of at least 500. Suburbs that fall below either threshold are excluded — not penalised — so the ranking isn't dominated by tiny, high-signal outliers.
How often is this list updated?
The top 15 is recomputed automatically after each ACARA schools data refresh, so the ranking reflects the most recent published NAPLAN-adjusted peer comparisons. See the footer of this page for the last computed date.
Same list in other cities
- Best Melbourne suburbs for families with good primary schools
- Best Brisbane suburbs for families with good primary schools
- Best Perth suburbs for families with good primary schools
- Best Adelaide suburbs for families with good primary schools
- Best Hobart suburbs for families with good primary schools
- Best Darwin suburbs for families with good primary schools
- Best Canberra suburbs for families with good primary schools
- Best Newcastle suburbs for families with good primary schools
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Related
Rankings last computed 28 September 2026. Recomputed after each ACARA schools data refresh.
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