Darlington vs Redfern

Darlington is the younger of the two, with a median age of 27 against 36 in Redfern. In both, most households rent. In Redfern, most homes are flats or apartments and most households are people living alone. On these figures, Darlington tends to suit young adults and share households, while Redfern suits people living alone.

Which one suits you?

There is no overall winner — the suburb that suits a family with school-age kids is routinely the wrong one for someone commuting into the city. So each of these answers its own question, against a checklist you can see, using the same figures in the tables below.

Families with school-age kids

Redfern

ahead on 2 of the 5 things we measure here

  • has more parks and reserves (16 vs 6)
  • has more childcare (8 vs 3)

Weighs schools, house stock, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.

First-home buyers

Too close to call

Nothing among the 3 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs house prices, unit prices, and mortgage stress.

Renters

Redfern

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • has cheaper rent ($500/wk vs $650/wk)

Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.

Commuting to the city

Too close to call

Nothing among the 4 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.

Weighs distance, drive time, rail access, and walkability.

Downsizers and retirees

Redfern

ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here

  • has more GPs (5 vs 1)
  • has more residents already 65 and over (14% vs 6%)

Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, and walkability.

Investors

Redfern

ahead on the one thing that separates them

  • is growing faster (-1.1% vs -16.1%)

Weighs population growth.

Where they sit

Darlington and Redfern drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.

Darlington Redfern
Hides rows where both suburbs match

Bars start at zero. Scores, risks and rankings are drawn against their full 0–100 range; other rows are drawn in proportion to the larger of the two.

Side by side, out of 100

Risks are inverted — shown as safety and low exposure — so a longer bar always means better.

Darlington Redfern
Walkability 97 / 100
Darlington — Walkability: 97/100 Redfern — Walkability: 100/100
Low fire risk 100 / 100
Darlington — Low fire risk: 100/100 Redfern — Low fire risk: 100/100

Demographics

Redfern has more residents (13,072 vs 2,597); Redfern skews older (36 vs 27).

Darlington Redfern
Population 2,597 13,072
+403% vs other
Population trend (2016 → 2021) -16.1% -1.1%
Median age 27 36
Median household income $124,384/yr
+10% vs other
 $111,540/yr
Median weekly rent $650/wk
+23% vs other
 $500/wk

Age profile

Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.

Darlington Redfern
0-4 2.0% / 3.5%
Darlington — 0-4: 2.0% Redfern — 0-4: 3.5%
5-14 3.1% / 4.7%
Darlington — 5-14: 3.1% Redfern — 5-14: 4.7%
15-19 8.6% / 2.0%
Darlington — 15-19: 8.6% Redfern — 15-19: 2.0%
20-24 25.8% / 8.2%
Darlington — 20-24: 25.8% Redfern — 20-24: 8.2%
25-34 30.0% / 27.4%
Darlington — 25-34: 30.0% Redfern — 25-34: 27.4%
35-44 10.9% / 17.5%
Darlington — 35-44: 10.9% Redfern — 35-44: 17.5%
45-54 8.0% / 12.6%
Darlington — 45-54: 8.0% Redfern — 45-54: 12.6%
55-64 6.3% / 10.6%
Darlington — 55-64: 6.3% Redfern — 55-64: 10.6%
65-74 3.7% / 7.5%
Darlington — 65-74: 3.7% Redfern — 65-74: 7.5%
75-84 1.6% / 4.4%
Darlington — 75-84: 1.6% Redfern — 75-84: 4.4%
85+ 0.3% / 1.6%
Darlington — 85+: 0.3% Redfern — 85+: 1.6%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (30.0%).

Who lives together

Household composition, 2021 Census.

Darlington 41.2% lone person
Darlington — Lone Person: 41.2% Darlington — Group Household: 33.2% Darlington — Couple Families: 16.2% Darlington — One Parent Families: 7.3% Darlington — Other Families: 2.2%
Redfern 58.4% lone person
Redfern — Lone Person: 58.4% Redfern — Group Household: 17.6% Redfern — Couple Families: 15.8% Redfern — One Parent Families: 6.3% Redfern — Other Families: 2.0%
Lone Person Group Household Couple Families One Parent Families Other Families

Who owns and who rents

Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.

Darlington 60.9% renting
Darlington — Owned Outright: 17.7% Darlington — Mortgage: 21.4% Darlington — Renting: 60.9%
Redfern 63.8% renting
Redfern — Owned Outright: 15.1% Redfern — Mortgage: 21.0% Redfern — Renting: 63.8%
Owned outright Mortgage Renting

Qualifications

Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.

Darlington Redfern
Bachelor Degree 32.2% / 29.2%
Darlington — Bachelor Degree: 32.2% Redfern — Bachelor Degree: 29.2%
Postgraduate Degree 14.0% / 13.1%
Darlington — Postgraduate Degree: 14.0% Redfern — Postgraduate Degree: 13.1%
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 5.3% / 7.8%
Darlington — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 5.3% Redfern — Advanced Diploma / Diploma: 7.8%
Certificate III & IV 4.5% / 5.9%
Darlington — Certificate III & IV: 4.5% Redfern — Certificate III & IV: 5.9%
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 2.6% / 2.7%
Darlington — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.6% Redfern — Graduate Diploma / Certificate: 2.7%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (32.2%).

Where residents were born

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents, 2021 Census. A dash means that country is not among the suburb's own eight largest.

Darlington Redfern
China 9.1% / 4.3%
Darlington — China: 9.1% Redfern — China: 4.3%
England 3.9% / 4.8%
Darlington — England: 3.9% Redfern — England: 4.8%
New Zealand 3.6% / 3.0%
Darlington — New Zealand: 3.6% Redfern — New Zealand: 3.0%
India 1.9% / 1.4%
Darlington — India: 1.9% Redfern — India: 1.4%
Thailand 1.1% / 1.2%
Darlington — Thailand: 1.1% Redfern — Thailand: 1.2%
Malaysia 1.2% / 0.9%
Darlington — Malaysia: 1.2% Redfern — Malaysia: 0.9%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (9.1%).

What people live in

Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.

Darlington 76.1% townhouses
Darlington — Townhouses: 76.1% Darlington — Flats / Apartments: 20.1% Darlington — Houses: 3.8%
Redfern 28.6% townhouses
Redfern — Townhouses: 28.6% Redfern — Flats / Apartments: 70.0% Redfern — Houses: 1.4%
Townhouses Flats / Apartments Houses

Property market

Darlington Redfern
Median house price $2,000,000 $2,100,000
Median unit price $1,015,000 $980,000
Median land price —
same for both
Typical days to sell (houses) 22 days
from 12 sales
 23 days
from 80 sales

House price by bedroom count

Only bed counts both suburbs published enough sales for. Sale counts are shown because the buckets differ in depth.

Darlington Redfern
2 bed $1.66M / $1.75M
Darlington — 2 bed: $1.66M (12 sales) Redfern — 2 bed: $1.75M (47 sales)

12 vs 47 sales

3 bed $2.35M / $2.17M
Darlington — 3 bed: $2.35M (13 sales) Redfern — 3 bed: $2.17M (46 sales)

13 vs 46 sales

4 bed $2.65M / $3.02M
Darlington — 4 bed: $2.65M (6 sales) Redfern — 4 bed: $3.02M (27 sales)

6 vs 27 sales

Zoning mix

Darlington Redfern
Residential 44% 64%
Infrastructure and transport 54% 5%
Other and special use 0% 8%
Parks and recreation 1% 6%
Commercial 2% 5%
Environmental 0% 2%
Planning zones cover 100% of Darlington and 89% of Redfern. The rest is unzoned land such as water or road reserve.
Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the suburb around it. Zones as at 2026-09.

Development activity

Darlington Redfern
New dwellings approved 2,350
across Sydney
same for both
Approvals change year on year +929%
same for both

Gross rental yield

Gross — before strata, rates, management, insurance and vacancy. From median advertised rents and median asking prices over the last 6 months. How we calculate.

Darlington Redfern
Houses — 3.4%
$1,225/wk on $1.9M
Units — 3.9%
$815/wk on $1.1M

Ranking within NSW

Darlington Redfern
House price Higher than 79% of NSW Higher than 85% of NSW
Income Higher than 86% of NSW Higher than 77% of NSW
Schools —
same for both
Walkability Higher than 99% of NSW Higher than 100% of NSW
Affordability Higher than 42% of NSW Higher than 22% of NSW
EV adoption Higher than 98% of NSW Higher than 94% of NSW
NBN connectivity Higher than 91% of NSW Higher than 86% of NSW
Rental yield (houses) — Higher than 37% of NSW
Rental yield (units) — Higher than 18% of NSW

Liveability

Darlington scores higher overall (96 vs 73).

Darlington Redfern
Grade A+ A
Score 96/100 73/100
Socio-economic band very advantaged area
decile 10/10
same for both

Risk profile

Darlington Redfern
Bushfire None
0/100
same for both
Crime — High
94/100
Flood Not mapped
no mapped data here
same for both
Coastal erosion None
0/100
same for both
Aircraft noise None
0/100
same for both
Industrial facilities nearby 7
within 5 km
same for both

Schools

Darlington Redfern
Inside the suburb 1 2
Rated above peers 0
same for both
Rated at peers 1 0
Rated below peers 0 1
Universities within 10 km 3
The University of Sydney, 1.1 km
 3
1-37 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010, 1.0 km
Full-time students aged 15–24 24.5% 3.8%

Schools in Darlington

  • Darlington Public School Government · Primary at peers

Schools in Redfern

  • Key College Independent · Secondary · Special school below peers
  • Redfern Jarjum College Independent · Primary · Special school

Amenities in the suburb

Darlington Redfern
Supermarkets 1 7
Cafes & restaurants 15 64
Parks & reserves 6 16
Childcare 3 8
GPs 1 5
Pharmacies 1 4
Police stations 0 1
Banks & Bank@Post 0 3
Fuel stations 0 2

Mobility

Darlington Redfern
Walkability score 97/100 100/100
Distance to Sydney 4.2 km 4.5 km
+7% vs other
Drive time (normal traffic) 11 min 12 min
Public transport score 79/100
Bus
 95/100
Rail · Bus
Peak arrivals per hour 84.8
7-9am + 5-7pm
 386.2
7-9am + 5-7pm
Median peak wait 1 min
scheduled, not actual
 0 min
scheduled, not actual
Electric vehicle share 3.3%
postcode 2008
 2.3%
postcode 2016
Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings 2
postcode 2008
 4
postcode 2016

How people get to work

Method of travel on census day 2021 — which fell during COVID restrictions, so working from home is inflated and every travel mode understated.

Darlington Redfern
Worked from Home 60.7% / 62.7%
Darlington — Worked from Home: 60.7% Redfern — Worked from Home: 62.7%
Car (driver) 14.7% / 14.5%
Darlington — Car (driver): 14.7% Redfern — Car (driver): 14.5%
Walked Only 9.8% / 7.9%
Darlington — Walked Only: 9.8% Redfern — Walked Only: 7.9%
Train 8.6% / 8.0%
Darlington — Train: 8.6% Redfern — Train: 8.0%
Bicycle 2.7% / 3.0%
Darlington — Bicycle: 2.7% Redfern — Bicycle: 3.0%

Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (62.7%).

Setting

Darlington Redfern
Elevation 26 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
 40 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean 6.6 km 5.6 km
4.1 km to a named beach

NBN connectivity

Darlington Redfern
Connectivity score 83/100 77/100
Most common technology Fibre to the premises Fibre to the building
Full-fibre (FTTP) share 39%
1,283 premises
 26%
9,091 premises

Climate

Darlington Redfern
Annual rainfall 1,129 mm
same for both
Summer max (Jan) 27.5°C
same for both
Winter min (Jul) 9.5°C
same for both

Air quality (annual mean)

Darlington Redfern
PM2.5 5.3 µg/m³
same for both
PM10 12.9 µg/m³
same for both
NO₂ 0.73 pphm
same for both

Council rates

Darlington Redfern
Average residential rate $875/yr
same for both
Council Sydney
same for both

Federal electorate

Darlington Redfern
Division Sydney
same for both
Member Tanya Plibersek
same for both
Party Australian Labor Party
same for both

First Home Owner Grant

Darlington Redfern
Grant amount $10,000
same for both
Property price cap $600,000
same for both
Eligibility New
same for both

Tags

Darlington

Inner Parks Premium Professionals Students Townhouses Urban

Redfern

Apartments Arts Cafe Culture Easy Commute Inner Nightlife Parks Professionals Townhouses Trains Transport Hub Urban

More comparisons

Other comparisons with Darlington

Darlington vs Newtown Darlington vs Camperdown Darlington vs Chippendale Darlington vs Eveleigh

Other comparisons with Redfern

Redfern vs Waterloo Redfern vs Surry Hills Redfern vs Alexandria Redfern vs Chippendale Redfern vs Eveleigh
Full data on Darlington Full data on Redfern
Unlock full address-level data — $29/month

Information shown is provided as-is from Australian government and commercial data sources.
Always verify with the relevant authority before making property decisions.
See Data Sources and How We Calculate for details.

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