Meadowbank vs West Ryde
Meadowbank is the younger of the two, with a median age of 34 against 37 in West Ryde. In Meadowbank, most households rent, the large majority of homes are flats or apartments, and about half of households are people living alone. In West Ryde, most households own their home and about half of homes are flats or apartments. On these figures, Meadowbank tends to suit renters, young adults, and 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
West Ryde
ahead on 5 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more separate houses rather than flats (42% vs 2%)
- has more parks and reserves (14 vs 3)
- has more schools rated above their peers (3 vs 0)
- But Meadowbank carries lower crime risk (41/100 vs 55/100)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Meadowbank
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper houses ($625,000 vs $2,403,000)
Weighs house prices, unit prices, and mortgage stress.
Renters
Meadowbank
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has a bigger rental market to choose from (60% vs 45%)
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
They split
one each way, out of the 5 things we measure here
- Meadowbank has more units and townhouses to downsize into (98% vs 58%)
- West Ryde has more GPs (3 vs 1)
Weighs smaller dwellings, who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Meadowbank
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (15.4% vs -1.7%)
Weighs unit yield and population growth.
Where they sit
Meadowbank and West Ryde drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.
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.
Demographics
West Ryde has more residents (13,171 vs 5,089); West Ryde skews older (37 vs 34).
| Meadowbank | West Ryde | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 5,089 | 13,171 +159% vs other |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +15.4% | -1.7% |
| Median age | 34 | 37 |
| Median household income | $103,636/yr | $103,116/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $430/wk +7% vs other | $400/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (32.4%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (31.2%).
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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (11.7%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Property market
| Meadowbank | West Ryde | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $625,000 | $2,403,000 |
| Median unit price | $698,250 | $682,000 |
| Median land price | — same for both | |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 10 days from 3 sales | 22 days from 65 sales |
Unit price by bedroom count
Only bed counts both suburbs published enough sales for. Sale counts are shown because the buckets differ in depth.
61 vs 38 sales
123 vs 101 sales
26 vs 18 sales
Zoning mix
| Meadowbank | West Ryde | |
|---|---|---|
| Residential | 45% | 73% |
| Parks and recreation | 31% | 15% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 22% | 9% |
| Industrial | 0% | 3% |
| Environmental | 2% | 1% |
| Planning zones cover 99% of Meadowbank and 100% of West Ryde. 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
| Meadowbank | West Ryde | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 1,489 across Ryde same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +81% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Meadowbank | West Ryde | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | — | 2.9% $990/wk on $1.75M |
| Units | 5.1% $680/wk on $694K | 5.0% $640/wk on $670K |
Ranking within NSW
| Meadowbank | West Ryde | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 89% of NSW same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 71% of NSW | — |
| Schools | Higher than 14% of NSW | Higher than 97% of NSW |
| Walkability | Higher than 96% of NSW | Higher than 97% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 11% of NSW | — |
| EV adoption | Higher than 93% of NSW same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 88% of NSW | Higher than 85% of NSW |
| Rental yield (houses) | — | Higher than 19% of NSW |
| Rental yield (units) | Higher than 70% of NSW | Higher than 65% of NSW |
Liveability
West Ryde scores higher overall (85 vs 69).
| Meadowbank | West Ryde | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | B | A |
| Score | 69/100 | 85/100 |
| Socio-economic band | very advantaged area decile 10/10 same for both | |
Risk profile
West Ryde carries more crime risk (55 vs 41).
| Meadowbank | West Ryde | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Crime | Moderate 41/100 | Moderate 55/100 |
| 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 | 11 within 5 km | 14 within 5 km |
Schools
| Meadowbank | West Ryde | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 3 same for both | |
| Rated above peers | 0 | 3 |
| Rated at peers | 3 | 0 |
| Rated below peers | 0 same for both | |
| Universities within 10 km | 3 Macquarie University Wallumattagal Campus at North Ryde, 5.4 km | 3 Macquarie University Wallumattagal Campus at North Ryde, 5.0 km |
| Full-time students aged 15–24 | 2.6% | 2.9% |
Schools in Meadowbank
- Italian Bilingual School Independent · Primary at peers
- Marsden High School Government · Secondary at peers
- Meadowbank Public School Government · Primary at peers
Schools in West Ryde
- Ermington Public School Government · Primary above peers
- St Michael's Catholic Primary School Catholic · Primary above peers
- West Ryde Public School Government · Primary above peers
Amenities in the suburb
| Meadowbank | West Ryde | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 1 | 2 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 6 | 5 |
| Parks & reserves | 3 | 14 |
| Childcare | 5 | 11 |
| GPs | 1 | 3 |
| Pharmacies | 1 | 3 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 1 same for both | |
| Fuel stations | 0 | 6 |
| Waterways | 0 | 14 |
Mobility
| Meadowbank | West Ryde | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 89/100 | 93/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 16.3 km | 16.8 km +3% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 27 min | 26 min |
| Public transport score | 95/100 Rail · Bus | 93/100 Rail · Bus |
| Peak arrivals per hour | 37.2 7-9am + 5-7pm | 259.8 7-9am + 5-7pm |
| Median peak wait | 1 min scheduled, not actual | 0 min scheduled, not actual |
| Electric vehicle share | 2.0% postcode 2114 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 16 postcode 2114 same for both | |
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.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (58.7%).
Setting
| Meadowbank | West Ryde | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 15 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 34 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
| Distance to the ocean | 14.6 km | 15.1 km |
NBN connectivity
| Meadowbank | West Ryde | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 78/100 | 76/100 |
| Most common technology | Hybrid fibre-coaxial same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 25% 3,046 premises | 6% 6,217 premises |
Climate
| Meadowbank | West Ryde | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 1,176 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | — same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | — same for both | |
Air quality (annual mean)
| Meadowbank | West Ryde | |
|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 | 5.4 µg/m³ same for both | |
| PM10 | 14.2 µg/m³ same for both | |
| NO₂ | 0.23 pphm same for both | |
Council rates
| Meadowbank | West Ryde | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,216/yr same for both | |
| Council | Ryde same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Meadowbank | West Ryde | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Bennelong same for both | |
| Member | Jerome Laxale same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Meadowbank | West Ryde | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Meadowbank
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Meadowbank
Other comparisons with West Ryde
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.