Cheltenham NSW 2119

Cheltenham sits 22 km from Sydney CBD in New South Wales, around 23 minutes by car. Census data records 2,166 residents with a median age of 46 and a median household income of $185,796 per year. On socioeconomic measures it sits in the top 20% nationally. Population fell 3.4% from 2016 to 2021. The 2021 Census recorded a median rent of $695 per week and a median monthly mortgage of $3,612. The area shows no recorded bushfire exposure. All 1 school within the suburb boundary rank above the state average, and walkability is moderate.

Is Cheltenham a good suburb?

Cheltenham scores a A (87/100) on SuburbScan's Liveability grade — strong on transit, safety, and community, weaker on prices.

Schools

Mixed results

1 school · 1 above peer schools

Transit

Very walkable

Walkability 63/100 · 22 km · 23 min drive to Sydney

Prices

Above the state median

Median $2.85M · Pricier than 93% of NSW

Safety

Low all-round risk

Fire 0/100 · Crime 28/100

Community

Very advantaged

SEIFA decile 10/10 · median age 46 · 2,166 residents

A

Liveability Rating

87 / 100 · Ranked #81 in NSW

Each bar is Cheltenham's rank among NSW suburbs, from 0 to 100 (higher is better). Scored on 4 of 5 factors: no school data, so the other factors carry its weight.

Schools quality no data
too few schools to rate
Safety
93
Bushfire None · Crime Low

No flood data is published for New South Wales — a blank here means we hold no data, not that there is no risk.

Socio-economic
97
Very advantaged
Walkability
60
Walkable
CBD access
85
22.0 km · 23 min drive to Sydney
How it's calculated: Safety rank 93 × 25% + Socio-economic rank 97 × 25% + Walkability rank 60 × 15% + CBD access rank 85 × 10% = 87 / 100. Missing components rebalance the remaining weights.

How do you rate the liveability in Cheltenham?

Local knowledge beats any dataset. Rate it and see what other residents think.

Our score

87 / 100

From schools, safety and socio-economic data — not opinion.

Residents say

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Median House Price

Public listings data

Cheltenham's house market is moving lower: the median sale price reached $2.85 million, about 9% below where it sat a year earlier.

Houses

$2,847,500

last 5 quarters
Pricier than 93% of NSW

14% above its 4 neighbours (median $2,486,900)

↓ −8.5% year-on-year

Based on 38 recorded sales in the last 24 months.

Typically sold in 27 days — median across 7 sales that recorded a listing period

By bedrooms

  • 3 bed 8 sales $1.94M
  • 4 bed 16 sales $3.33M
  • 5 bed 12 sales $3.06M

Units

$1,350,000

Based on only 3 sales — small sample, take as indicative.

Rental Market

Advertised rents · last 6 months

Houses in Cheltenham rent for around $800 a week on average, based on 3 houses listed for rent in the past six months.

$800/wk

3 houses advertised for rent in the last 6 months.

4 rentals advertised against an estimated 61 rented homes (6.6%) in the last 6 months.

Rent agreed on new leases

Jul–Sep 2026
2-bed units
$870/wk
11 bonds
+25% since 2021

Median weekly rent on bonds lodged for new tenancies across postcode 2119 (NSW publishes bonds by postcode, which can cover several suburbs). Change since 2021 compares the median of the first four quarters with the last four. Asking rents above come from advertised listings.

Rental affordability

June quarter 2025

88 Unaffordable · the average rental household in this region would pay about 34% of its income on the median rent in postcode 2119.

SGS Rental Affordability Index: a score of 100 means rent takes 30% of income, the usual housing-stress line; lower scores are less affordable. "Region" is the capital city or the rest of the state.

Short-Stay Rentals

4 active Airbnb listings: 2 whole homes and 2 rooms. Whole homes are about 0.3% of the suburb's homes.

Airbnb only, as at Jun 2026; other platforms are not included. Active means reviewed in the past 12 months. The share is against private dwellings at the 2021 Census.

Is Cheltenham safe? Crime statistics

2025

Crime in Cheltenham sits in the low band, with 33 incidents recorded in 2025 — down roughly 35% on the prior year.

33 offences

35.3% since 2024
Theft 9 (27.3%)
Assault 7 (21.2%)
Property Damage 7 (21.2%)
Sexual Offences 5 (15.2%)
Harassment & Stalking 3 (9.1%)
Drug Offences 2 (6.1%)

Crime Trend

Serious Road Crashes

2021–2025

5 crashes

where someone was killed or admitted to hospital

Crashes are counted where they happened, so a main road through the suburb carries people passing through; this is not a measure of risk to residents. Roads are listed with 3 or more serious crashes.

Council Flood Studies

The Council Of The Shire Of Hornsby has published 4 flood studies on the NSW Flood Data Portal. The mapped flood areas are in those studies; SuburbScan does not hold them.

Schools

One school serve Cheltenham, and the cohort skews above peer-suburb performance. Cheltenham Girls High School leads the pack.

62
out of 100
Average
1 school in this suburb
1 above similar
  • • 1,436 students in one school (avg 1,436)

Secondary

Government · 7-12 · 1,436 students
ICSEA 1142 (higher than 94% of Australian schools) · 57% top-SEA students
Above similar

Universities nearby

5.8% of residents here are full-time university students aged 15–24.

Distance is measured to the suburb centre. A campus nearby does not by itself mean a student rental market — most suburbs within a few kilometres of one have a student share close to the national norm, and the figure above is what tells them apart.

Walkability

Cheltenham is somewhat walkable on foot — at 63/100, a short cluster of errands work on foot but most trips still benefit from a car.

63
out of 100
Somewhat Walkable
Top 14% in NSW
Public Transport within 1 km 86
Schools within 1.5 km 100
Parks within 800 m 80
Supermarkets within 1 km 0
GPs within 1 km 0
Pharmacies within 1 km 0
Childcare within 1 km 100
Hospitals within 5 km 100

Public transport

Weekday and weekend service frequency across every stop inside Cheltenham.

87
out of 100
Top 10% in NSW
RailBus
Peak (7-9am + 5-7pm)
23.5 arrivals/hr
Off-peak weekday
20.4 arrivals/hr
Saturday
13.8 arrivals/hr
Median peak wait
1 min
Span of service
24.7 hours
Direct to CBD (peak)
15 min wait

Scheduled service only, based on the 21 October 2026 timetable. Reliability (delays, cancellations) not measured.

NBN connectivity

The internet access technology available across NBN premises in Cheltenham.

75
connectivity score / 100
Top 16% in NSW
Most common
Hybrid fibre-coaxial (cable)
Full-fibre (FTTP) share
1%
Premises covered
758
Technology mix
Hybrid fibre-coaxial (cable) (HFC) 99%
Fibre to the premises (FTTP) 1%

NBN Co fixed-line and fixed-wireless premises, as at 30 December 2025. Higher-quality technologies (full fibre) score above copper, wireless, and satellite. Actual speeds depend on your plan.

Amenities

Supermarkets
None
Shopping Centres
None
Cafes & Restaurants
None
Parks & Reserves
4 in suburb
Sport & Recreation
None
Beaches
None
Waterways
9 in suburb
Childcare
3 in suburb
GPs
None
Pharmacies
None
Hospitals
None
Police Stations
None
Banks & Bank@Post
None
Fuel Stations
None
EV Chargers
None
Pubs & Bars
None
Arts & Culture
None
Places of Worship
None

Hornsby: council population

The whole council area, not just Cheltenham · estimated residents
at 30 June 2025
Residents
155,484
+0.4% in a year
Change
+618
people since 2024
Density
342
people per km² across the council area
What drove the change
Natural increase
+52
births minus deaths
Net internal migration
-1,250
moves within Australia
Net overseas migration
+1,816
arrivals minus departures

The three add up to the change above. These are council-wide figures from the ABS, not figures for this suburb alone — this suburb's own population is in the census section above.

Socio-economic profile

ABS SEIFA · ranked against every suburb in Australia, and within the state
2021 census
Advantage and disadvantage
10/10
10/10 within NSW
income, education, jobs and housing together
Economic resources
10/10
10/10 within NSW
income against housing cost and household size
Education and occupation
10/10
10/10 within NSW
qualifications and job type, income excluded
How evenly that is spread

The ABS scores 6 small areas inside this suburb and averages them into the single decile above. Every one of them ranks in that same decile, so the average describes the whole suburb.

Cheltenham is home to about 2,200 residents, with a median age of 46, a touch above the national 38. Median household income runs at $186,000 a year, with unemployment at 3.7%.

2021 Census · change since 2016

Population

2,166

3.4% since 2016

Median Age

46

7.0% since 2016

Median Household Income

$185,796/yr

12.7% since 2016
Top 1% in NSW

Census Median Rent

$695/wk

3.7% since 2016

Census Median Mortgage

$3,612/mo

20.4% since 2016

Avg Household Size

3.1

3.1% since 2016

Median Personal Income

$60,268/yr

25.2% since 2016

Unemployment Rate

3.7%

31.5% since 2016

Unoccupied Dwellings

4.0%

13.0% since 2016

Total Dwellings

696

3.6% since 2016

Owner-Occupier Rate

91.3%

1.1% since 2016

Houses

95.7%

2.5% since 2016

Rental Stress

19.5%

7.6% since 2016

Mortgage Stress

23.3%

6.9% since 2016

Work From Home

62.9%

623.0% since 2016

Dwelling Types

Houses 666 (95.7%)
Townhouses 24 (3.4%)
Flats / Apartments 6 (0.9%)

Property Ownership

Owned Outright 347 (50.6%)
Mortgage 279 (40.7%)
Renting 60 (8.7%)

Demographics

Born in Australia
64.2%
English Spoken at Home
66.1%
Employment Rate
60.2%
2.1% since 2016
Completed Year 12
65.9%

Occupations

Professionals 484 (44.6%)
Managers 202 (18.6%)
Clerical & Administrative 144 (13.3%)
Sales 73 (6.7%)
Community & Personal Service 69 (6.4%)
Technicians & Trades 61 (5.6%)
Labourers 32 (2.9%)
Machinery Operators & Drivers 16 (1.5%)

Religion

Christianity 1,027 (47.4%)
No Religion 848 (39.2%)
Hinduism 88 (4.1%)
Buddhism 76 (3.5%)
Islam 27 (1.2%)
Other Religions 15 (0.7%)
Sikhism 6 (0.3%)

Country of Birth (overseas)

Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents.

China 206 (9.5%)
England 65 (3.0%)
India 49 (2.3%)
Sri Lanka 37 (1.7%)
New Zealand 35 (1.6%)
Vietnam 23 (1.1%)
Malaysia 20 (0.9%)
South Africa 16 (0.7%)

When They Arrived

Share of all residents by the year they arrived in Australia. Periods cover different numbers of years, so compare the shape rather than the bar widths.

2016-2021 50 (2.3%)
2011-2015 70 (3.2%)
2001-2010 188 (8.7%)
1991-2000 152 (7.0%)
1981-1990 127 (5.9%)
Before 1981 131 (6.0%)

50 residents (2.3%) arrived since 2016. Australia’s borders were closed to most arrivals from March 2020, so the last two years of that period are much smaller than the ones before them — nationally 260,799 people arrived in 2019 against 28,521 in 2021.

Where New Residents Came From

Where residents aged five and over lived five years before the 2021 Census, for those who lived somewhere else.

Sydney - North Sydney and Hornsby 94 (4.5%)
Overseas 73 (3.5%)
Sydney - Parramatta 48 (2.3%)

Top places newcomers came from, as a share of the 2,095 residents aged five and over. Areas are ABS statistical regions. Small counts are approximate: the ABS adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.

Languages Spoken at Home

Top languages other than English, as a share of all residents.

Mandarin 129 (6.0%)
Cantonese 88 (4.1%)
Tamil 20 (0.9%)
Korean 18 (0.8%)
Hindi 15 (0.7%)
Sinhalese 10 (0.5%)
Vietnamese 10 (0.5%)
Arabic 4 (0.2%)

Age Distribution

0-4 71 (3.3%)
5-14 288 (13.3%)
15-19 174 (8.0%)
20-24 153 (7.1%)
25-34 134 (6.2%)
35-44 231 (10.7%)
45-54 330 (15.2%)
55-64 357 (16.5%)
65-74 239 (11.0%)
75-84 134 (6.2%)
85+ 53 (2.4%)

Family & Household Composition

Couple Families 374 (71.8%)
Lone Person 82 (15.7%)
One Parent Families 59 (11.3%)
Group Household 6 (1.2%)

Commute to Work

Worked from Home 599 (62.9%)
Car (driver) 281 (29.5%)
Train 50 (5.2%)
Car (passenger) 23 (2.4%)

23% of employed residents work in a capital's city centre (250 of 1,085).

City centre: the ABS area around each capital's CBD, such as Sydney Inner City or Perth City (which takes in Subiaco and Leederville). 2021 Census place of work.

Local Jobs

People who work in this suburb against employed people who live here, 2021 Census.

About 374 people work here; 1,085 employed residents live here.

Mostly a place people commute from: 0.3 jobs per working resident. At least 65% of employed residents must work outside the suburb.

Counts are by place of work and place of usual residence. The ABS counts jobs in zones; where a zone spans several places, its jobs are shared out by land use. The ABS also adjusts every figure slightly to protect privacy.

Education

Bachelor Degree 592 (27.3%)
Postgraduate Degree 339 (15.7%)
Advanced Diploma / Diploma 136 (6.3%)
Certificate III & IV 110 (5.1%)
Graduate Diploma / Certificate 69 (3.2%)

Cars per Dwelling

0 cars 16 (2.3%)
1 car 197 (28.7%)
2 cars 325 (47.4%)
3 cars 106 (15.5%)
4+ cars 45 (6.6%)

Council Rates

Hornsby
FY 2024-25

Households face an average residential rates bill of $1,488 a year through Hornsby based on 2024 figures.

Avg residential rate
$1,488/yr
21% above the NSW average of $1,230 · median of 128 councils
Valuation basis
Unimproved Value
land only

How this land is zoned

Share of Cheltenham's area by planning zone
2026-09
  • Residential 63%
  • Environmental 13%
  • Infrastructure and transport 12%
  • Parks and recreation 11%

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 — the property page shows the zone for one address.

Building Approvals: Hornsby

The whole council area, not just Cheltenham · new residential dwellings
to 2026-08

In the year to August 2026, 260 new dwellings were approved across Hornsby. That mix is 216 houses and 44 units. Approvals are down 78.7% on the same period a year earlier.

Trailing 12 months
260dwellings
-78.7% YoY
Houses
216
detached dwellings
Units
44
townhouses + apartments

Aboriginal Land Council

Aboriginal land in this area is administered by the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council.

Local Aboriginal Land Councils are statutory bodies under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983, responsible for land claims and land management for their members. Their boundaries are administrative and are not a statement of whose Country this is. NSW does not publish a register of Aboriginal parties by area — they are registered for each project.

Air Quality

MODERATE

PM2.5 averaged 5.4 µg/m³ in 2025 — below Australia's NEPM annual standard (8 µg/m³), slightly above the stricter WHO guideline (5 µg/m³). 1 day exceeded the daily threshold of 25 µg/m³.

PM10 averaged 14.2 µg/m³ · NO₂ averaged 0.23 pphm. Days over the limit in 2025: PM10 1 · NO₂ 0 · ozone 3.

From the Macquarie Park monitoring station, 3.8 km away.

Climate & Setting

from Macquarie Park (Willandra Village), 4.0 km

High rainfall.

Elevation
108 m
above sea level, at the suburb centre
Distance to the ocean
16.7 km
Annual rainfall
1,176 mm
92 rainy days
Summer max (Jan)
—
Winter min (Jul)
—

Elevation is the ground at the suburb centre, from Geoscience Australia's National Digital Elevation Model. Approximate — it reads high in dense built-up areas. It is a measure of height above sea level and not an indicator of flood risk, which depends on height above nearby waterways.

EV adoption

3.7%
of light vehicles are electric
Up from 0.42% in 2021
+1.1 points this year
Top 1% in NSW

In postcode 2119, 291 of 7,864 registered light vehicles are battery-electric on 31 January 2025. A further 6.0% (470 vehicles) are hybrid or plug-in hybrid, taking the non-petrol, non-diesel share to 9.7%.

Electric share, year by year
2021
0.42%
2022
0.73%
2023
1.36%
2024
2.60%
2025
3.70%

Rooftop solar

34
systems per 100 dwellings
Averaging 7.7 kW each

In postcode 2119, 1,437 rooftop-solar systems totalling 11.1 MW have been installed since 2001, against 4,252 dwellings recorded in the 2021 Census. 180 went up in the last year.

Counts every system certified since 2001, so a roof re-fitted with a newer system is counted twice, and small commercial systems are included alongside houses — useful for comparing postcodes, not an estimate of how many homes have working panels today.

Systems installed, year by year
2019
86
2020
108
2021
138
2022
110
2023
148
2024
138
2025
124
2026
124

2026 covers part of the year only, to 2026-07.

First Home Owner Grant

FY2026-27

$10,000 for new homes priced up to $600,000.

Off-the-plan or contracted-build value cap is $750,000 (vs $600,000 for completed new homes). Stamp duty concessions are a separate scheme (First Home Buyers Assistance).

Verify eligibility with Revenue NSW

Mortgage repayments

I'm looking for
Deposit
$
%
Monthly repayment
$14,851
Loan amount
$2,278,000
Total interest over 30 years
$3,068,308

3 mortgage brokers are registered in this suburb, 10 across postcode 2119.

Deposit
$569,500
Stamp duty
$137,900
Cash needed at settlement
$707,400

Transfer duty at the owner-occupier rate, and it excludes first home buyer concessions — those can cut it substantially or remove it entirely. Excludes legal, inspection and lender fees. Check with Revenue NSW

The First Home Owner Grant applies to newly built homes only, so it isn't available on an established purchase. A first home buyer building or buying new under $600,000 may qualify for $10,000 — see what qualifies with Revenue NSW.

Principal and interest over 30 years, fixed rate. Excludes fees, offset, redraw and LMI. Default rate is the median comparison rate across 1788 advertised products as at 2026-10-27 — indicative only, and not an offer. Your rate depends on the lender, your deposit and your circumstances. Not financial advice.

Federal Electorate

Division of Berowra

Currently held by Julian Leeser Liberal

Year Winner 2PP ALP 2PP LNP Swing
2025 Julian Leeser 48.4% 51.6% +5.9
2022 Julian Leeser 40.2% 59.8% -5.9
2019 Julian Leeser 34.4% 65.7% -0.8

Results are per division — federal electoral boundaries are redrawn periodically, so the history reflects this division's past, not necessarily the exact suburb's voters across time.

State Electorate

Epping District

Currently held by Monica Tudehope Liberal — elected at the Oct 2024 by-election, after the results below

Next state election: 13 March 2027.

Year Winner Won with
2023 Dominic Perrottet LP 54.8%
2019 Dominic Perrottet LP 62.4%
2015 Damien Tudehope LP 66.2%

Results are per district. Districts were last redrawn in 2021, so results from before then describe the district of that name, not necessarily this suburb's voters. Results: © State of New South Wales through the NSW Electoral Commission, CC BY 4.0, adapted.

Looking at a specific address in Cheltenham?

Every figure above is a suburb average, and an average smooths over the difference between a street of family homes and a block of flats. Look up one address and you get the census for the few hundred people around it, its own nearest schools and stops, and what the state has mapped for that block.

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Checking the whole city?

Suburbs to avoid in Sydney There is no list of bad suburbs, but there are hazards the state measures and publishes — recorded crime, bushfire exposure, flood overlays and aircraft noise. Sydney suburbs ranked on them, with what the numbers do and don't mean.

Nearby suburbs

Compare Cheltenham to another suburb

Side-by-side stats for any other NSW suburb — type a name and pick one.

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Common questions about Cheltenham

Is Cheltenham a safe place to live?

Recorded crime in Cheltenham is low (28/100, ranked against other NSW suburbs on offences per resident).

What natural hazards affect Cheltenham?

Cheltenham has no recorded bushfire history. These are suburb-wide figures; check the address, as flood and bushfire exposure change street by street.

Is Cheltenham a good place to live?

Cheltenham has a SuburbScan Liveability grade of A (87/100), ranked against other NSW suburbs on school quality (25%), safety (25%), SEIFA socio-economic advantage (25%), walkability (15%) and CBD access (10%). Whether it suits you depends on what you weigh — each of those is on this page.

What is the population of Cheltenham?

Cheltenham, NSW had a population of 2,166 at the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics census.

What is the postcode for Cheltenham, NSW?

The postcode for Cheltenham, NSW is 2119.

How far is Cheltenham from Sydney?

Cheltenham is 22 km from Sydney CBD by road, about 23 minutes by car in normal traffic. Distance is the most-direct driving route, not straight-line.

What is the median household income in Cheltenham?

At the 2021 ABS Census, median household income in Cheltenham was $185,796 a year. It is the most recent suburb-level income figure until 2026 Census results are released in 2027.

What is the median weekly rent in Cheltenham?

The median advertised rent in Cheltenham is $800 a week for houses (3 listings), from rental listings over the last six months.

What is the median age in Cheltenham?

The median age of residents in Cheltenham was 46 at the 2021 ABS Census.

How are the schools in Cheltenham?

There is 1 school inside the Cheltenham boundary: 1 above similar schools on NAPLAN, compared with same-state, same-type schools of similar socio-educational advantage (ICSEA).

Is Cheltenham walkable?

Cheltenham scores 63/100 on the SuburbScan Walkability Score, making it somewhat walkable. The score is a weighted average of public transport, schools, parks, supermarkets, GPs, pharmacies, childcare, and hospitals within walking distance.

What is the air quality in Cheltenham?

The nearest government air-quality monitoring station to Cheltenham (Macquarie Park) recorded a 2025 annual mean PM2.5 of 5.4 µg/m³ and PM10 of 14.2 µg/m³. That puts Cheltenham below the Australian NEPM annual standard of 8 µg/m³ but above the stricter WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.

What is the weather like in Cheltenham?

At the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station to Cheltenham, Macquarie Park (Willandra Village) (4 km away), 1,176 mm of rain a year over 92 rainy days over 2006-2026.

Is the First Home Owner Grant available in Cheltenham?

First-home buyers in NSW may be eligible for $10,000 towards new homes with a purchase price up to $600,000. The grant is administered by Revenue NSW; confirm current eligibility before signing a contract — state rules and amounts can change.

What council does Cheltenham belong to?

Cheltenham sits within the Hornsby local government area. Council rates, planning approvals, and waste collection fall under this LGA.

How much are council rates in Cheltenham?

The average residential rates bill through Hornsby is $1,488 a year (2024). Every suburb in this LGA shares the same schedule — individual bills vary with land value.

How much is being built near Cheltenham?

Across Hornsby, 260 new residential dwellings were approved in the year to August 2026 (source: ABS Building Approvals). That's down 78.7% on the same period a year earlier. These are LGA-level totals — every suburb in the council shares the same figure.

Which federal electorate is Cheltenham in?

Cheltenham sits within the federal Division of Berowra, currently held by Julian Leeser (Liberal).

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