Guildford
Sitting two Inner West Line stops south of Merrylands and four from Parramatta, Guildford houses 24,091 residents across 5.9 km² at 4,081 per km², a touch below sister suburb Merrylands' 4,828 density. The defining structural fact is not migration intensity (50.1% born overseas, 28.5 percentage points above the national figure) but the Lebanese-Arabic concentration: 5,839 residents claim Lebanese ancestry and 3,647 speak Arabic at home, with Islam (9,408 adherents) edging Christianity (8,205) as plurality faith, an inversion of neighbouring Merrylands and a sharper Arabic anchor than Auburn. Median house price holds at $900,000 for both 2024 and 2025, matching Auburn exactly and sitting $216,000 above Merrylands despite Guildford running on a parallel rail corridor. The IRSD decile of 1 places Guildford in Australia's most disadvantaged 10% of suburbs, while mortgage-to-income at 35.4% flags genuine financial strain.
Population
24,091
Median Age
31.0
Household IncomeiMedian weekly household income (ABS Census)
$1,314/wk
DAs (12 months)iDevelopment Applications lodged in the past year
141
Median House
$900K
2024-2025 (PSI derived)
Guildford prices match Auburn's $900,000 median dollar-for-dollar in 2025 while running $216,000 above Merrylands one Cumberland Line stop east, a positioning that puzzles until tenure and stock mix are unpacked. Separate houses dominate at 55.0% of dwellings, well above Merrylands' 49.0% and the 36.8% apartment share in Auburn, giving Guildford a more freestanding-heavy profile than its neighbours. Four-plus bedroom homes account for 26.7% of stock, comparable family-upgrader depth. The friction point is affordability: mortgage-to-income at 35.4% has crossed the stress threshold and sits 2.4 percentage points above Merrylands' already elevated 33.0%, signalling that current buyers are stretched. Prices have moved $900,000 to $900,000 across 2024-2025, a flat trajectory that gives entrants no momentum tailwind but also no recent peak to chase.
For Buyers
Guildford prices match Auburn's $900,000 median dollar-for-dollar in 2025 while running $216,000 above Merrylands one Cumberland Line stop east, a positioning that puzzles until tenure and stock mix are unpacked. Separate houses dominate at 55.0% of dwellings, well above Merrylands' 49.0% and the 36.8% apartment share in Auburn, giving Guildford a more freestanding-heavy profile than its neighbours. Four-plus bedroom homes account for 26.7% of stock, comparable family-upgrader depth. The friction point is affordability: mortgage-to-income at 35.4% has crossed the stress threshold and sits 2.4 percentage points above Merrylands' already elevated 33.0%, signalling that current buyers are stretched. Prices have moved $900,000 to $900,000 across 2024-2025, a flat trajectory that gives entrants no momentum tailwind but also no recent peak to chase.
For Investors
The investor read on Guildford is yield over growth, with the 49.2% rented share producing a gross yield of roughly 2.2% on the $900,000 median against $378 weekly rent, well below Merrylands' 3.0% on $400 rent and Auburn's 2.9%. Vacancy at 9.4% mirrors the entire Auburn-Merrylands-Guildford corridor and sits six to seven points above the 2-3% Sydney benchmark, a structural surplus driven by apartment supply running through the broader Cumberland-Inner West area. The development pipeline tells the volume story: 134 DAs lodged in 12 months across 5.9 km², roughly one application per 180 residents, denser than Auburn's typical ratio but lighter than Merrylands' 128 figure. The defensible position is freestanding houses given the 55.0% separate-dwelling share, particularly with 33.2% of stock in the two-bedroom band where renovation upside meets land value.
Development Activity
Total DAs
769
Last 12 Months
141
YoY ChangeiYear-over-year change in DA lodgements
-9.0%
Avg DA CostiAverage estimated cost per DA in the past year
N/A
Monthly DA Lodgements
DA Categories
Schools in Guildford iICSEA: school advantage index. 1000 = national avg, higher = more advantaged
St Patrick's Primary School
K-6 · 342 students
Guildford Public School
K-6 · 623 students
Granville South Public School
K-6 · 323 students
Old Guildford Public School
P-6 · 411 students
Granville South Creative and Performing Arts High School
7-12 · 733 students
Demographics
Guildford compresses a Lebanese-Arabic migrant community into a young household-formation profile that runs distinctly younger than neighbouring suburbs. Median age of 31 sits 9 years below the national figure of 40, and average household size of 3.1 runs 0.6 above the 2.5 national average, both consistent with active family-formation patterns. The ancestry mix tilts more concentrated than plural: 5,839 Lebanese residents lead a long way ahead of 2,228 English and 1,592 Chinese, a sharper Arabic anchor than Merrylands' 5,882 Lebanese / 3,255 Chinese / 2,667 English split. Arabic at 3,647 home speakers dominates the language profile, with Mandarin (391), Urdu (383), Nepali (242) and Cantonese (229) running well behind. Religiously Islam (9,408) edges Christianity (8,205), an inversion of Merrylands where Christianity leads and a structural marker of the suburb's South-West Sydney rather than Inner West cultural orientation.
Age Distribution
Bedrooms
Dwelling Structure
55.0%
Houses
15.8%
Townhouse
29.1%
Apartment
Tenure
Tenure in Guildford tilts renter-heavy at 49.2% rented, with mortgaged owners at 29.0% and outright owners at just 21.8%, roughly 9 percentage points below the 31% national benchmark for outright ownership. The bedroom mix breaks 33.2% two-bedroom, 32.0% three-bedroom and 26.7% four-plus, a flatter distribution than typical family suburbs and reflecting the 29.1% apartment share plus 15.8% semi-detached layer. Prices held at $900,000 across both 2024 and 2025, a flat trajectory that contrasts with Auburn's 40.1% one-year lift but tracks Merrylands' 0.7% slip more closely, suggesting the Cumberland-Inner West corridor south of Parramatta is segmenting from Auburn's apartment-led price action. Mortgage-to-income at 35.4% has flagged stress well above the 30% threshold, while rent-to-income at 28.8% sits just under it, a 6.6 percentage point split that explains why renters outnumber mortgaged owners by 20 percentage points.
Median House Price Trend
Source: State Valuer-General
Mortgage / mo
$2,015
Rent / wk
$378
HH Size
3.1
Personal Income / wk
$513
Vacancy Ratei% of dwellings unoccupied on Census night (ABS 2021)
9.4%
Unoccupied
729
Rent / IncomeiMedian rent as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
28.8%
Mortgage / IncomeiMedian mortgage as % of household income. Over 30% = housing stress
35.4% stressed
Community Profile
Languages Spoken at Home
Ancestry
Household Composition
14.3%
Couples, no children
18,991
Total families
Economy & Employment
The Guildford labour market reads as a healthcare-anchored service economy with material disadvantage layered underneath. Healthcare leads industry employment at 20.0% with 818 workers, well above the 13% national figure and reflecting access to Westmead and Bankstown hospital networks, followed by construction (10.0%), education (9.5%), retail (8.7%) and professional/tech (7.9%). Occupationally the profile flattens: professionals (1,245) edge clerical/admin (1,011), with community/personal (785), machinery/drivers (688) and labourers (676) all running close behind, a more blue-collar tilt than Merrylands where professionals lead by a wider margin. Unemployment at 12.9% runs roughly double the 6% NSW state average. SEIFA tells the disadvantage story bluntly: IRSD decile 1 and IRSAD decile 1 place Guildford in Australia's most disadvantaged 10% on both raw and adjusted measures, while IEO decile 4 reflects a moderate education profile that materially exceeds the income and employment scores.
Socio-Economic Indexes (SEIFA)iABS index ranking suburbs from 1 (most disadvantaged) to 10 (most advantaged)
Full-time
62.0%
Part-time
25.1%
Participation
33.3%
Employed
5,388
Occupations
Top Industries
University
32.5%
Postgraduate
8.2%
Born Overseas
50.1%
Dwellings
6,984
Transport to Work
Guildford operates almost entirely on car infrastructure despite its rail access, with 80.6% of workers driving to work and only 9.0% on public transport, well below Auburn's 25.8% transit share even though both suburbs sit on Sydney's heavy rail network. The school stack offers limited choice, with five schools and a sharp ICSEA gradient: St Patrick's Primary (Catholic, ICSEA 1,028, 342 students) leads on academic anchor, while Guildford Public (943, 623 students), Granville South Public (933, 323 students) and Old Guildford Public (903, 411 students) cluster below the 1,000 midpoint. Granville South Creative and Performing Arts High at ICSEA 855 with 733 students sits 173 points below St Patrick's, one of the wider primary-to-secondary gaps in the Cumberland LGA. The IRSAD decile of 1 and IER decile of 1 indicate material economic disadvantage relative to broader Sydney metro, a constraint that shapes school catchment dynamics and amenity investment patterns.
Drive
80.6%
Public Transport
9.0%
Walk / Cycle
1.8%
Work from Home
N/A
National Ranking iPercentile rank among ~15,000 AU suburbs. 90% = higher than 90% of suburbs
How Guildford compares to ~15,000 Australian suburbs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Guildford a good suburb to live in?
Guildford suits buyers prioritising freestanding houses on a Cumberland Line corridor over polish or amenity. Separate houses make up 55.0% of stock against Merrylands' 49.0%, the $900,000 median matches Auburn exactly and rail access puts Parramatta around 12 minutes away. Trade-offs: mortgage stress of 35.4%, unemployment of 12.9% and IRSD decile 1 placement in Australia's most disadvantaged 10% reflect genuine economic pressure rather than just relative affordability.
What is the median house price in Guildford?
Guildford's median house price held at $900,000 across both 2024 and 2025, a flat trajectory that matches Auburn's $900,000 in 2025 but runs $216,000 above neighbouring Merrylands' $684,000. Median weekly rent is $378, producing gross yield around 2.2%, below Merrylands' 3.0% and Auburn's 2.9%. Mortgage-to-income at 35.4% sits well above the 30% stress threshold, while rent-to-income at 28.8% remains under it by 1.2 percentage points.
What schools are in Guildford?
Guildford has 5 schools across government and Catholic sectors. St Patrick's Primary (Catholic, ICSEA 1,028, 342 students) leads. Government primaries cluster lower: Guildford Public (943, 623 students), Granville South Public (933, 323 students) and Old Guildford Public (903, 411 students). Granville South Creative and Performing Arts High at ICSEA 855 with 733 students sits 173 points below St Patrick's, one of the wider Catholic-government gaps in Cumberland LGA.
Is Guildford safe?
Crime rate per 1,000 residents is not currently reported in the dataset for Guildford, so direct ranking against NSW averages is not possible here. Indirect signals: population density of 4,081 per km² sits below Merrylands' 4,828, IRSD decile 1 placement reflects material disadvantage and unemployment of 12.9% runs roughly double the NSW state average. Consult BOCSAR's quarterly LGA reports for Cumberland Council for current crime data covering Guildford and surrounding suburbs.
Is Guildford good for property investment?
Guildford offers tenant depth but compressed yield. With 49.2% of dwellings rented versus a Sydney metro average around 35%, tenant demand is structural. Vacancy at 9.4% sits six points above the 2-3% Sydney benchmark, and 134 DAs lodged in 12 months point to continued infill supply. Gross yield around 2.2% on the $900,000 median trails Merrylands' 3.0%. Freestanding houses at 55.0% of stock remain the defensible segment.
How is Guildford's population changing?
Guildford's population of 24,091 carries a young profile with median age 31, running 9 years below the national figure of 40, and household size of 3.1 sitting 0.6 above the 2.5 national average. With 50.1% of residents born overseas (28.5 percentage points above national) and 134 DAs lodged in 12 months, the mechanics point to overseas-inflow-driven household formation rather than capital-led gentrification, consistent with IRSD decile 1.
What languages are spoken in Guildford?
Guildford has 50.1% of residents born overseas, 28.5 percentage points above the national average. Arabic dominates with 3,647 home speakers, well ahead of Mandarin (391), Urdu (383), Nepali (242) and Cantonese (229). This Arabic concentration runs alongside 5,839 Lebanese ancestry residents. Islam (9,408) edges Christianity (8,205) as plurality faith, an inversion of neighbouring Merrylands where Christianity leads.
What is the development pipeline in Guildford?
Guildford recorded 134 development applications in 12 months across a 5.9 km² footprint, roughly one DA per 180 residents, lighter than Merrylands' 128-resident ratio. The mix spans secondary dwellings, attached dwelling demolition-and-rebuild work and complying development certificates. With apartments at 29.1% of stock, semi-detached at 15.8% and 9.4% vacancy, this pipeline signals continued infill supply rather than greenfield expansion.
How to read these comparisons
Phrases like "above the national average" reference the unweighted median across Australian suburbs with more than 1,000 residents, not population-weighted national figures. Suburb-level medians are more useful for ranking suburbs against each other; ABS census headlines are population-weighted (so dominated by Sydney and Melbourne) and can read very differently.
Current baseline (refreshed 2026-05-10): median age 40, university-educated 30.1%, born overseas 21.6%, average household size 2.5 people.
Data sources: ABS 2021 Census (demographics, income, tenure), state Valuer-General (house prices), Department of Jobs SALM (unemployment), ACARA (school ICSEA), state Crime Statistics agencies (offences), council DA portals (development applications). Population forecasts use a Hamilton-Perry cohort model calibrated to ABS ERP.
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