Greater Sydney · Capital City
How much of daily life sits within a walk of home — a transparent 0–10 walkability score and the everyday destinations you can reach on foot: shops, public transport, schools, parks and health services, plus the streets and terrain in between.
About 84.1% of homes in Greater Sydney pass the 15-minute-city test, far above the New South Wales figure of 71.9%. This makes the region very walkable, with a score of 7.2. Residents have a little more variety in their local amenities than the state average, with 6.7 types of services typically within a 15-minute walk.
All capital city areas, 2021. The marker is Greater Sydney — very walkable of areas.
| Greater Sydney | 7.2 |
|---|---|
| New South Wales | 6.2 |
Share of homes (G-NAF addresses) in Greater Sydney by walking time to the nearest amenity of each type, on an elevation-aware pedestrian network. How we calculate this →
The overall walkability score and how much of daily life is a short walk away.
Greater Sydney is very walkable with a score of 7.2, which is a little above the New South Wales figure of 6.2. It ranks first among similar areas for both its overall score and the number of homes with a 15-minute-city walkshed.
7.2
Very walkable of capital city areas.
A 0–10 score for how much of daily life sits within an easy walk of the average home — weighing how close groceries, public transport, cafés, parks, health services, schools, culture and everyday services are, and how many of each. Walking times are measured on an elevation-aware pedestrian network, so hills count against reach. The methodology page describes how the score is put together.
6.7
Higher than 99% of capital city areas.
How many of the eight everyday amenity types — groceries, food & drink, health, schools, parks, culture, everyday services and public transport — the average home can reach on foot within 15 minutes, out of 8.
84.1%
Higher than 99% of capital city areas.
Share of local homes that can reach at least five of the eight everyday amenity types within a 15-minute walk — the "15-minute city" test. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
How many homes can walk to groceries, transport, schools, parks and health services.
Access to essentials is far above the state average, especially for schools (88%) and groceries (80.2%). While public transport and parks are the easiest to reach, with over 96% of homes within a 15-minute walk, health services are the hardest to access, though 69% of homes are still within a short walk.
80.2%
Higher than 94% of capital city areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of groceries or everyday shopping. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
96.0%
Higher than 97% of capital city areas.
Share of local homes within a 10-minute walk of a public-transport stop — bus, train, tram or ferry. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
88.0%
Higher than 99% of capital city areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of a school. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
96.7%
Higher than 88% of capital city areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of a park or area of open space. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
69.0%
Higher than 95% of capital city areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of health services such as a GP, pharmacy or hospital. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
Amenity density, how well the streets connect, and how hilly the walk is.
The region has 32 intersections per square kilometre and a typical terrain slope of 7.1%, which is about the same as across New South Wales. There are 13.5 walkable amenities per 1,000 residents, about the same as the state figure.
13.5
Lower than 90% of capital city areas.
Walkable amenities — shops, cafés, parks, health services, schools, cultural and community places, everyday services and public-transport stops — per 1,000 residents. Measures how much is around, apart from how far it is to walk there.
32
Higher than 75% of capital city areas.
Walkable street intersections per square kilometre. Denser, better-connected street grids give more direct routes on foot than winding, cul-de-sac layouts.
7.1%
Higher than 81% of capital city areas.
Average terrain slope across the area, as a percent grade. Steeper ground shortens how far people will walk; it is already folded into the walkability score through the elevation-aware pedestrian network, and is shown here on its own for context.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Walkability in Greater Sydney [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/gccsa/1GSYD/greater-sydney/topic/walkability
