North Sydney · Council (LGA)

Walkability in North Sydney

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.

A walker's paradise with a score of 9.2, North Sydney is an area where almost every home has an easy walk to essential services. It far outstrips the state average for accessibility, with 98.4% of residents living within a 15-minute walk of a wide range of amenities.

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📍 North Sydney, Council (LGA)

Where North Sydney sits — Walkability score

9.2 A walker's paradise
  • 0.0–0.4: 8 areas
  • 0.4–0.7: 7 areas
  • 0.7–1.1: 6 areas
  • 1.1–1.4: 11 areas
  • 1.4–1.8: 18 areas
  • 1.8–2.1: 25 areas
  • 2.1–2.5: 37 areas
  • 2.5–2.9: 36 areas
  • 2.9–3.2: 45 areas
  • 3.2–3.6: 58 areas
  • 3.6–3.9: 58 areas
  • 3.9–4.3: 45 areas
  • 4.3–4.6: 24 areas
  • 4.6–5.0: 35 areas
  • 5.0–5.4: 19 areas
  • 5.4–5.7: 13 areas
  • 5.7–6.1: 11 areas
  • 6.1–6.4: 7 areas
  • 6.4–6.8: 10 areas
  • 6.8–7.1: 10 areas
  • 7.1–7.5: 12 areas
  • 7.5–7.9: 13 areas
  • 7.9–8.2: 10 areas
  • 8.2–8.6: 12 areas
  • 8.6–8.9: 7 areas
  • 8.9–9.3: 6 areas
  • 9.3–9.6: 3 areas
  • 9.6–10.0: 1 area

All council (lga) areas, 2021. The marker is North Sydney — a walker's paradise of areas.

Walkability score compared with the state and national average
North Sydney9.2
Greater Sydney 7.2
New South Wales 6.2

Walking times to everyday amenities

Share of homes (G-NAF addresses) in North Sydney by walking time to the nearest amenity of each type, on an elevation-aware pedestrian network. How we calculate this →

The score

The overall walkability score and how much of daily life is a short walk away.

The area is exceptionally walkable, with a score of 9.2, which is well above the New South Wales figure of 6.2. Almost all homes (98.4%) have a 15-minute-city walkshed, far above the state average of 71.9%.

9.2

A walker's paradise of council (lga) 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.

7.9

Higher than 99% of council (lga) 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.

98.4%

Higher than 99% of council (lga) 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.

What's in walking distance

How many homes can walk to groceries, transport, schools, parks and health services.

Every single home is within a 10-minute walk of public transport and a 15-minute walk of a park. Access is strongest for parks and transport, though health services show the biggest gap over the state average, with 97.6% of homes within a 15-minute walk.

Streets & terrain

Amenity density, how well the streets connect, and how hilly the walk is.

The area has 478 intersections per square kilometre and 21.7 walkable amenities per 1,000 residents, which is well above the state figure. However, the terrain is steeper than the New South Wales average, with a mean slope of 11.1%.

21.7

Higher than 58% of council (lga) 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.

11.1%

Higher than 99% of council (lga) 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.

Sources

  • Walkability (OpenStreetMap, GTFS, ACARA & G-NAF, via Valhalla) — OpenStreetMap contributors, state transport agencies, ACARA & Geoscape Australia, 2026 (ODbL 1.0 + CC BY).

More for North Sydney

Cite this page

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Walkability in North Sydney [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/lga/LGA15950/north-sydney/topic/walkability