Guildford West - Merrylands West

The community is noticeably younger than the national figure, with 22% of people under 15 and a typical age of 33. Since 2011, the population has grown by 21% to reach 22,929 people.

Birthplaces are diverse, with 43.4% of residents born overseas, a figure far above the national average. Australian and English ancestries are the most common, followed by Chinese, Irish, and Italian.

Arabic is widely spoken here, and 56.5% of people use a language other than English at home, which is far above the New South Wales figure. About 11.1% of residents speak little or no English.

Faith plays a significant role in the community; 44% identify as Christian and 29.1% as Muslim. Very few residents report having no religion, which is far below the national figure.

While 55.4% of residents finished Year 12, the proportion of adults with a bachelor degree or higher is 17.8%, which is well below the national average.

Incomes are generally lower than in most areas, with the typical family earning $1,663 a week. This is well below the national figure of $2,120.

A higher proportion of people need help with daily activities compared to most areas, at 7.3%. However, the rate of long-term health conditions is well below the national average.

Volunteer rates are among the lowest at this level, with only 6.4% of people volunteering. This is well below the New South Wales figure of 13%.

There are 234 First Nations people in the area. The typical First Nations resident is 29, which is noticeably older than the state average of 23.

Homes tend to be larger, with an average of 3.0 people per dwelling. This is a little above the national figure and is consistent with the high number of children in the area.

Renting is very common, with 40.8% of households renting, which is far above the national average. Only 24.1% of homes are owned outright, much lower than in most areas.

The area is well served by public transport, with 141 stops and a high number of bus routes. Working from home has become much more common, rising to 26.9% since 2011.

The area is relatively stable, though 36.8% of residents moved house in the last five years. Recent overseas arrivals make up 13.3% of the population.

The unemployment rate is 8.9%, which is well above the national figure of 5.1%. Only 45.1% of adults are working or looking for work, among the lowest for its level.

The area has a low overall advantage score of 930, which is smaller than about 78% of other areas. However, the population has grown by 8.1% since 2021.

The area receives 1,075mm of annual rainfall, which is far above the New South Wales average of 515mm.

This is a very walkable area, with 100% of homes within a 10-minute walk of public transport and a 15-minute walk of a park.