People crossing Darling Street with terraces
The quick read on
NSW 2041 · Inner West
What homes cost, how rents have moved, and a feel for the people who call it home.
latest suburb median
latest suburb median
ABS 2021
Balmain, New South Wales
Median sale price and rental income of properties in Balmain NSW
Based on 143 sales in the preceding 12 months
$2,740,000
Down 0.5% over 12 months
Based on 152 rental listings in the preceding 12 months
$1,200 per week
Up 9.1% over 12 months
Market data updated September 2026.
The median house price in Balmain, NSW is currently $2,740,000, based on the latest 12 months of sales. Balmain has a 12-month growth rate of -0.5% for houses and -6.3% for units.
Two-bedroom houses have a median sale price of $2,160,000, Three-bedroom houses have a median sale price of $2,720,000, Four-bedroom houses have a median sale price of $4,290,000 in Balmain.
If you're looking to lease, the median rent for houses in Balmain is $1,200 per week. The median house rent has increased 9.1% over the last 12 months.
The median price of apartments and units for sale in Balmain is $1,390,000, which has decreased 6.3% since the same time last year. One-bedroom apartments and units have a median sale price of $905,000, Two-bedroom apartments and units have a median sale price of $1,460,000, Three-bedroom apartments and units have a median sale price of $2,080,000 in Balmain. The median rent for units and apartments in Balmain is $750 per week and has remained unchanged over the last 12 months.
Crime and safety
The overall rate for Balmain is 2,135 offences per 100,000 residents — 38% below the Greater Sydney benchmark.
That is the clearest suburb-wide answer. Open the detailed profile to see how the pattern changes across offence types and different parts of Balmain.
Overall crime rate
2,135
offences per 100,000 residents
38% belowGreater Sydney
Suburb-wide estimate from Microburbs' public crime model; it is not an address-level measure.
The people behind the postcode
Balmain NSW 2041 is in New South Wales, within Greater Sydney.
10,454 people call Balmain home, with an average of 2.2 people per household and a median household income of $3,039 a week.
Public ABS 2021 Census figures. The bars compare the local share with the capital-region benchmark.
Share of residents in each age band.
Share of occupied private dwellings.
Share of homes with a stated ownership or rental status.
Vehicles available to occupied households.
Selected ways residents worked or travelled on Census day.
60.9% of workers in Balmain worked from home on Census day — noticeably more common than across Greater Sydney.
9.1% of Balmain residents were born in England, about twice the rate across Greater Sydney.
51.9% of people in Balmain described themselves as having no religion in the 2021 Census.
A closer look at the Census
Open any question for a plain-English reading of the public 2021 Census for Balmain NSW 2041.
17.3% of Balmain's residents were children under 15 in the 2021 Census. That is close to the Greater Sydney average.
2,850 family households lived in Balmain; 42.8% were couple families and 12.6% were one-parent families.
38.4% of local families included children under 15. That is close to the Greater Sydney average.
These are suburb-wide household figures, not school or childcare ratings.
Balmain had 10,454 residents at the 2021 Census.
29.5% of residents were aged 25 to 44.
29.1% were 55 or older. That is somewhat above the Greater Sydney average.
Age shares use the suburb’s total Census population.
Separate houses made up 21.8% of occupied private dwellings in Balmain.
Townhouses and other attached homes represented 40.0% of occupied private dwellings.
Flats and apartments accounted for 37.7% of occupied private dwellings.
All three shares use occupied private dwellings as the denominator.
29.1% of households with a stated tenure owned their home outright. That is almost exactly typical for Greater Sydney.
28.7% were buying their home with a mortgage.
42.2% rented their home. That is somewhat above the Greater Sydney average.
Tenure shares include households that stated one of these three arrangements.
The average household in Balmain had 2.2 people.
One-person households made up 33.2% of occupied homes. That is well above the Greater Sydney average.
Two-person households represented 34.8%, while 17.6% had four or more usual residents.
Household size counts usual residents in occupied homes.
60.9% of workers worked from home on Census day. That is well above the Greater Sydney average.
17.9% drove a car as their only travel method. That is about half the Greater Sydney rate.
2.3% used only a train, tram or bus, while 4.7% walked or cycled.
Travel figures are a 2021 Census-day snapshot.
15.0% of occupied households had no motor vehicle available. That is somewhat above the Greater Sydney average.
One-car households formed 54.7% of the total.
30.3% of households had two or more vehicles.
Vehicle counts refer to occupied households, not individual residents.
52.6% were at the same address five years earlier, while 47.4% reported a different address.
31.2% of residents were born outside Australia. That is well below the Greater Sydney average.
Mobility figures cover residents who answered the relevant Census question.
83.4% of residents used only English at home.
12.4% used a language other than English at home.
1.5% spoke Mandarin at home, 0.5% spoke Cantonese and 0.2% spoke Hindi.
Home language is separate from English proficiency.
31.2% of Balmain's population was born outside Australia, while roughly 68.8% was born in Australia.
1.2% of residents were born in China.
0.7% were born in India, while Australian citizenship across the whole suburb stood at 86.0%.
Birthplace, citizenship and ancestry describe different parts of identity.
English ancestry accounted for 40.8% of ancestry responses in Balmain.
Australian ancestry made up 27.6% of responses.
Chinese ancestry represented 4.3% of responses.
People may nominate more than one ancestry, so these are shares of responses.
42.7% of employed residents worked in professional occupations. That is well above the Greater Sydney average.
Managers accounted for 26.4% of employed residents, while clerical and administrative workers made up 10.2%.
Health care and social assistance employed 9.9% of workers, and education and training employed 8.8%.
Occupation and industry figures describe employed residents of the suburb.
The labour-force participation rate was 68.7%, compared with 60.0% across Greater Sydney.
44.9% of residents aged 15 and over worked full time, while 15.8% worked part time.
Unemployment was 3.9%, compared with 5.1% across Greater Sydney.
Labour-force figures come from the 2021 Census.
63.7% reported no selected long-term health condition.
9.0% reported a long-term mental health condition, including depression or anxiety.
7.4% reported asthma, 6.4% arthritis and 2.6% diabetes excluding gestational diabetes.
These are self-reported suburb-wide Census figures, not address-level health risks.
42.2% of people in the qualifications table held a bachelor degree. That is well above the Greater Sydney average.
Postgraduate degrees accounted for 22.1% of qualification responses.
Diploma-level qualifications represented 11.6%, while certificate-level qualifications represented 11.0%.
Qualification categories are reported separately and are not school ratings.
Median household income was $3,039 per week in the 2021 Census.
The median monthly mortgage repayment reported by local households was $3,986.
Occupied renting households reported a median rent of $625 per week.
These household figures are from 2021; current sale and asking-rent medians appear in the market section.
Working from home was 60.9% in Balmain, compared with 38.9% across Greater Sydney.
Outright ownership was 29.1% locally and 28.6% across Greater Sydney. That is almost exactly typical for Greater Sydney.
Renting accounted for 42.2% in Balmain, against 37.1% across Greater Sydney.
Capital-region comparisons use the same Census definitions and year.
Three useful questions
The median house price is $2,740,000, while units and apartments sit at $1,390,000. Bedroom count, land and condition still create a wide range around those suburb medians.
The Census counted 2,850 local families, and 17.3% of residents were under 15. That describes the community; school quality, travel times and the right fit for a particular family need separate research.
2-bedroom houses have a median around $2,160,000, the closest bedroom benchmark we hold to a $1.5m budget. Individual homes can differ substantially with block size, renovation and location.
Medians describe recorded market activity across the suburb; they are historical context, not a valuation or forecast for an individual home.
Explore the area
Open a free street report for local prices, rents and recorded sale history.
Compare nearby suburb prices, rents and five-year market trends.
Keep exploring
Use the finders to compare places and properties, or open the full report when you need the street, risk, schools and growth research.
Figures update as new market and census data arrives. This suburb overview is general information, not a valuation or financial advice.