CostAtlas

Independent rent data for Sydney renters

What a new lease really costs in your suburb, how fast it is rising, how much of a local wage it takes, and how often tenants get their bond back.

Built from 1,216,173 new leases and 1,157,610 bond refunds lodged with NSW Fair Trading since 2021. Updated monthly.

Sydney at a glance, January–September 2026

Median new lease$800 /wkJanuary–September 2026Five-year change+60%since January–September 2021Share of one average wage46%30% = housing stressFull bond returned63%12% got none back

Latest report

Sydney Rent Report · September 2026

Sydney rents up 60% in five years while wages rose about 18%

  • A median new lease now takes 46% of one average wage.
  • Rents rose fastest in Ryde, Inner South West and Parramatta.
  • Tenants in the south-west are about five times as likely as those on the North Shore to lose their whole bond.

Where rent bites hardest

Median new-lease rent over a year as a share of one average local wage, by region.

City and Inner SouthCity and Inner South: 50%50%Inner South WestInner South West: 49%49%South WestSouth West: 48%48%ParramattaParramatta: 47%47%Baulkham Hills and HawkesburyBaulkham Hills and Hawkesbury: 44%44%Eastern SuburbsEastern Suburbs: 44%44%Northern BeachesNorthern Beaches: 44%44%Outer South WestOuter South West: 43%43%Inner WestInner West: 43%43%SutherlandSutherland: 42%42%RydeRyde: 42%42%Outer West and Blue MountainsOuter West and Blue Mountains: 42%42%BlacktownBlacktown: 41%41%North Sydney and HornsbyNorth Sydney and Hornsby: 36%36%Sydney 46%
Rent: NSW Fair Trading, January–September 2026. Wages: ATO Taxation Statistics 2023–24, indexed to 2026.

Postcode rankings

Biggest five-year rent rises

  1. 2036 Chifley and Eastgardens+92%
  2. 2195 Lakemba and Wiley Park+83%
  3. 2000 Sydney and Haymarket+82%
  4. 2032 Daceyville and Kingsford+82%
  5. 2017 Waterloo and Zetland+82%

Heaviest rent burden

  1. 2085 Belrose and Belrose West71%
  2. 2020 Mascot68%
  3. 2134 Burwood and Burwood North64%
  4. 2036 Chifley and Eastgardens64%
  5. 2144 Auburn and Auburn South63%

Lowest full-bond refund rate

  1. 2144 Auburn and Auburn South39%
  2. 2197 Bass Hill41%
  3. 2770 Bidwill and Blackett41%
  4. 2166 Cabramatta and Cabramatta West43%
  5. 2168 Ashcroft and Busby43%

Cheapest new leases

  1. 2559 Blairmount and Claymore$530
  2. 2770 Bidwill and Blackett$540
  3. 2195 Lakemba and Wiley Park$550
  4. 2163 Carramar and Lansdowne$580
  5. 2780 Katoomba and Leura$580

Why Cost Atlas

Rents people actually agreed to

Listing sites report asking rents. We use the rent written on every new lease lodged with NSW Fair Trading.

Down to your postcode

218 Sydney postcodes, each with rent by home type, five-year trend, rent burden and bond outcomes.

On the renter's side

No listings, no agents, no landlords paying for placement. About us · How we calculate

Journalists: quotes, charts and data downloads are on the media page.