Looking for a ‘safe’ suburb to move to with your family? If you stick to Sydney’s North Shore and surrounding suburbs, statistically you’ll be living in the safest areas of Sydney!
Figures from The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics reveal that more than 200,000 serious offences were recorded in NSW in 2022 – including:
- 81 homicides
- 60,000 assaults
- 33,410 recorded domestic violence assaults
- 30,667 non-domestic assaults
- 18,709 home break and enters
- 12,274 car thefts
- 7764 sexual assaults
In the greater Sydney region, the CBD had the highest per capita number of serious offences – encompassing Haymarket, The Rocks, Barangaroo, Millers Point and Dawes Point. This is followed by Redfern, Surry Hills, Mount Druitt, Claymore, Parramatta, Penrith, Glebe, Kings Cross, St Marys, Villawood, Blacktown, Newtown, Granville, Macquarie Fields, Ultimo, Pyrmont, Kingswood, Bondi Junction and Waterloo.
Postcodes in regional NSW accounted for the majority of the state’s highest rates of serious crime based on population, with the outback suburb of Bourke topping the list.
Safest suburbs in Sydney
Looking for a safe suburb to raise your family? Suburbs in the north of Sydney (many on the North Shore, Northern Beaches & Hills Shire) are statistically the safest, with low numbers of serious offences in 2022.
1. Berowra Heights & Berowra Waters
The new Warrina Street Oval playground in Berowra Heights
The postcode of 2082, which encompasses both Berowra Heights and Berowra Waters, is a safe haven for residents. In 2022, just 24 serious offences were recorded – mostly malicious damage (11), assault (four) and stealing from homes (three). The postcode has a population of 5458 people.
2. Beecroft
In 2022, Beecroft recorded 57 serious offences from a postcode with a population of 12,458. Malicious damage and assaults accounted for the most number of serious crimes (12 each) during the year.
3. Cherrybrook
The fast-growing Cherrybrook postcode (thanks to the new Metro line) recorded 98 serious offences last year, and is home to 19,082 people. The figure includes 29 assaults, 14 sexual offences and nine thefts from motor vehicles.
4. West Pennant Hills
West Pennant Hills recorded 95 serious offences in a postcode of 16,620 people. The most common crime was assaults (27 offences) followed by 26 home break and enters.
5. Fairlight
Residents in the northern beaches suburb of Fairlight can be relieved to know their suburb is also a safe one – recording 38 serious offences last year. Thefts accounted for the bulk of the incidents, including theft from motor vehicles (10 incidents recorded) and thefts from homes (also 10 incidents).
6. Wahroonga
Wahroonga Park
The upper north shore suburb of Wahroonga has a population of 25,340 people and had 160 serious offences in 2022. Of these, 27 were sexual offences, 15 home breaks in and four cars stolen in 2022.
7. St Ives
The new playground next to St Ives Shopping Village
The upper North Shore suburb of St Ives (with a population of 21,665) ranked low for crime with 137 serious offences in 2022. The most common was assault (40), followed by thefts from motor vehicles (20).
8. Avalon Beach
Avalon Beach on Sydney’s Northern Beaches was another safe haven in 2022, with 100 serious offences – including six thefts from homes, nine car thefts and 15 assaults.
9. Glenhaven
Glenhaven, which straddles the Hornsby Shire and The Hills Shire, had the lowest crime rate in Sydney’s northwest, recording 88 serious offences in 2022 (population of 13,403). In 2022, there were 23 assaults, 13 sexual offences and six motor vehicle thefts.
10. Other safe suburbs…
Rounding out the list of suburbs with low rates of crimes were Pymble, Turramurra, Lindfield, Belrose, Forestville, Frenchs Forest, Bayview and Voyager Point (SW Sydney).
