Best suburbs in Sydney for runners
How close the nearest parkrun is, how much running actually happens, and how much park to run in.
Balmain East (96/100), North Sydney (94/100), Neutral Bay (93/100) lead this ranking of 422 Sydney suburbs.
By BestSuburbs research · Updated October 2026
Part of Sydney suburb rankings · all Sydney lists
Which Sydney suburbs are best for runners?
How do the top 25 compare, measure by measure?
| # | Suburb | Nearest parkrun (km) | Which parkrun | Activity | Median house price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Balmain East | 0.9 | Pirrama parkrun | 92 | $2,793,000 |
| 2 |  North Sydney | 0.7 | North Sydney parkrun | 98 | $4,070,000 |
| 3 |  Neutral Bay | 0.8 | North Sydney parkrun | 91 | $3,620,000 |
| 4 |  Cammeray | 0.9 | North Sydney parkrun | 98 | — |
| 5 |  Liberty Grove | 0.8 | Rhodes parkrun | 74 | $3,265,000 |
| 6 |  Kirribilli | 1.9 | North Sydney parkrun | 90 | — |
| 7 |  Sydney Olympic Park | 0.8 | Wentworth Common parkrun | 86 | — |
| 8 |  Crows Nest | 0.9 | North Sydney parkrun | 82 | $3,500,000 |
| 9 |  Cremorne | 1.3 | North Sydney parkrun | 98 | $5,150,000 |
| 10 |  Cremorne Point | 2.0 | North Sydney parkrun | 96 | $5,150,000 |
| 11 |  Birchgrove | 1.8 | Pirrama parkrun | 74 | $2,793,000 |
| 12 |  Canterbury | 0.1 | Cooks River parkrun | 84 | $2,335,000 |
| 13 |  Milsons Point | 1.9 | North Sydney parkrun | 88 | — |
| 14 |  Waverton | 1.6 | North Sydney parkrun | 66 | $4,070,000 |
| 15 |  Greenwich | 2.1 | Willoughby parkrun | 83 | $3,500,000 |
| 16 |  Wollstonecraft | 1.5 | North Sydney parkrun | 89 | $3,500,000 |
| 17 |  Haberfield | 0.6 | GreenWay parkrun | 80 | — |
| 18 |  Balmain | 1.3 | Pirrama parkrun | 58 | $2,793,000 |
| 19 |  Marsfield | 0.9 | Macquarie University parkrun | 88 | $2,660,000 |
| 20 |  Camperdown | 2.1 | St Peters parkrun | 66 | — |
| 21 |  Panania | 1.1 | Panania parkrun | 79 | $1,680,000 |
| 22 |  Erskineville | 0.7 | St Peters parkrun | 48 | $2,183,000 |
| 23 |  Pyrmont | 0.4 | Pirrama parkrun | 56 | — |
| 24 |  Rozelle | 1.6 | Pirrama parkrun | 58 | $2,500,000 |
| 25 |  Glebe | 1.5 | Pirrama parkrun | 54 | $2,643,000 |
Showing the top 25 of 422 ranked suburbs. Scores are percentiles against every other suburb in Sydney: 100 is the best in the city, 50 is mid-table. Click any suburb for its full profile.
Why do these 10 Sydney suburbs suit runners? (October 2026)
Updated 14 October 2026 · one sentence of real reasons per suburb, from the data on this page.
- Balmain East ★ 96
Balmain East ranks #1: 100% of it within 400 m of a park, 11 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 94, and 1 government primary school inside the suburb.
- North Sydney ★ 94
At #2, North Sydney combines 94% of it within 400 m of a park and 60 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 95, and 58 cafés.
- Neutral Bay ★ 93
What lifts Neutral Bay to #3 is 79% of it within 400 m of a park; it also has 40 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 82, and 13 cafés.
- Cammeray ★ 92
#4 Cammeray — a recorded crime rate of about 17 offences per 1,000 residents (safety score 85/100), plus 100% of it within 400 m of a park, and 2 government primary schools inside the suburb.
- Liberty Grove ★ 90
Liberty Grove ranks #5: 100% of it within 400 m of a park, a recorded crime rate of about 19 offences per 1,000 residents (safety score 82/100), and a median house price of $3.27m (Jan–Mar 2026).
- Kirribilli ★ 88
#6 Kirribilli — 17 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 97, plus 4 cafés, and a recorded crime rate of about 41 offences per 1,000 residents (safety score 43/100).
- Sydney Olympic Park ★ 87
Sydney Olympic Park takes #7 on 84% of it within 400 m of a park, with 19 cafés, and 29.0 ha of parkland per 1,000 residents.
- Crows Nest ★ 85
What lifts Crows Nest to #8 is 37 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 97; it also has 11 cafés, and 1 secondary inside the suburb.
- Cremorne ★ 85
Cremorne ranks #9: a recorded crime rate of about 18 offences per 1,000 residents (safety score 84/100), 55 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 84, and 75% of it within 400 m of a park.
- Cremorne Point ★ 84
What lifts Cremorne Point to #10 is 100% of it within 400 m of a park; it also has a recorded crime rate of about 18 offences per 1,000 residents (safety score 83/100), and 17 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 89.
Why each of the top 10 suburbs for runners in Sydney ranks where it does
Written from this page's own data: each figure below is the suburb's own value, set against the Sydney median where we hold one.
1. Balmain East
Balmain East is #1 of 422 ranked Sydney suburbs on this list, with a score of 96/100. Pirrama parkrun is 0.9 km away, its activity score is 92 and its parks score is 100. The trade-off: it scores 13/100 for cafés, so it is weaker there. It covers 0.3 km² with about 1,900 residents (census).
2. North Sydney
North Sydney is #2 of 422 ranked Sydney suburbs on this list, with a score of 94/100. North Sydney parkrun is 0.7 km away, its activity score is 98 and its parks score is 87. The trade-off: it scores 25/100 for safety, so it is weaker there. It covers 1.4 km² with about 8,964 residents (census).
3. Neutral Bay
Neutral Bay is #3 of 422 ranked Sydney suburbs on this list, with a score of 93/100. North Sydney parkrun is 0.8 km away, its activity score is 91 and its parks score is 91. It covers 1.3 km² with about 10,090 residents (census).
4. Cammeray
Cammeray is #4 of 422 ranked Sydney suburbs on this list, with a score of 92/100. North Sydney parkrun is 0.9 km away, its activity score is 98 and its parks score is 82. The trade-off: it scores 40/100 for public transport, so it is weaker there. It covers 1.6 km² with about 7,088 residents (census).
5. Liberty Grove
Liberty Grove is #5 of 422 ranked Sydney suburbs on this list, with a score of 90/100. Rhodes parkrun is 0.8 km away, its activity score is 74 and its parks score is 98. The trade-off: it scores 13/100 for cafés, so it is weaker there. It covers 0.2 km² with about 2,055 residents (census).
6. Kirribilli
Kirribilli is #6 of 422 ranked Sydney suburbs on this list, with a score of 88/100. North Sydney parkrun is 1.9 km away, its activity score is 90 and its parks score is 96. It covers 0.4 km² with about 3,629 residents (census).
7. Sydney Olympic Park
Sydney Olympic Park is #7 of 422 ranked Sydney suburbs on this list, with a score of 87/100. Wentworth Common parkrun is 0.8 km away, its activity score is 86 and its parks score is 79. The trade-off: it scores 2/100 for safety, so it is weaker there. It covers 6.6 km² with about 4,848 residents (census).
8. Crows Nest
Crows Nest is #8 of 422 ranked Sydney suburbs on this list, with a score of 85/100. North Sydney parkrun is 0.9 km away, its activity score is 82 and its parks score is 78. The trade-off: it scores 12/100 for safety, so it is weaker there. It covers 0.8 km² with about 4,974 residents (census).
9. Cremorne
Cremorne is #9 of 422 ranked Sydney suburbs on this list, with a score of 85/100. North Sydney parkrun is 1.3 km away, its activity score is 98 and its parks score is 67. It covers 1.6 km² with about 11,263 residents (census).
10. Cremorne Point
Cremorne Point is #10 of 422 ranked Sydney suburbs on this list, with a score of 84/100. North Sydney parkrun is 2 km away, its activity score is 96 and its parks score is 80. The trade-off: it scores 13/100 for cafés, so it is weaker there. It covers 0.4 km² with about 2,270 residents (census).
How do these suburbs compare head to head?
What else do people ask about suburbs for runners in Sydney?
What are the best suburbs in Sydney for runners?
On our October 2026 data the top five are Balmain East (96/100), North Sydney (94/100), Neutral Bay (93/100), Cammeray (92/100), Liberty Grove (90/100), out of 422 ranked Sydney suburbs.
How is this ranking calculated?
Distance to the nearest parkrun, GPS activity heat, and the parks score. The activity figure comes from open GPS traces, so it reflects where people genuinely run rather than where a real-estate listing claims they do. 422 of 422 Sydney suburbs had enough data to be ranked. Updated October 2026.
Is this ranking sponsored?
No. No ranking on this site is sold or sponsored. It is computed from open data: GPS activity traces, official crime statistics, the ABS census and OpenStreetMap.
What other Sydney rankings are there?
Sources: open GPS activity traces, official crime statistics, ABS census,
OpenStreetMap (ODbL). Sale prices: NSW DCJ Rent and Sales Report, January - March 2026 quarter — © State of New South Wales (Department of Communities and Justice), Rent and Sales Report, CC BY 4.0; suburb-to-postcode mapping © GeoNames.org, CC BY 4.0. NSW publishes no free suburb-level sale medians, so this is the median for the suburb's POSTCODE (non-strata sales = houses, strata = units), which can span several suburbs. Low-volume figures rest on 30 or fewer sales in the quarter; postcodes with 10 or fewer sales are withheld by DCJ. No ranking on this site is sold or sponsored.
← all 422 Sydney suburbs, with sliders