Best suburbs in Sydney for young professionals
Cafés, public transport and how much life is actually happening on the street.
North Sydney (97/100), Milsons Point (95/100), Edgecliff (94/100) 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 young professionals?
How do the top 25 compare, measure by measure?
| # | Suburb | Cafés | Transit | Activity | Median house price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  North Sydney | 99 | 95 | 98 | $4,070,000 |
| 2 |  Milsons Point | 98 | 100 | 88 | — |
| 3 |  Edgecliff | 96 | 99 | 88 | — |
| 4 |  Kirribilli | 88 | 97 | 90 | — |
| 5 |  Crows Nest | 94 | 97 | 82 | $3,500,000 |
| 6 |  Rushcutters Bay | 94 | 96 | 78 | — |
| 7 |  Sydney | 100 | 98 | 70 | — |
| 8 |  Neutral Bay | 90 | 82 | 91 | $3,620,000 |
| 9 |  Double Bay | 96 | 87 | 78 | — |
| 10 |  Waverley | 92 | 99 | 66 | $5,000,000 |
| 11 |  Petersham | 94 | 88 | 74 | $2,319,000 |
| 12 |  Chippendale | 98 | 94 | 63 | — |
| 13 |  Haymarket | 98 | 100 | 56 | — |
| 14 |  Cremorne | 71 | 84 | 98 | $5,150,000 |
| 15 |  Potts Point | 98 | 93 | 62 | — |
| 16 |  Bondi Junction | 92 | 98 | 62 | $4,140,000 |
| 17 |  Queens Park | 82 | 89 | 79 | $4,140,000 |
| 18 |  St Leonards | 98 | 84 | 66 | $3,500,000 |
| 19 |  Woollahra | 87 | 96 | 64 | $4,900,000 |
| 20 |  Woolloomooloo | 94 | 98 | 54 | — |
| 21 |  Redfern | 96 | 89 | 60 | $2,360,000 |
| 22 |  Rhodes | 90 | 84 | 70 | $3,265,000 |
| 23 |  Pyrmont | 95 | 91 | 56 | — |
| 24 |  Camperdown | 92 | 81 | 66 | — |
| 25 |  Darlinghurst | 99 | 98 | 42 | $2,325,000 |
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 suburbs suit young professionals in Sydney? (October 2026)
Updated 14 October 2026 · one sentence of real reasons per suburb, from the data on this page.
- North Sydney ★ 97
North Sydney takes #1 on 94% of it within 400 m of a park, with 60 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 95, and 58 cafés.
- Milsons Point ★ 95
What lifts Milsons Point to #2 is 100% of it within 400 m of a park; it also has 14 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 100, and 8 cafés.
- Edgecliff ★ 94
At #3, Edgecliff combines 25 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 99 and 91% of it within 400 m of a park, and 7 cafés.
- Kirribilli ★ 92
What lifts Kirribilli to #4 is 17 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 97; it also has 4 cafés, and a recorded crime rate of about 41 offences per 1,000 residents (safety score 43/100).
- Crows Nest ★ 91
Crows Nest takes #5 on 37 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 97, with 11 cafés, and 1 secondary inside the suburb.
- Rushcutters Bay ★ 89
Rushcutters Bay (#6) scores on 100% of it within 400 m of a park and 8 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 96, and 4 cafés.
- Sydney ★ 89
#7 Sydney — 96% of it within 400 m of a park, plus 137 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 98, and 220 cafés.
- Neutral Bay ★ 88
Neutral Bay ranks #8: 79% of it within 400 m of a park, 40 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 82, and 13 cafés.
- Double Bay ★ 87
Double Bay ranks #9: 27 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 87, 17 cafés, and 79% of it within 400 m of a park.
- Waverley ★ 86
At #10, Waverley combines 94% of it within 400 m of a park and 39 public transport stops inside it for a transit score of 99, and 8 cafés.
Why each of the top 10 suburbs for young professionals 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. North Sydney
North Sydney is #1 of 422 ranked Sydney suburbs on this list, with a score of 97/100. It combines 58 cafés (6.47 per 1,000 residents), a transit score of 95 and an activity score of 98. 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).
2. Milsons Point
Milsons Point is #2 of 422 ranked Sydney suburbs on this list, with a score of 95/100. It combines 8 cafés (3.16 per 1,000 residents), a transit score of 100 and an activity score of 88. It covers 0.2 km² with about 2,529 residents (census).
3. Edgecliff
Edgecliff is #3 of 422 ranked Sydney suburbs on this list, with a score of 94/100. It combines 7 cafés (2.8 per 1,000 residents), a transit score of 99 and an activity score of 88. The trade-off: it scores 17/100 for safety, so it is weaker there. It covers 0.3 km² with about 2,499 residents (census).
4. Kirribilli
Kirribilli is #4 of 422 ranked Sydney suburbs on this list, with a score of 92/100. It combines 4 cafés (1.1 per 1,000 residents), a transit score of 97 and an activity score of 90. It covers 0.4 km² with about 3,629 residents (census).
5. Crows Nest
Crows Nest is #5 of 422 ranked Sydney suburbs on this list, with a score of 91/100. It combines 11 cafés (2.21 per 1,000 residents), a transit score of 97 and an activity score of 82. 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).
6. Rushcutters Bay
Rushcutters Bay is #6 of 422 ranked Sydney suburbs on this list, with a score of 89/100. It combines 4 cafés (1.71 per 1,000 residents), a transit score of 96 and an activity score of 78. The trade-off: it scores 33/100 for safety, so it is weaker there. It covers 0.2 km² with about 2,335 residents (census).
7. Sydney
Sydney is #7 of 422 ranked Sydney suburbs on this list, with a score of 89/100. It combines 220 cafés (13.2 per 1,000 residents), a transit score of 98 and an activity score of 70. The trade-off: it scores 0/100 for safety, so it is weaker there. It covers 2.9 km² with about 16,667 residents (census).
8. Neutral Bay
Neutral Bay is #8 of 422 ranked Sydney suburbs on this list, with a score of 88/100. It combines 13 cafés (1.29 per 1,000 residents), a transit score of 82 and an activity score of 91. It covers 1.3 km² with about 10,090 residents (census).
9. Double Bay
Double Bay is #9 of 422 ranked Sydney suburbs on this list, with a score of 87/100. It combines 17 cafés (3.61 per 1,000 residents), a transit score of 87 and an activity score of 78. The trade-off: it scores 14/100 for safety, so it is weaker there. It covers 0.8 km² with about 4,709 residents (census).
10. Waverley
Waverley is #10 of 422 ranked Sydney suburbs on this list, with a score of 86/100. It combines 8 cafés (1.9 per 1,000 residents), a transit score of 99 and an activity score of 66. The trade-off: it scores 19/100 for safety, so it is weaker there. It covers 0.6 km² with about 4,216 residents (census).
How do these suburbs compare head to head?
What else do people ask about suburbs for young professionals in Sydney?
What are the best suburbs in Sydney for young professionals?
On our October 2026 data the top five are North Sydney (97/100), Milsons Point (95/100), Edgecliff (94/100), Kirribilli (92/100), Crows Nest (91/100), out of 422 ranked Sydney suburbs.
How is this ranking calculated?
Cafés per 1,000 residents, public transport access, and GPS activity heat — the last being a measure of how much walking, running and riding actually happens there, rather than how it is marketed. 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.
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