Resources · Activities & sport
Most Livable Suburbs in New South Wales for Families (2026)
Live listings refreshed 30 Sept 2026 · Last updated 30 Sept 2026
Sydney lists more kids' activities in our directory than any other suburb in NSW. This page ranks NSW suburbs by how much a family moving there could actually do with their kids, then adds what else matters to that decision for the same suburbs — median property prices, recently sold and currently listed homes, and recorded crime — kept current, not written once and left to date.
Key takeaways
- Sydney leads NSW with 32 kids' activities listed in our directory and 7 schools nearby.
- Livable here means choice for a family: how many activity providers list themselves in a suburb, and how many schools are close by. Activity count is what this page ranks suburbs by — it is not a school-ranking, see What this ranking is not, below.
- Property prices, sold/for-sale listings and recorded crime are shown separately, further down the page — real, sourced figures where we hold them, and an honest note where we do not, rather than folded into one blended livability score.
- The full top 10 for NSW is in the table below; every suburb links to its own activities page, where you can see exactly what is on offer.
Top 5 suburbs in New South Wales by kids' activities listed
AroundSchools directory, correct as at 30 September 2026
Sydney
7 schools nearby
32
Castle Hill
9 schools nearby
23
Marrickville
8 schools nearby
18
Hornsby
4 schools nearby
16
Baulkham Hills
8 schools nearby
15
So what: Sydney lists more kids' activities than any other NSW suburb in our directory — a rough proxy for how much choice a family moving there would have.
AroundSchools directory, 30 September 2026
How this ranking works
Every suburb in our directory carries a count of the kids' activity providers who list a class, program or venue there — sport, music, creative arts, academic tutoring, and more — plus how many schools sit inside that suburb. We rank NSW suburbs by activity count first (more choice for a family with kids), with the school count shown alongside for context. Full methodology: AroundSchools Kids' Activity Index.
What this ranking is not
We do not rank suburbs on school NAPLAN results, ATAR scores or any other academic performance measure — those figures are either not something we hold reliably, or are restricted from commercial comparative use by the schools that publish them. A suburb near the top of this list may or may not have a high-performing school; check a school's own results directly with the school or on the government's My School site if that matters to your decision. This page is about what there is to do, not how schools compare.
Property prices and crime figures further down this page are shown as their own sections, sourced and dated independently — we do not blend them into the activity ranking above to produce one combined livability number. A suburb's position in the table above reflects activity count only; read the property and crime sections separately for those factors.
Top 10 suburbs in NSW by kids' activities
| Rank | Suburb | Kids' activities listed | Schools nearby |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney | 32 | 7 |
| 2 | Castle Hill | 23 | 9 |
| 3 | Marrickville | 18 | 8 |
| 4 | Hornsby | 16 | 4 |
| 5 | Baulkham Hills | 15 | 8 |
| 6 | Dubbo | 15 | 19 |
| 7 | Broken Hill | 14 | 10 |
| 8 | Coffs Harbour | 14 | 11 |
| 9 | Port Macquarie | 14 | 21 |
| 10 | Caringbah | 13 | 7 |
Kids' activities listed counts providers in our own directory as at 30 September 2026 — a suburb with fewer listed activities may still have plenty going on that simply hasn't been added to AroundSchools yet. If you run or know of a provider in one of these suburbs, claiming or adding a listing is free.
Property prices in New South Wales
We do not hold official sale medians for New South Wales yet — the state Valuer-General series we licence covers Victoria and South Australia.
Recorded crime in New South Wales
| Suburb | Recorded offences (12 months) |
|---|---|
| Abbotsbury | 76 |
| Abbotsford | 163 |
| Aberdare | 206 |
| Aberdeen | 142 |
| Abermain | 221 |
| Abernethy | 11 |
| Acacia Gardens | 62 |
| Adaminaby | 43 |
| Adamstown | 690 |
| Adamstown Heights | 183 |
Recorded offences, 12 months to 2026-06 · Source: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) · source
Recently sold in New South Wales
Recently sold nearby
| Address | Suburb | Type | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 77 Dumaresq Rd | Armidale | Acreage | $249,000 |
| 36 Keen Street | Lismore | House · 4 bed, 3 bath | $425,000 |
| 65 Hunter Street | Glen Innes | House · 3 bed, 1 bath | $432,000–$468,000 |
| 1807/5 Second Avenue | Blacktown | Apartment · 2 bed, 2 bath | $460,000 |
| 1768 Silent Grove Road | Torrington | Rural · 1 bed, 1 bath | $465,600–$504,400 |
| 12/8-10 Newman Street | Merrylands | Apartment · 2 bed, 1 bath | $530,000 |
| 40 Abercrombie Street | Guyra | House · 4 bed, 2 bath | $552,000–$598,000 |
| 281 Meade Street | Glen Innes | House · 3 bed, 1 bath | $560,000 |
Live from the AroundSchools directory — 8 of 52 sold listings we hold in New South Wales · correct as at 30 Sept 2026
On the market now in New South Wales
Similar properties currently for sale
| Address | Suburb | Type | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 & 9 | Emmaville | Rural | $144,000–$156,000 |
| 93 Cemetery Rd | Torrington | Rural | $172,800–$187,200 |
| 10 & 12 | Emmaville | Rural | $211,200–$228,800 |
| 35 Albury Street | Ashford | House · 3 bed, 2 bath | $249,000+ |
| 2733 Torrington Road | Torrington | House · 3 bed, 1 bath | $259,200–$280,800 |
| 39 O'Donnell Street | Emmaville | House · 3 bed, 1 bath | $264,000–$286,000 |
| 29 Irby Street | Emmaville | House · 4 bed, 1 bath | $278,400–$301,600 |
| 62 Cemetery Rd | Torrington | Rural | $290,000+ |
Live from the AroundSchools directory — 8 of 102 current listings we hold in New South Wales · correct as at 30 Sept 2026
Councils in New South Wales
| Council | Kids' activity providers | Schools | What's on |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Sydney | 61 | 45 | See the council's site |
| Northern Beaches Council | 49 | 80 | 2 events |
| Blacktown City Council | 45 | 107 | See the council's site |
| Central Coast Council | 44 | 92 | 1 event |
| Sutherland Shire Council | 38 | 75 | See the council's site |
| City of Canterbury-Bankstown | 37 | 96 | 2 events |
| Inner West Council | 33 | 59 | 1 event |
| City of Wollongong | 30 | 79 | See the council's site |
See all 76 New South Wales councils with a page
Live from the AroundSchools directory — 76 New South Wales councils currently have a page · correct as at 30 Sept 2026
Want the full picture?
This page is the quick-reference version — a table, kept current. For the fuller story on NSW's family suburbs — what's driving the numbers, how the state compares nationally, and what to weigh up beyond activity counts — read Best Suburbs for Families in Sydney. You can also browse all NSW kids' activities directly.
Frequently asked questions
What does most livable mean on this page? It means how many kids' activities and schools our directory holds for that suburb — a proxy for convenience and choice for a family with children, not an official livability index.
Does this include school academic performance? No. We deliberately do not rank by NAPLAN, ATAR or similar results — see What this ranking is not above.
How often is this updated? The activity and school counts are refreshed from our own directory; the date at the top of the chart is when they were last pulled. Property and crime figures each carry their own correct as at date, since they come from separate government and market sources on their own update schedules.
Where do the property prices and crime figures come from? Median sale prices are official state Valuer-General data (Victoria and South Australia only — other states are not yet covered, and the page says so rather than guessing). Recorded-offence figures come from state police/crime agencies (New South Wales and South Australia only, for the same reason). Sold and for-sale listings come from our own real-estate directory.
Why don't I see property or crime figures for my suburb? Either the state isn't covered yet by the government source we license (see above), or the specific suburb has no matching record. The section will say plainly which case applies rather than showing a blank space.
My suburb isn't in the top 10 — does that mean it's not livable? No — it means fewer activity providers in our directory list that suburb yet. Check the suburb's own activities page to see what is listed, or ask a local provider to add their listing.
