The cheapest Sydney suburbs to run, 2026
The cheapest Sydney suburbs to run are not the cheapest to buy, and they are not on the outskirts. They are in the middle of the city, and the reason is that the people living there barely drive anywhere.
Surry Hills is the cheapest Sydney suburb to run in 2026 at $4,970 a year, followed by Sydney at $4,980 and Millers Point at $5,152. The most expensive is Canoelands at $13,705. Across all 795 suburbs the median is $11,327. These are annual running costs, not purchase prices.
Key statistics
- Suburbs ranked
- 795
- Cheapest
- $4,970 (Surry Hills)
- Dearest
- $13,705 (Canoelands)
- Median
- $11,327
- Spread
- $8,735
- Over ten years
- $100,137
This ranks what a house costs to run, not what it costs to buy. Every figure below is council rates plus water plus the drive to work plus home insurance, for one year. SuburbCost publishes no property prices, medians or market values.
The 25 cheapest Sydney suburbs to run
| Rank | Suburb | Council rates | Water | Commute | Insurance | Total a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 771 | Surry Hills | $924 | $1,548 | $648 | $1,850 | $4,970 |
| 774 | Redfern | $924 | $1,548 | $912 | $1,850 | $5,234 |
| 772 | Sydney | $924 | $1,548 | $514 | $2,300 | $5,286 |
| 773 | Millers Point | $924 | $1,548 | $514 | $2,300 | $5,286 |
| 775 | Haymarket | $924 | $1,548 | $514 | $2,300 | $5,286 |
| 776 | Darlinghurst | $924 | $1,548 | $514 | $2,300 | $5,286 |
| 777 | Ultimo | $924 | $1,548 | $581 | $2,300 | $5,353 |
| 778 | Elizabeth Bay | $924 | $1,548 | $615 | $2,300 | $5,387 |
| 779 | Moore Park | $924 | $1,548 | $1,073 | $1,850 | $5,395 |
| 780 | Chippendale | $924 | $1,548 | $715 | $2,300 | $5,487 |
| 781 | Darlington | $924 | $1,548 | $944 | $2,300 | $5,716 |
| 783 | Forest Lodge | $924 | $1,548 | $1,009 | $2,300 | $5,781 |
| 785 | North Sydney | $1,327 | $1,548 | $1,138 | $1,850 | $5,863 |
| 787 | Eveleigh | $924 | $1,548 | $1,105 | $2,300 | $5,877 |
| 788 | Balmain East | $1,401 | $1,548 | $681 | $2,300 | $5,930 |
| 782 | Woolloomooloo | $924 | $1,548 | $514 | $2,950 | $5,936 |
| 784 | The Rocks | $924 | $1,548 | $514 | $2,950 | $5,936 |
| 786 | Barangaroo | $924 | $1,548 | $514 | $2,950 | $5,936 |
| 789 | Pyrmont | $924 | $1,548 | $514 | $2,950 | $5,936 |
| 790 | Waterloo | $924 | $1,548 | $1,170 | $2,300 | $5,942 |
| 791 | Camperdown | $924 | $1,548 | $1,202 | $2,300 | $5,974 |
| 792 | Potts Point | $924 | $1,548 | $615 | $2,950 | $6,037 |
| 793 | Rushcutters Bay | $924 | $1,548 | $648 | $2,950 | $6,070 |
| 794 | Mcmahons Point | $1,327 | $1,548 | $912 | $2,300 | $6,087 |
| 795 | Erskineville | $924 | $1,548 | $1,359 | $2,300 | $6,131 |
The other end of the table
For contrast, the ten most expensive of the 795.
| Rank | Suburb | Council rates | Water | Commute | Insurance | Total a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canoelands | $1,541 | $1,548 | $6,966 | $3,650 | $13,705 |
| 2 | Marlow | $1,541 | $1,548 | $6,884 | $3,650 | $13,623 |
| 3 | Vineyard | $1,848 | $1,548 | $6,968 | $3,250 | $13,614 |
| 4 | Mcgraths Hill | $1,848 | $1,548 | $6,905 | $3,250 | $13,551 |
| 5 | Singletons Mill | $1,541 | $1,548 | $6,804 | $3,650 | $13,543 |
| 6 | Mulgrave | $1,848 | $1,548 | $6,892 | $3,250 | $13,538 |
| 7 | Pitt Town | $1,848 | $1,548 | $6,866 | $3,250 | $13,512 |
| 8 | South Windsor | $1,848 | $1,548 | $6,842 | $3,250 | $13,488 |
| 9 | Sackville North | $1,848 | $1,548 | $6,431 | $3,650 | $13,477 |
| 10 | Brooklyn | $1,541 | $1,548 | $6,680 | $3,650 | $13,419 |
What the ranking shows
The gap between top and bottom is $8,735 a year. Held for a decade with costs growing at 3%, that compounds to about $100,137, which is a deposit rather than a rounding error.
What produces that gap is not what most people expect. Across these 795 suburbs, council rates vary by $1,522 from the highest to the lowest. The drive to work varies by $6,474. Insurance varies by $1,800. Rates are the number everyone researches and the one that moves least.
Every suburb at the cheap end of this table is within about three kilometres of the CBD. Their council rates are unremarkable and their insurance is ordinary. What makes them cheap to run is that the commute costs almost nothing, and the commute is the largest variable cost in the whole model.
This is the finding that inverts most affordability advice. On purchase price these are among the dearest addresses in the country. On the cost of staying there another year, they are the cheapest in the city.
The practical consequence is that a suburb's headline affordability and its running cost are different questions, and the second one is answered per household rather than per suburb. Someone who works locally, or does not drive to work at all, can invert this entire table.
Methodology
What is counted. Council rates (2026-27), water and sewerage (2025-26), the modelled drive to work, and home insurance for a house. Not counted: mortgage or rent, electricity, groceries, or anything that varies by household rather than by address.
Commute. Distance to the CBD at the ATO 2026-27 rate of 91c per kilometre, with trip frequency tapering by distance. This is a modelled CBD commute rather than total household driving, and it is measured straight line, which understates real road distance. A reader who names their actual workplace in the free report gets it routed by road instead.
Excluded from the ranking. Any suburb carrying a neighbouring council's rate, a neighbouring utility's water figure, or a commute figure that predates the July 2026 model revision. The top and bottom of a ranking is exactly where a stand-in figure becomes a published error, so those suburbs are left out rather than shown with a caveat.
Estimates. Home insurance and body corporate figures are AI-estimated and labelled as estimates throughout the site. Council rates and metropolitan water charges come from published budgets and utility pricing.
Cite this data
SuburbCost data is free to cite with attribution. Please link to this page as the source.
Rates change every July
One email a year, when the new council budgets land and this ranking is rebuilt. Nothing else.
Done. You will hear from us next July.
Frequently asked questions
Which is the cheapest Sydney suburb to live in?
On annual running cost, Surry Hills at $4,970 a year, counting council rates, water, the drive to work and home insurance. Sydney follows at $4,980. This measures what a house costs to run each year and is not a property price or a market value.
What is the average running cost of a Sydney suburb?
The median across the 795 suburbs ranked here is $11,327 a year. The range runs from $4,970 to $13,705, a spread of $8,735, so the median is a weak guide to any individual suburb.
Why do cheap suburbs cost more to run?
Because the drive to work usually costs more than everything else combined and it grows with distance. Across these suburbs council rates vary by $1,522 while the commute varies by $6,474. A suburb that is cheaper to buy is frequently further out, and the commute reclaims the difference every year you live there.