The most expensive Sydney suburbs to run, 2026
Nobody publishes a list of which Sydney suburbs cost the most to live in once you own the house, because the number nobody sells you is the one you pay every year afterwards. This ranks all 795 of them on council rates, water, the drive to work and insurance.
Canoelands is the most expensive Sydney suburb to run in 2026 at $13,705 a year, followed by Marlow at $13,623 and Vineyard at $13,614. The cheapest is Surry Hills at $4,970. Across all 795 suburbs the median is $11,327. These are annual running costs, not purchase prices.
Key statistics
- Suburbs ranked
- 795
- Dearest
- $13,705 (Canoelands)
- Cheapest
- $4,970 (Surry Hills)
- 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 most expensive Sydney suburbs to run
| 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 |
| 11 | Bar Point | $1,454 | $1,300 | $6,986 | $3,650 | $13,390 |
| 12 | Killcare | $1,454 | $1,300 | $6,986 | $3,650 | $13,390 |
| 13 | Wondabyne | $1,454 | $1,300 | $6,985 | $3,650 | $13,389 |
| 14 | Clarendon | $1,848 | $1,548 | $6,736 | $3,250 | $13,382 |
| 15 | Woy Woy | $1,454 | $1,300 | $6,972 | $3,650 | $13,376 |
| 16 | Daleys Point | $1,454 | $1,300 | $6,954 | $3,650 | $13,358 |
| 17 | Phegans Bay | $1,454 | $1,300 | $6,947 | $3,650 | $13,351 |
| 18 | Patonga | $1,454 | $1,300 | $6,929 | $3,650 | $13,333 |
| 19 | Milsons Passage | $1,541 | $1,548 | $6,988 | $3,250 | $13,327 |
| 20 | Cattai | $1,261 | $1,548 | $6,857 | $3,650 | $13,316 |
| 21 | Wilberforce | $1,848 | $1,548 | $6,659 | $3,250 | $13,305 |
| 22 | Laughtondale | $1,541 | $1,548 | $6,560 | $3,650 | $13,299 |
| 23 | Ebenezer | $1,848 | $1,548 | $6,635 | $3,250 | $13,281 |
| 24 | Berowra Waters | $1,541 | $1,548 | $6,908 | $3,250 | $13,247 |
| 25 | Marley | $1,617 | $1,548 | $6,431 | $3,650 | $13,246 |
The other end of the table
For contrast, the ten cheapest of the 795.
| Rank | Suburb | Council rates | Water | Commute | Insurance | Total a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 786 | Surry Hills | $924 | $1,548 | $648 | $1,850 | $4,970 |
| 789 | Redfern | $924 | $1,548 | $912 | $1,850 | $5,234 |
| 787 | Sydney | $924 | $1,548 | $514 | $2,300 | $5,286 |
| 788 | Millers Point | $924 | $1,548 | $514 | $2,300 | $5,286 |
| 790 | Haymarket | $924 | $1,548 | $514 | $2,300 | $5,286 |
| 791 | Darlinghurst | $924 | $1,548 | $514 | $2,300 | $5,286 |
| 792 | Ultimo | $924 | $1,548 | $581 | $2,300 | $5,353 |
| 793 | Elizabeth Bay | $924 | $1,548 | $615 | $2,300 | $5,387 |
| 794 | Moore Park | $924 | $1,548 | $1,073 | $1,850 | $5,395 |
| 795 | Chippendale | $924 | $1,548 | $715 | $2,300 | $5,487 |
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 top of this table sits 40 kilometres or more from the CBD, and in each one the commute is roughly half the entire annual cost. That is the mechanism. These are not expensive suburbs in the way people usually mean it; they are ordinary suburbs with an expensive journey attached.
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 most expensive Sydney suburb to live in?
On annual running cost, Canoelands at $13,705 a year, counting council rates, water, the drive to work and home insurance. Marlow follows at $13,623. 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.