idc-logo
svg rectangle color
City of RydePopulation forecast

The City of Ryde

Drivers of population change

Development history

The City of Ryde is located in northern Sydney between 8 and 15 kilometres north-west of the Sydney GPO. The City features a major employment area at Macquarie Park, which is home to the Australian headquarters of a number of international companies. Macquarie University and Macquarie Private Hospital are also located here. Other commercial activity tends to be concentrated around transport nodes and older shopping strips such as Top Ryde, Eastwood and West Ryde. In more recent decades there has been significant retail growth at Macquarie Centre, and more recently, the Top Ryde Shopping Centre has undergone large-scale redevelopment.

Much of the City was developed by the 1980s, with North Ryde, Marsfield and Macquarie Park being the final areas to undergo significant residential subdivision. More recently, rates of infill and brownfield development have increased as older housing and industrial land are redeveloped. This is exemplified by the redevelopment of old industrial areas along the Parramatta River at Meadowbank. These trends have resulted in the population of the City of Ryde growing in the last five years after two decades of relative stagnation or minimal population growth.

Migration patterns

The primary housing market role that the City has played in the post war era has been to provide housing for families. This role continues to some extent, particularly in the Ryde and Denistone areas, where there remians a significant stock of famil housing; however, owing to the constraints in supply, the cost of land and increasing housing demand, mean that any development opportunity tends to be apartments or villa/unit style development. Growth of student numbers at Macquarie University, particularly those from overseas, has resulted in many more young people (18-29 years) migrating to the City than previously. This trend is more noticeable in suburbs surrounding the University, such as Macquarie Park, Marsfield and Eastwood. The availability of more affordable family housing in neighbouring areas to the west and north of the City, as well as greenfield development in areas such as the City of Blacktown and the Hills Shire, has led to a net loss of families. These trends will intensify into the future.

Historical migration flows, City of Ryde, 2016-2021






Note: The migration flows depicted above are historical and do not represent future or forecast migration flows or subsequent council boundary changes. The arrows represent migration flows to the area as a whole and do not indicate an origin or destination for any specific localities within the area. Overseas flow shows overseas arrivals based on answers to the census question "where did the person usually live 5-years ago" and .id estimates of international out-migration.

*Please note, the 2021 Census was undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic, at a time where border restrictions had largely halted overseas in-migration for the 15 months prior. 2016-2021 net overseas migration levels reflect this and therefore should not necessarily be considered indicative of longer-term trends.

Housing role and function

The City’s population will be shaped largely by the supply of sites for residential redevelopment. Larger sites include the continued redevelopment of former industrial and commercial lands at Ryde (South), Meadowbank and North Ryde; however, the Shepherds Bay development in Ryde (South) and Meadowbank is likely to be completed by 2021, with very limited opportunuties left in Ryde (South) and beyond 2025 in Meadowbank. Over the longer term, Macquarie Park presents significant opportunities with the redevelopment of Herring Road Precinct, Ivanhoe Estate, and the Lachlan’s Line masterplanned community, and is assumed to account for 49% of all future development within the City of Ryde. The type and scale of housing in these areas is likely to attract larger numbers of young couples and professionals taking advantage of rental housing and proximity to employment opportunities at Macquarie Park and the CBD.

Housing supply

The other main sources of future housing supply in the City are infill and in-centre development. The propensity for infill varies considerably across the City due to differences in block size, age and quality of housing stock, and zoning. Infill is expected to be higher in North Ryde-East Ryde-Chatswood West and the Ryde area as these suburbs typically contain larger blocks and older housing stock which makes them suitable for townhouse style developments. In-centre development is related to specific planning policies implement by the City, but further redevelopment around West Ryde, Gladesville and Eastwood can be expected.

DISCLAIMER: While all due care has been taken to ensure that the content of this website is accurate and current, there may be errors or omissions in it and no legal responsibility is accepted for the information and opinions in this website.

Please view our Privacy Policy, Terms of use and Legal notices.

ABS Data and the copyright in the ABS Data remains the property of the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The copyright in the way .id has modified, transformed or reconfigured the ABS Data as published on this website remains the property of .id. ABS Data can be accessed from the Australian Bureau of Statistics at www.abs.gov.au. ABS data can be used under license - terms published on ABS website. intermediary.management@abs.gov.au if you have any queries or wish to distribute any ABS data.