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Living in Menai, NSW
Menai is in the Sutherland council area. About 10,419 people lived here at the 2021 Census. Here's who they are, their homes and how they get around, next to the rest of Sutherland and New South Wales.
Rent now
$925 a week
That's the median rent on new leases in Menai and Illawong (2234), the postcode most of Menai is in, in the June quarter 2026. Half of new leases cost more and half cost less.
Who lives here
| Measure | Menai | Sutherland | NSW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 39 | 41 | 39 |
| People per home | 3.0 | 2.7 | 2.6 |
| Household income, a week (median) | $2,575 | $2,288 | $1,829 |
Homes
| Measure | Menai | Sutherland | NSW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 36% | 37% | 32% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 48% | 39% | 33% |
| Rented | 15% | 22% | 33% |
| Separate houses | 75% | 61% | 66% |
| Flats and apartments | 3% | 25% | 22% |
| Rent, a week (median, 2021) | $560 | $500 | $420 |
| Mortgage repayment, a month (median) | $2,600 | $2,620 | $2,167 |
Shares of homes where people answered the question. Rent and mortgage figures are from 2021, so they're well below today's. See what tenants pay now.
Getting around
| Measure | Menai | Sutherland | NSW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes with no car | 3% | 6% | 9% |
| Homes with two or more cars | 72% | 60% | 52% |
| Went to work by car | 50% | 49% | 54% |
| Went to work by public transport | 2% | 3% | 4% |
| Walked or cycled to work | 1% | 2% | 3% |
| Worked from home | 44% | 43% | 36% |
How people got to work on Census day, as a share of those who went to work or worked at home. The Census was on 10 August 2021, when Greater Sydney and Melbourne were in lockdown, so many more people there worked from home than usual, and fewer took public transport.
Schools
In Menai
- Menai Public School Government, primary
Within 2 km
- Menai High School Government, secondary, 1.5 km
- Tharawal Public School Government, primary, 1.7 km
- Alfords Point Public School Government, primary, 1.9 km
Government schools only: New South Wales doesn't publish an open list of Catholic and independent schools. Distances are in a straight line from the middle of Menai. Check enrolment rules with the school or the state's education department. We don't rank or rate schools.
Bushfire map
- 81% of Menai's land is mapped as bushfire prone.
These are planning maps. They decide building rules, like how a new home must be built. They aren't an insurance price or a promise: a place outside them can still burn or flood. Check a street address on the NSW Planning Portal spatial viewer.
More about Sutherland
- What it costs to live in Sutherland: rent, power, fuel, pokies losses and crime, against New South Wales.
- Compare Sutherland with another area.
- Is living in Menai worth the drive? Add up rent and fuel against another suburb.
- Other suburbs in Sutherland.
Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2021, General Community Profile, and Suburbs and Localities boundaries, CC BY 4.0. Sutherland figures use the council's 2021 boundaries. Schools: NSW Department of Education, CC BY. Rent: state rental bond data (see the rent pages). Hazards: NSW Rural Fire Service, Bush Fire Prone Land (NSW Planning Portal), CC BY.