Leafy, family-oriented suburb on Sydney's Upper North Shore, about 18 km north of the CBD in the Ku-ring-gai Council area, with Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park on its northern fringe and Garigal National Park along its eastern edge — post-1950s growth pushed homes into the hilltop and valley areas bordering that bushland. St Ives is recognised across Greater Sydney as a relatively safe and wealthy suburb: median weekly household income at the 2021 census was $2,888, well above the NSW average of $1,829, and 70.1% of occupied private dwellings were separate houses. It was settled early by market gardeners and orchard workers from the late 1890s, and today agents describe buyers making a beeline for St Ives for its large blocks and top primary schools — the classic 'good schools, big backyard and village shops' family suburb. At the 2021 census St Ives recorded a population of 18,384.
At a Glance
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Region | Upper North Shore |
| Council (LGA) | Ku-ring-gai Council |
| Postcode | 2075 |
| Distance to Sydney CBD | Roughly 35–50 minutes door-to-door: about 7–10 minutes by bus (route 195 and other CDC services) to Gordon station… |
| Median house price | $3,062,500 (median house price based on 222 sales over the past 12 months, realestate.com.au suburb data, retrieved Sep 2026). OnTheHouse's Cotality AVM put the median house value at $2,942,542 (31 Jul 2026), so the working range is roughly $2.9M–$3.1M; premium family homes on large blocks frequently list above $3.5M (e.g. a McGrath St Ives listing guided at $3,750,000) (mid-2026) |
| Median unit price | $1,110,328 — apartment stock is limited, as 70.1% of dwellings are separate houses; CoreLogic-style medians cluster around $1.1M |
| Typical rent | Median weekly rent about $1,550 for houses and $850 for units… |
| Price growth | Median house prices up about 7% over the past 12 months ; house median values up 7.42% over five years to Jul 2026 on Cotality's AVM |
Transport
St Ives has no railway station — public transport is bus-based. CDC NSW operates five bus routes through the suburb, and Mona Vale Road (A3), which bisects St Ives running east–west, links it to Mona Vale on the coast and to the North Shore's Pacific Highway corridor on the suburb's western side. The main rail interchange is Gordon station on the North Shore line, about 7 minutes away by the frequent route 195 bus from St Ives Shopping Village on Mona Vale Road, which departs about every 15 minutes.
Schools
St Ives is one of the North Shore's strongest 'school suburbs', with families moving in for large blocks and top primary schools. Government schools: St Ives Public School (K–6), St Ives Park Public School (K–6) and St Ives High School, a government comprehensive co-educational secondary school for Years 7–12 in the suburb's heart. St Ives North Public School runs its own gifted and talented unit — about 30 places a year, including entry for students living outside the catchment — a model other schools have studied (Brisbane Times). Independent schools include Sydney Grammar School's St Ives preparatory campus (K–6) on Ayres Road, Masada College, a Jewish co-educational school from preschool to Year 12 (North Shore Mums), and Brigidine College St Ives, a Catholic girls' secondary college.
Shopping & Amenities
St Ives Shopping Village, which opened in the 1960s and became the suburb's main commercial centre in the 1970s, has 100+ stores anchored by Coles, Woolworths and Harris Farm Markets, with the Village Green park opposite across Memorial Avenue. The village centre spills along Mona Vale Road with banks, medical and dental practices, restaurants and cafes. The St Ives Showground at 450 Mona Vale Road hosts the St Ives Showground Market every Saturday — a country-style farmers' market specialising in local produce, organic fruit and vegetables, artisan breads and gourmet food, with a family-friendly playground and dog off-leash area nearby. In May 2025 the Shopping Village was sold by its long-time private owners to developer Sam Arnaout's Iris Capital for about $450M, settling in April 2026.
Parks & Outdoors
Bushland is never far away: the suburb's northern fringe meets Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and its eastern edge borders Garigal National Park, part of a wildlife corridor reaching from Sydney Harbour to the Blue Mountains, with walking tracks from the St Ives side dropping into forested valleys toward Middle Harbour. Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden on Mona Vale Road — a 123-hectare bushland botanic garden — showcases Sydney sandstone flora with tracks such as the Solander Trail and Senses Track (Hiking the World). Bantry Bay, on Middle Harbour within Garigal National Park, sits below the parkland adjoining St Ives' eastern fringe. Closer in, the Village Green is a popular neighbourhood park opposite the shopping village, and the St Ives Showground hosts weekend markets and community events.
Property Market
The median house price in St Ives was around $3,062,500 (median house price based on 222 sales over the past 12 months, realestate.com.au suburb data, retrieved Sep 2026). OnTheHouse's Cotality AVM put the median house value at $2,942,542 (31 Jul 2026), so the working range is roughly $2.9M–$3.1M; premium family homes on large blocks frequently list above $3.5M (e.g. a McGrath St Ives listing guided at $3,750,000) (mid-2026). See our full Sydney property price map for how the suburb compares across the city. St Ives is a deep family market — owner-occupiers made up 81.7% of homes at the 2021 census and houses dominate the stock, with 222 house sales in the past 12 months giving the median real weight. The '$3.2–3.8M' perception reflects premium listings on the suburb's large R2-zoned blocks near the bushland edges, which routinely guide at $3.5M+ (McGrath), while the recorded median sits around $2.9M–$3.1M. Ku-ring-gai remains one of Sydney's most tightly held, low-density council areas, and most growth pressure shows up as renovations and knock-down rebuilds rather than subdivisions.
New Developments
Zoning is predominantly low-density (R2), which keeps development gentle — most change is renovations, knock-down rebuilds and the occasional small apartment or seniors housing project such as Aveo's Fernbank retirement village at 2–8 Kitchener Street, St Ives. The big story is retail: Iris Capital's $450M purchase of St Ives Shopping Village (settled April 2026) is being followed by a proposed major redevelopment of the 1960s-era centre — new residential buildings above and around upgraded retail, a new tavern and road changes — which has drawn local and political opposition over transport capacity and amenity. Ku-ring-gai Council's housing strategy sets the planning context for future change in the area (Ku-ring-gai Council).
Jobs & Local Economy
Local employment is anchored by the St Ives Shopping Village's 100+ retail and hospitality tenancies and by the suburb's schools (St Ives High School, the three public primaries, Sydney Grammar St Ives, Masada and Brigidine), while St Ives Showground hosts markets and events that support casual and small-business work. Residents themselves mostly work in professional occupations and commute out — household income well above the NSW average suggests CBD, Macquarie Park and Hornsby employment, reached by the Gordon line, Mona Vale Road corridor and local buses.
Nearby Suburbs
East Killara, Pymble, Gordon, Turramurra, West Pymble
Sources & method
Researched 4 September 2026 from named public sources — census and government records, transport authorities, council and planning documents — plus published sales data. Where sources disagree on a figure, the guide says so rather than picking one.
Sources cited in this guide:
Corrections are welcome — if something here is out of date or wrong, tell us and we will fix it.
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