Unity Jackson-Muir, Real estate reporter
First published 16 Nov 2026, 5:00am
Homebuyers in outer Sydney are paying up to $10,000 more to keep their cars running than inner city households. Picture: NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone
Homebuyers hoping to find affordable property in the regions could end up paying a $10,000 premium due to a lack of public transport leaving them reliant on cars, new data reveals.
Conversations inevitably turn to easing the housing crisis by building more homes but they often overlook the crucial infrastructure that make a suburb actually appealing to live in.
Analysis from novated lease provider Paywise reveals only 43 per cent of Liverpool households are within 400m of a regularly serviced bus stop compared to 97 per cent in the Sydney CBD.
This leaves the vast majority of residents reliant on cars for transport and works out to Liverpudlians paying almost $10,000 more to keep their cars running than Sydneysiders.
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The most car-dependent councils in Sydney’s metro-developed and outer-metro local government areas (LGA). Analysis: Paywise
Paywise created an index to measure car dependence across four tiers of local government areas; metro-developed, outer-metro, major regional city and regional centre.
The research showed the most car dependent LGAs in NSW for each respective tier were Liverpool, Hawkesbury, the Mid-coast and Kempsey.
The index looked at factors including public transport services, car ownership, households without a car and walkability where a higher score indicates a higher reliance on cars.
The worst five metro LGAs were Liverpool, Sutherland, Ku-ring-gai, Fairfield and Blacktown.
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Only 7.9 per cent of Liverpool households are car free, indicating how many residents rely on their cars for transport. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dylan Coker
These regions all scored an index above 80 and residents pay around $25,000 a year for transport.
The best five LGAs were Sydney, Waverley, North Sydney, Burwood and the Inner West.
Only eight LGAs in the dataset were classed as a NSW outer-metro with Hornsby the least dependent on a score of 24 and Hawkesbury the most dependent with a score of 87.
Financing and running a car costs $3,964 more a year in Hawkesbury and only 4.8 per cent of homes in the LGA are within 400m of a bus stop.
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Residents in outer Sydney can end up spending hours more to travel to work compared to residents close to the CBD. Picture: NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone
Paywise chief executive officer Frank Agostino said the research shows driving less may not be an option for many Australians who live somewhere without alternatives.
“For a lot of Australians, a car isn’t a choice. It’s how they get to work, do the shopping and get to appointments,” Mr Agostino said.
“Our research shows that even within the same city, some suburbs have far fewer practical alternatives than others, and that can put real pressure on household budgets,” he said.
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