It stretches from the lower slopes of Mount Keira along the Illawarra escarpment to the base of the Broker's Nose promontory.

With the economic and population growth of the 20th century Balgownie was overtaken by the expanding urban sprawl and transformed from a small country hamlet to a residential suburb.

Balgownie is home to citizens right across the socioeconomic spectrum, from public housing estates in the east to multimillion-dollar mansions on the escarpment.

Over the last five years, the Australian property market has exploded and as a result many of the open spaces and paddocks that once greened the suburb have been turned into town house or "villa" developments.

The area features the oldest active soccer club in Australia, Balgownie Rangers, founded in 1883.