This largely agrees with the customary definition above, except for some suburbs immediately to the east or west of the cadastral boundaries.

Other suburbs sometimes referred to as being in the Inner West, especially in commercial contexts, include: Prior to the arrival of the First Fleet, the Sydney region was home to the Darug people.

A number of the large land grants in the area were subdivided for commercial and residential development, such as Ashfield Park in 1838.

The construction of the Main Suburban railway line in 1855 spurred further development, especially at the original stations of Newtown, Ashfield, Burwood and Homebush.

Many of the original land grants in the area were subdivided for commercial and residential development in the decades following the arrival of the railway, such as the Village of Homebush in 1878.

The colony's elite - politicians, judges, industrialists and businessmen - began to build grand homes in the "outer" parts of the Inner West, such as the Arnott family (of the biscuit empire) and the family of David Jones (the retailer), who built various homes in Strathfield.

Due to its central location and easy access by water, rail and road, large scale industrial development occurred in the Inner West in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

For example, Australian prime ministers who lived in the Inner West in this period include William McMahon, Earle Page, George Reid, Frank Forde and Billy Hughes.

For example, Haberfield and Leichhardt became distinguished by the concentration of Italian businesses, while Petersham became the hub of Sydney's Portuguese community.

Continued industrial development and the influx of blue collar workers, including European immigrants, accelerated the disparity between suburbs.

[16] Reflecting these changes, by 2017, the spread of highly valued residential suburbs of the Inner West had expanded further east.

In that year, the seven suburbs that recorded median house prices exceeding $2 million were, in descending order of median price: Cabarita, Strathfield, Burwood, Chiswick, Balmain East, Rhodes and Burwood Heights, covering both the traditionally popular 'outer' Inner West and the newly gentrified, formerly industrial waterfront suburbs.

In this region, Parramatta River widens via a series of bays and transitions into the drowned valley that forms Sydney Harbour.

The presence of these bays have had a significant effect on patterns of development in the region and the placement of infrastructure such as roads and railways.

In the 1860s iron Cove Creek was a freely flowing waterway which in places broadened into ponds that made excellent and picturesque swimming holes.

The "Sydney - Inner West" statistical area defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics covers most of the Inner West by most customary definitions, but not all of it: suburbs in the eastern and southeastern edge of the customary region which are in the City of Sydney and the former Marrickville Council areas, such as Glebe, Enmore, Petersham and Marrickville, are instead in the region called "City and Inner South".

The most common reported ancestries were English 20.7%, Australian 17.8%, Chinese 16.5%, Italian 9.5% and Irish 9.2%, with 57.1% of people having both parents born overseas.

[1] The table below summarises historical data for the "Sydney - Inner West" statistical area since it was first defined in the 2011 census.

Prior to 2011, the "Inner Western Sydney" statistical area covered most of the Inner West, but excluded the former Leichhardt Council, so the data is not directly comparable.

The inner-most suburbs of the Inner West were developed early in the life of the colony, and preserve stone houses from the Victorian era and earlier.

Further away from the city, a large number of grand houses of the Victorian era are still standing, though many have been subdivided or are no longer in residential use.

These have in turn been succeeded by the construction of medium- to high-rise apartment blocks in the late 20th century, especially around major stations such as Strathfield and Burwood, and in the redevelopment of formerly industrial land throughout the region and especially along the Parramatta River waterfront.

This section of the Bankstown railway line has been temporarily closed since September 2024 for conversion works to enable Sydney Metro M1 services to operate over it.

Sydney Ferries operates services in the inner harbour and Parramatta River, with a number of wharves serving suburbs in the northern part of the Inner West.

Denser populations and shorter distances mean cycling is often quicker and more convenient than driving or taking public transport.

[23] In the state parliament, the region is represented by the electoral districts of Balmain, Canterbury, Drummoyne, Newtown, Strathfield and Summer Hill.

[24][25][26][27][28][29] In the federal parliament, the area is represented by the electorate of Grayndler and part of the electorates of Reid (which also covers a small part of Greater Western Sydney), Sydney (which also covers the city centre) and Watson (which also encompasses a substantial section of the Canterbury-Bankstown area).

The Sydney Local Health District of NSW Health serves the Inner West, covering Burwood, Canada Bay, Inner West and Strathfield councils, the western part of the City of Sydney, as well as the former City of Canterbury part of Canterbury-Bankstown.

In the tier below known as the New South Wales Cup, the area is represented by the Newtown Jets and Wests Magpies.

The Inner West also has many semi-professional soccer teams playing in the various divisions of the NSW State Leagues.