More than 46% of Aboriginal people in NSW live in major cities, almost 35% live in inner-regional areas, 15.5% in outer regional areas, 2.8% in remote, and 0.9% in very remote areas. In Greater Sydney, 1.7% of the population identify as Aboriginal, compared to 6.6% in the rest of NSW. The proportion of the population self-identifying as Aboriginal increases from east to west across the state.
The largest populations in NSW live in the Western suburbs of Sydney and the NSW Central Coast. In Western Sydney, Penrith local council area has the largest population, with 9,500 Aboriginal people.