The suburb of Strathfield became a popular residential suburb in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The building of Strathfield station, and its expansion into a major suburban, intercity and interstate station, with direct services to Sydney Central, Melbourne and Canberra, helped to make the suburb one of the most accessible in Sydney by rail. It was also close to major road and water transport routes. Members of Sydney's business elite, such as the family of William Arnott and David Jones, built various large homes in Strathfield. After federation, Strathfield continued to be favoured by business and political leaders, with prime ministers Earle Page, George Reid and Frank Forde all having lived in the suburb, and Billy Hughes lived in the part of "Strathfield" which is now Homebush South. Page, for example, chose to live in Strathfield because of its direct rail services to Melbourne, then the seat of federal parliament, and his electorate on the north coast of New South Wales. Some of the large homes built in this period were purchased by private schools, and the unusually large number of private and public schools in the one suburb further increased residential demand.

Following the introduction of the Local Government Act in 1919, Strathfield Council was one of the first to proclaim the major part of its area a residential district by proclamation in 1920. Strathfield underwent suburban subdivision in the early 20th century, with more suburban houses on smaller lots being built rather than the substantial mansions with expansive grounds built in the earlier period. Nevertheless, it remained a popular residential area. In 1977, Strathfield was the most expensive suburb in metropolitan Sydney measured by median house price.

More significant commercial development took place in the last quarter of the 20th century, with a "modern" shopping centre, Strathfield Plaza, opening in 1981, accompanied by the first high rise residential apartment building in the suburb. More towers followed in the next few decades, concentrated around the station.

Strathfield has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• 25A Barker Road: Mount St Mary Campus of the Australian Catholic University
• Great Southern and Western railway: Strathfield rail underbridges
• Great Southern and Western railway: Strathfield railway station
• 62 The Boulevarde: Trinity Uniting Church, Strathfield

Strathfield has an unusually large concentration of educational institutions in one suburb.

The government schools located in Strathfield include the two secondary schools Strathfield Girls High School and Strathfield South High School. The catchment of Strathfield Girls stretches north to Concord West, west to Homebush West and east to the western part of Burwood, but does not include the southern-most section of the suburb of Strathfield itself. Strathfield South High School is co-educational, and its catchment includes the southern-most section of Strathfield, as well as the suburbs further south including parts of Chullora and Greenacre, Belfield, Strathfield South, Enfield and Croydon Park. A boys' high school is located in nearby Homebush.Two government comprehensive primary schools are located in Strathfield, Marie Bashir Public School in north-central Strathfield and Strathfield South Public School. Two others are located nearby to the north: Homebush Public School in Homebush, which also serves the northernmost part of Strathfield, and Strathfield North Public School in the separate suburb of North Strathfield. Chalmers Road Public School, also located in Strathfield, is a state government school for students aged four to eighteen years with moderate or severe intellectual disabilities.

A large number of independent or church-affiliated schools are also located in Strathfield. These include:

• St Patrick's College is an independent, Roman Catholic, day school for boys.
• Santa Sabina College is an independent, Roman Catholic, Dominican, day school for girls K-12 and boys K-4. The primary school is known as Santa Maria Del Monte.
• Meriden Anglican School for Girls is an independent, Anglican, day school for girls..
• Trinity Grammar School Preparatory School campus is on The Boulevarde and has classes from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 6.
• St Martha's Primary School is a Roman Catholic primary school.

Strathfield is also home to a major campus of the Australian Catholic University, the former home of the Christian Brothers novitiate and Catholic Teachers' College. The Seminary of the Good Shepherd, which trains Catholic priests, straddles the boundary between Strathfield and Homebush. In addition, the Catholic Institute of Sydney, where priests for the Archdiocese of Sydney, and other theologians and ministers, are trained, is located in Strathfield, on a site which was originally the NSW Society for the Blind, and later an Australia Post training centre. Arnottholme at 65-69 Albert Road, Strathfield, the former home of William Arnott was for many years owned by the NSW Department of Education until its sale in 2022 for $7,700,000.

The following churches are located in Strathfield:

• Carrington Avenue Uniting Church
• Trinity Uniting Church, Strathfield
• St Andrew's Anglican Church
• St Anne's Anglican Church
• St David's Presbyterian Church
• St Martha's Catholic Church
• Sts Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Cathedral
• Ukrainian Autocephalic Orthodox Church
• Strathfield Korean Uniting Church
• Sydney Chinese Seventh-day Adventist Church
• Western Sydney Chinese Christian Church

Strathfield has a long history as a "desirable suburb for Sydney's better classes", especially prior to the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge allowed residential development to flourish on the North Shore. Although the Inner West region became eclipsed by the Eastern Suburbs and the North Shore as premium residential areas, Strathfield with its boulevardes, large houses and established schools remained a popular suburb for residents. Even in 1977, Strathfield was the most expensive suburb in metropolitan Sydney by median house price. In December 2021, Strathfield (post code area 2135) was the 13th most expensive area by postcode in Australia, when measured by median house price. Of the top 20 most expensive post code areas (all of which are in metropolitan Sydney), Strathfield was the only one which was located outside the Eastern Suburbs, North Shore or Northern Beaches regions.

Strathfield's residential landscape is extremely varied, ranging from country-style estates to high-rise apartments. Many styles of architecture have been employed over past decades, with dwellings having been constructed in Victorian, Federation, Interwar period architecture, Californian Bungalow and contemporary periods. One of the oldest surviving houses built in the 1870s is Fairholm which is now a retirement village called Strathfield Gardens. Primarily these have been replaced by modern, multimillion-dollar mansions, although Strathfield has retained its wide avenues and most of the extensive natural vegetation. Streets such as Victoria Street, Llandillo Avenue and Kingsland Road predominantly feature older mansions, while Agnes Street, Newton Road and Barker Road are common locations for new homes. In the vicinity of Homebush Road, a number of noted tree-lined avenues follow an oblique street pattern established by the development of the Village of Homebush in the late 19th century, and are noted for the grand, historic houses built in the late 19th and early 20th centursies. These include Albert Road, historically known as one of Sydney's most prestigious streets and was lined by landmark mansions. Some of these have been replaced by institutions and others have been subdivided, but the street retains some of the most prestigious houses in the area;. and Redmyre Road, a wide boulevard which retains most of its Victorian mansions and large Federation-era houses. Further to the southeast, a pocket of the suburb bounded by Hunter Street, Carrington Avenue, Homebush Road and the Boulevarde is known in the real estate press as the "Golden Mile", because it contains some of the most desirable and highly sought-after real estate in the area. Examples of prestigious addresses in this area include homes located on Cotswold Road, Strathfield Avenue, Llandilo Avenue, Agnes and Highgate Street. Additionally, decreasing land sizes through subdivision has led to an increase in residential densities, reflecting the outward expansion of Sydney's inner city. A large proportion of Strathfield's population now dwells in apartments with the area immediately surrounding Strathfield railway station dominated by high rise residential towers. Smaller apartment buildings are located in other areas within the suburbs, were mostly built during the 1960s and 1970s.

In the last century a number of grand Strathfield homes became independent school campuses:

• Holyrood – Santa Sabina
• Brunyarra – Santa Maria Del Monte
• Lauriston – Santa Maria Del Monte
• Llandilo – Trinity Grammar School
• Somerset – Trinity Grammar School
• Milverton – Trinity Grammar School
• Riccarton/The Briars – Meriden and partially demolished
• Wariora – Meriden and now demolished
• Lingwood/Branxton – PLC Sydney and now Meriden School
• Selbourne – Meriden and now demolished
• Telerah – Wadham Preparatory School

Strathfield's commercial town centre is centred on a town square south of the station, and includes the Strathfield Plaza shopping centre which includes Woolworths and other stores, as well as a large number of cafes, restaurants and other stores located around the square and along Albert Road, Churchill Avenue, Redmyre Road and the Boulevarde. Strathfield's town centre is particularly known for a large concentration of Korean restaurants and shops catering to Korean cultural needs. The area is often called Little Korea.

Other commercial areas in the suburb include a small commercial area immediately north of the station, a commercial area along the southern boundary concentrated around the intersection of the Boulevarde and Liverpool Road (part of a town centre around the former Enfield Town Hall). The northern parts of Strathfield are served by the Homebush and Flemington village centres, which were carved out of the suburb of Strathfield after 1947.

There are also some car dealerships and other commercial premises along Parramatta Road and Liverpool Road, on the northern and southern boundaries of the suburb.

The following were either born or have lived at some time in the suburb of Strathfield:

• George Sydney Jones (1868–1927), architect of Trinity Congregational Church and the following Strathfield houses; Springfort (1894); Darenth (1895); Bickley (1894); Treghre (1899); and Luleo (1912).
• Harry Kent (1852–1938), architect, alderman for the Municipality of Strathfield and architect of the Strathfield Town Hall.

• William Arnott, founder of Arnott's Biscuits.
• Sir Robert Crichton-Brown (1919–2013), businessman, soldier and sailor, lived in Strathfield in the 1920s and 1930s.[2]
• Alfred John Bush (1879-1951), founder of AJ Bush and Son's Meats, lived in Strathfield from 1925 until his death.
• Charles Henry Hoskins (1851-1926), industrialist and businessman, lived in Strathfield during the 1890s and 1900s.
• Edward Lloyd Jones (1844–1894), head of the department store David Jones Limited, and his son;
• Edward Lloyd Jones (1874–1934), Shorthorn cattle breeder and former chairman of David Jones Limited, and his brother;
• Charles Lloyd Jones (1878–1958), former chairman of David Jones Limited and former chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Commission.

• Brian Rees (1929–2016), Headmaster of Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, Charterhouse School and Rugby School, was born in Strathfield.

• David Wilson KC (1879–1965), barrister and company director
• Sir Percy Ernest Joske, CMG QC (1895–1981), judge and Queens's Counsel

• Sir Philip Sydney Jones (1836–1918), medical practitioner and University of Sydney vice-chancellor lived at Llandilo on The Boulevarde.

• Sir George Reid (1845-1918), 4th Prime Minister of Australia.
• Earl Page (1880–1961), 11th Prime Minister of Australia.
• Frank Forde (1890-1983), 15th Prime Minister of Australia.
• Lady McMahon (1932–2010), spouse of the 20th Prime Minister of Australia, was born in Strathfield.

• Rev Prof Hubert Cunliffe-Jones (1905–1991), was born in Strathfield.

• F. J. Duarte: author and physicist, lived in Leicester Avenue, Strathfield.

• Bang Chan, member and leader of the South Korean boy band Stray Kids, lived in Strathfield for some time during his teenage years.

• Alan Davidson (1929−2021), cricketer
• Daphne Akhurst (1903–1933), tennis player

• Katharine Gatty, suffragette
• Anu Singh, convicted of murdering her boyfriend
• Derek Percy, convicted child killer

Strathfield railway station is a major interchange on the Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink networks, and has long been an interchange for several of Sydney's suburban lines, as well as intercity services and interstate services. However, intercity services from Strathfield significantly reduced in 2013. With the upgrading of the East Hills line, intercity trains heading southwest to Canberra and Melbourne from Sydney Central began to use that line, leaving only intercity trains to the north and west to continue using Strathfield station. The bus station located on the town square, immediately south of the station, is an interchange for buses serving the Inner West.

In the west, Strathfield is bounded by the A3 arterial road, linking Strathfield with the St George region, where it joins the A1 road (Princes Highway) towards Sutherland Shire and the south coast, while in the north it connects Strathfield with Ryde and Pymble and Gordon, where it intersects with the A1 road again and then proceeds towards the Northern Beaches.

Strathfield is bounded in the north by the Great Western Highway (Parramatta Road) and in the south by the Hume Highway (Liverpool Road), both major arterial roads. The Great Western Highway links Strathfield east to Ashfield, where it splits with Parramatta Road proceeding to east towards Broadway and the southern City and the A4 road proceeding northeast to the Sydney CBD and Sydney Harbour Bridge. To the west, it leads to Parramatta, Blacktown, Penrith and beyond. The Hume Highway links Strathfield east to Ashfield, where it joins Parramatta Road, and west to Bankstown, Liverpool, Canberra and Melbourne. The M4 Western Motorway largely parallels the Great Western Highway but lies outside Strathfield suburb boundaries. The exit at Concord Road in North Strathfield serves Strathfield.

Two local arterial routes serving the Inner West, formed by Concord Road-Raw Square-The Boulevarde (north-south, formerly part of Metroad 3 and State Route 27) and Beresford Road-Albert Road-Redmyre Road-Morwick Street (west-east), join and intersect in central Strathfield in a complex pattern.

According to the 2021 census, Strathfield had a total population of 25,915 people, a slight increase compared to 25,813 in 2016.

The availability of a fast and convenient rail connection to many parts of Sydney and the development of high density residential blocks near the station have made Strathfield's town centre an attractive place to live for successive waves of temporary and permanent migrants in recent decades. While the concentration of restaurants and shops catering to Korean cultural needs in the vicinity of Strathfield station has created a perception of Strathfield as a Korean suburb (see "Commercial area" section), the proportion of residents who are Korean by birth or ancestry has never been a particularly large: many more members of the Korean community in Sydney travel into the suburb to visit the commercial area. According to the 2021 census, only 7.7% of residents identified as Korean by ancestry, and the Chinese and Anglo-Celtic ancestry groups are much larger. In recent years, there has also been a sharp rise in Nepalese arrivals.

In 2021, 34.6% of people were born in Australia. The most common other countries of birth were Nepal 13.6%, China 8.6%, India 6.8%, South Korea 6.2%, and Vietnam 3.1%. The most common ancestries were Chinese 21.7%, Nepalese 13.0%, English 8.2%, Australian 7.7% and Korean 7.7%. 76.7% of people had both parents born overseas.

29.4% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Nepali 12.9%, Mandarin 9.3%, Cantonese 7.2%, Korean 7.1% and Arabic 4.8%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 23.1%, Catholic 21.8%, Hinduism 20.8% and Buddhism 7.2%.

Strathfield has made an impact on the indie rock and indie pop scene, producing bands such as Prince Vlad & the Gargoyle Impalers, Lunatic Fringe, The Mexican Spitfires and Women of Troy. It has also inspired pop songs such as The Mexican Spitfires's song "Rookwood" about Rookwood Cemetery and the legendary Blitzkrieg punk rock of Radio Birdman's classic mid-1970s "Murder City Nights". Indie pop legend Grant McLennan of The Go-Betweens also called Carrington Avenue, Strathfield home for a few years in the 1990s.

On 17 August 1991, seven people were killed, when Wade Frankum stabbed a fifteen-year-old girl to death, before running amok with a rifle in the Strathfield Plaza shopping mall, and then turning the weapon on himself. This is commonly known as the Strathfield Massacre. A Memorial plaque is located at Churchill Avenue, Strathfield.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Strathfield, New South Wales.

• http://www.strathfieldheritage.org
• Han, Gil-Soo; Han, Joy J. (2010). "Koreans". Dictionary of Sydney. Retrieved 4 October 2015. [CC-By-SA] (Koreans in Sydney)

33°52′51″S 151°04′59″E / 33.88081°S 151.08308°E / -33.88081; 151.08308