Jurong West
Jurong West is a planning area and residential town located in the West Region of Singapore. It shares boundaries with Tengah in the north, Jurong East in the east, Boon Lay and Pioneer in the south, and Western Water Catchment in the west.
Originally a forested area, Jurong West underwent rapid development by the Housing and Development Board, in an effort to transform it into a fully mature housing estate.
History
Jurong West originated from the area once called Peng Kang, named after the gambier plantations along Sungei Jurong. By the mid-20th century, the area was home to several brickworks, palm oil plantations and nurseries. At that time, the only public housing estates in Jurong West were Boon Lay and Taman Jurong. Jurong West was largely left alone until 1984, when the HDB began conceptualisation for a new town in Jurong West. Jurong West was carved into nine subzones that would house a total of 94,000 public and private housing units in the long term.The town's first apartment blocks were completed at Taman Jurong in 1963. By November 2004, about 71,522 dwelling units were completed. As of 31 March 2018, there are 74,301 HDB dwelling units in Jurong West.
Geography
Jurong West is a primarily residential town situated west of Tengah New Town in the western part of Singapore, under the West Region as defined by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.The town is bordered to the north by the Pan Island Expressway, to the east by Sungei Jurong and Jurong Lake, to the south by the Ayer Rajah Expressway, and to the west by Benoi Road and Upper Jurong Road. [|Jurong West Town Centre] is located in Jurong West Central. An industrial area, part of the Jurong Industrial Estate, is located south of Boon Lay Way and Upper Jurong Road. Another industrial area is currently under development in Wenya as part of the Jurong Innovation District.
Subzones
Jurong West New Town is divided into the following nine subzones.Image:Westwood Avenue 050619.jpg|thumb|A landed housing estate in Yunnan, with Wenya in the foreground.
Demographics
As of 2025, the most populous subzone in Jurong West is Yunnan with 65,400 residents, closely followed by Jurong West Central with 60,840 residents, while Chin Bee, Kian Teck and Safti are completely unpopulated. Packed into an area of, of which are designated as residential areas, Jurong West has a population density of 25,700 people per km2.Population history
Age profile
The data below is from the population report published by the Singapore Department of Statistics as of June 2025.| Age group | Males | Females | Total population | % of total population |
| 0–4 | 4,150 | 3,870 | 8,020 | 3.16 |
| 5–9 | 5,720 | 5,350 | 11,070 | 4.36 |
| 10–14 | 6,620 | 6,370 | 12,990 | 5.12 |
| 15–19 | 7,570 | 7,320 | 14,890 | 5.87 |
| 20–24 | 8,110 | 7,650 | 15,760 | 6.21 |
| 25–29 | 8,880 | 8,390 | 17,270 | 6.80 |
| 30–34 | 8,990 | 8,770 | 17,760 | 7.00 |
| 35–39 | 8,070 | 8,850 | 16,920 | 6.67 |
| 40–44 | 8,690 | 9,920 | 18,610 | 7.33 |
| 45–49 | 9,430 | 10,030 | 19,460 | 7.67 |
| 50–54 | 10,050 | 9,870 | 19,920 | 7.85 |
| 55–59 | 9,620 | 9,220 | 18,840 | 7.42 |
| 60–64 | 9,370 | 8,720 | 18,090 | 7.13 |
| 65–69 | 8,250 | 8,140 | 16,390 | 6.46 |
| 70–74 | 6,410 | 6,680 | 13,090 | 5.16 |
| 75–79 | 4,100 | 4,220 | 8,320 | 3.28 |
| 80–84 | 1,560 | 2,010 | 3,570 | 1.41 |
| 85–89 | 790 | 1,120 | 1,910 | 0.75 |
| 90+ | 280 | 670 | 950 | 0.37 |
The population distribution of Jurong West in 2025 demonstrates a mature population structure. There is a higher population concentration among middle-aged groups, with the highest concentration of residents between 50 and 54 years old at 7.85%. Specifically, the male population peaks at the 50-54 age range at 3.96%, and the female population peaks at the 45-49 age range at 3.95%.
Household
As of 2025, there were 230,990 people living in HDB flats, representing 91.0% of the population. This is significantly higher than the national proportion of HDB dwellers, reflecting a greater prevalence of public housing in the area. This makes Jurong West have the second highest proportion of HDB dwellers among all planning areas in Singapore, behind Woodlands.Among the population, 97,410 residents, or 38.4% of the population, live in 5-Room and Executive HDB Flats, making it the most common type of dwelling. 17,630 residents live in condominiums and other apartments, while 4,100 residents live in landed properties.
As of 2020, the average household size in Jurong West is 3.39. Among the 83,879 households in Jurong West, the most common household size is four persons, representing 23.2% of total households. This is closely followed by a household size of four persons, representing 22.1% of all households.
Jurong West has a home ownership rate of 91.0% as of 2020. This is higher than the national home ownership rate of 87.9%, reflecting a greater prevalence of homeowners in Jurong West.
Ethnicity
Jurong West has a greater ethnic diversity in comparison to the national average. Despite having a majority Chinese population, the proportion of residents of Chinese ethnicity, 69.88%, is substantially lower than the national proportion of 74.35%.Religion
Consistent with the rest of Singapore, the largest religion in Jurong West is Buddhism, with 78,615 practising residents. The second most common group consists of residents practising Islam, followed by those with no religion. Additionally, there are 24,184 residents practising Taoism and other Chinese religions, as well as 22,114 Christians, including 7,769 Catholics. Other religious affiliations include Hinduism, and Sikhism.Jurong West is the planning area with the lowest proportion of practising Christians in Singapore, significantly below the national average of 18.92%. Additionally, Jurong West is the only planning area where more residents practise Taoism and other Chinese religions than Christianity.
Education
As of 2020, 97.0% of the population above 15 is literate, similar to the national literacy rate of 97.1%. 64.6% of residents are literate in two languages, with the most common language pair being English and Chinese. 5.5% of Jurong West residents are literate in three or more languages.48,675 residents in Jurong West have attained a university qualification, lower than the national average of 32.1%, ranking the third lowest in Singapore. In contrast, 24,024 residents, or 11.8% of the population, have no educational qualifications, higher than the national average of 10.6%.
Language
The proportion of residents in Jurong West using English as the most frequently spoken language is the lowest among all planning areas in Singapore, significantly below the national average of 48.3%. Notably, Jurong West is the only planning area in Singapore where there are more Mandarin Chinese speakers than English speakers.Additionally, there are 9,056 Tamil speakers, representing 84.8% of the 2,695 Indian language speakers in Jurong West.
Employment and income
According to the 2020 Census of Population, 148,785 residents aged 15 years and over in Jurong West are employed, out of the 156,732 in the labour force. This equates to an employment rate of 94.9%, higher than the national employment rate of 94.2%. The remaining 69,039 residents aged above 15 in Jurong West are outside the labour force.Among the employed residents in Jurong West aged 15 years and over, most earn a gross monthly income of between S$3,000 and S$3,999, with 14.6% being in that category. 6.9% earn less than S$1,000 per month, while 3.6% earn above S$15,000 per month. Notably, the proportion of residents earning less than S$1,000 per month in Jurong West is the second highest in Singapore, behind Yishun.
According to the 2020 Census of Population, most resident households in Jurong West have no employed person, encompassing 9.6% of all households. The second highest category for monthly household income is S$20,000 and over, encompassing 8.2% of all households.
Notable places
Jurong West's two main rivers, Sungei Jurong and Sungei Lanchar, run through the town with a network of green connectors along their banks. They link housing precincts to neighbourhood parks such as Jurong Central Park, as well as the Jurong West Sports Centre, Jurong West Stadium and Frontier Community Centre. These park connectors are linked to the Chinese Garden in Jurong East New Town and the Bukit Batok Town Park in the north, to better serve the recreational needs of the residents of Jurong West. Jurong Central Park, located in Kian Teck, is a rectangular green space created behind Boon Lay MRT station.Jurong West's major public transport amenities were built in tandem with the main public housing development. The elevated track infrastructure of the East West MRT line was developed as the existing public housing blocks were being built in the 1980s. The amenities were built in a contiguous building complex, which gives commuters direct access between Boon Lay MRT station, Boon Lay Bus Interchange, The Centris condominium and Jurong Point shopping centre.